Story

The Origin

This film involves the stories of three women, one of which is my own. As such, the film is very personal to me. The film was conceptualised from an experience in my life two decades ago, when I came out as a bisexual after having previously identified as a lesbian, and was alienated by the queer community. I thought, you know what, what happened to me 20 years ago happened then, but I’m sure things are different now. Things must have moved on. We must be in a better place in terms of acceptance and visibility for bisexuals.

But when I started digging around, I realised pretty quickly that very, very little had changed. In fact, the statistics now about bisexuals and mental health were quite devastating. And that did not sit right with me. It felt like so much progression had happened across so many different communities and minorities, but here, in this specific area, we were stagnant.

So for me, the film began as an exploration into bisexuality. But the more I dug, the more I realised it went beyond bisexuality. It became a greater question about humanity: why do we feel the need to judge other people based on who they choose to love?

– Allison Brownmoore – Director, Writer, Producer

The Craft

In, Out is a 2D, frame-by-frame, short documentary film. Development began in early 2024, with five artists across four different countries collaborating around ongoing client projects. The film was completed in summer 2025.  

The process began when I pitched the idea at AIDC, the Australian International Documentary Conference in Melbourne. I received development funding from Screen Australia, which was pivotal in getting the project off the ground because it gave us the time and space to carry out the research.

Research was a crucial part of the film. We worked with a researcher to identify a large group of potential contributors, interviewed many of them, and eventually narrowed it down to Mary and Ashlei.

We conducted the interviews over Zoom and used a programme called Trint to transcribe them. Our initial edit was done on paper, using printed transcripts. After that, we worked with an animatic editor who brought in storyboards for the key stories, and we cut the interview audio together.

Our animation team then began bringing the storyboards to life. As part of this, we ran a diversity placement and worked with Lucie Colborne, a queer animator based in Scotland, who joined the project for around three months. She was particularly instrumental in shaping Marcy’s story.

Our film uses three distinct styles, which came organically because we had three distinct voices: Marcy, Ashlei and mine. 

Marcy

Marcy serves as the narrator. She’s rich in language, experience, and insight. Her aesthetic needed life, energy, colour, and perspective. We placed her in vibrant, organic worlds: forests, waterways, skies, vistas. She spoke about having strong visions, images in her head that helped articulate her worldview. We used one of those visions in the film.

A word from Animation Director, Sylvain Doussa, on the challenges the animators/designers faced with Marcy’s story and if there were any specific references or inspiration behind the design: 

“Marcy’s story has the most background elements, and not only that, these were intricate backgrounds to create. I took inspiration from the music video by: Jean Mallard (Valentin et Théo Ceccaldi – CONSTANTINE – Le Retour des Perdrix)”

Ashlei

Ashlei was going somewhere new and unfamiliar. She didn’t have a strong sense of identity yet. Her world is stripped back and sparse, drawn in organic linework, creating a sense of formation and discovery.

A word from Animation Director, Sylvain Doussa, on a moment where the animation shifts in a way that reflects an internal change for Ashlei:

“When Ashlei enters the club, the animation becomes more sketchy and free, expressing that she feels liberated for the first time. Everything drawn on screen is like her seizing the moment.”

My Sequence

My aesthetic is post-apocalyptic punk. It reflects loneliness, angst, anxiety, turmoil, and conflict. The visual style was born from those themes.

A word from Animation Director, Sylvain Doussa, on the style for Allison’s story: 

“Al’s style was the most technical and precise to animate, especially the swimming sequence: All the body parts move at the same time at different speeds but with harmony.” 

Synopsis

In, Out is a short animated documentary exploring sexual fluidity through the experiences of three women. Highlighting the shift from rigid labels to a deeper understanding of our shared humanity, it celebrates the messy, chaotic, and often non-linear journey of sexual identity. We start with young enthusiastic Ashlei, embarking on an adventurous journey for sexual liberation across LA. Next we meet Allison, a punk lesbian in apocalyptic rural Australia, facing isolation when she starts dating a man, desperately losing her sense of self and community. And finally we have Marcy, a philosophical bisexual pastor in the US Midwest, taking a leap of faith in her relationships and career as she has an incredible transformative realisation about sexual fluidity. In, Out is a timely reminder of celebrating sexual identity, all within a beautifully animated landscape.