Creator+ Acquires YouTube Creator Elle Mills LGBTQ Romantic Short Film Reply

Posted by Martina Birk on Monday, April 15, 2024

Creator+, a creator-focused startup studio and digital distribution platform, has made its first acquisition: LGBTQ romantic short film “Reply” from YouTuber Elle Mills.

“Reply” will premiere Nov. 10 exclusively on Creator+, priced at $2.99 for a three-day rental. Buyers will be prompted to donate an optional $1 to the Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ youth. The short film will also be accompanied by original video reactions from Mills, who wrote and directed “Reply,” and the cast.

“Reply” stars Ava Capri (“Do Revenge,” “Love, Victor”), Ciara Riley Wilson (“Kim Possible”), Corey Fogelmanis (“Ma”) and Anthony Rosenthal (“Fosse/Verdon”). The film follows Casey (Riley Wilson) during her last summer at home before moving to Los Angeles to attend UCLA with her boyfriend Jackson (Fogelmanis). However, her new neighbor Hayden (Capri) makes Casey question her future, as a budding romance begins to transpire between the two girls.

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“‘Reply’ was very much a passion project — it’s a love letter to my high school self and the film I wish I had growing up,” Mills said in a statement. “Getting to work with Creator+ to finally release this into the world has been a dream come true experience.” The short film is the narrative directorial debut for Mills, whose ElleOfTheMills YouTube channel has 1.75 million subscribers.

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“Reply” won the 2022 Buffer Festival’s Festival Honour Award presented by YouTube Canada. It’s the first film Creator+ has acquired as it continues to expand its original scripted programming lineup.

“Elle is the perfect example of a digital-native creator independently developing and producing narrative work,” added McKenna Marshall, VP of development for Creator+. “She’s a genuine creative with a bright future ahead in the world of entertainment.”

Earlier this year, Creator+ premiered its first two original feature films: “Jane,” starring Madelaine Petsch (“Riverdale”) and Chlöe Bailey (of the sister duo Chloe X Halle), and “Diamond in the Rough” starring Samantha Boscarino (“The Clique”) and TikTok creator Griffin Johnson. Both are available for a $4.99 three-day rental.

Creator+ films can be streamed on its website or in its apps for iOS and Android. The company’s strategy is to develop and finance feature-length projects featuring popular digital creators. The first window of distribution for Creator+ films will be on its own platforms, with secondary distribution planned for streaming services or other outlets.

Mills, born in the Philippines and raised in the Ottawa, Ontario, area, first began uploading videos to YouTube in 2012. She is repped by UTA, Avalon Management, and law firm Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox.

Watch the trailer for “Reply”:

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