“I was a gig worker and frankly, I still am,” says Asia Kate Dillon, star of Outerlands, the closing-night feature of the 2025 SFFILM Festival.
“Acting is gig work. But I also did restaurant work, babysitting, and even sold drugs at one point. So in many ways, I knew Cass already. Their experiences felt familiar—not always comfortable, but familiar.”
In the film, which screens jointly at Marina Theatre and Premier Theater on April 27 (followed by a Q&A with Dillon, director Elena Oxman, and producer Marc Smolowitz), Dillon plays Cass, a reserved nonbinary midwestern transplant trying to make a life in a rapidly gentrifying San Francisco.
Cass rents a small studio, works multiple jobs, and carefully manages their world—until the chaotic and magnetic Kalli bursts in. When Kalli suddenly asks Cass to watch her daughter, Ari, and then vanishes, Cass finds themselves responsible for a child and weighed down by emotional confusion and mounting financial stress.
Directed by Oxman in her narrative feature debut, Outerlands is a quiet storm of a story—centered on queer identity but not defined by it.
Cass, says Dillon, is “a trans and nonbinary person in their 30s, on testosterone, pre-top surgery, who’s the protagonist of a story that isn’t centered on those facts.”
Instead, Outerlands focuses on something more universal: longing for connection, navigating loss, and trying to heal.
That emotional range is what drew Dillon to the script. “The scene between Cass and Ari at the cave—that one stuck with me,” they say. “We don’t learn much about Cass’s past, but just enough to fill in the blanks.
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Dillon sees a parallel between this pivotal scene and their own real-life journey.
“I had a rough childhood in many ways,” they say. “One of my refuges was being alone in the woods, imagining safe spaces for myself. That scene was particularly resonant.”
The film is also rooted in the neighborhoods, textures, and tensions of San Francisco, where Oxman has lived since 2011.
“San Francisco is its own character in the film,” Dillon says. “As the city becomes less and less friendly toward queer and marginalized people, Cass becomes more isolated. It’s a parallel.”
Oxman, who developed the film through SFFILM’s Artist Development program, brings a documentarian’s sensitivity to her first feature. Her earlier work includes Lit, a short shot at the now-closed Lexington Club.
In Outerlands, her eye is patient and empathetic, letting quiet moments bloom into emotional reveals. The film doesn’t push Cass toward a traditional redemption arc, nor does it treat their gender identity as a source of spectacle or trauma.
“We’re never done coming of age,” Dillon says. “In most stories, it’s about the transition from childhood into adulthood—then you’re supposed to have it figured out. But that’s not real. Cass is in their mid-30s and just starting a healing journey. Even as the film ends, it’s a beginning.”
Dillon, who made history as the first nonbinary actor to play a nonbinary character on a major TV series (Billions), sees Outerlands as part of a larger shift, though there’s still work to be done.
“When I played Taylor, I was the only one doing that,” they say. “Now there are more nonbinary characters, more visibility. But we’re still rarely the protagonists. And major awards shows still haven’t dropped gendered acting categories.”
They point to a future where representation isn’t just symbolic but also systemic. “I look forward to the day when those categories are gone, and when trans and nonbinary stories help color the whole storytelling landscape.”
Despite being an outspoken figure, Dillon acknowledges the challenge of balancing vulnerability and visibility.
“Carefully,” they say. “Very carefully and learning along the way. I have boundaries around what I share publicly and what stays private. And those boundaries are created in collaboration with the people in my life who are affected by my visibility.”
That balance is also reflected in Outerlands, an emotionally raw film without being exploitative, political without being didactic.
As Cass begins to bond with Ari, despite the confusion and resentment surrounding Kalli’s absence, they’re forced to confront buried memories—and a longing that runs deeper than they realized.
The relationship between Cass and Ari becomes the emotional core of the story: part chosen family, part trauma mirror.
“Cass’ experiences—pain, loss, searching for connection—are universal,” Dillon says. “And the film also speaks to the beauty of queer sex and love, the nuanced journey of addiction, and how trying to fill an emptiness can give way to real healing.”
That complexity is mirrored in the cast: Ridley Asha Bateman gives Ari a sharp emotional edge, while queer icon Lea DeLaria brings warmth and grit to a key supporting role.
The ensemble helps build out a version of San Francisco that feels lived-in and specific, even as its real-world counterpart gentrifies beyond recognition.
Dillon, who spent seven weeks filming in the city, speaks of it with affection. “We shot in 36 locations all over,” they say. “I loved working there—it felt like a home away from home.”
They also mention the deep camaraderie that formed among the cast and crew, which carried over into the film’s emotional honesty. “There was a sense of safety on set,” Dillon adds. “It made it possible to be that vulnerable on camera.”
As Outerlands brings the 2025 SFFILM Festival to a close, it leaves behind a quiet but indelible mark. The film doesn’t shout—it lingers. It doesn’t end with closure, but with possibility.
And for Dillon, that kind of story feels long overdue. “I’d never seen a character like Cass on screen before,” they say. “But I think anyone can relate to them. Their story isn’t about being nonbinary—it’s about being human.”
2025 SFFILM Festival CLOSING NIGHT: OUTERLANDS April 27. Tickets and more info here.
