The Film

ALOK - A short documentary by Alex Hedison

Produced by Natalie Shirinian, Elizabeth Baudouin, and Meggan Lennon

Executive Produced by Jodie  Foster and Ryan Harrington

19 min | 2024

Filmmaker Alex Hedison delivers a compelling portrait of her friend, Alok Vaid-Menon, the internationally acclaimed, non-binary, author, poet, comedian, and public speaker. This  thought-provoking short documentary explores the limitless expression of self, challenges  societal norms, and inspires viewers to embrace personal freedom beyond the binaries that divide  us. Featuring Dylan Mulvaney, Chani Nicholas, and other cultural change makers.

“It Felt Like A Prayer... This film doesn’t just capture who Alok is, but seemingly captures the entire spirit of queerness — or the freeing, expansive power it can have.”

The Hollywood Reporter

Alok Vaid-Menon

Film Subject | They/Them

Alok (they/them) is an internationally acclaimed poet, comedian, actor, and public speaker whose work explores themes of trauma, belonging, and the human condition. They are the author of Femme in Public (2017), Beyond the Gender Binary (2020), and Your Wound/My  Garden (2021) and the creator of #DeGenderFashion: an initiative to degender fashion and beauty industries. Femme in Public and Your Wound My Garden have been released on Audible as spoken word poetry albums read by ALOK. In recognition of their work, they have been honored as the inaugural LGBTQ Scholar in Residence at the University of Pennsylvania,  awarded a GLAAD Media Award and Stonewall Foundation Visionary Award & recently was included in the honorees for "Advocate of the Year" by The Advocate in 2023. Over the past decade, they have toured in more than 40 countries, most recently selling out their runs at the  Soho Theatre in London, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the Kennedy Performing Arts Center and the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. Their show has been described as  "provocative and powerful" (CHORTLE), a "potent combination of comedy and poetry" (THE  SCOTSMAN), and a "Jaw-dropping celestial event" (TO DO LIST LONDON). On screen, they will make their feature film debut in Absolute Dominion opposite Patton Oswalt and can be seen in Emmie Lichtenberg’s film Complicated Order opposite Midori Francis that premiered at  OutFest Film Festival in 2023. On television, they can next be seen in the critically acclaimed  MAX series SORT OF opposite Bilal Baig. They have also appeared on Hulu’s Planet Sex with  Cara Delevingne, ABC’s PRIDE: To Be Seen – A Soul of A Nation, Netflix’s Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness, HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness, and The Trans List.