DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT She's bright. She's lavish. She's begging to be known, often calling herself a reversed 'Mrs. Doubtfire' meets 'A League of Their Own.' She also can't catch a baseball to save her life; her dad never taught her how. Her name is 'Batter Up, Queen!', and she is a film that is as much a reaction to hate as it is a vibrant celebration of what hate will never destroy. Raised in a conservative community in southern Louisiana, I am all-too-familiar with the rhetoric demonizing interactions between children and queer/trans people that has dominated media and politics in recent years. As I watched proposed bills in my home state trying to ban events that facilitated appropriate interaction between drag queens and kids, I could only help but think of my closeted younger self and what he needed but never had. How special it would’ve been for him to have known a positive queer role model in his childhood, a person who could’ve reminded me that, no matter who disapproved or shamed, I would always be loved. Positive queer influence could change the lives of so many closeted youth who face suppression in their homes. In a world that fosters hate so intensely, it is vital that these kids are protected; it is vital that stories like that of Fran and Marcus's silly escapades are still being made and seen. Inspired by the stark contrasts between the place I grew up in and the queer haven of New Orleans I find myself residing now, my film campily clashes aesthetics from drag and sports cultures to twist conventions of masculinity and fatherhood. While it may tonally contrast with my previous, more somber works, the emotionality that has guided my artistry firmly remains. ‘Batter Up, Queen!’ wields heart, humor, and friendship to combat the very narratives that sparked its creation, keeping love and sincerity at its core always. In twenty-twenty-six, the queer and trans communities deserve silliness. In twenty-twenty-six, we deserve innocence. In twenty-twenty-six, we deserve to holler, cackle, and laugh. This is the story of Marcus, Fran, and the Prairieville Zoomies. Enjoy!