Elena Oxman makes her feature debut with a queer coming-of-age story, Outerlands, that begins well into adulthood, as confronting past traumas and addiction become milestones in the journey of coming to your own.
Asia Kate Dillon (Orange Is the New Black) takes the lead in this production as Cass (they/them), a reserved San Francisco resident who juggles multiple streams of income, including babysitting children, serving at restaurants, and dealing party drugs. After a steamy encounter with Kalli (Louisa Krause), Cass agrees to babysit her 11-year-old daughter Ari (Ridley Asha Bateman), only for Kalli to mysteriously disappear. As the film progresses, Cass comes head-to-head with the demons they have been running from, leading to a heartfelt exploration of self-acceptance, queer family, and childhood healing.
Outerlands screened at South by Southwest (SXSW) 2025, where Oxman, Dillon, Krause, and Bateman talked to Steve Weintraub in Collider's Media Studio at the Cinema Center in Austin. Oxman discusses her goals of trying to honor real life and respecting her audience by scaling back the script, as well as how video games became integral to the story. The cast members also reveal their anxieties about filming, from shooting 17 scenes a day, learning to drive a scooter, or sprinting into the ocean. Hear about how Dillon managed to secure a song from one of their favorite bands and more in the video above, or you can read along via the transcript below.
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