Michael Urie and Michael Hsu Rosen, who co-starred in the recent Broadway revival of Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song, will be seen in the new short film Lavender, which will make its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. The annual festival runs January 24–February 3.

The film, from director-writer Matthew Puccini, also stars Ken Barnett with Christopher Schaap and concerns a young man (Rosen) who grows increasingly entangled in the marriage of an older couple (Urie and Barnett).

Lavender was inspired by Puccini's personal experience.

“I had spent significant time with another gay couple in 2017 and was struck by the maturity of their relationship and their lifestyle,” Puccini stated. “It took me a while to realize that the reason I was so drawn to them was because those were things I wanted for myself. I’d also seen several shows about threesomes and wanted to put something on screen that felt truer to my own experience, focusing on the potential for beauty and intimacy rather than on the potential for jealousy or pettiness. With this film, I set out to portray an unconventional relationship tenderly and honestly, and explore the new families, both literal and figurative, that gay men create for themselves as they stumble toward intimacy.

“I hope this film will prove insightful and perhaps even surprising to straight audience members, and feel truthful and honest to queer viewers. More than anything, though, I hope that it proves that there is a space for queer stories to exist somewhere between camp and tragedy, where quiet naturalism and tender romance, no matter how brief, are enough.”

Lavender is produced by Casey Bader, Corey Deckler, and Tyler Rabinowitz.