Nicole Aliseda Brings Emotional Honesty to the Screen With ‘Out’

Mexican-born actress, writer, and producer Nicole Aliseda is stepping into deeply personal territory with Out, a new dramatic short film exploring trauma, identity, grief, and the invisible battles many young people face behind closed doors. Written by Aliseda, who also stars in the lead role, the project marks an emotionally charged creative milestone for the emerging filmmaker as she continues building her voice in independent cinema through her company, SNOI Studios.

Co-created alongside filmmaker Nickey Van Tooren, Out follows Dalia, a teenager whose understanding of “normal” begins to unravel after a devastating loss in her family forces her to confront painful truths about herself and the world around her. As isolation and emotional instability intensify, Dalia realizes she may not experience life the same way as those around her, leading her into a battle not only with circumstance, but with her own mind.

“What happens when the wrong time and the wrong circumstances align?” asks the film’s haunting synopsis, setting the tone for a psychological and emotionally grounded drama that aims to challenge audiences while creating space for empathy and conversation.

For Aliseda, the story comes from an intensely personal and honest place, a reflection of the kind of raw storytelling she believes modern cinema desperately needs more of.

“Everything I create is rooted in making people feel less alone,” says Aliseda. “I want to create stories that are truthful, emotional, and human. Out is very personal to me because it explores emotions and internal struggles that so many people experience but don’t always talk about openly.”

Born and raised in Mexico, Aliseda found solace in the arts from an early age through singing, dancing, and poetry before discovering acting during the pandemic, an experience she describes as life changing. After relocating to Los Angeles and training at the New York Film Academy, she began developing projects both in front of and behind the camera, eventually launching SNOI Studios to champion emotionally driven storytelling.

While Out represents one of her most ambitious projects to date, the journey to bringing it to life has not been without challenges.

“It has been a rollercoaster,” Aliseda admits. “It started as an idea with actor and filmmaker friends, and now it’s becoming real. There were so many obstacles we didn’t even know existed, but figuring everything out together has honestly been one of the most rewarding parts of the process.”

Despite the emotional weight of the material, the production has already created memorable moments behind the scenes. One standout experience came during the creation of the film’s promotional poster and teaser campaign, which utilized practical film photography techniques to create haunting visual effects.

“We shot the poster on a film camera, which was crazy,” she explains. “We would click, move, click, move, and when the images developed, there were these ghost-like versions next to me in the frame. It ended up perfectly matching the feeling of the film.”

Currently filming in Los Angeles, Out is already setting its sights high. Aliseda confidently speaks about the project’s future festival ambitions, including a hopeful premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.

“It’s meant to go to Sundance,” she says with conviction. “We will be there next year, I know it.”

Following its festival journey, the film is expected to release through ShortsTV next year, giving audiences the opportunity to experience the project beyond the festival circuit.

As Nicole Aliseda continues carving her path as a fearless new voice in independent filmmaking, Out signals the arrival of an artist unafraid to explore uncomfortable truths through emotionally resonant storytelling, proving that vulnerability itself can be one of cinema’s greatest strengths.