# Jordan Firstman storms awards season with Club Kid > The internet personality turned filmmaker is betting his directorial debut will prove he's more than viral videos and edgy jokes. - Title: Jordan Firstman storms awards season with Club Kid | Shortify - Summary: The internet personality turned filmmaker is betting his directorial debut will prove he's more than viral videos and edgy jokes. Firstman is using his… - Keywords: jordan firstman, club kid, directorial debut, awards season, a24, cannes film festival, internet personality, lgbtq+ cinema, cara delevingne, diego calva, miss benny, alaska riley - Source: Vanity Fair — https://vanityfair.com/story/club-kid-jordan-firstman - Author: Rebecca Ford - Published: 2026-09-25T12:00:00+00:00 - Read time: 5 min - Topics: jordan firstman, club kid, directorial debut, awards season, a24, cannes film festival, internet personality, lgbtq+ cinema, cara delevingne, diego calva, miss benny, alaska riley ## Banana bread made him famous During COVID lockdown, Jordan Firstman posted zany impression videos on Instagram. His breakout hit was pretending to be banana bread's publicist, saying "We got everyone home, we got them a bunch of fucking rotted bananas, and they went off, bitch." > We got everyone home, we got them a bunch of fucking rotted bananas, and they went off, bitch. ## His online persona was edgy Firstman's early content was crass and sometimes offensive. He apologized for old tweets in 2020 and later faced backlash from the Heated Rivalry fandom for criticizing the show's sex scenes as "just not gay." ## He played sidekicks on TV Before directing Club Kid, Firstman appeared as a lovable sidekick on the cult-favorite series English Teacher and I Love LA, building his acting resume while maintaining his internet presence. ## Club Kid is his directorial debut Firstman wrote, directed, and stars in Club Kid, a coming-of-age dramedy about a hard-partying New York City club promoter who discovers he's a dad when a ten-year-old boy arrives on his doorstep. ## This is his shot at credibility At thirty-five, Firstman is hoping Club Kid will help him shed his internet personality and lead the industry to take him seriously as a filmmaker. "This is my first thing that I've made on my own," he says. "This was my voice." > This is my first thing that I've made on my own. This was my voice, and this always has been my voice. ## Alaska Riley roasted him online Brooklyn-based model and writer Alaska Riley posted a critical video of Firstman doing a TV interview, calling him "dumb as fucking shit." Now they're costars, and she jokes she was "wielding my doll powers over homophobia on Twitter." > is he dumb as fucking shit or something. ## Miss Benny hazed him too YouTube creator and musician Miss Benny teased Firstman at a dinner party, saying she has a habit of hazing gay guys from a place of love. Firstman enjoyed the roasting and recruited her for his film. ## He cast former enemies Firstman recruited Riley and Miss Benny, along with Cara Delevingne, Diego Calva, fourteen-year-old Reggie Absolom, and Saturn Risin9. He drew from New York's LGBTQ+ party scene rather than casting industry people. ## Cara Delevingne is his spirit animal The supermodel and actor became actual friends with Firstman at LA parties. She describes him as her spirit animal and says the film celebrates gay culture while showing its darkness. > I love how it blends real, true gay culture in such a way where it celebrates it, but also shows the darkness. ## He's shedding his internet persona Firstman is aware that people mock what some call the "PR campaign for Jordan to be likable." His response: "You don't know me; you've seen me filtered through people's perceptions of me." > You don't know me; you've seen me filtered through people's perceptions of me. ## The film shows his softer side Club Kid is a sweet, tender dramedy partially inspired by a bad breakup Firstman had years ago. "People haven't seen my softer side, which is a very real side of me," he says. "I'm not going to pretend I don't have the harder edge too." > People haven't seen my softer side, which is a very real side of me. ## He played with perceptions at Cannes Firstman gave out muscle T-shirts at Cannes with phrases like "I boofed at Cannes and all I got was this lousy shirt." He also put Alaska Riley's critical remark about him directly into the movie. ## Diego Calva fell in love with his passion The Babylon star plays a social worker in Club Kid. He was struck by Firstman's honesty and excitement about telling the story. "When someone has this urgency to tell a story, that's what makes a difference," Calva says. > He was so honest and he was so excited. I fell in love with that passion right away. ## He directed young Reggie Absolom gently Calva praised Firstman's respectful direction of fourteen-year-old Absolom, who plays Peter's son. "Jordan has that superpower of being the most adorable, vulnerable human," Calva says. > Jordan has that superpower of being the most adorable, vulnerable human. ## The cast bonded over music Firstman and Absolom bonded over artists like Cocteau Twins and Massive Attack. Absolom was also welcomed by Miss Benny, Riley, and Saturn Risin9, who feel protective over both their young costar and Firstman. ## The cast is proud of him Riley says she can see the tides turning away from Firstman being just an internet persona. The cast has been posting trailers and screengrabbing positive tweets. Saturn Risin9 told Firstman's mother at Cannes: "You have raised such a sweet boy." ## Cannes gave him a standing ovation Club Kid premiered at Cannes in May and earned a long, jubilant standing ovation. Firstman followed the premiere with a yacht party and a late-night after-party filled with LGBTQ+ community members he'd invited from Marseilles. > The energy in the room was palpable. I've never felt anything like that for anything I've done. ## A24 bought it for seventeen million A bidding war erupted at Cannes, ending with A24 buying Club Kid for seventeen million dollars, the biggest deal of the festival that year. Firstman wished he could have savored the moment before it became about commerce. > This is something so personal to me, that I poured my heart into, and now it's numbers. ## Financial success matters to him Firstman, who moved to Los Angeles at twenty-one, knows financial success is important. "I've worked so hard to get to this place, and now I feel like finally, hopefully, people are going to see my vision," he says. > I've worked so hard to get to this place, and now I feel like finally, hopefully, people are going to see my vision and trust me to do something very different next. ## Delevingne has a message for doubters If anyone doesn't take Firstman seriously as a filmmaker, Cara Delevingne has simple advice: "Just watch the movie." Club Kid hits theaters November sixth before embarking on an Oscar campaign. > If anyone doesn't take him seriously, just watch the movie. ## Key takeaway Firstman is using his feature film directorial debut to transition from internet personality to serious filmmaker, with major industry backing and support from his cast.