Support "Batter Up, Queen!" - Queer Student Thesis Film

Hi there! My name is Cameron Brown, and I am a queer, Louisiana-born student filmmaker at Tulane University ready to finally bring my senior thesis project, Batter Up, Queen!, to the screen. A story three years in the making, this film responds to the demonization of drag and queer youth in modern media and policy through a positive mentor-mentee friendship between a drag queen and a young boy. In this current era of anti-DEI in 2025, I want to project warmth, sincerity, and silliness into the landscape of queer media and film.

About Me: During my time at Tulane, I have been credited on 36 short films (13 as DP, 5 as Director), served as President of Tulane’s premier film production club - Green Wave Films - in its founding year, participated in an intensive film production study abroad program at FAMU Film School in Prague, worked on The Welcome Table (set to release Fall 2025 on HBO) as an Associate Producer, and received 3 awards from the Tulane Student Film Festival as well as an Official Selection from the New Orleans Film Festival. Emboldened by my queer, southern identity, I greatly believe in the power of visual storytelling to break social boundaries and elicit catharsis in audiences. Nothing brings me more joy than using my technical camera skills to tell human, emotional stories. Batter Up, Queen! is the culmination of my film and media studies, and it is the most personal and important project I have conceived yet.

Film Synopsis: Frannie P. Bodied (Francis out of drag), a washed-up drag queen, faces threats of eviction from their cruel roommate. Desperate to make rent, they drop into a poorly done hyper-masculine version of themselves. Their first client is Marcus, an energetic young baseball player who, neglected by his white-collared father, eagerly tries to befriend Francis. On their first day together at a playground, Francis refuses to connect with the boy, jaded by their current reality and inability to sustain themselves through queer performance. However, as their innocent antics around the park continue, Francis discovers pieces of themself within Marcus, pieces Marcus is too young to recognize. They bond over lacking a mother in their lives, and, when Francis overhears other boys using a homophobic slur towards someone seemingly on Marcus's team, they understand what Marcus needs: a role model, a mentor, and a friend. The film ends with Francis finally displaying their sincere, authentic self and voice to Marcus, playing catch with him in an empty street. This act of kinship allows Frannie P. Bodied the ability to regain control over her life’s purpose from a place she would have never expected.

It's Mrs. Doubtfire (but reversed ;) ) meets The Sandlot!

Why Your Support is Crucial: Batter Up, Queen! wields a firm, sincere fist, combatting the false narratives permeating modern media and culture through warmth, innocence, and friendship. To make this film the best it can be, I need your support for these key costs: music licensing, hiring a skilled sound editor during post-production, fairly compensating the lead cast (including a working New Orleans drag queen for Francis), the production design and costuming needed to bring the film's vibrant, queer world to life, and global film festival submissions! Your contributions will enable me to show this film to as many people as possible once it’s completed, both in nationwide queer and general film festivals, but also with local queer organizations that can host screenings.

In 2025, we deserve silliness. In 2025, we deserve sincerity. In 2025, we deserve empathy. In 2025, we deserve to control the narrative. Our art deserves the same. This film needed to be made yesterday. Help me make it today.