Rachel Leyco, a queer award-winning filmmaker and actress, believes strongly in the power of words. She wants nothing more but to elevate and inspire lives through the magic of storytelling.
Rachel currently wrote and starred in the project Thank You for Breaking My Heart which made its debut at LA Shorts International Film Festival in July. Rachel stars as a heartbroken artist seeking to end her life with the Administration of Souls in Sorrow (ASS); she dives into her past relationship through nostalgic home videos that spark a new vision of love and loss in this lifetime.
Rachel is also the founder of Empowerhouse, a digital media company that aims to elevate the culture, embrace the future, and empower storytellers through creativity and community.
Check out our interview with Rachel:
Up next for Rachel is Milk & Honey, a 2025 CAPE Julia S. Gouw Short Film Challenge Grantee.
Her film, Re-live: A Tale of an American Island Cheerleader, was placed on GLAAD’s The Black List for Best Unproduced LGBTQ Screenplays of 2022. The film follows a transgender woman who returns to her estranged home island of Guam for her High School reunion’s “Do Over Week,” to live out her childhood dream of becoming a cheerleader.
She also premiered her queer AAPI web series, CRAZY, at Outfest LA’s 40th anniversary. CRAZY is a dramedy web series about two queer Asian American frenemies navigating their early twenties while battling mental illnesses that teach them they’re more alike than they realize. This six episode web series mines comedy from some of the darker parts of our own personal mental health journeys as filmmakers. She also starred in the Tubi original What Happens in Miami.
As an activist, Rachel strongly advocates for many social justice issues, such as LGBTQ+ equality and mental health. Having been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder II, she made it her mission to break stigma, create a dialogue, and bring awareness to communities all over the world through art and activism.
Follow Rachel in Instagram @rachel.leyco
