By Hayley Mireles

On April 17, ACCENT sat down with Armani Cobbs, the director, writer and producer of the upcoming short film “LAYERS,” which focuses on a young nonbinary person, Navin, who grew up in a deeply religious household. After a discovery about their father, they are led to confront everything they knew about their family.

Cobbs and his team are currently gearing up to campaign from April 19 to May 19 to raise money to help make their project happen in the Beyond Screen Rally, a contest held by OTV and Seed&Spark to help fund independent filmmakers who are changing the way representation is depicted in film.

He gave ACCENT details of his filmmaking journey and insight into the ideas his film focuses on.

Cobbs said he “always knew [he] was going to be in entertainment,” and that it has always been one of his favorite things. He recalled his mom saying he used to walk around as a “2-year-old saying [he] was going to be a star.”

In the beginning, Cobbs always thought of himself as an actor. His perspective began to shift when he discovered Shonda Rhimes, the writer and producer of the hit series “Grey’s Anatomy,” in high school. He described realizing he wanted to write and create visual stories, asking himself, “How do I get into that?”

He said he has always been a writer but that the “visual aspect of it was intriguing.”

When he was 19, he moved to Los Angeles and began working in film production as a production assistant. From there, he moved into producing. He produced movie trailers for a few years before deciding he wanted to focus on himself and his own projects.

He said he comes from an interesting background, and when he wrote “LAYERS,” he did so in a “very interesting state of mind, but with an intention to get conversations started.”

Cobbs said he feels the film has a “very neutral standpoint on religion,” especially as someone who is in the LGBTQ community and also identifies as Christian. He said the end goal is not necessarily to change anyone’s perspective, but to open people’s eyes more than they have been.

He discussed the film’s main character, Navin, a nonbinary person whose father is a pastor, noting that his own father is also a pastor. He said he wrote the story as a way to connect the film to “something [he] and [his] father have been working on for years, since [he] came out.”

He added that he and Navin are similar in who they are as people, but also extremely different in how their outcomes unfold.

He described his family dynamic growing up as harsh, with him often facing pressure due to his father’s prominent role in a megachurch. Cobbs recalled times when his father would police the clothes he wore or his social media presence, often causing him to wonder, “Does he want his family or perfection?”

He explained how he and Navin differ, saying they are opposites in how they show up in the world. Cobbs said he takes a more assertive and bold approach compared with Navin, who is quieter and more observant rather than expressive.

When asked whether he thought the film could help him speak to his father in ways he has not been able to before, he responded, “Oh, absolutely.”

Cobbs said it was difficult for him to express himself when he was younger, and through this film, he wrote words he has had for his family and close friends that he had never been able to say before.

“This is a form of me talking to my family.”

The “LAYERS” crew will begin shooting from late July to early August, with Cobbs saying filming will take about four to six days. While production will be quick, he said he is unsure about the postproduction timeline. He hopes to finish soon but said he is particular about the film’s layout.

He said they are still looking for crew members and wants to be open about who joins the project.

“I want a diverse crew. I want people of color, I want students, I want anyone.”

They do not have a set crew yet but are continuing outreach to find potential members. Cobbs has distributed a flyer to students at the University of Texas and Austin Community College to reach those who may be interested in helping with the project.

If you would like to support the “LAYERS” production or learn more, you can follow and donate at seedandspark.com.