Each of our three web series and VOD picks this month includes a scene with two women walking in nature: friends Isobel and Cam hiking and letting out primal screams in the comedic web series “Strangers”; newlyweds Cat and Liz walking up the country driveway of their in-laws’ home in the comedic short “Out Again”; and in the dramatic short “Vow of Silence,” Jade singing along to the sounds of a cello player under a canopy of trees.

All of these projects speak to the multi-layered journey of queer women of color today, who are not only coming out but also dialing in — dialing in to their inner compasses and telling stories that are so often absent when it comes to onscreen representation.

If it’s true that “our feelings are our most genuine paths to knowledge,” as Audre Lorde wrote, then this month’s selections each offer a template for how feelings get translated into knowledge, and how that knowledge gets translated into the ups and downs of daily life.

Here are our web series and VOD selections for June.

Web Series

“Strangers” – Created by Mia Lidofsky

“Strangers” opens with main character Isobel’s (Zoë Chao) primal scream on a hike in Los Angeles. Her dilemma: she and her live-in boyfriend have split because of her infidelity, so she Airbnb’s the extra room in her house to make rent.

She’s distraught not just by the breakup, but by the fact that she cheated with a woman, a first for her. So “Strangers”   is at once a coming out story, a story about recovering from the end of a relationship, and a story about how millennials make ends meet in today’s “gig economy,” a combination that feels as current as it does unexplored in today’s content ecosystem.

As the series goes on we see Isobel explore what it means to be bisexual in hilarious and poignant ways. While creator Mia Lidofsky identifies as a lesbian, she felt it was important to make a statement by exploring bisexuality in the series. “Bisexuality is one of the last sexual frontiers that television has yet to explore in a real way,” she has said. “It’s so often written off as an indecisive or dangerous identity, one that is merely a stop on the way to gay, or a detour on the path of being straight — a phase of sorts.”

What’s refreshing about this series is Isobel’s relationships in the world —  platonic and romantic — all hold their requisite weight. Isobel’s connections with her best friend, Cam (Meredith Hagner), her Airbnb guests, her boss —  these are all just as important, if not more important than her bond with her ex and the people she dates. “Strangers” pulls you in at the primal scream, and Isobel’s out-of-the-box journey is engaging and endearing.

“Strangers” is available on Facebook Watch.

VOD

“Out Again” (Short) – Written and Directed by Robin Cloud

“Out Again” follows a newlywed couple on their way to break the news of their elopement to the parents of main character Cat (writer-director Robin Cloud). Except Cat doesn’t realize how much her mother’s Alzheimer’s disease has advanced, and soon finds her mother doesn’t remember much about her, including the fact that Cat is an out and proud lesbian. So she has to repeatedly keep coming out during the course of a weekend in the suburbs.

A happy lesbian couple of color excited about their life and the family they’re creating together is a dynamic that’s rarely been seen on film. And Cloud definitely wants to counter misunderstandings about lesbians that often pop up in heteronormative culture. As Cloud told “Refinery29,” who selected “Out Again” for its Shatterbox Film Anthology for women filmmakers: “I’ve been out for a long time, since high school, and since I’m a more masculine-presenting person, people often say ‘Oh, so you’re the man.’ It seems like that’s a way for straight people to identify with a lesbian relationship, by putting [people] into categories that are relatable to them. I wanted to show how frustrating it is to be asked that question,” she said.

By centering on a biracial Black lesbian main character, the film offers an interesting take on the already complex subject of “coming out.” And at the same time, while critically important, coming out is just one part of a queer person’s journey. “Out Again” shows how queer people don’t live their lives thinking only about what it means to be queer: they are also dealing with the same things that happen to straight, White characters, such as the declining health of an aging parent.

“Out Again” is available on YouTube.

“Vow of Silence” (Short) – Written and Directed by Be Steadwell

That filmmaker Be Steadwell is also a musician is obvious when watching “Vow of Silence.” Awarded by the Black Star and Fringe Fest UK Film Festivals and featured in Issa Rae Productions’ #ShortFilmSundays program, the film is a music-driven dramatic short that features an original score by Steadwell.

In a world where there’s a paper thin line separating “reality” and the dreamlike states of its characters, “Vow of Silence” follows Jade (Tattiana Aqeel), a composer and vocalist who stops speaking after a painful breakup with her fiancée.

We follow Jade on one of her visits to her ex’s apartment where she’s met by her ex’s new partner, which sends her deeper down her hole of grief and eventually lands her at an apothecary. There, a medicine woman of sorts gives her a potion to help her heal her emotional wounds.

She then goes to a party and sees her ex and her ex’s new partner dancing together, but is begrudgingly distracted from her jealously by a cellist who is playing there and becomes Jade’s new love interest.

“Vow of Silence” is as full of music as it is carefully crafted moments of silence. What would ordinarily feel like unremarkable expository dialogue often feels lyrical.

Steadwell, who first created the film as the thesis for her MFA at Howard University is also a self-described “pop&soul” singer-songwriter who performs a blend of jazz, a cappella, and folk music. So it’s not surprising that Steadwell’s scoring of the film elevates the music to the level of character.

While the film is about “placing queer women of color at the center of the narrative,” according to Steadwell’s website, the struggles the characters face mainly stem from their interior lives. In other words, the characters don’t exist solely to teach the audience something. And like the sound of the cello being played in a forest, the story leaves one feeling both enchanted and at ease.

“Vow of Silence” is available to watch on YouTube and available for purchase here.