Stefano Gonzalez is a trans Latinx producer originally from New York, where he taught video production to high school students. After moving to the Bay Area, Stefano completed his MFA in Motion Pictures & Television and has since helped to garner numerous awards at film festivals around the world. His short script, How To Kill Someone You Hate, won Best Short Film and Best Directing awards at the 2014 Epidemic Film Festival. Do They Fit?, a coproduced short film, was an official selection of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.

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Working professionally within the film industry for 9 years now, Stefano's resume includes work on Outerlands (2025 - SXSW Official Selection), Insecure (Season 5), Matrix Resurrections (2021), and Samsung Galaxy Unpacked (2025, 2023, 2020). He has also served as a juror for the renowned Frameline Completion Fund (2020), host of the largest LGBTQ film festival in the world. 

 

In 2017, Stefano founded Transgress Studios LLC, a film and video production company designed to transcend repetitive narratives and uncover stories untold. That same year, his company produced it's first feature film, TRANSFINITE, a sci-fi omnibus film composed of seven standalone short stories where supernatural trans and queer people of color use their powers to protect, love, teach, fight and thrive. TRANSFINITE was an official selection to over 20 film festivals worldwide and is currently available on Amazon USA, Amazon UK, LESFlicks,Reel Women's Network, and Vimeo. 

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In addition, Transgress Studios' commercial work includes collaborations with musical artist Be Steadwell, and organizations such as Covenant House CA and Sonoma Valley Community Health Center.

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Stefano's credits include producer, writer, director, actor, and voice actor. He is currently on the board of Trans Bloom, an intergenerational trans and BIPOC-centered cultural hub for LGBTQ artists. He has previously served on the board of directors for the Rainbow Community Center of Contra Costa County and wrote the first TDOR Proclamation for the city of Richmond, CA. 

 

Mr. Gonzalez has a love of traveling, but has planted his roots down in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, stepson, and his dog Buster.