Out on Fire Media Premieres Michael Hyman’s Experimental Series Reflections
Out on Fire Media is kicking off its first project with something bold, intimate, and very queer. The collective is premiering Reflections, a new experimental video series from filmmaker Michael Hyman that transforms the camera into a mirror, guiding us through questions of identity, beauty, and self-worth.
Filmed on 16mm and drawing inspiration from Andy Warhol’s famous Screen Tests of the 1960s, the series unfolds across 16 short films. But where Warhol asked his sitters to remain motionless for three minutes, Hyman raises the stakes: each subject in Reflections spends four silent minutes staring at their own mirrored image. The effect is striking, part endurance test, part meditation, and wholly vulnerable.
“Warhol’s subjects often didn’t know what to do with themselves. I wanted to heighten that pressure,” Hyman explains. “By adding the mirror, I asked people to not only sit still, but to truly face who they are.”
What makes Reflections especially powerful is its focus on community. Shot in a single day, the project spotlights a wide range of LGBTQ+ voices, echoing Out on Fire Media’s mission to center stories that often go unheard. Among the participants is Justin Jedlica, a well-known advocate for plastic surgery, who uses his four minutes to confront issues of self-image directly.
“Reflections required us to maintain silence for four minutes, just me and my reflection,” Jedlica recalls. “For me, it became less about loathing and more about self-love. 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.”
Transgender actress and author Marizol Leyva also describes her time on camera as transformative. “At first it felt raw and uncomfortable to strip away the layers we put on for the world. But as the session went on, I began to see my scars, my smile, my softness, and my strength coexisting. That shift—from self-consciousness to self-celebration—was powerful to witness in real time.”
Hyman intentionally kept his own role minimal, allowing each subject’s process to unfold naturally. “Some people embraced the stillness, while others visibly wrestled with it,” he says. “That tension is what makes the films so alive.” In a show of solidarity, he also stepped in front of the camera himself, admitting that it was “without question, one of the most uncomfortable things I’ve done.”
Though visually stripped down, Reflections carries a heavy emotional charge. “Most participants discovered that their image, positive or negative, is ultimately subjective,” Hyman notes. “What matters is learning to accept what you see.”
For Hyman, the project is also a response to the pace of digital culture. In a world where 15-second clips dominate, Reflections offers four uninterrupted minutes of presence. “Social media has redefined fame, but the more urgent conversation is about authenticity and what it means to truly see yourself without filters or performance,” he says.
Actor Jason Caceres, who participated alongside his partner Bryan, hopes the films resonate widely. “I hope viewers see how uniquely different we all are, while also recognizing our shared humanity. We all face the same experience of being human, but it’s our individual reactions to that experience that define us.”
By fusing Warhol-inspired simplicity with deeply personal storytelling, Michael Hyman invites us to slow down, look closely, and consider what it really means to face ourselves.
Reflections premieres October 1 on Out on Fire Media’s YouTube channel and at outonfiremedia.com.
Watch the trailer for Reflections here:
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Featured Image: Image Courtesy of Out on Fire Media
