Film Description
Ni Aquí/Ni Allá is a personal documentary that centers a conversation between filmmaker Ley Comas and their mother about their gender identity. As the middle child of christian pastors, Ley never imagined that transitioning was possible. Growing up, in the Dominican Republic, Ley only witnessed trans people portrayed as evil char-acters, punchlines in movies and TV shows, or outcasts and victims. At home, anything that went against God´s word was an abomination. This documentary follows Ley´s physical and psychological journey to become themself, while struggling to find a middle ground with their family.
Director Bio
Ley Comas is an Afro-Latinx Trans non-binary production sound mixer and filmmaker. They were born in Costa Rica and raised in the Dominican Republic. After coming to US in 2013, they received their Associate’s degree in Video Arts and Technology from Burrough of Manhattan Community College in 2015. Ley obtained their Bachelor’s degree in Cinema and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies from Binghamton University in 2017. They received their Master’s degree in Documentary Filmmaking from The City College of New York, Spring 2020.
Ley is a production sound mixer by trade. They have worked for branded content such as the Pantene 2019 “Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Beautiful" LGBTQ+ campaign; Driving Forces for OkayAfrica-Uber; TBS’ The STEM Game; Adidas | Major League Soccer Jersey Reimagined – Fashion Show commercial; and recurring projects with Refinery29 since 2018. Ley has also worked as production sound for feature documentaries and episodic content including the 30 under 30 (2017); the Best Documentary Short: Breaking Silence; Queering, the official selection for SXSW 2019 Film Festival; FX/Refinery 29 production: Pride; feature documentary Sons of Detroit by Jeremy Xido; and Netflix short documentary The Claudia Kishi Club by Sue Ding.
As a filmmaker, Ley's work is centered on their search for identity as a Trans, Afro–Latinx immigrant and what it means to live within so many intersections. Ley’s short-documentary Ni Aquí/Ni Allá was awarded The Ostrovsky Family Fund Award in Honor of Chantal Akerman and the Danielle and Larry Nyman Family Project Award. Ley will continue to keep collaborate and make films that highlight and empower the narratives of underrepresented identities. Ley currently lives in the Bronx; they enjoy bike riding, cooking, and spending time with their cat.