Indie queer romantic comedy The Queerdos will celebrate its world premiere at Cinema Diverse: The Palm Springs LGBTQ Film Festival, taking place September 17–27. Starring Emily Rios (Snowfall) alongside breakout newcomer Savannah Shoenecker, and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Jenifer Yeuroukis, The Queerdos is a female-driven comedy centering a socially awkward food delivery driver who faces foreclosure on her inherited Hollywood Hills home. Desperate to save it, she rents every spare inch to a colorful band of queer misfits, only to discover viral fame, unexpected romance, and the chosen family she never knew she needed.
The journey of The Queerdos began in 2021, when executive producer Sandra Grace created the original story and its characters as a TV pilot. After sharing the draft with Quentin Lee, who encouraged developing the project as a feature film, Grace reimagined and wrote the screenplay, adapting her original vision for the big screen.
By 2024, the screenplay was complete, and Lee, serving as executive producer and casting director, assembled the film’s cast and creative team, including Emily Rios (who also serves as executive producer), Savannah Shoenecker, Michelle Farrah Huang, Verton R. Banks, and Nicholas Olbina. He also brought together director Jenifer Yeuroukis and fellow Producers Guild of America members Stanley Yung (p.g.a.) and Alan Chu as producers.
By June 2025, Grace financed the film through her production company and under Yeuroukis’ direction, The Queerdos was shot across Los Angeles in just 10 days of principal photography. The result is a heartfelt, hilarious celebration of queer community, resilience, and the families we choose for ourselves.
“The Queerdos is a feel-good rom-com about a queer chosen family that is navigating the very real challenges of modern life. The acting is spot-on and the writing is brilliant. I can’t wait to share it with our Palm Springs audience,” said Michael Green, executive director of Cinema Diverse.
“I’m elated to bring The Queerdos to its world premiere at Cinema Diverse! This vital launchpad offers the ideal platform for our sapphic rom-com and has long championed the diverse voices we celebrate on screen. On a personal note, having visited family annually in Palm Springs throughout my childhood, debuting our film in this community feels like a joyful return to a place that has always held a special place in my heart,” said Sandra Grace, writer and executive producer of The Queerdos.
“As a Cinema Diverse alumnus, I’m beyond excited to world premiere The Queerdos at the festival. Returning with a new film makes me feel like a homecoming queen, especially supporting the vision of two new queer women filmmakers Sandra Grace and Jennifer Yeuroukis,” said Quentin Lee, executive producer and casting director of The Queerdos. Lee previously premiered his acclaimed features The People I’ve Slept With and Big Gay Love at Cinema Diverse.
Launched in 2008 by the Palm Springs Cultural Center, Cinema Diverse: The Palm Springs LGBTQ+ Film Festival is an annual multi-week event held each September in Palm Springs, California, dedicated to showcasing groundbreaking queer cinema, empowering LGBTQ+ filmmakers, and uniting the community and its allies.
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