Heartfelt Queer Short Explores Isolation of Turning 30, Dating Online (Exclusive)

Jacob Mendel Brown's queer short film, No More Josef, debuts this weekend at New York City's 30 Under 30 Festival, which strives to showcase the talents of directors and filmmakers not yet at the three decade mark.Today, Out exclusively debut's the film's trailer.

No More Josef follows the story of Max (Thomas Dekker) who becomes obsessed with a Swedish boy on a dating app, and struggles to find authentic intimacy as he approaches the end of his twenties.

"As the film goes on, Max is getting a little older, approaching that scary 30-year-old-mark, and he's frankly a mess," Brown explains. "One of my favorite moments is between him and this young black kid Ziggy (Michael Cole)--and they kind of look at each other and Ziggy realizes Max is feeling rejected by gay dating culture cause he is 'old,' while Max sees that Ziggy is feeling rejected by the same culture cause he is 'not blond.' They kind of serve as mirrors for each other--which maybe in some small way is helpful to both of them."

Dekker also worked as producer on the film, seeing it through several iterations

"Thomas and I have been working on this film together for years--he's a producer on the film and is a filmmaker himself and was an amazing collaborator. He and I both were younger when we started working on this, and in that way, as well as some ways that I can't really talk about, we both found our real lives mirroring the film and the film mirroring our real lives. For both of us, this project has been a crazy ride."

The film will debut tomorrow, November 5, in the afternoon as part of 30 Under 30's Centerpiece programming slot.

Sebastian Rea, programmer for 30 Under 30, spoke on the film: "No More Josef is a heartfelt exploration of a modern love in this tumultuous digital age. It was important for me to program this film because Jacob brings awareness to mental health issues and reduces inequality by telling his character's perspectives. The 30 Under 30 Film Festival is a space for young storytellers as agents of change, using film to inspire empathy and connecting creatives for the future; we're a resource of millennials changing the world with positive impact."

Watch the trailer for No More Josef below: