How to Tie a Tie
Genre: Scripted Narrative
Synopsis:
In the months after Dominique’s mother married William, Dominique resented his new step-father for making him share the only parent he’s ever had. After Dominique’s crush asks him to the winter formal, the black West Virginian teenager decides to track down his biological father who he hopes will teach him how to tie a tie before the dance. When Dominique tracks down his dad, the man berates him demanding to know if he’s “a faggot”. Unable to answer, Dominique’s dad publicly disowns him. Determined to live in his truth, Dominique heeds his mother’s advice and resolves to finally connect with his step-father and learn how to be his own man and how to tie his own tie.
Credits:
Director: Shawn Holmes
Writer: Shawn Holmes
Producer: Robert Tinnell
Producer: Cameron Johnston
Key Cast “Dominique”: Bryson Quinn
Key Cast “William”: Steve B Walters
Key Cast “Carol”: DeShawn White
Key Cast “Darnell”: Robert X. Golphin
Director Bio:
Shawn Holmes is an award-winning, black, queer filmmaker who thrives in the edge-of-your-seat world of the thriller. He entertains and captivates, dragging riveted audiences through emotion-packed stories bursting with iconic imagery, break-neck pacing, and universal appeal.
Holmes’ first film was a stop-motion animation he made using Power Rangers action figures and his grandfather’s VHS camcorder when he was seven years old.
And he’s been telling stories by any means necessary ever since.
After dropping out of Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film and Television, Holmes returned home to West Virginia. Using his roommates as actors and the cheapest DSLR from Walmart, Holmes shot the thriller MEMORY LANE in his grandmother’s garage with a budget of less than $300.
Intended to be a proof of concept, Holmes’ released MEMORY LANE online for just 48 hours to show friends and family what he’d been working on. However, after receiving more than 23,000 views during that single weekend, Holmes was approached by a manager and licensed the film for worldwide distribution.
Armed with new allies and determined to tell universal stories on a larger scale, Holmes began writing his next projects. He optioned ROCKABYE, a post-apocalyptic coming-of-age thriller, to Ashton Kutcher’s Katalyst Films. His screenplay for the psychological thriller THE KNIFE SALESMAN was recognized as a finalist in the Screencraft Feature Screenwriting Competition.
Holmes’ films have toured the festival circuit with acceptances including Sci-Fi London, Razor Reel, and Mexico LGBTQ+ International Film Festival.
In 2021, Holmes became the artist-in-residence of the George A. Romero Filmmaking Program where he flaunted his range as a filmmaker. In a departure from his usual high-stakes thrills, Holmes shot the coming-of-age drama HOW TO TIE A TIE which was later awarded at multiple festivals including “Best Short” at the Silicon Valley Queer Film Festival in June 2022. To Holmes’ surprise, it was recently shortlisted as a finalist for “Best Short Film” at the Oscar-qualifying Peachtree Village International Film Festival where the film is slated to screen in November 2022.
Though still early in his career, Holmes has been recognized as a finalist for the Warner Brothers Emerging Directors Workshop and the youngest nominee in history for the West Virginia Filmmaker of the Year Award. He has been twice awarded by the West Virginia Broadcasters Association for his work in television. His commercial work includes such clients as Paul Mitchell and The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation.
Currently, Holmes is developing several original projects spanning a range of genres and tones.