Ryan DeForeest’s “My Brother & Me” releases on streaming

By Natalia Albin Legorreta

After an NAACP Image Awards nomination and a licensing deal with American Airlines, Ryan DeForeest’s My Brother & Me is now available for streaming worldwide. 

The short follows Terrence (Alexander Bello), a boy on his last day of 8th grade and his older brother, Malik (Zechariah Eubanks). Together, they devise a plan to steal their father’s child support money while he’s away, and as they return to his house, Malik is confronted with memories of his father and what their relationship means. 

Ryan DeForeest is a writer and director from LA. He was a finalist in the PictureStart x GFS Discover Your Voice Fellowship in 2022 and was a member of the 2025 Black Queer Creative Summit, hosted by GLAAD.

“The journey of bringing this short film to fruition has been an incredible ride,” says DeForeest. “Like Terrence, I grew up with a loving single mother and a distant father living with another family. My older brother was in some ways my only fatherly figure, even if he was still growing up too. We leaned on each other a lot despite our age gap. The story of this film is ultimately about the brothers’ journey to understanding what unconditional love truly is. Something I can very much relate to.”

My Brother & Me, which is a proof-of-concept for a feature, is produced by Lexx Truss, Shandea Evans and Ryan DeForeest, with cinematography by Sade Ndya. The cast is rounded up by Rodney Hobbs, Katie Kelley, Micah Kobayashi, Riley Nelson and Thaddeus Newman.

“With over 90% of our cast/crew being BIPOC and LGBTQIA+, this project feels like a realistic future in Hollywood,” adds DeForeest. 

You can watch the short film below.