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Logline

Amid the fading heat of a Louisiana summer in the early 2000s, a young motel caretaker forms an unexpected connection with the appraiser hired to assess his struggling family property, stirring feelings that challenge his understanding of himself and the life he has inherited.

Synopsis

Easy Cowboy follows Peter, a young man living and working at his family’s fading roadside motel in rural Louisiana in 2000. His days are defined by routine: tending to the property, caring for his ailing mother, and carrying the responsibilities of a life he never consciously chose. With the motel struggling, Peter’s mother hopes a bank loan will keep it afloat.

Saul, a charismatic appraiser from New Orleans, arrives to assess the property. Older and more self assured, he immediately disrupts Peter’s carefully contained world. As they work their way through broken fixtures, cramped rooms, and years of accumulated wear, professional distance gives way to curiosity, humor, and an unexpected closeness. For Peter, whose world has been shaped the expectations of his small town, Saul represents a life beyond the one he has always known.

When Peter invites Saul to a local bar, an evening becomes an unexpected act of defiance. The two find themselves at the center of a hostile crowd, Peter is forced to confront the fear that kept him quiet for so long. Back at the motel, their connection transforms into intimacy. Saul does not offer Peter an escape or promise to save him. Instead, he offers something more consequential: permission to imagine that another life might exist.

By morning, Saul is gone, leaving Peter to return to the same responsibilities and the same uncertain future. But something has shifted. When faced with the familiar task of fixing the motel’s crooked sign, Peter finally lets it fall. For the first time, he considers the possibility that the life he inherited is not the life he has to lead.

Over the course of a weekend, Easy Cowboy is a coming of age story about belonging and the quiet courage it takes to imagine a life of your own.
 

Meet the Filmmakers

Trace Pope — Director
Trace Pope is a writer/director originally from the oil-cracked fields of rural East Texas. He received an MFA in Film/TV Production from USC, an MA in Classical Theater from LAMDA, and an BA in English from the University of Texas. During his time at USC, Trace wrote & directed his thesis film, A FUGUE, which won the USC Faculty Award for Best Screenwriting and is now being developed into a feature film. He was also awarded the Sloan Foundation Production Grant for his most recent short film, SILENCE = DEATH, which has screened internationally at festivals such as Leeds, NewFest, NÒT Film, ImageOut Rochester, Reeling Chicago, aGLIFF/Prism, and will premiere on PBS in Fall 2026. He is based in Los Angeles, CA, where he is an adjunct lecturer at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.

Christian Weissmann – Writer/Actor
Christian Weissmann is an actor and writer from Chicago and a graduate of Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts. His acting credits include Saved by the Bell, Grey’s Anatomy, and CBS’s The Bold and the Beautiful, for which he received a Daytime Emmy nom for Outstanding Emerging Talent.

His writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and HuffPost, and his debut poetry collection, Her, Him & I, was published in 2024 by Simon & Schuster. Across page and screen, Christian is drawn to intimate stories exploring identity, masculinity, queer belonging, and experiences too often left unseen.

Zola Franchi — Producer
Zola Franchi is a Los Angeles-based producer. A graduate of Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts with a BFA in Creative Producing, she focuses on character-driven narrative and documentary storytelling.

Her narrative short Still Blue (2026) received a Panavision grant and was selected for the Ojai Film Festival and NFFTY. She also produced Stay Out of the Sun (2024), a documentary exploring colorism across cultures. The film received the PBS SoCal Fine Cut award, was named a Critic’s Pick for Best Student Documentary at NFFTY, and received juror recognition. Additional festival selections include the Nashville Film Festival, CineYouth, Durban International Film Festival, and Ann Arbor Black Film Festival, among others.
Her additional experience spans development and physical production, including Ridley Scott’s recent film The Dog Stars, HBO’s And Just Like That, etc. Through her independent work, Zola is committed to bringing distinctive creative voices and compelling, character-driven stories to the screen.

Zoey Hughes — Producer
Zoey Hughes is a Los Angeles-based producer originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A graduate of Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, where she studied Creative Producing, she is passionate about collaborative storytelling as a means of understanding different perspectives. She hopes to produce work that makes people feel understood and, every once in a while, laugh.
Zoey currently works as a Production Coordinator at Gravy Films, supporting executive producers, production teams, and a roster of directors. Her experience spans production management, development, and talent support, including serving as Office Manager at Biscuit Filmworks and Co-Founder and Executive Producer of The Portal Productions, a creative agency producing branded content for clients including TCA Venture Group and Makani Science.

She has also contributed to commercial and entertainment productions at Partizan Entertainment and London Alley Entertainment, as well as development projects at Campfire Studios.
Alongside her professional work, Zoey continues to produce independent short films, commercials, and music videos. Recent credits include Elderbrook’s “Plastic” music video, Audrey Huynh’s “You Miss It Too,” and Queen Henry, directed by Sierra Brogmus. Selected for the LA Shorts International Film Festival, Queen Henry was produced with an entirely female crew.

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact [email protected].