A queer coming-of-age motocross drama from sundance alum hits the big screen in Hollywood
Los Angeles, CA (August 23, 2025). Ragamuffin is the coming-of-age short by writer/director Kaitlyn Mikayla. The film will screen at the Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival. The date is Monday, August 12 at 7:30 PM at TCL Chinese Theatres in Hollywood. Premiering at Sundance 2025. Ragamuffin is a visceral, true-to life narrative about girlhood, grit, and growing up fast in a world built for boys. The film is currently on its global festival tour. It has screenings in over 7 US states and 7 countries worldwide. This includes the Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at the Cannes Film Festival.
Logline: A young motocross racer spends a weekend at the track with her dad. She faces her identity, hearing-impairment and what it means to be a girl.
Synopsis: Twelve-year-old Ryan Ragamuffin Myles faces the chaos of the motocross track often. But when a high-stakes race weekend pushes her identity to the limit. Her girlhood, her deafness, and her place in a male sport—she forces herself to fight for the space she deserves. The film is shot on film at a live motocross park and rooted in raw, lived experience. Ragamuffin captures a pivotal moment of transformation, both on and off the track.
The Official Trailer for Ragamuffin written and directed by Kaitlyn Mikayla
“I was a childhood motocross champion, and this is my story. Ragamuffin is the culmination of experiences I had as a queer girl at the motocross track. Racing high-octane dirt bikes and helping my father run his trackside shop. At its heart, it’s about growing up as a girl in a male-dominated world. Asking, who are the women we mold ourselves after? Motocross defies death, and danger lurks around every corner. The same way it does when you’re twelve, teetering on the edge of adulthood.”
About Kaitlyn Mikayla
Kaitlyn Mikayla is a writer/director, photographer, and Sundance alum. She has lived and created in Los Angeles, New York, and London. Her directorial debut, Ragamuffin, is a deeply personal narrative based on her childhood racing motocross. The film world-premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. It has since screened at festivals across the U.S. and internationally. Including the Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at Cannes.
Kaitlyn’s print and commercial work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal. In PAPER Magazine, New York Times bestsellers, Times Square billboards and international campaigns for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit. Also in Barneys New York, Juicy Couture, Nautica, Nine West and more. She is currently in post-production on her second film, Stockholm Street. An erotic thriller exploring the meaning of consent and the complexities of Stockholm Syndrome. As a filmmaker, Kaitlyn is dedicated to telling gritty, subversive stories. Her stories are about badass young women and closing the gap for female directors in Hollywood.
About HollyShort Film Festival
An Oscar®-Qualifying short film festival based in Los Angeles. Since its establishment in 2005, HollyShorts has grown into a premier platform for independent filmmakers worldwide. As an Academy Awards-qualifying festival in four categories, HollyShorts presents a diverse selection of innovative short films across various genres.
About BitPix
Bitpix is a streaming service for shorts films, accessible on over 1000 devices including iOS devices, Android devices, MACs, PCs, streaming media boxes such as Roku, Apple TV, and Chromecast. Bitpix was created by filmmakers for filmmakers. Born and bread out of the Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival, Bitpix is your home to watch the best short films from around the world—every day. Bitpix News is your home for the latest news, reviews, and updates about these shorts featured on the platform.
About 88th Street Productions
HSFF provides 88th Street Productions access to over 40,000 short films and filmmakers in all genres, The Company has long standing relationships with these filmmakers, talent and entertainment industry executives. 88th Street is able to activate these relationships to source to access projects in all genres. Alta Global Media provides access to established filmmakers, executives and talent agencies.
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