Mini Docs
This screening showcases compelling short documentaries all under 12 minutes in length. It proves that big, powerful stories can be told in even the tiniest films. From intimate personal portraits and participatory filmmaking, to more experimental works, this eclectic programme spans a number of styles, genres, and perspectives. Together, these works highlight the fact that filmmakers don’t need a lot of time, or budget, to get their story across. Come and be inspired by this multi-faceted screening that educates, humbles and wows in many ways.
The documentaries will be followed by a Q&A between Maddie Lock (Family Tides), Olivia Hird (Intermittent & Continuous), Rosie Bowyer (Listen), and curator Nat Lall.
Curated by Nat Lall.
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Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £4, £8, £12, £16, or £20, in order to make SQIFF more accessible to those on a low income. You can choose what you pay based on your circumstances – you won’t be asked for any proof/ID. We just ask that you are honest! Please find the ‘What Should I Pay?’ guidance here.
Accessibility
This event has:
- English-BSL interpretation for the introduction and Q&A. The interpreter for this event is TBC.
- English, French, German, Polish, Russian, Tagalog audio with English language Descriptive Subtitles
- Live Captioning for the introduction and Q&A.
- An induction loop is available at the GFT Box Office. Enhanced Audio (EA) is available in their screening rooms via headset.
This screening is 66 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 15+
If you require access seating please get in touch. Access seating includes: wheelchair spaces, sitting in the front row / in the aisle / at the back. If you need any other provisions, please let us know by emailing [email protected] with your name, ticket information and access request. We will do our best to work with you whilst also managing the capacity of the venue. Thank you for working with us on this.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2026 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
Films in this programme include:
Drag Kings: Question Time. A Day with the Fans, Dir. Orlando Myxx, 2025, United Kingdom, 9 min.
After 10 years on the stage, PECS Drag Kings Collective gathers for a one-day festival in London to celebrate their anniversary with the queer community. Critical thinker and Drag King fan Diana G. penetrates Shoreditch Town Hall to ask the audience a crucial question. Have Drag Kings and Things changed the landscape of Gender and Sexuality? In this short documentary the camera turns towards the audience of a London Drag Kings Festival to understand what Drag Kinging means to them, how it has evolved and what challenges it faces.
Some of us really can’t, Dir. Noa Meli, 2026, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, 10 min.
This film is about the fear of prejudice, heteronormative posters and statues, binary clothing stores… and a coming-out that never happened. In 2019, places in Poland became known in the media as “LGBT-free zones”. This film, set in one of these zones, explores why LGBTQAI+ people are invisible. Is it possible to remain invisible for a lifetime? After the filmmaker fails to find affected individuals, they start looking for the reasons behind their invisibility.
Content notes: Depiction of queerphobia. Discussion of isolation, suicide.
The Beat in my Chest, Dir. Ramona Bendig, 2025, Germany, Spain, 7 min
Serhii, a young deaf Ukrainian rebuilding his life in Barcelona after fleeing war and homophobia, experiences music beyond sound. Through techno’s bass and vibrations, rhythm becomes something felt deep within his body. Between friends, work and nights of techno, the film discovers a life lived with an infectious appetite for being alive.
Content notes: Discussion of displacement, mental health, police brutality.
All the Worlds I Could Lift, Dir. Samantha Lee, 2026, Philippines, 6 min.
A group of queer women use weightlifting to reclaim bodies and spaces that have excluded them as they redefine strength and use female masculinity as an act of resistance.
listen, Dir. Rosie Bowyer, 2026, United Kingdom, 11 min.
listen is a short film about Listen Gallery, an experimental sound arts gallery and communal listening space run by Riah Naief. As the security of DIY spaces becomes increasingly precarious, how can we work together and fight to build a future that supports community-centred, free spaces such as Listen Gallery?
Access notes: Flashing imagery, flashing lights.
Intermittent & Continuous, Dir. Olivia Hird, 2025, United Kingdom, 11 min.
In the Peak District, Rita is living out a childhood dream: working in a quarry. In a male-dominated industry, she carves out her place through determination and persistence. Listening closely to the machinery, past and present unexpectedly converge, transporting her towards the irretrievable.
Content notes: Discussion of bereavement.
Family Tides, Dir. Maddie Lock, 2026, United Kingdom, 10 min.
Everyone deserves to feel like they belong in their hometown. Family Tides is a documentary that explores growing up queer and trans in small seaside towns, opening up the conversation about what it feels like to lack a traditional sense of home, and how that can be found in community.
Access notes: Flashing imagery.
Content notes: Discussion of homophobia, transphobia.
While construction is in progress, shops will remain open, Dir. Mordred Guadagno, 2026, France, 2 min.
Between 2021 and 2025, the city was under massive construction to prepare for a new streetcar line. As the works finally come to an end, I grapple with the ending of a construction of my own.
Content notes: Depiction of needles.
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Supported by Screen Scotland, the BFI Audience Projects Fund and Film Hub Scotland (part of the BFI Film Audience Network), all awarding National Lottery funding.
Image Credit: The Beat in my Chest, Dir. Ramona Bendig, 2025