SXSW: Them That's Not with Director Mekhai Lee

Director Mekhai Lee joins the sibs to talk Them That's Not, a short film about Drea, a queer hard-of-hearing woman navigating grief, family, and the feeling of being an outsider in your own home. Mekhai opens up about losing his grandmother the same day he got the grant opportunity that sparked the film — and how he chose to transmute that grief into art. They dig into the extraordinary collaboration with star Angel Theory, the Oscar-worthy sound design from Candace Mortier, and why sign language demanded a whole new visual grammar from cinematographer Sade Ndya and editor CJ Duncan. Follow all of Friday Night Movie's award-winning SXSW Coverage . Sign up for the Friday Night Movie Newsletter for giveaways, curated episode playlists from the hosts and guests (including our mom), and at MOST one email per month (and probably fewer). Closed captions for this episode are available via the player on the official Friday Night Movie homepage , the Podbean app and website, and YouTube . The Friday Night Movie Family supports the following organizations: The Red Tent Fund | HIAS | Equal Justice Initiative | Asian American Journalists Association | The Entertainment Community Fund .

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SXSW: Them That's Not with Director Mekhai Lee is an episode from Friday Night Movie by @pancake4table by p4tmedia.com.

This episode is 22:47 long.

This episode was published on Mar 18, 2026.

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