Mixing work and romance, the STEM-focused Freelancers Anonymous puts women front and center in this Chicago-set modern-day screwball comedy.

Some people love their jobs while other people dread leaving for the office in the morning.  For Billie (Lisa Cordileone), she is finally at the point where she is unable to keep doing it any longer.  She comes to a decision while giving a presentation and walks out.  The problem with making this decision is that she’s engaged to Gayle (Natasha Negovanlis).  In addition to all the shenanigans that come with planning a wedding, Billie now has to deal with finding a new job.

A miracle comes Billie’s way in the form of other women who are also searching for work.  This gives Billie an opportunity to do something crazy with this group of women:  start an app.  The expectations are that the prototype would be ready in time for an investor launch party.

While all of this is going on, Billie is lying to Gayle about what’s she’s doing.  Honey, don’t you know that marriage is an institution built on honesty and trust?  All the lies are just bound to bite Billie in the ass!  It’s just bound to happen in a comedy such as this film!  The launch party and the wedding just happen to take place on the same day within the same facility.  Anyone could have seen this coming a mile away!  It’s just a question of how does one manage to deal with the conflict.

Director Sonia Sebastián makes the choice to give the film a 1970s vibe.  This comes by way of the Suzannah Linnekin’s production design and Diah Wymont’s costume design for the Chicago-set film.  This makes for a bold choice for the film as the technology is so contemporary.  This isn’t to say that the clash is a bad thing because this film works well.

The cast and crew is made predominantly of women.  It’s great to see an actress such as Alexandra Billings in the movie.  Billings may be a transgender actress but the film doesn’t make this a big deal.  It’s a small-budget indie film and the decision to shoot in Chicago is a perfect fit.  Nobody seems to be making films these days that have a focus on women working in technology. As a result, this small indie film helps to serve an under-represented market.  The importance of films such as these is that they serve to help influence younger girls and women to enter the field.

What’s really great about Freelancers Anonymous is that the film showcases a segment of society that is typically never represented on screen.  These are women who are both ignored and undervalued in their fields of employment.  What happens when employers undervalue their employees?  There’s a decision that one needs to make:  put in the effort to be seen or find somewhere else to work.  Ultimately, Billie decisions to take her talents elsewhere.

DIRECTOR:  Sonia Sebastián
SCREENWRITER:  Amy Dellagiarino & Lisa Cordileone
CAST:  Lisa Cordileone, Natasha Negovanlis, Jennifer Bartels, Mouzam Makkar, Megan Cavanagh, Amy Shiels, Grace Rex, Haviland Stillwell, Jennie McNulty, Cassandra Blair, Jamison Scala, and Alexandra Billings

An official selection of the Frameline42: San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival, Freelancers Anonymous screens in the Showcase program.  The world premiere was May 29, 2018 at the 2018 Inside Out Film Festival.