Indie Spotlight: Opposites Attract In Queer ‘Black Mirror’-Esque Short Film ‘AutoMate’

We receive a ton of tips every day from independent creators, unaffiliated with any major motion picture studios, television networks, new media studios, or other well-funded online video entities. The Indie Spotlight is where we shout out a select few of them and bring you up to speed on the attention-grabbing films and series you probably haven’t heard about. Read previous installments here.

Starring The 100’s Katie Stuart, AutoMate is a slick, futuristic short film about two very different women matched by a dating service that boasts a 98% accuracy rating. It premiered on YouTube earlier this month, and has netted nearly 130,000 views.

Stuart plays warm, perpetually jobless Sam, who is matched to uptight, career-focused architect Riley (Alex Duncan). The two have excellent chemistry, but it’s the small details that make this short film, reminiscent of sci-fi series Black Mirror’s queer love story “San Junipero,” special: they share an automated taxi ride and chat using boxy smartphone replacements that, during a crowded street scene, glow in the hands of nearly everyone.

Like many films and series that tackle tech in the future, AutoMate is about the human connections we make outside the wires and networks.

AutoMate was written by Mike Doaga and directed by Steven Schwartz. Its producer, This Is a Spoon Studios, said on YouTube that the film, while self-contained, is also proof of concept for a potential larger project.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR FILMS AND SERIES TO CHECK OUT

• Inconceivable. Also by This Is a Spoon Studios and also starring Katie Stuart, Inconceivable is a comedy webseries series about a former couple brought back together by an unplanned pregnancy.

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