Fun Family Event!

Queer Families and SQIFF (Scottish Queer International Film Festival) have worked together to plan a fun, inclusive film event for all families with children! 🌈🦕🌞

You can drop in on the day, or send us a message or comment (so we know how many people will join)!

It’ll be a relaxed event, with some fun child-friendly (all ages) films to watch, fun creative activities, toys and storybooks, snacks and hot drinks, and space to meet other families and make friends.

Nat Lall (SQIFF curator) has selected lovely films for us to watch, including short animations with LGBTIQ+ families.

We’re holding this event because people who come to Queer Families have talked about not seeing many families like them in children’s films. So we’re trying to create more space for LGBTIQ+ families to feel more seen and valued.

All families with children are invited and welcome to join! The event is planned to meet the needs of LGBTIQ+ families especially, but every family is welcome. So please invite your friends and more people in your communities along! And of course wider family, chosen family, grandparents, and anyone else who matters to you too.

Send us a message (or email [email protected]) if you have any questions, or if we can help you feel welcome and take part.

Accessibility:

• The Deep End is a wheelchair accessible venue.
• Snacks, Coffee and Tea will be provided.

If you have any other access needs you would like to discuss with us, please get in touch with us at [email protected].

Films in this programme include:

Dear Nana, Dir. Han Nguyen, 2023

Dear Nana is a deeply personal work that reflects my own childhood memory of living as a queer kid in a small, conservative town in North Central Coast, Vietnam. It is made in memory of my maternal grandmother who passed away in 2011. She was the first person to teach me that there is no shame in being myself and doing whatever makes me happy instead of trying to conform to the norm and doing what is expected of me. This work is both about remembering her and reassuring myself that she would still be supportive of me now that I have come so far in my journey of self-expression. The film also features aspects of Vietnamese culture, such as the tradition to venerate our ancestors and pray for their blessings.

Forza, Rea!, Dirs. Isabel Pahud, Isabel Clerici, Laura Zimmermann, Polina Tyrsa, 2023, Switzerland, 3 min

In a hillside village in Ticino, Rea sets out to deliver a love letter to her crush while roller skating. As she heads to the house, the letter is swept away downhill, sending Rea on a frantic chase through the village. Navigating obstacles on the rough old town streets, she races to catch the letter before finally delivering it.

Little One, Dir. John Clister Santos, 2023, Philippines, 9 min

In Manila, Ili-Ili follows Joy, a pregnant mother seeking advice from her gay dads, Iko and Tino. When Iko has a heart attack, Tino reflects on their family’s journey through old footage. Joy learns that true parenting is defined by love and support, not gender, as the film’s painterly visuals convey a timeless message of parental devotion.

Content notes: Depiction of hospitalisation.

Alwan, Dir. Qais Sarhan, 2024, United Kingdom, 3 min

Meet Alwan, a cheerful child longing for a friend. After a series of disappointments, a box of crayons unexpectedly brings magic into his life. The crayons come alive, creating a magical world filled with joy and friendship. Here, Alwan discovers that his imagination holds the key to happiness, celebrating the power of creativity and the simple joys found within our imagination.

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Image Credit: Forza Rea!, Dirs. Isabel Pahud, Isabel Clerici, Laura Zimmermann, Polina Tyrsa, 2023