By Noma Faingold

“Outerlands” is the perfect title for the indie drama written and directed by former San Francisco resident Elena Oxman. The word can mean several things – literally and thematically – in the context of a film about how people cope, connect, escape and heal.

First of all, most of the scenes are shot at locations that have been referred to as the “Outerlands” of the City, specifically the Outer Richmond and Outer Sunset neighborhoods.

“It’s where I lived when I first moved to San Francisco in 2011,” Oxman, 47, said. “It isn’t a part of the City you usually see on film. I really like to explore landscape and place. It just seeps into you. I fell in love with the rag-tag bars and corner stores that line Geary Boulevard, the beauty of its faded apartment buildings and the graffitied walls lining Ocean Beach.”

Oxman, who has worked on both documentary and fictional films, is making her full-length, narrative feature debut. With “Outerlands,” she developed San Francisco as a character. Some of the more than 35 locations (shot in March and April of 2024) include the grand façade of the Sunset Branch Library, Star of the Sea Catholic Church and the Balboa Theater (where the marquee serendipitously displays the noir classic “Out of the Past”).

“I didn’t know it was going to be there,” she said.

The film, which had its world premiere at the SXSW (South by Southwest) Film Festival in March (with three well-received screenings) and is the closing night selection on April 27 at the SFFILM Festival, focuses on people living on the societal and economic fringe. They cannot keep up with the gentrification of San Francisco.

Cass, a non-binary character on a transition journey, is played by non-binary actor Asia Kate Dillon (best known as Taylor in the Showtime series, “Billions”), who is currently taking testosterone. That real-life scenario is nimbly woven into the “Outerlands” story.

Struggling to make ends meet in a gig economy, Cass works as a server at an upscale restaurant, is a nanny to two children from an affluent family and is an occasional party-drug dealer. Most nights, they prefer to drink alone in their tiny, dingy Outer Richmond apartment until passing out.

Cass, who has a one-night stand with restaurant co-worker Kalli, played by Louisa Krause of the series “The Girlfriend Experience” and the 2023 film, “Maggie Moore(s),” agrees to watch Kalli’s 11-year-old daughter, Ari (Ridley Asha Batemen), while Kalli travels out of town to supposedly work. But Kalli goes missing for several days. While Cass develops a bond with Ari (initially finding common ground through a love of video games), the situation causes childhood abandonment trauma to resurface for the stoic Cass.

“I wrote the character with Asia in mind,” Oxman said. “I’ve followed their career. I felt very lucky to get Asia. I knew they could bring the kind of subtlety and depth that was needed for a character who doesn’t say much but has emotion constantly brimming beneath the surface.”

Oxman, a Yale University graduate who currently lives in Massachusetts, was eager to explore addiction as a theme in the movie, having had her own entanglement with alcohol in the past.

“It doesn’t have to be drugs. It could be games or the phone,” she said. “Part of human nature in wanting to escape. The character finds that alcohol works for a while, until it doesn’t.”

Two pivotal scenes were shot at Ocean Beach, including at storied Kelly’s Cove (near the former Cliff House), known as a counterculture hangout, where Cass has to take a long look at the trajectory of their life.

“Ocean Beach has such a specific quality. There’s something spiritual about water and waves,” Oxman said. “Something there feels connected to Cass’s spiritual journey.”

“Outerlands” has been invited to several film festivals, including Boston’s Wicked Queer festival in early April and the Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival in Toronto, May 23-June 1. The feedback has been positive from festival goers and reviewers, yet the film has not landed a U.S. distribution deal. Rome-based Coccinelle Film has acquired the international distribution rights following SXSW and will be bringing it to the Cannes Film Festival marketplace, May 13-24.

“What we hear over and over is that people like that it is about a queer character, but it’s not about being queer,” Oxman said. “I’m glad to know there’s an audience for a film like ours. We trust it’s going to find its proper home.”

“Outerlands” will be screened at the Rafael Film Center on June 13 at 7 p.m., during a pre-Frameline49 Film Festival showcase, hosted by the California Film Institute (CAFILM). For more information: rafaelfilm.cafilm.org, frameline.org/festival. Instagram: @outerlandsfilm, @asiakatedillon_official.