The Breastorcism
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
LGBTQ, Horror
In a desperate attempt to keep his top surgery on track, Darius convinces his sister to help him use their grandmother’s Persian book of spells for an answer. A mistranslation, pig’s blood, and $45.67 Erewhon milk summons a wacky clergy that has other plans.
The Breastorcism
Los Angeles, California | Film Short
LGBTQ, Horror
1 Campaigns | California, United States
82 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
$5,850
Goal: $10,000 for pre-production
In a desperate attempt to keep his top surgery on track, Darius convinces his sister to help him use their grandmother’s Persian book of spells for an answer. A mistranslation, pig’s blood, and $45.67 Erewhon milk summons a wacky clergy that has other plans.
Participating In
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Darius has been preparing for top surgery for months and waiting his whole life. Then the week before surgery, he loses his employer's health insurance, and most def doesn’t have the cash lying around to pay for it out of pocket.
In his desperation, Darius convinces his sister Sarah to use their grandmother’s Persian grimoire. If he can’t capitalism his way out of dysphoria, why not magic it?
A mistranslation, pig’s blood, and $45.67 Erewhon milk summons the Clergy of the Burning Moon, a misfit trio of powerful, ancient beings. Are they here to answer Darius' plea? Or do they still need a form of payment for supernatural medical care?
OK, the numbers are bleak. According to UCLA, only 0.8% of films in 2025 featured Middle Eastern actors. And a GLAAD study found that only 5% of LGBTQ+ characters are trans, with only 7 being trans men in TV, broadcast, and streaming.
GLAAD reported that there were no MENA trans characters for the 2024-2025 study.
And the politics aren’t helping.
Gender affirming care is being legislated out of existence. Middle Eastern and North African communities are navigating a climate of hostility surrounding the Iran War that makes visibility both more dangerous and more important than ever.
A film that puts a trans Persian man at the center of a horror-comedy, celebrates his culture and his body, and shows his grandmother's love, is not a niche project. It has become (unfortunately) more relevant globally than when it was first written.
We need both Middle Eastern and trans representation more than ever. Despite all these abysmal numbers, we have hope that we will make a project that’s up against all odds.
Authentic representation makes it harder to dehumanize people. It puts faces, families, humor, grief, and joy where a stereotype used to be. It shows Persian culture as rich, loving, and ancient. It shows trans men existing, thriving, and cracking jokes with family.
The Breastorcism is resistance art because it insists on that fullness. It is made by queer and Middle Eastern artists, about queer and Middle Eastern experiences.
Backing this film is an investment in the kind of storytelling that chips away at the systems that benefit from our absence.
Thiis story comes from lived experience. Yas (the writer and lead) is trans and Persian. The bureaucratic nightmare at the center of the film is the period ritual he must partake for gender affirming care. The grandmother relationship at the emotional core is personal. While the spell book is fictional, the questions of love and acceptance explored through the film are real.
The Persian and Middle Eastern representation is shepherded by our Egyptian director, Esraa. The Breastorcism is built on an intersectional production team that reflects the world the film puts on screen, with a 100% Middle Eastern cast bringing this world to life.
This is being told by the people who are living it every day, bringing a deeper level of nuance from our lived experiences.
Navigating gender affirming care in the American healthcare system is a bitch. It’s already one battle after another to get access to health care in the US. Throw being trans on top of it, and it’s a nightmare.
Insurance denials, coverage gaps, pre-authorizations that take months, and surgeries postponed indefinitely. And that’s not even taking into account the ever-looming fear of seeing which right we get to lose today. (There are 677 active anti-trans bills at the time of writing of this.)
While The Breastorcism may have started as a pun, there is a sincerity in exploring the absurdity of trans American healthcare. What do you do when the system has failed you?
Use the spell book, obviously. (Or supporting your local trans filmmakers *wink wink*)
Our base goal of $10,000 covers production essentials: equipment, fake blood, Persian decor, costumes, props, food for cast and crew, insurance, and festival submissions.
At $10,000, we make the film. At $32,500, we make it the way it deserves to be made, with every cast and crew member paid at minimum wage day rates and a full post-production suite covering editing, color, sound design, score, VFX, trailer, and poster.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Production Insurance
Costs $350
Every film set needs insurance. Ours will be covered through Event Helper and keeps our cast, crew, and locations protected throughout the s
Food
Costs $1,850
People are lifting heavy equipment, set pieces, and running around. They need proteins, healthy carbs, and electrolytes.
Film Festival Submissions
Costs $300
To help support our mission to humanize trans and Middle Eastern people, we need to get out there! And film festivals add up.
Camera Lenses
Costs $1,200
Our two worlds have unique feelings, and we need different types of lenses to bring them to life.
Travel & Transport
Costs $400
Some of our locations are outside of LA, so we're covering people's expenses. Plus, we'll need to rent a van for our set pieces and gear.
Production Design & Wardrobe
Costs $550
Persian culture and the otherworldly energy of the Clergy come to life through the set dressing, clothing, and Grandma's grimoire.
Misc & Expendables
Costs $200
Tape, first aid kits, paper towels, you name it. You never know what might come up on a set!
Cast & Crew
Costs $1,200
We really want to be able to pay our gang a little something! They've graciously joined out of passion, but they gotta pay rent.
External Hard Drives
Costs $400
We need to protect, transfer, and store our footage. Otherwise, we don't have a movie!
Contingency
Costs $1,000
This is a standard, but important percentage of the budget for anything emergencies, changes, and whatever else may come up unexpectedly.
Lighting Equipment
Costs $1,200
Lighting is a major motif throughout our film. It's used to bring the audience into Darius' emotional world.
Sound Equipment
Costs $650
We need booms and mics to make sure we can get quality sound in the exterior location and with our characters' unique costumes.
Kit Fees
Costs $300
This covers any costs our designers would otherwise pay out-of-pocket, like makeup, SXF blood, and crafting supplies.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Yas Modares Ghasiri (Writer / Producer) studied drama at UC Irvine and has since appeared in Babysplitters, MPV, College Humor Originals, and enough stage musicals to annoy his neighbors with his wonderful tenor voice (he definitely didn’t write this). He co-hosts In Full View, a podcast highlighting trans masculine professionals in entertainment, and founded a trans masc representation panel that he brought to San Diego Comic-Con in partnership with GLAAD.
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Esraa Darwish (Director/ Producer) studied Film Directing at the Northern Film School and Film and Moving Image Production at Leeds Metropolitan University before making her way to Los Angeles. She has worked as an Assistant Director on Blumhouse’s Night Swim, Afraid, and The Woman in the Yard. She’s also worked on Never Have I Ever, Swarm, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Her previous short film, Removal Men, follows a pair of gay movers who accidentally end up packing up a serial killer's house, which tells you everything you need to know about her sensibilities. It was an official selection of the Leeds International Film Festival in 2018.
AJ Mattioli (Producer) is a Queens-born, NYC-based trans producer and director with 16+ years in the entertainment industry and founder of Mattioli Productions and Distribution, a trans-owned and queer-operated film production company. His work has been celebrated at the Queens Museum, the United Nations, and covered by the NY Times, The Advocate, and Huffington Post. He has been called "the voice of the LGBT community in the independent film world" and has worked with Sasha Velour, Bob The Drag Queen, Carmen Carrera, and more. We are very glad he said yes to this one.
.jpg)
Kaveh Taherian (Producer) holds a BFA in Illustration/Design from Laguna College of Art and Design and an MFA in Film Production from USC, ensuring him zero career options outside of the arts. Thankfully, his talent, punctuality, and sense of humor have kept him employed thus far. Based in Los Angeles, his clients include Apple TV+, YouTube, HBO, and Nickelodeon.
Madison Stonefield (Director of Photography) is a Los Angeles-based cinematographer and USC School of Cinematic Arts graduate whose work spans documentary, narrative, branded content, and music video. Her credits include Challenge Accepted, Leguizamo Does America, 15 Minutes of Shame, and To End All War: Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb. She’s done some camera magic for HBO Max, History Channel, PBS, and Sony Music. One of her flexes? Her photo and video work have been featured on albums with nearly 100 million streams on Spotify.
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Ari Ward (Production Designer) is a Los Angeles-based production designer and art department veteran whose credits include Sinister Assistant, Karaganda: Red Mafia, and Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser. His work spans set design, art direction, and construction across features, television, and short films. He brings a personal cultural connection to The Breastorcism that runs deeper than the job description.
Natasha Benko-Quan (Costume Designer) is a Los Angeles-based costume designer with a witchy, goth sensibility and a deep background in theatrical and fantasy costuming. She has costumed at Renaissance faires and worked with designers including Opal Moon Designs, an ancient mythology-inspired label, and Silver Leaf Costumes, known for its historically inspired fantasy wear. Her credits include the steampunk TV series Tinker. She also has a lot of cats, which we consider a professional qualification.
Emma Carter (Makeup Artist) is a Los Angeles-based makeup artist trained at Cinema Makeup School and Make-up Designory, with a background in television and film production from DeSales University. Her credits span features, commercials, music videos, and short films, including work on the A24 film Dream Scenario and SXSW 2025 selection R&R. She does beauty and SFX, making her perfect for this campy horror comedy.
Sarah Fatemi (Sarah) is a comedian, actress, and writer who got into standup by accident and has been making people laugh ever since. She recently performed at Netflix Is A Joke, has been an editor on Shahs of Sunset, and wrote & starred in Saffron 'N Rose, a pilot about two Iranian-American female college students who start an anonymous radio show about sex and virginity.
Mona Mossayeb (Mona) is a Persian-American actress, filmmaker, and writer who appeared as Nurse Ruby Hernandez in season 16 of Grey's Anatomy, and has been featured in Just Add Magic and sci-fi thriller Listening. Her filmography includes Synapse, The Art of Being Truthful, and Vestige. She also has an exciting fantasy pilot in the works.
Paul Zecharia (Withered Young Hag) is an actor, writer, and director who's been fighting for Middle Eastern and North African representation long enough to host panels about it at San Diego Comic-Con, LA Comic-Con, and WonderCon. His short film Last Call won Best Short at Pure Magic International Film Festival and Best Drama at Spotlight Short Film Festival. He also co-starred in Mr. Student Body President, cooks, and cosplays. He started his career as a background actor in LA after one visit in 2001 completely changed his life.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
Darius has been preparing for top surgery for months and waiting his whole life. Then the week before surgery, he loses his employer's health insurance, and most def doesn’t have the cash lying around to pay for it out of pocket.
In his desperation, Darius convinces his sister Sarah to use their grandmother’s Persian grimoire. If he can’t capitalism his way out of dysphoria, why not magic it?
A mistranslation, pig’s blood, and $45.67 Erewhon milk summons the Clergy of the Burning Moon, a misfit trio of powerful, ancient beings. Are they here to answer Darius' plea? Or do they still need a form of payment for supernatural medical care?
OK, the numbers are bleak. According to UCLA, only 0.8% of films in 2025 featured Middle Eastern actors. And a GLAAD study found that only 5% of LGBTQ+ characters are trans, with only 7 being trans men in TV, broadcast, and streaming.
GLAAD reported that there were no MENA trans characters for the 2024-2025 study.
And the politics aren’t helping.
Gender affirming care is being legislated out of existence. Middle Eastern and North African communities are navigating a climate of hostility surrounding the Iran War that makes visibility both more dangerous and more important than ever.
A film that puts a trans Persian man at the center of a horror-comedy, celebrates his culture and his body, and shows his grandmother's love, is not a niche project. It has become (unfortunately) more relevant globally than when it was first written.
We need both Middle Eastern and trans representation more than ever. Despite all these abysmal numbers, we have hope that we will make a project that’s up against all odds.
Authentic representation makes it harder to dehumanize people. It puts faces, families, humor, grief, and joy where a stereotype used to be. It shows Persian culture as rich, loving, and ancient. It shows trans men existing, thriving, and cracking jokes with family.
The Breastorcism is resistance art because it insists on that fullness. It is made by queer and Middle Eastern artists, about queer and Middle Eastern experiences.
Backing this film is an investment in the kind of storytelling that chips away at the systems that benefit from our absence.
Thiis story comes from lived experience. Yas (the writer and lead) is trans and Persian. The bureaucratic nightmare at the center of the film is the period ritual he must partake for gender affirming care. The grandmother relationship at the emotional core is personal. While the spell book is fictional, the questions of love and acceptance explored through the film are real.
The Persian and Middle Eastern representation is shepherded by our Egyptian director, Esraa. The Breastorcism is built on an intersectional production team that reflects the world the film puts on screen, with a 100% Middle Eastern cast bringing this world to life.
This is being told by the people who are living it every day, bringing a deeper level of nuance from our lived experiences.
Navigating gender affirming care in the American healthcare system is a bitch. It’s already one battle after another to get access to health care in the US. Throw being trans on top of it, and it’s a nightmare.
Insurance denials, coverage gaps, pre-authorizations that take months, and surgeries postponed indefinitely. And that’s not even taking into account the ever-looming fear of seeing which right we get to lose today. (There are 677 active anti-trans bills at the time of writing of this.)
While The Breastorcism may have started as a pun, there is a sincerity in exploring the absurdity of trans American healthcare. What do you do when the system has failed you?
Use the spell book, obviously. (Or supporting your local trans filmmakers *wink wink*)
Our base goal of $10,000 covers production essentials: equipment, fake blood, Persian decor, costumes, props, food for cast and crew, insurance, and festival submissions.
At $10,000, we make the film. At $32,500, we make it the way it deserves to be made, with every cast and crew member paid at minimum wage day rates and a full post-production suite covering editing, color, sound design, score, VFX, trailer, and poster.
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Production Insurance
Costs $350
Every film set needs insurance. Ours will be covered through Event Helper and keeps our cast, crew, and locations protected throughout the s
Food
Costs $1,850
People are lifting heavy equipment, set pieces, and running around. They need proteins, healthy carbs, and electrolytes.
Film Festival Submissions
Costs $300
To help support our mission to humanize trans and Middle Eastern people, we need to get out there! And film festivals add up.
Camera Lenses
Costs $1,200
Our two worlds have unique feelings, and we need different types of lenses to bring them to life.
Travel & Transport
Costs $400
Some of our locations are outside of LA, so we're covering people's expenses. Plus, we'll need to rent a van for our set pieces and gear.
Production Design & Wardrobe
Costs $550
Persian culture and the otherworldly energy of the Clergy come to life through the set dressing, clothing, and Grandma's grimoire.
Misc & Expendables
Costs $200
Tape, first aid kits, paper towels, you name it. You never know what might come up on a set!
Cast & Crew
Costs $1,200
We really want to be able to pay our gang a little something! They've graciously joined out of passion, but they gotta pay rent.
External Hard Drives
Costs $400
We need to protect, transfer, and store our footage. Otherwise, we don't have a movie!
Contingency
Costs $1,000
This is a standard, but important percentage of the budget for anything emergencies, changes, and whatever else may come up unexpectedly.
Lighting Equipment
Costs $1,200
Lighting is a major motif throughout our film. It's used to bring the audience into Darius' emotional world.
Sound Equipment
Costs $650
We need booms and mics to make sure we can get quality sound in the exterior location and with our characters' unique costumes.
Kit Fees
Costs $300
This covers any costs our designers would otherwise pay out-of-pocket, like makeup, SXF blood, and crafting supplies.
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Yas Modares Ghasiri (Writer / Producer) studied drama at UC Irvine and has since appeared in Babysplitters, MPV, College Humor Originals, and enough stage musicals to annoy his neighbors with his wonderful tenor voice (he definitely didn’t write this). He co-hosts In Full View, a podcast highlighting trans masculine professionals in entertainment, and founded a trans masc representation panel that he brought to San Diego Comic-Con in partnership with GLAAD.
Esraa Darwish (Director/ Producer) studied Film Directing at the Northern Film School and Film and Moving Image Production at Leeds Metropolitan University before making her way to Los Angeles. She has worked as an Assistant Director on Blumhouse’s Night Swim, Afraid, and The Woman in the Yard. She’s also worked on Never Have I Ever, Swarm, and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Her previous short film, Removal Men, follows a pair of gay movers who accidentally end up packing up a serial killer's house, which tells you everything you need to know about her sensibilities. It was an official selection of the Leeds International Film Festival in 2018.
AJ Mattioli (Producer) is a Queens-born, NYC-based trans producer and director with 16+ years in the entertainment industry and founder of Mattioli Productions and Distribution, a trans-owned and queer-operated film production company. His work has been celebrated at the Queens Museum, the United Nations, and covered by the NY Times, The Advocate, and Huffington Post. He has been called "the voice of the LGBT community in the independent film world" and has worked with Sasha Velour, Bob The Drag Queen, Carmen Carrera, and more. We are very glad he said yes to this one.
Kaveh Taherian (Producer) holds a BFA in Illustration/Design from Laguna College of Art and Design and an MFA in Film Production from USC, ensuring him zero career options outside of the arts. Thankfully, his talent, punctuality, and sense of humor have kept him employed thus far. Based in Los Angeles, his clients include Apple TV+, YouTube, HBO, and Nickelodeon.
Madison Stonefield (Director of Photography) is a Los Angeles-based cinematographer and USC School of Cinematic Arts graduate whose work spans documentary, narrative, branded content, and music video. Her credits include Challenge Accepted, Leguizamo Does America, 15 Minutes of Shame, and To End All War: Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb. She’s done some camera magic for HBO Max, History Channel, PBS, and Sony Music. One of her flexes? Her photo and video work have been featured on albums with nearly 100 million streams on Spotify.
Ari Ward (Production Designer) is a Los Angeles-based production designer and art department veteran whose credits include Sinister Assistant, Karaganda: Red Mafia, and Fit for TV: The Reality of the Biggest Loser. His work spans set design, art direction, and construction across features, television, and short films. He brings a personal cultural connection to The Breastorcism that runs deeper than the job description.
Natasha Benko-Quan (Costume Designer) is a Los Angeles-based costume designer with a witchy, goth sensibility and a deep background in theatrical and fantasy costuming. She has costumed at Renaissance faires and worked with designers including Opal Moon Designs, an ancient mythology-inspired label, and Silver Leaf Costumes, known for its historically inspired fantasy wear. Her credits include the steampunk TV series Tinker. She also has a lot of cats, which we consider a professional qualification.
Emma Carter (Makeup Artist) is a Los Angeles-based makeup artist trained at Cinema Makeup School and Make-up Designory, with a background in television and film production from DeSales University. Her credits span features, commercials, music videos, and short films, including work on the A24 film Dream Scenario and SXSW 2025 selection R&R. She does beauty and SFX, making her perfect for this campy horror comedy.
Sarah Fatemi (Sarah) is a comedian, actress, and writer who got into standup by accident and has been making people laugh ever since. She recently performed at Netflix Is A Joke, has been an editor on Shahs of Sunset, and wrote & starred in Saffron 'N Rose, a pilot about two Iranian-American female college students who start an anonymous radio show about sex and virginity.
Mona Mossayeb (Mona) is a Persian-American actress, filmmaker, and writer who appeared as Nurse Ruby Hernandez in season 16 of Grey's Anatomy, and has been featured in Just Add Magic and sci-fi thriller Listening. Her filmography includes Synapse, The Art of Being Truthful, and Vestige. She also has an exciting fantasy pilot in the works.
Paul Zecharia (Withered Young Hag) is an actor, writer, and director who's been fighting for Middle Eastern and North African representation long enough to host panels about it at San Diego Comic-Con, LA Comic-Con, and WonderCon. His short film Last Call won Best Short at Pure Magic International Film Festival and Best Drama at Spotlight Short Film Festival. He also co-starred in Mr. Student Body President, cooks, and cosplays. He started his career as a background actor in LA after one visit in 2001 completely changed his life.