Cathedral City Filmmaker set to premiere first Feature Film at Premier Festival

Dirk van Sloten, Cathedral City based filmmaker, has made his directorial debut with Company of Shadows, a queer drama.

The movie made official selection to the Silicon Beach Film Festival which is held at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles.

"It's a dream come true," van Sloten said.

The story follows an angel investor who becomes convinced one of his clients is the conversion therapist who tortured him in his youth.

Van Sloten said he started writing the screenplay during the COVID-19 lockdown.

"I sneak in a couple of things that are historical events of what happened to LGBTQ people throughout history," van Sloten said. "There's a whole generation now who's grown up with a lot of liberty and acceptance, and they're not aware of what the previous generations have gone through."

Van Sloten, born in the Netherlands in 1972, first visited the U.S. in 1995 to be with his future husband. He is a longtime advocate of LGBTQ+ rights, having faced and overcame personal challenges.

He said he faced challenges while independent filmmaking, including funding the project out of pocket and crew members who were diagnosed with COVID-19.

He also said Cathedral City was supportive during his process.

"They were just super helpful in getting me the right answers," van Sloten said.

Stay with News Channel 3 to hear more from van Sloten.