Queer twins of a deceased political figure become the unwanted scapegoat for a growing movement when a dangerous private conversation gets leaked online.

A video gets leaked of a deceased government official's children, twins Xavien and Catalina, arguing in the privacy of their own home. A normal sibling thing, right? The problem is, they were arguing about the state of their country and saying things that people, including their father, go missing or lose their lives for. Catalina becomes the poster child for the cataclysm era due to her being the one who wants change while her golden child brother refuses to believe his world isn't safe.

 

Our mission with this project is to bring awareness to real world issues that we are facing in the LGBTQIA+ community, especially the younger generation. While it is a sci-fi dystopian set in a different universe than ours, these characters face real challenges that queer teenagers in the world today are also facing. We are a mixed team of queer and LGBTQIA+ ally filmmakers wanting to add a voice in the fight for our rights as humans. This is a fictional story, but the message relates to the struggles the LGBTQIA+ community are facing in the real world today.

This web-series is more than just for entertainment. It is to continue the important conversations about the treatment of those in the LGBTQA+ community, in a time when all these horrific laws and bills are in the works or being passed to harm us. With this grant we will be putting it towards making something that will positively impact the LGBTQIA+ community, will give our community much needed representation across the board, and will spark much needed conversations to create change moving forward.

The cataclysm.begins web-series cannot be completed without the help of you all. Your contribution would mean so much!

There are many ways to help!:

• pledging! 
• share our campaign on social media! tag us @cataclysm.begins and use the hashtag #cataclysmbegins and #livelightlove !

Click for cast bios

Each of our main characters represents a different part of the community: Xavien is gay, his boyfriend Noah is bisexual, Xavien’s sister Catalina is asexual (one of the most underrepresented communities in media), and Catalina’s best friend Lennon is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns. Not only are the characters rich in representation, but we also are doing it behind the scenes as we build our diverse team of white, Black, Asian, and Latinx women & non-binary creatives from all across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.

 

Click for crew bios

 

Sarah Beim's Writers Statement

I am a freelancer and as of last year, I run a solely independent/self-funded non-union production called Beim-ish Productions LLC. My mission with my films is to give the underrepresented a voice. As queer Jewish filmmaker with a disability, I understand how it feels to be misrepresented in the media and want to change that. When I create a film, I try to make sure that not just the stories told have representation and diversity but also that the people I hire to bring these stories to life in front and behind the camera come from all walks of life.

 

My artistic approach to LGBTQ+ storytelling is authenticity and respect for the subject I am talking about in the film that I am making. I talk with those in the community, research, watch movies, and constantly learn. As the writer, I’ve made sure to have sensitive readers give their input and that the people whose communities are mentioned have looked over what I have written to make sure I am representing them correctly and in a positive way. 

 

I started building this world and telling this story during Trump's first presidency then after a few months break during the pandemic at a time I didn’t know how to get my feelings out and needed an outlet. As these characters were figuring themselves out, so was I. I was not out of the closet yet (pansexual) and researching, talking with friends who were out, and removing toxic people from my life who held me back, I started to learn the side of me that I hadn’t let myself explore before and it truly changed my life. These characters started to become mirroring people I knew and learning about the beauty and community of the LGBTQIA+ community, I found where I belonged. Now years later I am finally comfortable in my own skin, I found an amazingly supportive community and this project has been a safety net and an outline to channel my frustration that even in 2025 we are going backward with LGBTQIA+ rights. We fought and won before, we will again. 

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