In an industry often dominated by mainstream sensibilities, Selene Kapsaski carves her own rebellious path through horror filmmaking. The British director, writer, and transgender artist first captured attention with her 2016 punk horror-musical Spidarlings and is now preparing to unleash her new sci-fi horror film The Moon is a Hologram.

With unflinching authenticity and a commitment to queer storytelling, Kapsaski's work blends dreamlike surrealism, vibrant visuals, and sharp social commentary. We caught up with her to discuss creative independence, industry challenges, and why horror remains both a battleground and sanctuary for LGBTQ+ voices.

What were your horror inspirations?

"Oh, there are so many. I love dreamlike and surreal horror, films like Phenomena, A Virgin Among The Living Dead, Valerie and Her Week of Wonders. I'm always excited when I watch a horror film that's full of colour, and life, and vibrancy. I also love trashy horror, and gore, and camp and slow burners, and psychological terror, but my favourite ones are always those with dreamlike logic and films that mix beauty and terror together."

In 2016, you made your directorial and writing debut with the film "Spidarlings." What inspired the creative concepts behind this movie?

"Before making Spidarlings I was working as script doctor for a made-for-TV Drama, and it was simply a nightmare, such a dull and draining experience. I hated it. So I decided I wanted to write and direct my own movie and to make something that I would enjoy watching myself. I always loved both Horror movies and musicals so to merge the two seemed like the right approach from the very start.

The script was heavily inspired by events in my own life around the time of writing the script. I was basically living in poverty and my landlord wanted to evict me because I was unable to pay the rent. At the same time my family was dealing with an unhinged stalker. I wanted it to feel like a great punk love story. Sort of like a lesbian Sid and Nancy, only instead of dying they rented a house in Essex and now had to face the challenge of survival in 'normal' society."

How does your identity influence your directing and writing styles?

"Before coming out and starting my transition, I used to write about gender a lot. These days I'm not as interested in it as a theme anymore. I guess I always used my writing as a means to work through and try to express things hidden within. But I'm at a different stage in my life now, so I feel less compelled to write about it. Though most of my characters and stories are still very queer. Straight people are just a bore to write about."

Are there any themes you would like to explore, but have not?

"There are so many themes and ideas that keep rattling around in my brain but I just haven't found the right project yet where I can explore them."

How do you balance telling authentic LGBT stories while also making your work accessible to broader audiences?

"I'm a neurodivergent, queer, punk weirdo and I make films for neurodivergent, queer, punk weirdoes. They are never going to please mainstream audiences, and that's ok."

What kinds of changes have you seen in the British movie scene when it comes to the LGBT community?

"There are so many exciting young British LGBT voices out there making phenomenal masterpieces, but they are too often being ignored and don't find the funding. There is little wiggle room for what kinds of films get funding from the likes of the BFI etc. If you make films that go against the grain, more often than not, you find yourself on your own."

What kind of discrimination have you experienced being transgender in the horror space, and what can the horror community do to be more welcoming?

"The horror community can be really open minded, warm, welcoming and accepting of queer and trans people. But in recent years I have seen more and more bigots and transphobes and alt right/MAGAts trying to hijack horror spaces and it's very concerning. The horror community really has to get better at calling out bigoted people from the community.

I remember a few years ago when Jim Wynorski was making fun of a trans women being murdered, many people in the horror community just gave it a shrug and moved on, same when it came to Anna Biller posting all this TERF shit on Twitter. If you stay quiet and leave all those people unchecked then hatred and bigotry becomes normalized and queer people will start to feel unsafe and unwelcome in horror spaces."

Has that discrimination come to mind when casting for your movies?

"I have been pretty lucky because I've mostly been working with pretty awesome people."

Let's talk about "The Moon is a Hologram," you recently released a teaser trailer to the movie. Tell us a little about the movie.

"The Moon is a Hologram is a Sci-Fi horror movie inspired by the paranoid sci-fi films of the cold war era and the bleakness of 70's sci-fi. It's an alien invasion movie that in many ways parallels our modern world, from disinformation spread in the digital age, to the rise of Trump and the growing wave of transphobia in the UK and the US. But it's also a love story about three young people just trying to survive in a world that is becoming increasingly more hostile."

Your sister was in both The Moon is a Hologram, and "Spidarlings," how is working with family?

"We have been making films together ever since I got my first video camera at the age of 9. We are very close and work extremely well together, it's fun to challenge each other and come up with ideas together. Apart from being an actress in both films she is also the special FX artist and the executive producer on The Moon is a Hologram."

Let's talk about the cast, introduce us to them, and do you have a fond memory of working with them during the movie?

"Robyn Adams plays Sasha, a young trans punk who starts a Polyamory relationship with Jess played by Jessie Adams and Mike played by Frank Bertoletti. There's also H.C.A. Taylor who plays conspiracy theorist Duffy, Miss Sugar Rush (who has also played in Spidarlings and Mephisto's House of Ill Repute), Lili Thorpe, and a small cameo by Jeff Kristian, who wrote the songs for Spidarlings and is a longtime friend and collaborator, and Beth Warburton who apart from acting in the film is also my first A.D and we recently wrote a book together called To Hell or High Water.

There is so much love, and creativity and respect among my cast and crew, I feel blessed that I get to work with such a talented and lovely group of people."

You wrote The Moon is a Hologram during the 2020 COVID lockdowns, how much of an influence, if any, did it have on this film?

"What really influenced the script during that time was seeing people go crazy in lockdown, becoming radicalized by dangerous ideologies, spreading conspiracy theories and acting on their worst impulses."

Most overrated director: "Michael Haneke"

Director whose movies we should watch more: "Jack Smith, George Kuchar and GB Jones"

Most overrated writer: "Peter Sotos"

An author we should read more of: "Jack Finney"

A movie you feel like you're the only person in the world you enjoy: "Themroc. I've been recommending that film to all my friends for years, and hardly anybody every bothers to check it out."

A popular movie you can't stand: Fight Club

What advice would you give to LGBT filmmakers? "We need you, we need your voice. Don't just sit around waiting for financing or for the time to be right, just go and make a film. Grab a camera, a cellphone, whatever you have access to and just make a movie. My first film took me five years to make, I had no money and I made every mistake possible. Trust me, you can only do better than me."

And finally: Write your obituary. What do you want to be remembered for? "She was a crazy bitch, let's hope she stays dead THIS TIME"

You can find Selene on BlueSky @selenekapsaski.bsky.social. The Moon is a Hologram is currently in post-production.