PINK SAPPHIRE (AUDIENCE VERSION)

AP Hello, a NY-based, Canadian-born, American-espoused indie filmmaker, fronts 23A — named for a rural highway in bucolic Upstate New York. 23A makes throwback peak-radio pop, queerly — drawing inspiration from iconic artists like George Michael, Jann Arden, Sheryl Crow, and Madonna. SHOULDER, the follow-up EP to ROADSIDE BOUQUETS, will be released for summer 2024. A twenty-year advertising industry veteran and independent filmmaker, Hello approaches the placement of his music in ads and content with enthusiasm and awe. AP Hello channeled intrigue for Queer History into an impassioned broad writing practice. Early in the pandemic, he created, wrote, and narrated “ALL THE BOYS: THE PODCAST”; the ten-episode series — for which he received a nomination in the LGBTQ+ category from The Podcast Awards — re-introduces would-be Queer luminaries whose arrests on gay-related ‘morals charges’ outed them and unfairly defined their legacies. While researching subjects for the podcast, he discovered press reports about Walter Jenkins, a top-aide to U.S. President Lyndon Johnson, who resigned when news broke suggesting Jenkins was a likely homosexual. Fascinated by what he believed to be a film-worthy story, Hello wrote the feature screenplay, “Not Walter Jenkins!”, for which he received this grant to produce a Drama Short. Born and raised in Canada, Hello became a U.S. citizen after marrying his husband, with whom he lives in New York.