By Las Vegas PRIDE Magazine Staff
Photography & stills courtesy of Project Publicity

When filmmaker Michael Hyman set out to create Reflections, he wanted to push the boundaries of Andy Warhol’s iconic 1960s Screen Tests. Warhol asked his subjects to sit silently for three minutes before his lens. Hyman raised the stakes. “I thought it would be interesting to take it a step further and have the subjects look into a mirror at their own reflection,” he says. “I wanted to see how they would respond to four minutes of staring at themselves, face to face, without distraction.”

Justin Jedlica in Reflections

The resulting 16 short films—shot on 16mm film and launching October 1, just ahead of National Coming Out Day—are both minimalist and deeply revealing. Participants include actor Jason Caceres, transgender actress and author Marizol Leyva, plastic surgery advocate Justin Jedlica, and Hyman himself, along with a diverse cross-section of the LGBTQIA+ community.

A Warhol Twist on the Self

For Hyman, the inspiration came from an overlooked corner of Warhol’s legacy. “Warhol made over 400 of these films, and I’ve always found them as fascinating as his paintings and screen prints,” Hyman explains. “By adding the mirror, I heightened the discomfort and created an opportunity for people to truly confront themselves.”

As director, Hyman tried to keep his hand light, allowing each subject’s reaction to emerge authentically. Some broke into tears. Others wrestled with stillness. One even deflected with a striptease. “Not everyone can actually sit with who they really are,” Hyman says. “For some, it’s too painful. That, too, is telling.”

Actor Jason Caceres participated in the project alongside his partner Bryan, creating one of the series’ most intimate segments. “When Michael initially reached out, he asked if I’d be comfortable with a couple participating together. Of course, I agreed,” Caceres recalls. What started as giggles and fidgeting soon gave way to a familiar calm. “It took me back to when we first started dating. Then after a few minutes, a quiet calmness washed over us. You know you have something special when you’re able to relax and sit in silence with your partner.”

For Caceres, the project underscored the balance between uniqueness and universality. “We get so caught up in how different we are—race, religion, sexuality—that we forget we’re all part of the same human race. This project highlights our quirks and differences, but when you zoom out, we’re all just people who share the same emotions.”

For Marizol Leyva, the journey was both raw and restorative. “It felt like shedding old skin—tender at first, but deeply healing,” she reflects. At first, the mirror magnified her discomfort. But as the silence stretched on, something shifted. “Every scar holds beauty. Seeing them alongside my smile reminded me that I am whole as a woman and as an artist.”

In Reflections, vulnerability became a form of freedom. “It was the courage to be fully seen, and to let my truth speak for itself,” she says. That truth, she believes, makes the series a powerful narrative tool for queer identity. “It allows us to see ourselves in our fullness, layered, complex, resilient, and beautiful. That’s a truth no one can erase.” Her message for others in the trans and queer community is simple: “Your reflection is beautiful. It deserves to be honored, loved, and celebrated exactly as you are.”

Few participants embodied the project’s central questions as directly as Justin Jedlica, often dubbed the “Human Ken Doll” for his outspoken embrace of plastic surgery. Confronting his reflection in silence pushed him into unexpected territory.

“For me, it became less about loathing and more about self-love,” Jedlica recalls. “It was reaffirming to look at myself, not just aesthetically, but internally, and feel pride in being true to who I am, despite years of outside pressure to conform.”

For someone whose identity is often publicly filtered through conversations about beauty and modification, Reflections offered an opportunity to strip away the performance. Instead of being defined solely by appearance, Jedlica’s segment reveals a moment of quiet authenticity.

A Cinematic Pause

For Hyman, Reflections is as much about challenging the audience as it is about challenging the participants. In a media landscape dominated by fast, filtered, fleeting clips, the project offers four uninterrupted minutes of stillness. “I hope this helps people slow down, take a break, and engage,” he says. “It might buck the system of social media, but it’s what we desperately need.”

By turning the camera—and the mirror—on identity, beauty, and self-worth, Reflections offers viewers a chance to watch others confront themselves and perhaps be inspired to do the same.

Reflections premieres October 1 on https://www.youtube.com/@outonfiremedia and at Outonfiremedia.com.

Stills from Reflections

This article was originally published as a digital exclusive to the 2025 PRIDE Celebration Issue of Las Vegas PRIDE Magazine, which can be read in its original format here.