By Mason McDonald
(8-minute read)
Tell us about Tender Chosen and what inspired you to create the project.
Tender Chosen, on paper, shines a light on the taboo intersection of gender-affirming and reproductive healthcare. I’d never seen anything that reflected that crossover in a way that felt familiar to me. As someone who has navigated both, I felt a story like this deserved to puff its chest against the current surge of anti-trans and “pro-life” hatred.
I originally wrote this story in 2025 as a full-length stage play called boyhood with the guidance of Nightwood Theatre’s Write From the Hip program. Midway through my second or third draft, I realized what I’d written was a love letter to queer chosen families. I live with complex trauma, and doing things alone was, for a long time, the only way I knew how to survive. The people I call chosen family and friends now have taught me that part of being a good community member is taking the protective mask off and befriending our own shame. I used to think “oversharing” or showing too much interest in people mostly led to abandonment, but I’m learning that this kind of vulnerability interrupts the apathy and isolation that capitalism and colonization depend on. It’s a radical act of defiance and, in my opinion, the only antidote to fascism. Part of me wishes I could have shown this film to myself in 2020. Instead, I now get to dedicate it to my community and to anyone who sees a piece of themself here.
Submissions to the Queer Your Stories Short Film Competition were reviewed by a jury of ACTRA Toronto’s outACTRAto Committee members and two senior programming staff from Inside Out. How did it feel to have your film selected as the winner by a jury of your peers?
I had been following the competition and its winners for years. I volunteered with outACTRAto when my time freed up during the pandemic, and its stance on authenticity, particularly casting queer performers in queer roles, is what originally drew me in.
I had never made a film before or worked on one in any formal capacity outside of acting or choreography, but I figured it was worth a shot and I had nothing to lose by applying. I knew the competition usually happened in the fall, so I started preparing my pitch in the spring and learning everything I could. When the committee told me Tender Chosen had been selected, I definitely had an “oh sh*t” moment. It’s one thing to pitch an idea, but it’s another to actually make the thing.
That scary feeling faded quickly after my first meeting with the organizers and disappeared entirely once Hools Kay (production coordinator / 1st AD), Anushay Sheikh (director of photography) and Lee Nisar (producer) came on board. They supported me every step of the way and became my tutors, emotional support and some of my favourite people.
This is not my project alone anymore. It belongs equally to the roughly 50 incredible people who brought it to life. Filmmaking is a team sport, and without a single one of them, it wouldn’t be what it is. I am so incredibly proud of it and it’s all thanks to outACTRAto, Inside Out Film Festival and Queer Your Stories!
Thanks to the generous support of our sponsors, the Queer Your Stories Short Film Competition provides the winner with financial and in-kind support. Tell us about what it was like working with our sponsor partners to bring your short film to life.
Everyone was so kind and it didn’t seem to matter that I was a first-time filmmaker. Every company and individual we worked with gave us their unwavering trust and support so freely that I felt respected for my personhood over the level of experience I could bring to the table.
We got the unfortunate news that our original camera sponsors had to close their business, which was genuinely sad for everyone involved. We wish them all the best in what comes next and had a lovely time getting to know them. Ontario Camera stepped in two weeks before we shot and, by some miracle, they were able to give us the camera package of our dreams! We are so grateful for the generosity of everyone at OC, but a big special shoutout goes to Maria!
Alter Ego Post donated our colour package and their colourist Lily Henry completely blew me away. Thanks to our incredible directors of photography and Lily, every shot looks identical to (or better than) the reference images I gave them. The colours are so rich and alive. I honestly still can’’t believe it’s really our film!
Our post sound was provided by TA2 with composition by Drew Thomas. I got to join them for two in-studio sessions and we had such a blast. No note I gave was too picky and every tiny detail I’d imagined was translated into the most breathtakingly beautiful score. From lube farts to vomit sounds to tear-inducing melodies, the difference this entire sound team made brought the missing 50 per cent of the world alive. Sound is so important and I don’t think I realized how much it could actually make or break a story. Moments I didn’t even realize were significant as the person who literally wrote and directed the thing were discovered and highlighted in ways beyond my imagination.
Our other incredible sponsors, AFBS, Sunbelt Rentals and Lovina, are made of the same stuff: generous, kind and genuinely invested. Safer Six also came on board and offered us their space and has been such champions of this project. We’re so honoured they wanted to be part of it. Fun fact: the clinic you’ll see in the film is the exact room where I was first prescribed testosterone. A full circle moment I couldn’t have planned.
To sum up, I can’t properly thank everyone without crying right now, so I’ll just keep bragging about how extraordinary they all are and how everyone should give them so much love for supporting emerging filmmakers and investing in authentic queer cinema.
What was it like working with the ACTRA Toronto members on the film?
Listen, I know I’m biased because I love my union and I scream my pride from the mountaintops, but ACTRA members will never let you down. The cast includes me, Taha Arshad, Kyana Teresa and Jessica Greco. Each of them was such a humble and generous collaborator. They were willing to put their trust in a first-time director and offer the most informed and well-thought-out ideas to fill out the deepest corners of their characters’ personalities. Nothing about these characters feels one dimensional, even if they had few lines or scenes. The passion and genuine love for what they do was so clear, and as someone who is a fierce advocate for authentic casting, I can say with full confidence that casting people who are openly and unapologetically queer to portray queer characters is the only way forward for me in anything I make or am a part of. If anyone reading this has questions about how to make your projects more authentic or how to go about finding queer performers or crew members without reducing someone to a checkbox, please reach out to me on Instagram. This is my favourite thing to chat about and I can help you!
Tender Chosen is premiering at the 2026 Inside Out Toronto 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival, Canada’s largest 2SLGBTQ+ film festival and the single largest promoter and exhibitor of 2SLGBTQ+ content in Canada. How do you think it will feel to have your film screen publicly for the first time and when/where can our readers watch the film going forward?
I’m excited, terrified, nervous and proud, all at once. Making something with a cast and crew mandate of 100 per cent queer, 50 per cent trans/non-binary and 75 per cent global majority (BIPOC) artists I genuinely admire and call my friends has been one of the biggest highlights of my career. A first film is always a big step, but this one gave me so much more than a finished product. I have dozens of new friends and future colleagues, I’ve learned more than I ever would have in a classroom, and I got to do a new and scary thing. I hoped it was something we would all look back on as a refreshing new bar for what an inclusive, collaborative and ego-free set should feel like. I felt that sense of pride before I’d even seen a rough cut. I’d dreamt of being on a set like this for years, and I got to do it with my friends! I feel so lucky.
After the premiere at Inside Out on May 29, we will be sending our baby off into the festival circuit for a year or two before making it available to the public. If you’d like to join us on the journey, please follow @tenderchosen on Instagram!
Mason McDonald (they/them) is a multidisciplinary Métis artist from Treaty 6 Territory, Saskatchewan, now based in Tkaronto. As an actor, director, writer, and choreographer, Mason’s work is deeply rooted in ensuring trans and queer people are portrayed as multifaceted individuals with rich inner worlds. They challenge reductive stereotypes by celebrating the depth, humanity and unique experiences within these communities. Drawing from Indigenous heritage and a prairie upbringing, Mason’s creative practice weaves a strong connection to land and identity. Their works often explore themes of resilience, belonging and the intersections of community and self. They hold a BFA in Acting from Toronto Metropolitan University, are a proud member of ACTRA Toronto, and are represented by Play Management.
