Fund Aotearoa queer horror film The Anti-Exorcist

The Anti-Exorcist is a queer parody of exorcism films, in which a gender-bending spirit turns the tables against a Catholic priest. It is produced by the New New Film Collective, a queer film collective based in Whanganui-a-Tara/Wellington. Writer-director Ani White previously made Illuminati Castrati (2024), which has been accepted into a number of film festivals, and won accolades including the Best Horror Short award at South Film and Arts Academy Festival (Chile). Through The Anti-Exorcist we're excited to help uplift the new generation of queer filmmakers, developing skills that allow us to give voice to queer perspectives.

Project Details

The Anti-Exorcist responds to the justification of exorcism in cinema. Although it may seem an antiquated practice, exorcism is actually on the rise. In fact, exorcism first gained renewed popularity with the release of The Exorcist (1972), after the practice had faded into obscurity. We seek to challenge both a practice that has claimed lives, and a genre that has advertised it.

We also link exorcism and conservative anti-queerness. Queers are outcast, driven out, made demons. In our story, a priest seeks to exorcise a demon, but is confronted with a gender-bending entity that will not be driven out.

We live in a period where LGBT rights, especially trans rights, are under attack. Now is a time for art that celebrates queer resistance.