Brazilian-born filmmaker Natalia Leite's Queeroes short, Kiki and the MXfits, tells the story of protagonist Chiquilla and her "crew of misfit bleacher brats" as they navigate queer identity and being high school outsiders. When Kiki, a trans member of the squad, gets thrown in detention for using the girl's bathroom, it ignites a spark that sends the whole group of teens into a rampage of rebellion.

Queeroes is a series of short films produced in partnership with them. and 5050by2020, and curated by Transparent creator and two-time Emmy award-winner Jill Soloway. Sponsored by Gilead, the project pairs up-and-coming filmmakers with established Hollywood mentors to produce shorts that reflect marginalized LGBTQ+ identities that lack representation in film and television.

In her work, Leite often explores themes of transgressive sexuality and gender, sometimes inserting herself in the narrative, as she did documenting her stint as a stripper for VICE while scouting locations for her debut feature film Bare. Leite's second feature, M.F.A., follows an art student who accidentally kills her rapist — and in the process, awakens both her artistic inspiration and a newfound path as a vigilante. In Leite's films, a traumatic event often leads to growth and transformation, and surprising discoveries of power.

For Leite, growing up queer and Latinx meant rarely — if ever — seeing herself represented on screen. So working with mentor Tanya Saracho, creator of the Starz series Vida, gave her an opportunity to envision the kind of teen TV show she wished had existed when she was younger.

This weekend, all three Queeroes short films will screen at Outfest in Los Angeles, with a discussion with cast and crew to follow. Leite spoke with them. about the inspiration for her film and what 'Queero' means to her.

What inspired Kiki and her friends?

I wanted to make a film that I wish I had seen as a teenager in high school. I grew up in Brazil and struggled to see myself represented on TV and films. There were practically no films featuring queers, especially not in the Latinx community. And when there was a queer person in a movie the storyline focused on the struggles of being queer. I wanted to create a story that showed these kids having fun, getting into trouble, and being themselves.

The story is told in the style of a trailer for a movie or TV show. Do you have any plans to expand “the MXfits” into a longer project?