In the summer of 2023, the American fine art photographer and film director Rob Woodcox debuted his short film Honey to the Moon, which is produced by Violeta Films and is distributed by Sherpa Films. The film is set in Mexico and considers queer bodies experiencing love and loss amidst the nation’s serene natural beauty that often escapes Hollywood portrayals. The film is a collaborative undertaking between Woodcox, local Mexican government bodies, the queer artists who participated in the film, and a crypto art backer called Art on Internet (AOI), which will host an NFT drop of the project.

Many of Woodcox’s photography works place queer identities within liminal, emotionally-charged spaces. The filmmaker acknowledges this, saying: “The experience of a queer individual in this society is one of both beauty and pain, freedom and constraint; when you mix love into the picture it becomes a Salvador Dali painting spread across reality.” He explains that queer folx reside outside society's norms and are therefore more predisposed to explore alternative expressions within romantic connections, and that the queer community constantly walks between abstraction and reality within relationships.

Woodcox sees love as a universal force, and believes that everybody exhibits some queerness. In his opinion, each of us—secretly, or eventually openly—wishes to be free of societal barriers. His intent, through Honey to the Moon, was to express the surrealism of experiencing love and the loss thereof, before returning to oneself.

Woodcox tells STIR about the film, "When I wrote out this concept, I began by exploring internally each emotional stage I feel when entering or leaving a relationship. I had recently gone through a breakup, so the timing was perfect. For each emotional stage, I imagined surreal visual art and symbols, which is something my mind does naturally. I wrote poetically about each stage and eventually each of these turned into a scene from the film.” The filmmaker cites an example, describing a scene seen in the trailer from the end of the film: the protagonist floats in blue water, immersed in cloudy liquid, representing toxins being cleansed from his system after separating from his partner. Woodcox adds to this, saying: "I specifically chose white to comment on white privilege, and on cleansing that from our mentality as a collective.”

When asked about the significance of Mexico within this film, Woodcox tells STIR that the country sits at the heart of surrealism. "I am lucky enough to live in this beautiful country,” he says. Mexico is, after all, where many artists from the Surrealist community fled to escape the violence of the Second World War. The filmmaker expresses an affinity for the works of artists like Frida Kahlo, Leonora Carrington, Salvador Dali and René Magritte. In his words: “Each of these artists either came from or spent quality time in Mexico to develop their expression. Dali even made a famous quote that Mexico was ‘more surreal than his paintings’ and left because of that. I adore this country and found its natural backdrop the perfect setting for this film.”

Coming to the film project’s NFT component, Woodcox has garnered some experience in the crypto space as he began offering some of his photographs as NFT pieces in 2021. Nevertheless, the filmmaker was surprised when AOI offered to fund this project in exchange for releasing NFTs on their platform. The drop, which is scheduled for October 20, will feature unpublished footage paired with the original poetic writing that inspired the film, as well as film stills and behind-the-scenes content.

Discussing his plans for the future, Woodcox expresses excitement at having officially transitioned into filmmaking. He plans to continue directing still photography shoots, but also has big dreams for the movies that he wishes to make. He informs that he is already in the research stage for his next film, which will combine the surreal and highly charged style of movement that his photography work and Honey to the Moon feature, with documentary narratives that celebrate frontline climate change communities. “Imagine blending the works of Ron Fricke with a narrative-driven Beyoncé music video. I know that sounds wild but it’s the best description I can share at this time.” Climate change is certainly an interesting direction for Woodcox to take his practice in, and those who enjoy his work will no doubt have their interest piqued at the prospect of an offering that combines the director and cinematographer Ron Fricke’s timelapse and large-format filming with the vibrance and energy of Beyoncé.

Honey to the Moon premiered at the Oscar-qualifying Provincetown International Film Festival in June, and has also been screened to over 15,000 viewers across Mexico City; London in the United Kingdom; and Minneapolis in the United States.