Skip to main content
Portland filmmakers Audrey Booth and Ren Park first connected over their shared Christian experiences and their early attempts to reconcile their spiritualities and sexualities. Park grew up in the Catholic church, while Booth grew up in a nondenominational congregation, though neither is still a practicing Christian. Their new short film, Petrichor—the term describing the smell of soil after first rain—reflects their worldview that Christianity and queerness are not in binary opposition. Booth wrote the short story that inspired Petrichor after seeing a Portland church wave an LGBTQ+ Pride flag.
“Until that point, I had never seen a church openly support the queer community,” Booth says via email. “That was a pretty monumental moment for me. It got me thinking: How could my life have turned out differently if I had seen something like this growing up?”
Premiering Saturday, Jan. 4, at the Moreland Theater, Petrichor follows Willow (Kaikane), a faithful Christian woman surprised as she’s drawn to connect with Keoni (Booth), an openly lesbian woman in her Bible study group. Booth’s short film debut, Biracial Beauties (2021), also explored personal identity.
The writer-directors, who will host a post-screening Q&A session, answered WW’s questions about the inspiration behind Petrichor. They responded with their hopes to open conversations about faith and sexuality in America, and help show LGBTQ+ Christians they have a home in the church. Responses have been lightly edited for brevity and clarity.
WW: What do you hope viewers will take from Petrichor?
Audrey Booth: We had two purposes with making this film: The first is to inspire the people who have actually experienced firsthand the struggle of juggling their faith and queerness. We understand from personal experience the pressure queer people feel as they come to terms with their sexuality. We firmly believe that who you are and who you love should not limit what you believe. The second purpose is for the allies who haven’t personally experienced queer hardship but want to support those who have. Film is a powerful medium that can foster empathy and understanding in a really beautiful way. Our hope is that viewers will come out of this film with a more radical understanding of what it means to face the question of being queer and religious.
What is Petrichor’s “unique take on faith”?
Booth: You don’t have to meet any specific requirements to be deserving of God’s love. That’s it. The fact that that makes it “unique” is actually quite sad. Audrey grew up Christian and Ren grew up Catholic, and we were both raised on the belief that we are put on this earth to love others. In any aspect of our lives we’re meant to show love and kindness, the way God shows it to us. But all of a sudden when someone is queer, that message changes.
What inspired you to create Petrichor?
Ren Park: When I first realized I was gay, I was OK with it. I felt in my heart that if God were against it, He wouldn’t have made me this way. However, as I began to introduce myself to the world as a queer woman, it became clear that most people did not agree with me. In the end, I stopped going to church altogether. While it doesn’t fit for my life anymore, I do still firmly believe that it is completely OK to be gay and Christian. I should have been able to continue believing the way that I did. It shouldn’t have been traumatized out of me. Though I can’t change my experience, I can do my part to make it different for other people. If someone feels that it’s important to them to attend church, they should unquestionably be allowed to without feeling their safety threatened. After all, isn’t the greatest commandment to love one another?
What conversations do you hope Petrichor inspires within the LGBTQ+ community?
Booth: This film is meant to inspire hope for the young queer person looking for meaning inside and outside of spirituality. The reality of moving through this world as a person who is both queer and Christian is complex, and it’s not possible for us to fully dive into those nuances in a short film. But what we hope is that people will be inspired by the honesty and truth of this film and start talking about ways that we can create spaces that are safe for queer people to practice whatever they believe. We’re here to say it’s OK not to know who you are or how you fit into your identity. But if your identity is meant to include faith, never feel like you have to choose.
SEE IT: Petrichor at Moreland Theater, 6712 SE Milwaukie Ave., 503-236-5257, audreybooth.com/petrichor. 11 am Saturday, Jan. 4. $10–$15.