Unfolding over the course of Valentine’s Day in New Jersey, a young intersex sex worker must run from the mob after a drug deal goes sideways, forcing him to confront his past.
That’s the premise of Ponyboi, the new film release by Fox Entertainment Studios’ new indie label Tideline. The film will premiere on June 27 as part of Pride Month celebrations. The studio debuted the film’s first trailer on Tuesday. Directed by Esteban Arango, Ponyboi stars Dylan O’Brien (The Maze Runner), River Gallo, Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus), Victoria Pedretti (You) and Indya Moore (Pose).
The young sex worker Ponyboi (Gallo) is thrown into chaos when a drug deal goes wrong, forcing him to go on the run from the mob and his abusive pimp (O’Brien). With help From Bruce (Bartlett), a cowboy in the city, Ponyboi journeys through New Jersey’s underbelly on a quest for freedom.
Following its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it earned a Grand Jury Prize nomination, Ponyboi has worked the festival circuit garnering awards including Best Feature at NewFest and Best Performance for writer and star River Gallo at the Torino Film Festival.
The actor/screenwriter reflected on his personal reasons for creating the movie.
From Gallo (excerpted):
Despite being raised as a “normal” boy, when I was 12, my parents disclosed I had Anorchia, a condition where my testicles were absent at birth. Without my consent, I was forced to undergo cosmetic plastic surgery and testosterone treatment to present as a cisgender man. I spent years hiding my true identity.
When I was 27 years old, I decided to explore this part of myself by making the short film iteration of Ponyboi. In that process, I discovered for the first time that the condition I was born with is part of the intersex umbrella, a term for those born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t fit the typical definitions of female or male. I belong to a community of 1.7 percent of the world’s population that has faced stigmatization and still endures non-consensual human rights violations.
Ponyboi will not only empower the intersex community, but all marginalized people. My goal is to make a film for BIPOC, the LGBTQIA+ community, and anyone who has ever felt they didn’t belong. By the end of the film, I want audiences to feel transcended beyond their suffering, where self-actualization is possible.
Ponyboi will utilize a Direct To Audience theatrical distribution strategy developed by GATHR, a platform that integrates film, talent and venue booking with ticketing and sales. It’s easy to see on the Ponyboi website how this unique approach will be utlilized by the film.
Watch the trailer below:
–Rich Lopez