Elizabeth Baudouin wanted to tell a queer story that wasn’t about coming out or coming of age when she wrote the script for her heart-wrenching directorial debut short film “Breakup Text.”
“The main inspiration for it was just absorbing so much straight content,” Baudouin tells MovieMaker.
“As a queer person, there’s not a lot out there for us to absorb. There’s some, but I just feel like there’s more shareability on the screen for queer emotions and what we go through beyond our initial coming out in our initial coming of age, which is all crucial and important, but there’s not a lot out there that expands our narrative paths — that we’re just out and living and having experiences and relationships.”
Released Tuesday, the official teaser for the film stars Baudouin’s wife, Natalie Shirinian, as Milla in a moving performance of a woman who is forced to reckon with the toxic nature of her relationship with her fiancée Evie (Amanda Grace Jenkins) as those around her get tired of picking up the pieces every time Milla and Evie fall apart.
This is Baudouin and Shirinian’s third film together, following Shirinian’s 2021 short “Hello Mother (Parev Mama)” about an Armenian lesbian love story, and Shirinian and Michelle Peerali’s 2019 short fashion and design documentary “Interior Motives.”
Baudouin got the idea for the movie when she was studying at Joan Scheckel’s Filmmaking Lab, where Scheckel encouraged her to dig deep into the stories that matter most to her.
“I just wanted to contribute to building out that space, because there’s so much room for more of our stories,” Baudouin says.
Also Read: Natalie Shirinian Funded Her Short Film ‘Hello Mother’ By Selling a Garage Full of Furniture
The female and queer-led film was made with a majority LGBTQIA+ cast and crew, with Academy-award-winning producer David Dinerstein coming on board to executive produce. Dinerstein is behind Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) and A Private War.
A graduate of Emerson College, Baudouin is a writer, director, producer, and music supervisor whose writing has appeared in Vogue and The Huffington Post. She produced, executive produced and served as the music supervisor on “Interior Motives” and produced, executive produced, music supervised, and co-starred in “Hello Mother (Parev Mama)”.
Baudouin calls it “the greatest joy” working with her wife on their third film together.
“She is an incredible actress,” Baudouin says. “She just gave everything. I am so proud of her, and really, to have someone want to bring your story to life — and especially someone that you love and is your partner in life and creativity — it’s just really humbling.”
You can watch the full teaser for “Breakup Text” below.
Main Image: Natalie Shirinian and Amanda Grace Jenkins in “Breakup Text” courtesy of Elizabeth Baudouin
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