Mekhai Lee’s Them That’s Not is proof that you can write, direct, and screen a nuanced and layered film that feels universal. Because too often Hollywood makes it seem like they can only pick one facet of who we are as humans. A film can’t be about a person of color, who just so happens to be part of the LGBTQ+ community, and has a disability. And then walks in this short film, proving that you can do it all while giving us an intimate portrayal of what grief looks like through a queer lens, but also through the lens of someone with a disability who just so happens to be Black too.
At the center of Them That’s Not is Drea (Angel Theory). She’s clearly got dreams bigger than what her family wishes she would aim for. We’re thrust into her story during a family gathering after her mother’s funeral. And the film does a really good job at showing Drea’s disconnect from the situation around her but also the gnawing need inside of her to do what she wants in this life and not what her family expects her to do because it’s the easy path or the expected one. It all just so happens to, once again, be in the aftermath of her dealing with the grief of losing a parent.
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Them That’s Not also smoothly and clearly establishes who Drea is in the first minutes alone. She’s a dreamer who is often on the outskirts of her family. But she’s also deeply loved by the people around her, who have come together after the death of her mother to support Drea. And as the short film goes along, you can tell that Drea feels comfortable enough in herself in speaking truth to what she desires but hesitant to speak these dreams to life with her full heart. And that right there is such a terrifying thought, going after what you want. But Drea does it nonetheless because there’s power behind what she believes in. And what she believes is that she wants to be a poet.
The anger is drawn out of Drea when her father Samuel (Biko Eisen-Martin) makes an appearance. Because she spends the service after her mother’s death trying to make her aunt listen but also just trying to survive the night as she drowns in grief. But there’s always a disconnect. And here comes in a silent yet grounding physical manifestation of someone who failed her but also was hand in hand in her creation as she’s dealing with the grief of the parent who passed. In the scenes that follow the revelation of his arrival, both actors do an amazing job of conveying how much they care for each other even as the ground underneath them is about to fall away.
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This is where things go for the unexpected for me. Because I knew that Drea needed someone to just believe in her and give her a chance. Just like Drea, I was surprised that it was her father that decided to push her towards her dreams instead of away from them while also making it clear that he’s stepping in and providing support she needs but maybe isn’t ready to accept. And it goes to show you that people can make mistakes, and it’s how they come back from it that really makes the difference. But it also takes a huge heart like Drea’s to make that space in the first place for forgiveness to be possible.
Overall, Them That’s Not wove together all the fascinating and moving pieces of a person and presented them to the viewer without hiding away one bit or another. Everything mattered and everything was essential to tell the kind of story where we understood who Drea was, where she was coming from, and who she’ll remain as she follows her dreams. And like every other short film out there, it’s always harder to tell a more concise story because of the limitations that come with time. But you do it right, like this film has done, and it leaves you wishing for an entire feature film.
Them That’s Not made it’s premiere at the 2026 SXSW Film Festival.
Queerly Not Straight posts on Fangirlish with opinion pieces, listicals, reviews, and more focused on the LGBT community. Posts are ONLY published on Fangirlish.
