Jamie Simiele

Meet writer-director Jamie Simiele, the creator of award-winning, queer coming-of-age short film #pansies!!

Obsessed with superhero movies growing up, Jamie mentally inserted himself and his friends into superhero stories, until receiving the gift of a screenwriting software subscription at 14 years old allowed him to finally put his ideas on the page.

His junior-year thesis at the Purchase Convservatory of Film and Media (@purchasefilmbfa), “pansies” premiered at the 2025 Art of Brooklyn Film Festival (@theartofbklyn), where it was awarded ‘Outstanding Cinematography’. It would go on to screen at several festivals, including the 2025 Reeling: Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival (@reelingfilmfest) and the 2026 National Film Festival for Talented Youth (@nfftyfilm).

Having grown up closeted in a small, conservative town in Upstate New York, Jamie cites his environment, relationship to his sisters, and general queer teenage experience as influences on his brand of storytelling. Now in the final stages of post-production for his senior-year thesis film, Jamie’s quietly begun the simultaneous development of a feature-length coming-of-age story that may serve as the spiritual continuiation of “pansies.”

Collaborating with other emerging filmmakers as a producer and assistant director, Jamie continues his career in Brooklyn, NY!

You can watch “pansies” on the @1716digital YouTube channel this Friday, August 21st!

Learn more about Jamie Simiele, 1716 Digital, and #pansies at the link in our bio, and stay tuned here on Instagram for future 1716 Artist Spotlights!