Gina Rosella makes her mark behind the camera. Sci-Fi Short Short “Dolls,” the directorial debut of four Emmy Award-nominated directors, dropped its first trailer before the world premiere at an Oscar-qualified festival in Atlanta films.
Variety has exclusively released a trailer for the film, which boasts executive producer and co-creator of The Matrix, Lily Wachowski.
Featuring Rocero in the lead roles of Yên Sen, Arewàbasit, Macy Rodman and Vas Eli, the film focuses on private investigators who are permeating trans women’s dating seminars. When a mysterious threat appears during the workshop, the hero finds solidarity within the group.
For Rocero, director of the documentary series “CARETAKERS” and author of “Horse Barbie,” the project represents a personal creative endeavor.
“The “doll” is my attempt to create an internal chatter that opposes my head,” Rossero said. “Every year I admire directors like Claire Denis, Lucrecia Martel, and Park Chan-Wook, I told them to give it a try. That’s the only way.”
Wachowski added: “The “Doll” is a fever dream that reflects the investigation of assimilation and transidentity.
The film features an original score by the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for 2025 music winner Susie Ibarra. “Gina’s script and director brings visuals, sound and music to beautiful interactions to create unique stories,” Ibarra said. “I am honored to be able to work together on this incompromising and necessary story of the transgender female characters in the film.”
“Dolls” is an executive produced by Rocero’s Street Pageant Productions and Jon Mallow, and is produced by Sheena Alexis Suarez. Patrick Ryan Morris of Dedalus Moving Pictures handled the filming and editing, but the creative team includes costume designer David Taveras, makeup artist Laurel Charleston, hairstylist William Scott Blair and choreographer Tyler Ashley.
The project was supported by the pop culture collaborative and Allied Media Project, which Rokero was appointed as a 2024 transfutureist grantee, becoming an American project.
Check out the trailer here:
