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Will Thede & Ben Weiss (a.k.a. BOYFRIENDS) are a writer/director duo focused on telling stories through the queer gaze (or “gays,” if you will).  Based in New York, BOYFRIENDS are committed to rejuvenating auteur-driven queer camp cinema by crafting compelling female and LBGTQ+ characters. Their debut short film TALK SH*T was adapted from their feature screenplay, which was a quarterfinalist for the Academy Nicholl Fellowship and advanced to the final round of the Sundance Feature Film Development Track.

Thede (NYU Tisch, BFA in Film & Television Production) has directed the short films ME, MYSELF & WILL (winner of 6 craft awards at the NYU First Run Film Festival) and D*CK-HEAD (Best Comedy Duo, New Visions & Voices Festival; Audience Award, Iron Mule Short Comedy Film Festival). His work as a trailer editor for Zealot Inc. includes the theatrical trailers for A.V. Rockwell’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner A THOUSAND AND ONE, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut THE LOST DAUGHTER (CLIO Entertainment Awards, Silver Winner), and Nathan Fielder & Benny Safdie’s THE CURSE. He has worked on a variety of film and television campaigns including Best Picture winner PARASITE and Disney’s CRUELLA, the latter of which won him gold at the Promax Awards.

Weiss (NYU Tisch, MFA in Dramatic Writing; Northwestern University, BA in Theater)  won the Tisch Graduate Special Award Across Media for his film, television, and theater writing. Through his work as a writer for “Puppet Regime,” a political comedy segment that airs on PBS, he won a Telly Award for Best Online Comedy Series. Screenwriting honors include SAFE HAVENS (Academy Nicholl Fellowship, semifinalist & top 50), UNPOPULAR (Humanitas Comedy Fellowship, finalist), THICK SKIN (Humanitas Drama Fellowship, semifinalist), and DEATH SENTENCE (ScreenCraft Drama Competition, semifinalist). Short film writing credits include RED FLAGS (dir. Tess Goldwyn) and THE CHARLIE & RYLEE SHOW (dir. Jessica Cummings). Playwriting credits include PLATONIC (Loading Dock Theater, Forklift Reading Series).

Graphics by Sophie Galowitz