Brydie O’Connor is a Kansas-bred, New York based filmmaker. Brydie is an Assistant Programmer at The Bush Film series, an intersectional queer film series dedicated to showcasing work about and for queer women, trans, and non-binary people. Going Steady, a darkly comedic narrative, is Brydie's directorial debut and was shot close to Brydie's Kansas hometown where old nostalgic relics of drive-in movie theatres and diners still live on. The film follows a woman who is not convinced of her society's heterosexual rules and motivations. As the tale unfolds queerness is at last given an imagined place in history.

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O'connor "Going Steady is my directorial debut, and I wanted to create a film that blends iterations of conceptual & creative elements I'd like to explore in my work at large. The idea for this script was actually first inspired by the song "You've Got Me Running in Circles" by Sonny Cleveland, which I was fortunately able to license for the film. I'm such a horror fan, and it was fun to juxtapose the dark fantastical aspect of the plot with an upbeat song and bubblegum colors. At the heart of the film, I was interested in tethering queerness to the visual & cultural landscape of the Midwest, specifically Kansas, where I grew up. It was empowering to place a queer character in my hometown long before I came to be there, and even more so to actually shoot this narrative in locations in my hometown -- the drive-in movie theater, diner, and preserved 1950s home in a museum were actually some of my stomping grounds as a kid. My own nostalgia, paired with style, comedy, and darkness, came together as Going Steady. I think it's quite authentic to my intention for my first directorial project."