About Us…
Stonefruit is a new, innovative film production company based in Los Angeles. We are dedicated to creating stories in which queer characters thrive in a variety of genres, ranging from fantasy to horror to family drama to comedy.
Stonefruit has racked up awards and gained attention on a global scale, showcasing our work at festivals like Outfest, NewFest, Inside Out, GAZE, and Austin Film Festival, streamers like Revry, and earning residencies at institutions like the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle. We have won multiple Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay awards, and have a dedicated fan base excited to see more.
We continue to champion projects that are boundary-pushing, genre-bending, performance-driven thrill rides that charm you, shock you, and make you examine what it means to be human.
The Team
Founder & CEO - ZACH SIEGEL (he/they)
Zach is an award-winning gay writer, director, and editor. He's directed shorts that played at film festivals internationally, including Wanna Go Camping? - which had a residency at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle for several months - and You Can Stay Over (If You Want), which won numerous Best Short and Best Director awards, and was selected as one of the Top Films of Outfest 2024 (Awards Daily). He's directed live plays including the musical comedy More Guns!, which ran at Second City for two years, and for which he won Stage Scene LA's Best Director. He's edited on Mean Girls: The Musical, Yo! MTV Raps, and music videos for artists like PHINNEAS, Andrew Bird, Iron & Wine, and Lindsey Stirling. He's also a proud graduate of the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, where he met lifelong collaborators Cookie and Allison.
VP - COOKIE WALUKAS (she/they)
Cookie is a queer award-winning filmmaker originally from North Carolina. She has worked with an array of clients, ranging from art darlings to the major labels and award winning independent filmmakers. Her clients have included Beyoncé, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Mariah Carey, Apple, ABC, Disney, Milk Makeup, Milk Agency, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony Music Group, For the music industry, he has produced visuals for Kate Nash, King Princess, Daya, and more. Her work has 100+ million views with viral global reach. A graduate of University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, she is decidedly bicoastal and works in Los Angeles and New York City.
VP - ALLISON TATE (she/they)
Allison is an award-winning filmmaker who has collaborated with Zach and Cookie for years. She produced You Can Stay Over (If You Want) with the Stonefruit team, which has thrilled and delighted audiences globally. Additionally, she produced the acclaimed feature film Big Boys (2023), which won 17 awards, holds a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and earned a 5 star review from The Guardian, calling it "An Achingling Brilliant Queer Coming-of-Age Classic". It will be released theatrically in 2024 by Dark Star Pictures. She also served as the Director of Editorial Video at EqualPride Media, where she led the video team for the largest LGBT + brands in the world including Out Magazine, The Advocate, and Pride.com. She is a graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts with a B.A. in Film & Television Production. Her work has been featured on The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Huffington Post, Wired, Them, and more.