This short film - currently deep in the post-production phase - is a 20 minute proof-of-concept for a feature film.

The short film was executed as a thesis film out of Toronto Metropolitan University’s Creative School - a production period which spanned from October 22nd, 2024 to May 16th, 2025. The project is now in post-production and hopes to utilize the festival circuit to gain support and funding for the feature-length version of the film.

The short film was an ambitious shoot.

• The first step was a 5-day shoot during reading week involving the largest set build ever executed by a student in the fully equipped Soundstage at TMU, as well as separate booked classrooms for prop&equipment storage, Wardrobe & Hair & Makeup, and Actor Holding. During the February reading week, our gay little production took over the IMA building and got to work.

• The second step was an on-location shoot in Montréal, shot at a beautiful air bnb right at the foot of the mountain on Ave du Mont Royal, selected for it’s view of the marquee cross which shines above the city.

• The third step was an on-location shoot in an Alley in Queen West, Toronto, where a smaller-scale crew executed some innovative techniques to capture the elusive je-ne-sais-quoi of lesbian flirting.

The feature film will delve further into the lives and dysfunctions of the short film’s 5 main characters, and follow the entire course of events that take place during Alice’s fête d'anniversaire cabaret.

Greta is between two worlds: the world ruled by her father and his religion; and the world where she wholly inhabits her body and mind.

She escapes from the war at home to visit her cousin, Hansel, seeking refuge. However, Hansel has had enough of her codependency. When he abandons her at a costume party during her brief visit, she is set adrift in the chaos of Montreal’s queer scene while emotionally - and physically - defenseless.

Within the confines of one life-altering night, Greta experiences a carnivalesque queer reality she’d never dreamed of and is forced to decide: remain in that treacherous purgatory, the closet; or risk being seen for who she truly is - a lesbian?

Mission Statement Written by Dir. Jam Louisy

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I have been developing and producing this project for 7 years now - since I began my degree in 2017. The pandemic prevented my thesis year from occurring as planned, and I couldn’t be more grateful for all the learning I have been able to do between then and now.

The world we live in has a structured place for bodies, and each type has a unique slot. Female bodies have a distinct place, as well as male ones. Black bodies have a distinct place, as do white bodies. Bodies that are in-between create hiccups in the mechanism, as they do not fit into a particular slot and thus reveal the flaws of the whole system. Queer bodies are a site of systemic upheaval. Biracial bodies as well. Put them together and you get a void where the slot should be. To be queer in our world is to question the very nature of your body’s place in it. How should your body be perceived? How should your body move through society? And most importantly, how does your body interact with other bodies?

The world is a dangerous place for an outlier. This is a world that likes to put outliers in their place, whether there is a place for them or not. This is a story about black, queer bodies in the chaos of the world, searching for their place in it. It is about me and my loved ones and our journey out of ‘the closet.’ It is about allowing yourself to fall apart to see what you’re made of. 

Ultimately, In The Closet is a film about trusting the world and getting lost and violated - and finding yourself and those who truly love you in the calm after the storm.

Director’s Bio

Written by

JASMINE “JAM” E.G. LOUISY

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Jam is a multimedia artist and creative collaborator working to unveil and elevate queer and intersectional narratives. With a formal background in Fine Art, Scenography and Cinematography and informed by over a decade studying Art History - Jam utilizes the universal language of art to tell stories through filmmaking.

Jam began their creative career at St Elizabeth Catholic High School as an Art Director at the school’s fully-equipped Performing Arts Theatre. It was here where Jam developed an obsession with the electric, collaborative energy that flows in a production. During this time, Jam became a Specialist High Skills Major in Arts and Culture.

After a gap-year backpacking in South America and Europe, Jasmine started their BFA in filmmaking at TMU - formerly Ryerson - in 2017. Having been fascinated with analog photography for years, the school’s 16mm film lab was a dream come true. During this time, they trained under Valerie Kaelin as a Scenographer while working freelance as a Production Designer on indie films all over Toronto.

After 3 years at the program, Jam’s career path was persuaded to pivot by global catastrophe. During the COVID-19 pandemic, they took time off from their formal education to live and work as a Chef in both Toronto’s Gay Village and Montreal’s Mile End, working on artistic endeavors in-studio in their free time. During their cumulative 3 years in Montreal, they were steeped in the city’s rich art and music scene. Jam returned to Toronto this fall to collaborate with TMU’s community of talented filmmakers in a post-COVID reality.

Jam has both Directed and DP’d numerous Films, Photoshoots, and Video Art Productions over the years, primarily engaging with themes of queerness, intersectionality, and phenomenology. Jam works as a freelance Photographer, Production Designer, and Chef while also working part-time in an art studio at Akin Artist Collective in Queen West.