Scottish Shorts 2
Returning for another year at the festival, Scottish Shorts 2 is a bold and intimate programme of short films by queer filmmakers working across Scotland. This selection continues to explore the queer Scottish experience through stories shaped by displacement, desire, care, survival, and play.
These films move between personal documentary, narrative storytelling, and experimental textures. Some reflect on home and migration, others explore relationships, identity, and transformation. These films reveal queer lives in all their depth and nuance, telling stories with humour and heart.
At its core, this programme brings forward voices and perspectives too often absent from Scottish screens. It celebrates a growing queer cinema that is rooted, restless, and unapologetically present.
All filmmakers in this screening and in ‘Scottish Shorts 1’ are automatically entered into a competition to win the title of Best Scottish Short. The winner will be announced at the closing screening of SQIFF 2025.
Following the screening, we’ll be joined by the filmmakers for a Q&A to reflect on their work, share insights, and open up space for conversation.
Curated by Nat Lall and Huss.
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. To book your ticket for this event, click here.
Accessibility
This programme has:
- Chinese, English, Mandarin audio with English language Descriptive Subtitles
- English-BSL interpretation for introduction and panel discussion
- Live Captioning for introduction and panel discussion
This screening is 76 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 18+.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2025 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2025, please get in touch with us at [email protected] or by phone on 07873 331 036.
Films in this programme include:
A Journey Of The Leaves, Dir. Yash Zhang, 2024, United Kingdom, 11 min
When memories of his father’s violence chase him from China, a queer filmmaker drifts into an autumn-touched Estonian town. There, a wandering traveler, a bookstore owner, a poet’s living statue, and another queer Chinese soul carrying similar wounds guide him through the scattered pieces of his past.
Content notes: Discussion of violence.
Be Honest!, Dir. Alice Harper, 2025, United Kingdom, 11 min
With a chance to win £100,000 for their ailing child, a couple enter a game show where they must face the most brutal challenge of all — being honest.
Before You Leave, Dir. Louise Thomas, 2024, United Kingdom, 12 min
On the day before her move to Australia, Innes, a veterinarian in her mid-twenties, grapples with mounting uncertainty as she and her sister, Saoirse, navigate the streets of Edinburgh. On this journey, they deliver the last of her belongings to a coworker, an ex-boyfriend, and a childhood friend. Each encounter becomes a poignant reminder of what she’s leaving behind.
Keith, Dir. Steven Fraser, 2024, United Kingdom, 8 min
A Glasgow filmmaker discovers a dead body behind bins and embarks on a phone-based investigation to identify the victim. Using animation techniques exploring social media, apps, and blogs, the film examines neurodiversity and autistic communication styles while building tension toward revealing the deceased person’s name.
Content notes: Depiction of animated nudity, drug use.
Bowl, Dir. John Kelbie, 2025, United Kingdom, 10 min
Arthur is an elderly, quick-witted, gay man who has recently been diagnosed with arthritis. Upon finding out that his old foe and competitor Norma is playing in the upcoming lawn bowls charity match, Arthur seeks the chance to prove himself. He faces many challenges along the way as he bickers with Norma and comes to terms with his illness and the losses he has faced, but with a little help from Norma’s granddaughter Jenn, he is able to confront his past and learn what is truly important to him.
Content notes: Discussion of death, grief, illness, loss.
Cahā, Dir. Chak Hin Leung, 2024, United Kingdom, 10 min
Intimate documentary capturing two immigrants—Indian and Bruneian—meeting in a London teahouse. Over tea (“cahā”), their casual conversation reveals profound stories of sacrifice, identity, and adaptation. The film explores immigrant experiences and colonial tea legacy, showing how this simple ritual creates unexpected connection and understanding across borders.
Content notes: Discussion of colonialism, transphobia.
Changing Homes, Dir. Mano Mandal, 2025, United Kingdom, 6 min
An Indian nonbinary transmasculine person goes to a European beach for the first time since their top surgery. As they sit and read about a historical trans person, they navigate the idea of being shirtless in public for the very first time. While doing so, they reflect on Eurocentric body standards and on their sense of home — in their own body and amidst bodies of water.
First Contact, Dir. James Crang, 2025, United Kingdom, 8 min
In isolation on the moon, a gardener tends to his small patch of life. When another person appears, he is forced to confront his fears of connection. Will he nurture a bond that could bring light to his lonely existence, or will his anxiety keep him in darkness?
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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: Keith, Dir. Steven Fraser, 2024