A Drag Queen Survived a Hate Crime. Then Made a Film About It | After What Happened At the Library

from Film Festival Friends · host Brandon R. Nicholas

Filmmaker and drag artist Kyle Casey Chu joins host Brandon Nick to pull back the curtain on After What Happened at the Library, his autofictional short about surviving a viral hate crime and the raw, disorienting aftermath of public trauma. Kyle shares how he grant-funded the film, why he reluctantly stepped in as the lead, and what it means to reclaim your own story when the internet tries to write it for you. Plus, Kyle pitches a horror film about a broken vibrator, starring Hiroyuki Sanada and John Cho. Yes, really.Film Festival Friends is a podcast about queer cinema, craft, and culture. Hosted by Brandon Nick. Full show notes and transcript available on our website: www.brandonnick.com/filmfestivalfriendsFOLLOW + CONNECTPodcast IG: @filmfestivalfriendsHost IG (Brandon R. Nicholas): @brand0nnickWATCH / LISTENWatch the full episodes (video): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-N87lnMjPV2yRkXz5uO9eIdJSZfzRh83Listen on Spotify (video): https://open.spotify.com/show/4QXQgQGdDoE627BJmW82l0?si=a1f3bb9c437645dcListen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/film-festival-friends/id1875343325SUPPORT THE SHOW If you want to help keep the cameras rolling and the conversations flowing:Patreon: www.patreon.com/cw/brand0nnick or make a one-time donation via CashApp/Venmo @brand0nnickShare Film Festival Friends with your friends!Take the conversation to social media using #FilmFestivalFriendsCHAPTERS00:00 Meet Kyle Casey Chu + the 25-Word Logline Challenge01:41 From Incident to Production: Funding, Grants & the 3-Year Timeline06:05 Recreating Trauma Onscreen: Why Kyle Ended Up Starring in His Own Story16:35 Festival Experience, Feature Plans & What Got Left Out (The Sheriff Call)21:54 What Got Left Out: The Sheriff’s Call & Misreading Drag Satire27:04 Social Media Whiplash and Parasocial Overload34:57 Gut Instincts & Creative Integrity: The Script Notes They Didn’t Shoot40:11 Queer Film is… and 60 Second Pitch44:54 Final Blessings & Sign-Off: Supporting Queer and BIPOC Filmmakers

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This episode is 45 minutes long.

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This episode was published on February 20, 2026.

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