NEW YORK -- Production outfits Funny Boy Films and Mythgarden are teaming up to make the gay-themed coming-of-age dramedy "Elliot Loves."

The script from first-time feature director Terracino chronicles two stages of a Dominican-American youth's life -- first as a 9-year-old struggling to build a relationship with his young mother, then as a 21-year-old looking for love in New York. The nearly $1 million production is slated to begin shooting in July in New York.

Mythgarden partners Christopher Racster and actors Chad Allen and Robert Gant will produce the film along with Funny Boy partners Kirkland Tibbels and George Bendele. The screenplay won the Vito Russo Award at the NewFest film festival in 2004.

"We were in negotiations with the filmmaker when Mythgarden came across the script and called us up," Bendele said. "We're fans of theirs, so it was a great opportunity to collaborate.

This project will be the first for Mythgarden, founded in 2003, and the third for Funny Boy, which has produced "Latter Days" and the recently released "Adam & Steve" since its 2002 launch.