The Off Beat: Beo Lerman’s Queer Werewolf Rom-Com

Still from Beo Lerman’s “Moonrise” (Courtesy of Beo Lerman)

The Front Festival, Future Front Texas’ annual Labor Day weekend shindig, has everything: a film showcase and a concert, both highlighting the work of women and LGBTQ+ creatives, plus two bookending pool parties to beat the heat. The event returns to the LINE Austin, the Contemporary Austin-Laguna Gloria, and Cheer Up Charlies Aug. 29 to Sept. 1, with a portion of ticket sales benefiting the organization’s Creative Future of Texas Fund.

Awkward party scenes, sassy best friends, a happy ending – the werewolf rom-com “Moonrise” channels all the great tropes of the genre’s past, but a line toward the end of the short reveals writer-director Beo Lerman’s uniquely queer Gen Z voice. During a party on a full moon, main character Raquel (Leah Ashten) reveals to her crush, Kelly (Meigan Moncus), that she like likes her – then promptly begins transforming into a hairy beast.

“I just really have a condition, and it’s really, really flaring up right now,” the werewolf says. Eyeing the fur spreading across her face, Kelly replies back, “Is it PCOS?”

UT-Austin alum Lerman cites John Waters’ Pink Flamingos and FX vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows as “Moonrise” influences. Though they recall watching queer media and horror-comedies separately growing up, they often combine the two genres as a filmmaker.

“I like comedy because I think it’s a vehicle for people to talk about things that are difficult,” Lerman says. “I’m a pretty closed-off person emotionally, and so for me, comedy is important because it’s how I communicate things that I have a hard time talking about – like everything.”

Mining such personal topics makes it easy for Lerman to balance jokes and narrative. “I think having comedy with a purpose – to talk about a social issue like internalized transphobia or insecurities in the gay dating scene – that is going to give you more intention to your comedy, and it’s going to help you even out the jokes,” they explain. Not preachy nor overly stuffed, “it’s making people laugh, but also sharing my own experience and hoping people understand me better through that.”

That’s why the filmmaker, who’s already screened “Moonrise” at the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival and the ATX Short Film Showcase, is excited for the Front Festival. “Definitely something I have lacked in my experience working in film is creating a more queer/women/nonbinary-[friendly] experience. It’s really difficult to meet other people who have a background similar to mine, especially working in grip and electric – it’s all dudes,” they say.

“I’m really excited to get to meet people there, see their art, hear their music, get to talk to them, and hopefully come out of it feeling more connected to people like me.”

Beo Lerman screens their short film “Moonrise” at Laguna Gloria Aug. 30.