A promotional poster for the film 'Thine Own Self' by Evan Bode. The poster features colorful spirits floating in space and includes various film festival selection laurels at the top, with the title handwritten-style text at the bottom.

“Thine Own Self” (2021)
5 min. 55 sec.

Torn from their home by a hand in the sky, colorful spirits struggle against a tyrannical pink-and-blue binary to reclaim the way of being they once knew.

Poster for the film "A Spot for Frog" by Evan Bode. The image shows a person with a backpack standing in a dark, alleyway with colorful, neon-like scribbles on the walls. The person is looking at a bright screen or light source in front of them. The poster includes multiple awards and official selections for various film festivals, such as Outfest Los Angeles, New Jersey International Film Festival, Imageout LGBT Film Festival, and others.

“A Spot for Frog” (2022)
16 min. 14 sec.

Locked out of the school art room, a nonbinary neurodivergent teen named Frog grapples with anxiety as they seek a new place to eat lunch.

“Out of Frame” (2023)
9 min. 59 sec.

Trapped in their frames and monitored by a menacing curator, two paintings long to escape from their art gallery's white walls.

A collage of three sections with artistic styles. The top section shows a small cardboard box with a chalkboard sign inside reading 'PRISON AND TIME.' The middle section depicts a clock over dark, textured background. The bottom section features a textured drawing of ocean waves, with credits at the bottom reading "Written by Marvin Wade," "Animated by Evan Bode," and "Produced by PROJECT MEND."

“Prison and Time” (2025)
6 min. 50 sec.

Adapting an essay by writer and activist Marvin Wade, I animate visuals to accompany his reflections about spending 25 years of his life in prison.

Poster for the poetry film "let it be a tale" by Evan Bode with a background of plants and a rainbow-colored lens flare effects. The film is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Refaat Alareer. The cover features a sketch of a small kite.

“Let It Be a Tale” (2024)
3 min. 38 sec.

Animating words to a poem by martyred Palestinian scholar Dr. Refaat Al-Areer, I pay homage to victims of genocide.

Poster for the poetry film "Afterimages" by Evan Bode. Abstract digital artwork featuring a window with curtains opening to a swirling, colorful space with vibrant colors, light effects, and textured patterns.

“Afterimages” (2024)
2 min. 12 sec.

In collaboration with poet Mackenzie Duan, I use handcrafted animation to visualize an emotional inner landscape.

Poster for the film "Anxiety Art" by Evan Bode. A hand holding a tangled, black scribble against a black background, with the words 'Anxiety Art' and a laurels emblem indicating the Through the Student Lens film festival 2021.

“Anxiety Art” (2019)
1 min. 40 sec.

Sitting at a desk in a dark dorm room, I take my anxieties out of my brain and into my hands. 

Poster for the experimental documentary "Mary Remembering" by Evan Bode. Black and white photo of a person sitting outdoors with a house and trees in the background, with the words 'Mary Remembering' written below in handwriting.

“Mary Remembering” (2023)
6 min. 50 sec.

Drawing on archival interviews, I explore the childhood memories of my gender nonconforming Great-Great Grandmother.

Film Distribution

2026

Project Mend Digital Archive, SU Libraries Repository (Prison and Time)
CAN TV: Chicago Cable Station (Prison and Time)
Short Frame: Award Winning Short Films (A Spot for Frog)

2023

Planet Classroom Global Network for Youth (Thine Own Self)
Teen Screen Pittsburgh: Educational Media Program (A Spot for Frog)
Counterclock Online Literary Magazine / Patchwork Fellowship (Afterimages) 

2022

Jet-Blue In-Flight Entertainment, as Gotham Student Showcase Winner (Thine Own Self)
Focus Features Digital Distribution, as Gotham Showcase Winner (Thine Own Self)

Film Awards / Honors

2025

Audience Award Winner, Pebbles Underground Film & Video Art (Prison and Time)
Semi-Finalist, New Voices Filmmaker Grant by NewFest in partnership with Netflix.

2024

Curator’s Pick Award, SEFF Binghamton, United States (Out of Frame)
Critic’s Choice Award, SyraQs Micro Film Festival, NY, US (City Persisting)
Best Costume Design, Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival, Greece (Out of Frame)
Best Experimental Film, Voice of the Future - IFF, Lithuania (Out of Frame)

2023

Best Animation Award, New Jersey International Film Festival - Spring (A Spot for Frog)
Best Animation Award, New Jersey International Film Festival - Fall (Out of Frame)
Best Film Score Award, Monkey Bread Tree Film Awards, United Kingdom (Out of Frame)
Best Arthouse Fiction, Adria International Short Film Festival, Croatia (A Spot for Frog)
Best Diary Film, Timeless Film Awards, Poland (Mary Remembering)

2022

Director’s Choice Award, Thomas Edison Film Festival, New Jersey (A Spot for Frog)
Honorable Mention for Audience Award, Animafest Zagreb, Croatia (Thine Own Self)
Best Silent Film, Out & Loud: Pune International Queer Film Festival, India (Thine Own Self)
Super-Short Smartphone Award, Berlin Flash Film Festival, Germany (Anxiety Art)

2021

Audience Choice Award for “Anxiety Art” at Through the Student Lens Film Festival
National winner of The Gotham’s Student Short Film Showcase sponsored by JetBlue and Focus Features for “Thine Own Self,” earning $10K production grant, digital distribution, and attendance at the Gotham Awards in New York City, United States

Film Screenings / Festival Selections

2026

Wide Open Experimental Film Festival, Oklahoma, United States (Prison and Time)
FOLCS International Short Film Competition, New York, United States (Prison and Time)
New Jersey International Film Festival, New Jersey, United States (Prison and Time)
Broken Film Festival, Ontario, Canada (Out of Frame)
CineSomnia: Dreams and Nightmares, Nottingham, United Kingdom (Out of Frame)
Syracuse University MFA Alumni Film Screening, New York, United States (Out of Frame)
ATL DOC - Atlanta Documentary Film Festival, Georgia, United States (Prison and Time)
Pebbles Underground Award Winners Program on VisualContainer.TV, Global (Prison and Time)
Justice Film Festival, New York, United States (Prison and Time)

2025

Pebbles Underground Film and Video Art Festival, Canada (Prison and Time)
MicroActs: Artist Film Screening: In a Curious Place, London, United Kingdom (Prison and Time)
Films for Freedom: Presented by the Film-Makers’ Cooperative and Canyon Cinema (Hands Off)
After Prison: When I Think of Freedom, New York, United States (Prison and Time)
Image+Nation Montreal LGBTQ2SQueer Film Festival, Montreal, Canada (Out of Frame)
Baby Teeth Film Festival, New York, United States (Out of Frame)
Seattle Trans Underground Film Festival, Oregon, United States (Out of Frame)
AmAuteur Film Festival, Chicago, United States (Out of Frame)
Film and Animation Showcase: Global Fundraiser for Gaza, Manchester, United Kingdom (Let It Be a Tale)
Poetry in Motion Film Festival, Colorado Springs, United States (Afterimages)
Exposures Montreal Trans Film Festival, Montreal, Canada (Out of Frame)
Norwich Queer International Festival of Film, United Kingdom (Out of Frame)
MisCon International Short Film Festival, Montana, United States (Out of Frame)
Syracuse University VPA in LA Film Showcase, California, United States (Out of Frame)
WriteOut in Chorus, Central New York Philanthropy Center, United States
Visions of Community: Syracuse Symposium Screening, New York, United States (Teens with a Movie Camera)
Overture: Faculty Survey, Syracuse VPA Warehouse Gallery, New York, United States (Let It Be a Tale)
Honorable Mention: Blackbird Film Festival, United States (Out of Frame)

2024

New Jersey International Film Festival, New Jersey, United States (Out of Frame)
Student Experimental Film Festival Binghamton, United States (Out of Frame)
SyraQs Micro Film Festival, New York, United States (City Persisting)
Voice of the Future - IFF, Lithuania (Out of Frame)
Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival, Greece (Out of Frame)
Gordon Parks Community Showcase, Syracuse University Art Museum, New York, United States (Teens with a Movie Camera)
Visions of Community Public Projection via Urban Video Project, New York, United States (Teens with a Movie Camera)
Mometu College Film Festival, Online, United States (Out of Frame)
Magnolia Independent Film Festival, Mississippi, United States (A Spot for Frog)
Art Film Spirit Awards, Toronto, Canada (Out of Frame)
Baby Teeth Film Festival, New York, United States (A Spot for Frog)
TeenReel 1.0 Public Screening at Light Work, Watson Auditorium. New York, United States (Teens with a Movie Camera)
TeenReel 1.0 Public Everson Projection via Urban Video Project, New York, United States (Teens with a Movie Camera)
Semi-Finalist: Blow-Up Arthouse Filmfest, Chicago, United States(A Spot for Frog)

2023

OUTFEST Los Angeles Film Festival, United States (A Spot for Frog)
Thomas Edison Film Festival, United States (A Spot for Frog)
ImageOut: Rochester LGBTQ+ Film Festival, United States (A Spot for Frog)
New Jersey International Film Festival, United States (A Spot for Frog)
Adria International Short Film Festival, Croatia (A Spot for Frog)
The Monkey Bread Tree Film Awards, United Kingdom (Out of Frame)
Timeless Film Awards, Poland (Mary Remembering)
ImageOut: Rochester LGBTQ+ Film Festival, United States (A Spot for Frog)
Nantucket Pride Youth Film Festival, United States (A Spot for Frog)
Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival, Indiana, United States (A Spot for Frog)
Experimental Film Fest, United States (Thine Own Self)
New York Lift-Off Film Festival, United States (A Spot for Frog)
Fairy Tales Queer Film Festival, Alberta, Canada (A Spot for Frog)
Reelout Queer Film Festival, Canada (A Spot for Frog)
Florence Queer Festival, Italy (A Spot for Frog)
Melbourne Queer Film Festival, Australia (A Spot for Frog)
AnimaQUEER Film Fest, Brazil (Nominee: Best Score) (Thine Own Self)
Helios Sun Poetry Film Festival, Ciudad de México, México (Afterimages)
Reel Desires: Chennai International Queer Film Festival, India (Thine Own Self)
Aotearoa Poetry Film Festival, Wellington, New Zealand (Afterimages)
Leeds Queer Film Festival, United Kingdom (A Spot for Frog)
MicroActs 16 Artist Film Screening, United Kingdom (Afterimages)
Syracuse International Film Festival Student Showcase, New York, United States (Out of Frame)
Nominee: “Best Director,” The Monkey Bread Tree Film Awards, United Kingdom (Out of Frame)
Honorable Mention: “Best Director,” Munich New Wave Film Festival, Germany (A Spot for Frog)
Honorable Mention: Merced Queer Film Festival, United States (A Spot for Frog)
Honorable Mention: Experimental Forum, United States (A Spot for Frog)
Finalist: Kansas City Underground Film Festival, United States(A Spot for Frog)
Semi-Finalist: Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival, United States (A Spot for Frog)
Semi-Finalist: Change the Script: Shorts Informed by Experience, Canada (A Spot for Frog)

2022

Animafest Zagreb, Films for Children Competition, Croatia (Thine Own Self)
Out & Loud: Pune International Queer Film Festival, India (Thine Own Self)
Berlin Flash Film Festival, Germany (Anxiety Art)
Leeds International Film Festival, United Kingdom (Thine Own Self)
Durban Film Festival's Isiphethu Student Film Festival, South Africa (Thine Own Self)
Bendigo Queer Film Festival, Victoria, Australia (Thine Own Self)
Seattle Queer Film Festival, United States (A Spot for Frog)
Prairie Pride Film Festival, United States (Thine Own Self)
Octopus Marquee Independent Film Festival, United States (A Spot for Frog)
New Filmmakers Showcase at Syracuse International Film Festival, United States (A Spot for Frog)
Through the Student Lens Film Festival, Colorado, United States (Thine Own Self)
Blackbird Film Festival, New York, United States (Anxiety Art)
TEDxCSU Special Screening, Colorado, United States (Anxiety Art)
Finalist:  55th Humboldt International Film Fest, United States (Thine Own Self)
Screening via JetBlue In-Flight Entertainment (Thine Own Self)
Distribution via Focus Features Digital Distribution (Thine Own Self)

2021

The Gotham Institute's Student Short Film Showcase, New York, United States (Thine Own Self)
Through the Student Lens, Colorado, United States (Anxiety Art)
FOR RAINBOW: Festival of Cinema and Culture of Gender Diversity, Brazil (Thine Own Self)
Seattle Queer Film Festival, United States (Thine Own Self)
OUTSOUTH Queer Film Festival, United States (Thine Own Self)
QUEER-Streifen Regensburg Film Festival, Germany (Thine Own Self)
MicroActs 8 Artist Film Screening, United States (Thine Own Self)
FilmOneFest, New Jersey, United States (Anxiety Art)
Student Showcase at Syracuse International Film Festival, United States (Thine Own Self)
Semi-Finalist: Sweden Film Awards, Sweden (Anxiety Art)
Nominee: Best Experimental Short at Short Encounters Film Festival, Greece (Thine Own Self)