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PORTFOLIO.
Here are key projects showcasing my work across narrative, music video, and experimental formats, each shaped by a love for visual storytelling and bold character-driven style.
Jessica Goes To New York
Jessica Goes to New York began as a passion project in the summer of 2023 and quickly became a defining chapter in my growth as a filmmaker. Written, produced, and developed from its earliest concept to final edit, the film follows Jessica Peru, a bold and eccentric young lady who stumbles upon a mysterious love letter from 1964 and sets off on a daring adventure to the Big Apple. Created during my time as a student at Virginia Commonwealth University, this short film became an outlet to apply everything I had learned, both technically and creatively, into one deeply personal narrative. The process of writing, acting, and producing the film was not only creatively fulfilling but also a transformative learning experience. I’m proud to share that Jessica Goes to New York was selected to screen at the 2025 Roosevelt Island Film Festival, where it won the Best Comedy Short award. I extend heartfelt thanks to my collaborators Walker Moore, Gigi Jacobsen, Lillie Jean, and Isaac Robinson – and to my parents, Steve and Alison Carmel, for their unwavering belief and support in my artistic journey.
Eames Lounge Chair
Created for an advertising project, this commercial spotlights the sleek legacy of the Eames Lounge Chair, designed by Charles and Ray Eames. The concept centers on the evolution of music over the decades, vinyl, cassette, CD, and streaming. While the chair remains unchanged, a constant in an ever-shifting world. Designed in 1956, the Eames chair is more than just a piece of furniture; it’s a symbol of lifestyle, craftsmanship, and timeless comfort that transcends generations. The campaign’s slogan, "Timeless. Comfort." reflects the chair’s ability to remain iconic, relevant, and beloved no matter the era.
On The Spot With Jessica Peru
On the Spot is a fabulous unscripted street game show pilot featuring Jessica Peru (John Carmel) as she roams the streets of New York City asking outrageous, out-of-pocket questions to unsuspecting strangers. Inspired by Billy on the Street, the show is vibrant and proudly rooted in queer culture. In a city known for its chaos and eccentricity, the project playfully explores how performance often goes unnoticed, how even a drag queen can fade into the background of daily commuters. Strangers were challenged with trivia questions about gay history, including how many gay icons they could name (Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, Cher, etc.) or what year the Marriage Equality Act was passed nationwide. In many ways, the show doubles as a social experiment, examining how people interact with drag visibility in public spaces.
That's What Moms Are For
That’s What Moms Are For is a character-driven short film centered on the complicated dynamics between a mother and daughter during a birthday dinner. It reflects on the emotional push and pull that often defines family life.The film responds to the quiet, often overlooked realities of aging parents and the emotional labor that mothers carry throughout their lives. While grounded in recognizable domestic tension, the story leans into heightened, sometimes campy performances that blur the line between truth and exaggeration. In doing so, it becomes a kind of satire.
The set was entirely built from scratch using flats, allowing myself complete control over the environment. I leaned into a production design approach rooted in “curated clutter” a space densely filled with objects accumulated over a lifetime. This clutter wasn’t arbitrary; each item was carefully chosen to reflect the mother’s identity, values, and personal history. The result is a dining room that feels both intimate and overwhelming. Visually mirroring the emotional texture of the scene.
The set was entirely built from scratch using flats, allowing myself complete control over the environment. I leaned into a production design approach rooted in “curated clutter” a space densely filled with objects accumulated over a lifetime. This clutter wasn’t arbitrary; each item was carefully chosen to reflect the mother’s identity, values, and personal history. The result is a dining room that feels both intimate and overwhelming. Visually mirroring the emotional texture of the scene.
Comic Strip
Comic Strip is a short-form music video that blends lip-sync performance with 1960s pop art aesthetics, set to the iconic 1967 track by Serge Gainsbourg and Brigitte Bardot. Performed both in and out of drag, the piece pays homage to the bold, experimental spirit of vintage French pop culture, while reimagining it through a modern lens. The video was filmed on a white cyclorama, inspired by the playful simplicity of mid-century music videos, and features a whimsical use of balloons and a saturated primary color palette. The original song, known for its inventive use of comic book-style onomatopoeia and Bardot’s breathy, stylized vocals, was itself a playful critique of pop art and media.
Right Now !
Right Now is a short film told entirely without dialogue, relying on visual storytelling and performance to convey emotion and narrative. It follows Sindi Schorr (previously featured in Jessica Goes to New York), an eccentric woman waiting anxiously for a phone call while seated on a boldly colored mid-century couch. As she attempts to distract herself with small rituals like pouring tea, painting her nails, and reading gossip magazines. The tension builds until the phone finally rings. The reveal is she's been waiting for a McDonald’s delivery order. What follows is a quietly exaggerated moment of satisfaction, as Sindi indulges in the meal with a kind of reverence, turning the ordinary into the absurd.
TULIP
This photo shoot centers around my personal collection of tulip furniture, designed by Eero Saarinen in the 1950s as part of the mid-century modern movement. Saarinen’s futuristic, space-age aesthetic, marked by sleek lines and pedestal bases, was a bold response to what he referred to as the cluttered and messy appearance of multiple legs under traditional chairs and tables. I’ve always been drawn to the elegance and optimism of this era, and over time, have built a collection that reflects that fascination. These pieces often make their way into my creative projects, not just as decor, but as characters in their own right. This shoot captures my ongoing dialogue with design.
Morning Side of the Mountain
Morning Side of the Mountain is a visual homage to the brother-and-sister sensation Donny and Marie Osmond and their 1974 hit duet, which climbed to No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. The project reimagines the performance as a split-screen duet between two selves, one in drag, one out, mirroring the duality at the heart of both the song and the siblings’ act. The set was hand-built from discarded vintage wood paneling then styled with pieces from a personal furniture collection to evoke a warm, nostalgic space. A dual-camera system and tightly choreographed movement made it possible to film both sides of the performance separately and stitch them together in post, creating the illusion of a single shared moment. Sparked by the instant visual that came to mind upon hearing the song, the piece celebrates that spontaneous, cinematic feeling music can bring, the kind that builds a whole world in your head before the first chorus ends... "There was a Girl... There was a Boy..."
LOVEFOOL
This music video is a visual take on Lovefool by The Cardigans, the 1996 hit that captures the sweetness and chaos of unrequited love. Inspired by the 1990s’ nostalgic obsession with 1960s pop, I aimed for a more experimental approach—drawing from the work of Andy Warhol and vintage video art. The video features quad-split screens, layered panels, and monochrome tinting overlays, creating a lava lamp–like dream world. Each frame is treated as its own emotional vignette, blending romance, repetition, and color-driven storytelling.
Jessica à Paris
While vacationing in Europe, I seized the opportunity to photograph Jessica Peru (John Carmel) at Avenue de Camoëns in Paris, styled in a classic Dior “New Look” silhouette. Paris home to Christian Dior and the birthplace of postwar couture, served as the perfect backdrop for this homage to elegance. The New Look, introduced in 1947, revolutionized fashion with its cinched waists and full skirts, becoming as iconic as the Eiffel Tower itself. Shot early in the morning before the tourists woke up, the images capture a quiet cinematic moment where fashion, history, and identity intersect.
The Pruitts of Southampton
This short video is a recreation of the opening sequence to The Pruitts of Southampton, a 1960s sitcom starring the incomparable Phyllis Diller. Though the show was short-lived, its campy charm and Diller’s unapologetic persona have long inspired me as an artist. As a lover of vintage TV intros, from Green Acres to The Addams Family and Bewitched, I wanted to pay homage to an era of television that was bold, stylized, and often absurd. Filmed in my old college apartment in Virginia during my freshman year, this early project features performances by Kyle Duncan and Ariela Press.
VOIR!
This self-portrait photography project was created while studying at Virginia Commonwealth University and reflects my early exploration of visual storytelling. Shot on location at the historic Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia an architectural landmark built in 1895 in the Beaux-Arts style. The series draws inspiration from the expressive world of silent cinema. Influenced by icons like Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, and Buster Keaton, the images evoke their signature visual language. Though their performances were silent, their emotions were vivid and I sought to echo through composition and gesture. The project blends photography with graphic design elements reminiscent of early 20th-century posters in Europe, creating a nostalgic yet personal homage to a formative era in performance and visual art.
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