By: Kelly Kearney
Photo By: Riley Nightingale
From executive producer and trans icon Lily Wachowski and director Andy Fidoten, the narrative film Something You Should Know About Me brings a raunchy dramedy of trans love triangles to the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival. Animation springs off the page and into real life in this heartfelt dramedy about identity, love and the messy road toward self-worth. At the center is Al, a young trans man trying to navigate work, art, friendship and all the insecurities that come with believing you deserve happiness. Set against the backdrop of a queer artist’s retreat, the film blends live action and hand-drawn animation into something deeply personal and emotionally raw. What starts as a quirky love triangle between Al, his longtime friend Jesse and a new camp rival slowly becomes a story about self-acceptance and finding honesty in both art and relationships.
Finding Your Truth Through Artistic Expression
Al, played by comedian and trans actor EJ Marcus, spends most of the film caught between fantasy and reality. By day he battles the packed New York subway on his way to a dead-end corporate job, working under a boss who abuses his authority and keeps Al trapped professionally, sexually and emotionally. By night he pours himself into autobiographical comics, sketching his fears, desires and frustrations into animated sequences that interrupt reality in inventive and emotionally revealing ways. In those fantasies Al escapes the awkward hookups, workplace misery and constant uncertainty surrounding Jesse (Morgan Sullivan), the longtime friend he has leaned on since they were teenagers.
The two share a history that stretches back to high school, when they were both still figuring themselves out and relying on each other through transitions, loneliness and feelings neither fully knew how to define. Al carries intense, heart-pounding feelings for Jesse, but the timing between them never seems to line up. Jesse has a girlfriend while Al drifts through hookups with his boss, all while waiting for calls from the man he truly wants. When Jesse suddenly becomes available and joins Al at a queer comics retreat, Al starts to realize the version of Jesse he has fallen for may exist more in his drawings than in reality.
Something You Should Know is at its strongest when it allows EJ Marcus to lean into Al’s uncomfortable honesty about love, friendship and the messy emotions tied to self-discovery. One standout scene unfolds during a tense confrontation in a library where Al’s jealousy and insecurities finally boil over into an emotional rant aimed at his nemesis, Mason (Sydney Diaz). When Al uncorks the feelings that have been holding both his heart and his art back, the moment becomes messy, relatable and painfully human. Mason transforms from a rival into a mirror, reflecting all the anger and self-hatred Al has been carrying. That emotional honesty eventually leads to a surprising and satisfying twist viewers likely won’t see coming.
Letting the Awkward Moments Breathe
The performances along with the direction are what truly ground the film’s more imaginative moments. EJ as Al delivers an open and vulnerable performance that never feels manufactured or overly sentimental. He carries the quirky awkwardness of someone still trying to understand himself while also holding onto a quiet hope that life can eventually become bigger than the loneliness he is trapped inside. Whether he is spiraling through romantic insecurity, fumbling through uncomfortable sexual encounters or retreating into his animated fantasies, every emotion EJ displays feels honest. The humor in the film lands naturally because it grows out of Al’s discomfort with himself and the world around him. Even smaller interactions, like roommates catching him in embarrassing situations or moments of anxious silence during conversations with Jesse, feel painfully real but always with an underlying humor that is thanks to Marcus’ career in comedy. The chemistry between Al and Jesse also adds complexity to the story because their relationship constantly shifts between friendship, dependency, attraction and resentment. It becomes clear these are two people clinging to versions of each other that may no longer exist.
While Marcus breathes life into Al, it is director Andy Fidoten who manages to turn what could have been a niche indie comedy into something emotionally universal. The direction embraces the film’s chaotic energy without losing sight of its emotional core, balancing awkward humor with moments of vulnerability that hit surprisingly hard. The transitions between live action and animation, created by Giu Raniolo, are fluid and expressive, often revealing more about Al’s inner world than dialogue ever could. Fidoten understands how isolating self-doubt can feel and, alongside Raniolo, uses the animated sequences not simply as stylistic flourishes, but as emotional windows into Al’s fears, fantasies and romantic obsessions.
Fidoten also allows scenes to breathe, especially during uncomfortable emotional confrontations where silence often says more than dialogue. Rather than rushing through those awkward pauses, the film lingers in them forcing both Al and the audience to sit with discomfort. That patience gives the performances room to feel natural and emotionally messy, particularly during scenes between Al and Jesse where years of unresolved feelings quietly hang between every conversation.
With the camera eye of cinematographer Riley Nightingale, the visual storytelling throughout New York City adds another layer of intimacy to Al’s state of mind. The handheld camerawork weaving through crowded subway cars and noisy sidewalks mirrors the emotional claustrophobia Al is desperately trying to escape at camp. At the same time, bursts of animation transform ordinary locations into emotional landscapes shaped by anxiety and imagination. The city itself becomes an extension of Al’s mental state: crowded and overwhelming one moment and then strangely beautiful and full of possibility the next. Nightingale, along with Fidoten’s direction, captures both the exhaustion and strange romance of trying to find yourself in a city that never slows down.
A Messy, Honest, Journey Worth Taking
In a time when division often overshadows empathy, films like Something You Should Know About Me remind audiences how powerful personal storytelling can be. This is not just a film about being trans, it is a film about loneliness, longing, artistic expression and the universal fear of not being enough. The awkward encounters, romantic confusion, career anxieties and need for connection are things anyone can recognize. It is funny, vulnerable, visually inventive and emotionally sincere. For audiences who enjoy coming-of-age dramas, animation, indie filmmaking or character-driven stories about self-discovery, this is absolutely worth seeking out.