Written, produced, and co-directed by Kniss and John Klein, the award-winning indie dramedy follows three siblings in their 30s鈥擬ichael (Josh Bywater), Ellie (Angela Morris), and James (Timmy H. Barron)鈥攁s they gather at their family’s cabin for a weekend visit. When their parents (Laura T. Fisher and John Lister) unexpectedly announce their divorce, the trip quickly unravels.

The 81-minute film blends humor with heartfelt moments as the siblings grapple with the news and confront long-buried tensions. Never Not Yours premiered in June 2024 at the Interrobang Film Festival in Des Moines, Iowa. It boasts an 8/10 rating on IMDb.

鈥楢 warm hug of a movie鈥�

Over the past year and a half, Kniss and Klein have taken the film on the road, screening it at festivals across the country, meeting audiences, and building connections.

Never Not Yours has earned multiple accolades, including Best Feature Screenplay at the Grand Rapids Film Festival, the Independent Spirit Award at the Naples (Florida) International Film Festival, Best Feature Film at the Iowa Independent Film Festival, and several honors at the Blue Whiskey Independent Film Festival near Chicago, where it was crowned Best Film of the Festival.

Kniss said the reception at festivals and screenings has been overwhelmingly positive. 鈥淎 lot of what we hear is, 鈥業 finished watching your film and had to call my mom,鈥� or 鈥業 had to call a sibling,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very personal film, not just for the two of us, but for everyone who worked on it.鈥�

Kniss described the film as 鈥渁 warm hug of a movie鈥� that explores how difficult moments can ultimately bring people closer together.

鈥淎t the end of the day, what we remember isn鈥檛 our jobs,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the relationships we had, the friends, the family, and the time we spent together. Those are what make lasting memories. That鈥檚 what we hope audiences take from this film.鈥�

John Klein and Steve Kniss ’11 wrote, produced, and directed Never Not Yours. 

Film was shot in eight days

Kniss and Klein, who connected while in graduate school at DePaul University in Chicago, had previously written a script for a feature-length drama set during World War I. It was based on the life of Kniss鈥� great-grandfather, Lloy Kniss, who documented his experiences as a Mennonite conscientious objector in the book (Herald Press, 1971).

鈥淏ecause it鈥檚 a period piece, it鈥檚 much more expensive than something the two of us are able to finance ourselves,鈥� Kniss said. 鈥淲e wanted to write something small that we could put together and own entirely ourselves.鈥�

After some brainstorming, the idea for Never Not Yours began to take shape.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not the easiest film to pitch to an audience in terms of, 鈥楥ome watch this dramedy about this couple getting divorced and everything that comes out of that,鈥欌�� Kniss said. 鈥淲hat we like to talk about with this film is just how small it is.鈥�

Filmed entirely in and around Nashville, Indiana, a town about an hour south of Indianapolis, the movie was shot in just eight days at the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 a crazy short time to shoot a 110-page script,鈥� Kniss said. 鈥淢ost low-budget films are shot in 15 to 20 days. I don鈥檛 think it was until the third or fourth day, when we had shot roughly half the movie, that we started to feel confident our plan would work.鈥�

During filming, the five-member cast and seven-member crew lived together in the same cabin where the story takes place. 鈥淭ypically when you鈥檙e making a movie, you go to set, you wrap, you go home, you sleep, and return the next day,鈥� Kniss said. 鈥淭he 12 of us got really close because we were all living on set. It almost felt like summer camp.鈥�

鈥樅诹险芰� was the perfect place鈥�

Kniss, who is originally from Chicago, majored in vocal performance and digital media at 黑料正能量. His parents, Fred 鈥�79 and Rosalyn 鈥�77, and older brother, Michael 鈥�06, are alumni, and he said he had always wanted to attend 黑料正能量.

鈥淚 chose 黑料正能量 because I wanted to be in a community and I wanted to become a better person, and I think 黑料正能量 was the perfect place for that,鈥� he said. During his sophomore year, he was in India for his intercultural when his father was appointed provost.

In a November 2009 , Kniss wrote about how The Lord of the Rings trilogy and its director, Peter Jackson, inspired him to pursue filmmaking. He wrote that he鈥檚 seen each movie at least 15 times, 鈥渂oth extended and theatrical versions, with actor and director commentaries,鈥� and was 鈥渁bsolutely enthralled鈥� by them.

鈥淭hat was my early film school, watching those behind-the-scenes documentaries to learn how these things even existed,鈥� Kniss said in a recent interview. 鈥淚 still consider those films to be huge inspirations for me because it was the most incredible thing to see an entirely new world created on film.鈥�

After graduating from 黑料正能量, Kniss worked at Rosetta Stone and TV3 Winchester. His desire to make films never left him, and in 2014 he enrolled in the master of fine arts program at DePaul University. He graduated with his MFA in 2019.

Kniss and his wife, Monica Stouffer Kniss 鈥�09, live near Asheville, North Carolina, with their two children. He is in his third year as assistant professor at Western Carolina University, where he directs the film and television production program. Teaching gives him the summers off to create films, and he and Klein are beginning to plan what they鈥檒l shoot this summer.

Lately, the directing duo has been screening their short film, (2025), around the country. As for future projects, Kniss said they鈥檙e still deciding which features to develop. They still have that script for the World War I drama about his great-grandfather tucked away, waiting for whenever they鈥檙e ready.

鈥淥bviously, I鈥檓 really close to that one,鈥� Kniss said. 鈥淎t some point, I鈥檇 love to make that film.鈥�

鈥淣ever Not Yours鈥� is also available to rent and purchase on . For updates about the film, including future screenings, visit its Facebook page at .

Watch the trailer below!

That鈥檚 when the former Durham, North Carolina, resident stumbled onto the annual Beaver Queen Pageant, 鈥渁 wildly campy, dam-important celebration of queer joy, eco-love, and over-the-top critter cosplay鈥� held in the city for the past two decades. The raucous, homegrown drag competition, with its blend of high drama and low stakes, proved to be the perfect subject for the filmmaker, who joined 黑料正能量鈥檚 Visual and Communication Arts (VACA) Department this year as assistant professor of digital media.

Her latest film, the heartwarming and quirky Once Upon a Wetland (2025), won 鈥淏est Documentary Short鈥� at BEYOND: The Cary Film Festival (North Carolina) in mid-September, where it competed against short films from around the world. The 15-minute documentary follows first-time contestants Madam Bitey White, a charismatic performer and trivia host, and 16-year-old Ginger Bite-Dis, the youngest competitor, as they prepare for and compete in the 2023 Beaver Queen Pageant. The film offers a playful and poignant look at how local traditions provide space for defiance, connection, and collective care during a time of looming anti-LGBTQ legislation and tightening drag restrictions.

鈥淭his is a film that highlights joy,鈥� said Miller-Derstine. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about the hope we find when we gather together.鈥�

The pageant鈥檚 castorine contestants take on beaver personalities, introduce themselves in their handcrafted 鈥渨etlands-ready wear,鈥� showcase unique talents, and participate in interviews in their finest evening wear. The website notes that Beav Aldrin, the 2015 Queen, performed an aerial routine on silks, while the 2012 Queen, Furrah Gnawsett-Major, played the Star Wars theme on clarinet while hula-hooping.

The documentary was shown during a weeklong theatrical run at New York City鈥檚 Firehouse Cinema in May as part of DCTV鈥檚 鈥淩oad to the Oscars鈥� Academy-qualifying initiative, which makes it eligible for consideration and potential nomination in the Academy Awards鈥� 鈥淏est Documentary Short Film鈥� category.

It will be screened at the in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the weekend of Nov. 7, and the in Wilmington, North Carolina, the weekend of Nov. 21. Although the film isn鈥檛 currently available to watch outside of film festivals, Miller-Derstine said she鈥檚 seeking an online distributor to stream the film.

Once Upon a Wetland was directed by Miller-Derstine, produced by her and Ian Robertson Kibbe, and edited by Ace McColl.

黑料正能量 the professor

Miller-Derstine grew up in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and moved to Lancaster at age nine. She graduated from Goshen College in 2016 with a BA in communication (film concentration) and English writing, and earned an MFA in documentary film from Wake Forest University in 2023.

She served as multimedia producer for Mennonite Central Committee from 2016 to 2021, and spent the past year as an adjunct professor in filmmaking at Davidson College. The Mennonite-raised filmmaker said she had 鈥渉eard through the grapevine鈥� that longtime VACA Professor Jerry Holsopple would retire at the end of the 2024-25 academic year and jumped at the opportunity when the job opened. Now in her second month on 黑料正能量鈥檚 faculty, she said she鈥檚 found a welcoming community to call home. 

鈥淚 love 黑料正能量,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 fully appreciate that we have a Center for Justice and Peacebuilding and that the university鈥檚 priorities are rooted in values of community, peace, and the greater social good.鈥�

Miller-Derstine approaches all her work with a deep commitment to ethical storytelling and an awareness of the extractive history of the documentary field. She has won multiple awards for her films, including Best Director for her documentary short Welcome to the Dollhouse (2020) at both the Atlanta DocuFest and Hoosier Films Festival, and Best Documentary at the LongLeaf Film Festival for her feature documentary Bloom (2024).