Outerlands

Northampton, MA – The Smith College Office for the Arts (SOFA) is excited to bring Outerlands, the critically acclaimed, multi-award-winning debut feature written and directed by Elena Oxman to Smith for a special campus screening and Q&A with the filmmaker and lead actor and producer, Asia Kate Dillon (Billions) on December 5 at 6 p.m. in the Graham Auditorium in Hillyer Hall. Outerlands is distributed by Wolfe Video, the longest-running and largest distributor of LGBTQ+ films in the world, and has its digital release on November 26. The film also features Louisa Krause (The Girlfriend Experience), Ridley Asha Bateman (Lou), Lea DeLaria (Orange Is the New Black), and Daniel K. Isaac (Elsbeth). The screening and talk are open to the public.

In Outerlands, Cass, a nonbinary gig worker drifting through a rapidly changing San Francisco, juggles bartending shifts, drug deals, and scooter rides past the city’s fading landmarks. Played with aching precision by Asia Kate Dillon, Cass lives in the quiet space between detachment and survival. When a new crush asks them to watch her daughter, what begins as a short favor turns into something deeper after the mother disappears, forcing Cass into the unexpected role of caregiver. As the days unfold, Cass confronts old wounds, the sting of erasure, and a city that no longer feels like home. The film will be available to stream on Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home.

Nominated for Best Narrative Feature at SXSW this year, Outerlands is a beautifully shot and emotionally resonant portrait of queer life on the margins. The film explores abandonment, chosen family, and the fragile hope of healing, becoming a story not just of survival, but of what it means to be truly seen. “Outerlands centers on a character who happens to be trans and non-binary—but their story is, at its core, a human one,” said Oxman. Variety called it “A slow-burn nonbinary drama set in a changing San Francisco” and praised it as a “film of great cinematic sleight of hand.”

Elena Oxman (she/they) is a writer/director currently living in Ashfield, MA with a background in both narrative and documentary film. A native of Connecticut, she co-founded the New Haven-based documentary collective American Beat and made a series of films about her home state, including On Broadway: A New Haven Streetscape and the award-winning essay-film Kmart Confidential. In 2014 she wrote and directed the narrative short film LIT, which premiered at Palm Springs ShortFest. Outerlands is her debut narrative feature.

Asia Kate Dillon (they/them) is a performer, writer, producer, and director. Cast in the role of Taylor, a non-binary character in Showtime’s Billions, Dillon was the first non-binary actor to ever be cast in a major television series. Dillon is also known for their television roles in Orange Is the New Black, The Simpsons, Master of None, Younger, Moon Girl and the feature films The Outside Story and John Wick III: Parabellum. Dillon is the community care leader and producer at the grassroots organization The Debt Gala that raises funds to help erase medical debt. Dillon also serves as an ambassador for Drama Club NYC. Drama Club’s mission is to consistently care for youth who are incarcerated and court-involved by creating space for them to thrive, using improv as their guide.

Outerlands had its world premiere in the Feature Narrative Competition at SXSW earlier this year and has since screened at over 50 film festivals across five continents. Outerlands was the first recipient of the Queer Media Society (QMS) Award for Best Queer Feature Film at the Munich International Film Festival, won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at Wicked Queer in Boston, and has won major prizes at the Torino Lovers Film Festival, the Milwaukee Film Festival, the Santa Cruz Film Festival, and Atlanta’s Out on Film.

The Smith screening is an exciting opportunity to see the movie on a screen and to hear from the filmmaker and actor/producer about their work. The trailer is available on the Wolfe Video YouTube channel. This event is free and open to the public. Presented by the Smith Office the Arts (SOFA) in partnership with the Film and Media Studies Department and The Resource Center for Sexuality & Gender (RCSG).