Support the Short Film "I'm Not Like You"

Logline: When their famous mother suddenly dies, siblings Vana and Nico Barr must face each other to pick up the pieces. Spanning four years, I’m Not Like You tells the story of grief, betrayal, coming-of-age, and hope, backlit by Hollywood glamour and the global pandemic.

Watch the 4-min promotional video above for more on what the film is all about!

Anna Connelly as "Vana" & Andrew Tamarkin as "Nico

Why This Story NOW? I’m Not Like You, at its core, is a film about how siblings Nico and Vana learn to love each other despite how unlike each other they think they are. They learn that trusting family isn’t always safe and that rebuilding relationships must be worth the emotional recovery. But in this story, the characters happen to be queer. They happen to be glamorous. They happen to have struggles like everyone else. In telling a story about a relatable conflict with queer characters with “followable” charm, we lay the creative grounds for changing the narrative around malleable identity and queer representation in the industry. This story hasn't been told, and now is a perfect time.

The Team:

Lana Dvorak (she/they) – DIRECTOR / CO-WRITER / PRODUCER – is a filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist focused on queer stories and the rejection of the Hollywood binary! Most recently, she directed a half-hour dramedy, A Definitive Ranking of my Closest Friends, which is currently in the festival circuit. It was recently selected as a semi-finalist for Dumbo Film Festival 2022. Currently, she is in post-production for a film she acted in and produced, Nova Ovum, a kink and sex-positive queer sci-fi. Dvorak strives to create collaborative, radically cooperative working environments that explore non-hierarchical vehicles for decision-making. She holds a BFA from Webster Conservatory.

Andrew Tamarkin (he/him) – LEAD ACTOR / CO-WRITER – is an actor and writer. As a kid, he fell in love with the craft watching his grandma on local stages in Minnesota. As his creative debut, he wrote and co-produced The Promise of the Butterfly, a feature film that premiered at the 2019 Vail Film Festival and is now available on Prime Video. Recent acting credits include "Noah" in Feeling Vertigo (a pilot presentation he also co-wrote, currently on the festival circuit), “French Waiter” in a Dhar Mann web-series episode (on YouTube), and "Graham" in Skellien Films' The World Isn't Ending. He is a Contributing Writer at LATV, and is part of various writers' rooms in Los Angeles. He is represented by Baron Entertainment as an actor.

Anna Connelly (she/her) – LEAD ACTOR – is an actor from San Antonio, Texas. She received her BFA in Acting from DePaul University in Chicago, where she worked for many years before moving to LA in 2021. She can be seen in the films Pasa la Sal and Keel, and is in the beginning stages of her next short shooting in late 2022. She feels like a lucky gal to work on a beautiful film with such excellent collaborators.

Jennifer Gouchoe (she/her) – PRODUCER – is an actress, writer, and producer who wants to create and embody strong-willed, assertive, yet compassionate characters. After graduating from Sarah Lawrence College, she moved to LA at the beginning of the pandemic to pursue her acting career. Since then, she’s produced and starred in two short films and a YouTube series. Slut Chain, her most recent short, is currently On the festival circuit.

Will Brunker (he/him) – DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY – was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN, where he grew up with a Midwestern sense of wonder, which has translated into his current work here in Los Angeles. He received a BA from DePaul University with a concentration in Cinematography before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in image-making. Will has worked on various projects ranging from music videos and commercials to narrative shorts and features.

Levels of Support (please leave a note & contact info if you'd like to redeem your gift!):

$10 – thank you!

$25 – get an INLY playlist!

$80 – early access to the film

$100 – virtual table read with Q&A

$200 – private 20-min piano concert by Andrew (LA locals only)

$300 – coaching or bodywork with Lana (LA locals only)

$400 – get a walk-on role!

$500 – get a personalized 3-5min script written FOR YOU by Lana & Andrew

$750 – ASSOCIATE PRODUCER (IMDb credit, downloadable link to project, & more)

$1,000 – EXECUTIVE PRODUCER (IMDb credit, welcome on set, access to craft, downloadable link to project, full script, & more)