Today we’d like to introduce you to Christin Baker.
Hi Christin, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started Tello Films 19 years ago, which makes us the oldest LGBTQ streaming platform out there — and honestly one of the oldest streaming sites of any kind. I built it because I saw a real need to support lesbian stories, and specifically independent lesbian stories. There were so many filmmakers with a great voice and a story worth telling who could never get a meeting in Hollywood. I wanted to give those stories a home.
So that’s what we’ve done ever since — making our own original content and licensing work from indie lesbian filmmakers, so their films actually reach the audience that’s been waiting for them. Our sweet spot became the holiday movie: lesbian Hallmark-style films, the kind of cozy, feel-good romance our community never got to see itself in. I’ve directed five of them myself. From there we branched into thrillers, and we keep expanding into new genres.
What drives me is finding the stories people are missing in their lives — the ones they didn’t even realize they were hungry for until they saw them on screen. That’s still the whole point, all these years later.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, it definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. For one, we were building a streaming platform 19 years ago — before “streaming” was even really a thing people understood. There was no playbook. And the technology was nowhere near as easy as it is today: what’s turnkey now, an off-the-shelf service you can spin up in an afternoon, back then had to be custom-built. I had to partner with someone just to build the thing that would let us stream at all.
Doing it as an independent LGBTQ business also meant doing it without the kind of money that flows so easily to mainstream projects. Funding has always been the hard part — you’re building something the big players won’t back yet, for an audience they underestimate.
The hardest chapter, though, was a partnership. I brought some people in, and it went wrong in a way I didn’t see coming — I actually lost Tello for about two years. That was one of the roughest stretches of my life. I eventually got the company back, but living through losing the thing I’d built taught me more than any success ever did. I’m far more careful now about who I partner with and how I protect what I’ve made.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I run Tello Films, the streaming home I built for independent lesbian film. At heart, what I do is find and champion the stories the rest of the industry overlooks, then make sure they actually reach the people who’ve been waiting their whole lives to see themselves on screen. We produce our own original content and license work from indie lesbian filmmakers — and I direct, too. I’m probably best known for our lesbian holiday movies, cozy Hallmark-style romances made for our community, and I’ve directed five of them myself. Lately we’ve been branching into thrillers and new genres.
What I’m most proud of is longevity with purpose. Tello is the oldest LGBTQ streaming platform out there, and we’ve kept it thriving for nearly two decades by staying true to exactly who it’s for. That’s also what sets us apart — we’re not a big platform checking a box. Tello is built by and for this community, we put filmmakers first, and every choice comes from genuinely loving these stories and the people who tell them.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
Just that Tello has always been a labor of love, and it still is. If you’ve ever wished you could see more stories that reflect your own life — funny, romantic, thrilling, tender — come find us. Every subscription, every rental, every share directly supports an independent filmmaker who might not get that chance anywhere else.
We’ve got a lot ahead, including a new film called VIV that I can’t wait for everyone to see. After nearly two decades, I’m still just as passionate about giving these stories, and this community, a place to call home.
Pricing:
- $7.99/month
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tellofilms.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tellofilms
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tellofilms
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/tellofilms
- Other: Email: submissions@tellofilms.com
