Shorts Exclusive: ‘Will I See You Again?’ Creatives Chat with Oscar Winners Travon Free & Martin Desmond Roe

There is a tremendous honesty presented in Live Action Short Film contender Will I See You Again?, a powerful story of redemption and broken affection. In an exclusive for The Contending, the Oscar-winning filmmakers behind Two Distant Strangers chat with Will I‘s Michael Perez-Lindsay and Rhett Lindsey in a panel moderated by Academy Award nominee Kevin Wilson Jr.

Check out the official press release and video below!

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WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN?’s compelling story brings together two estranged friends at their close friend’s memorial, offering a poignant exploration of reconciliation and the power of confronting the past. Written and executive produced by Rhett Lindsey, with co-writing by Michael Perez-Lindsey, this film is set to captivate audiences with its emotional depth and compelling narrative. The dynamic Academy-Award® winning duo Travon Free, and Martin Desmond Roe, alongside their Unreasnble partner Mickey Meyer and fan favorite DeWanda Wise, back this powerful live action short as Executive Producers.

After 20 years of estrangement, two former college teammates find themselves summoned to their late friend’s estate hearing. To claim their inheritance, they must first confront their past relationship while undergoing a polygraph test.

Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe are a prolific writing/directing duo who have won eight Emmy Awards and an Academy Award® for their short film – TWO DISTANT STRANGERS. In 2022, the pair won a Sports Emmy for writing and directing WHAT AGNES SAW, a short film about a 100-year-old Olympian, which was played as part of the opening ceremony during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Their critically praised feature-length documentary BS HIGH recently premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival and was the most-watched documentary on HBO in 2023. They are co-writing and set to direct an adaptation of S.A. Cosby’s best-selling novel RAZORBLADE TEARS for Paramount, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. Free became the first African-American to win an Oscar® in the best live action film category.

Oscar®-winning and Emmy-nominated producer Mickey Meyer is the former President of Group Nine Studios. He has sold and produced countless Television and Films for Hulu, Netflix, Disney, HBOMax, Discovery+, Animal Planet and more. Digitally, he has programmed over 300 Billion Views across 50+ platforms, starting with his time at Maker Studios. Additionally, he served on the Entertainment Advisory Council of the Obama administration, working with President Obama and various White House officials, including Joe Biden and Valerie Jarrett, to help broker change through the YouTube community on issues like Sexual Assault and Climate Change. Meyer has been named to Forbes Magazine’s 30 under 30 list and the Hollywood Reporter’s Next Gen 35 under 35 list.

Free, Roe and Meyer jointly said, “Michael and Rhett made something beautiful here that we’re so happy to support. Queer stories are our stories, and this one is so incredibly heartfelt.” Free added, “We need to tell as many black, brown, feminist and queer stories as we can while they’re still legal. They’re still legal right?”

The Unreasnble is a new entertainment company built for filmmakers and entrepreneurs by award-winning filmmakers and globally recognized entrepreneurs. It develops, produces, finances and distributes, focusing on TV and Film alongside its incubation efforts. The Unreasnble believes that progress in the entertainment industry relies on being unreasonable, questioning the status quo and using innovative ways to create and distribute entertainment.

DeWanda Wise stars in the highly anticipated adaptation of Lisa Taddeo’s non-fiction exploration into female desire THREE WOMEN on Starz. Earlier, in 2024, she led & Executive Produced the Blumhouse horror film IMAGINARY and played Femme Fatale June Del Rey in Chris Pine’s directorial debut, POOLMAN, alongside Pine, Danny Devito, and Annette Benning. Previous credits include JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION, THE HARDER THEY FALL, breakout role as Nola Darling in the Netflix adaptation of SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT, hit comedy SOMEONE GREAT by Jenn Kaytin Robinson, and playing Swan opposite Kevin Hart in the Sony/Netflix film FATHERHOOD among others.

Wise shares “Will I See You Again is an absolute heart-breaker and opener at once. Hosea Chanchez, Nick Wechsler, and the rest of the stellar cast never utter a false note. Director Michael Perez-Lindsey directs with both intimacy and surety from Rhett Lindsey’s soulful script. It is a story of what it means to truly reconcile—both with those we’ve hurt and with ourselves. I’m deeply moved by Will I See You Again, and honored to join the team as an Executive Producer”.

Michael Perez-Lindsey’s journey in the film industry began at the tender age of 16 with an internship at Raleigh Studios Manhattan Beach (now MBS Studios), where he worked on productions such as THE OC and CSI: MIAMI. After earning his BA in Film and Electronic Arts at CSULB, Michael worked on PHANTOM starring Ed Harris. He has since collaborated with top cinematographers as a DIT on productions like HELLO, MY NAME IS DORIS, A24’s “THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE, and popular TV shows including Showtime’s THE L WORD: GENERATION Q, WITH LOVE on Amazon Prime, HBO MAX’s RAP SH!T, Hulu’s REASONABLE DOUBT, and Peacock’s BASED ON A TRUE STORY. As a queer Mexican American director, Michael is dedicated to creating stories rich in social depth, diverse cultures, and creative originality.

Rhett Lindsey, known for his role as TJ in the 20th Century Fox film BIG MOMMA’S: LIKE FATHER LIKE SON, is the founder and CEO of Siimee, a social impact tech company dedicated to reducing bias in recruiting and hiring. His work has been highlighted in The Washington Post, CNBC, and CBS News This Morning.

Rhett Lindsey and Michael Perez-Lindsey could make OSCAR® history by being the first queer couple to win an Academy Award®.

WILL I SEE YOU AGAIN? is Produced by Valeria Lopez and Alex Coffey (The 11th Green), alongside Michael Perez-Lindsey, with stunning cinematography by Sandra Valde-Hansen, ASC, LPS (XO KITTY, The Summer I Turned Pretty), this short film is a must-see. The film stars Richard Lawson (Tyler Perry’s Divorce In The Black), Nick Wechsler (Revenge, Shades of Blue), Hosea Chanchez (The Game), and Rosanny Zayas (The L Word: Generation Q).

After screening at HollyShorts and being nominated for the Best LGBT Award, this incredible, heartfelt short is under OSCAR consideration.

Free is repped by Creative Artists Agency (CAA), AGI Entertainment Media & Management, and Yorn, Levine, Barnes, Krintzman, Rubenstein, Kohner, Endlich, Goodell & Gellman; Roe by William Morris Endeavor (WME) Entertainment, 3 Arts Entertainment, and Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox; Meyer by William Morris Endeavor (WME) Entertainment; and Wise by Creative Artists Agency (CAA), M88, and Del Shaw Moonves Tanaka Finkelstein Lezcano Bobb & Dang.