Palm Springs, CA
Merman, the film about Palm Springs resident, André Chambers has just won top honors at the Champs-Élysées Film Festival in Paris, France. Directed by Sterling Hampton IV, Merman chronicles the life of André Chambers, a 60-yearold Black Queer man, who is a nurse, leather enthusiast, husband and civil rights advocate.
The Champs-Élysées Film Festival is a major international film festival featuring the best of French and American cinema. Merman won the Grand Jury Prize for the Best Independent American Short Film during its 13th annual closing ceremony on June 25, 2024. Chambers and his husband traveled in Paris to
personally accept the award.
“Receiving a best picture award – in in Paris of all places – was so beyond what I ever dreamed! As a 60-yeard-old, I’m living proof that you should never give up on your dreams,” said Chambers. “And the film’s enthusiastic reception in Paris tells me that the message of believing in yourself rings true in any language.”
Sterling Hampton IV is an accomplished Southern California film director. His Merman documentary has screened at numerous film festivals across the globe, including Sundance, Tribeca, Palm Springs’ International ShortFest, AmDocs, HollyShorts, Urbanworld and more than 20 other film festivals. Merman is also featured in the Los Angeles Times Short Docs series and can be viewed on its
YouTube channel.
Using interviews, animation and an off-beat 70s blaxploitation motif, Merman explores how Chambers’ graceful fluidity, defiance of stereotypes, scandalous attire and love of superhero culture has helped him overcome life’s adversities asa Black gay man growing up in the volatile 1960s and 70s.
The film delves into how Chamber’s persona was shaped by the societal clashes where he was raised. His Southern California beach town was part surf community, part farmland tilled by Mexican migrants and part “White Flight” suburbanites – with his family being one of the few African American households
in the mix.
Today, Chambers channels his empathy to those hurting or marginalized through his work as a registered nurse. His daily online presence on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and other social media spreads his continual message of positivity and hope – along with a little beefcake. He resides in Palm Springs, California where he and his husband connect with the local community through a variety of charitable events and non-profit groups.