A documentary film crew follows another documentary film crew as they attempt to understand the mating habits of San Francisco lesbians. A tour-de-force of queer women and genderqueer sex, The Wild Search is the ultimate pomo-homo-porno. An early work from powerhouse Shine Louise Houston and her company, Pink & White Productions, known for its championing […]
In 1982, soon after the first Gay Games was held in the US, 'West Hollywood Swim Club,' as it was known then, registered as the first openly gay masters swim and water polo club. This documentary follows the club’s battle for acceptance, from humble beginnings to its members becoming a renowned force fighting injustice in […]
Writer/director Madeleine Olnek (The Foxy Merkins, Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same) challenges the idea of 19th Century poet Emily Dickinson as a prudish recluse in this surreal comedy. Featuring Molly Shannon as the supposedly reserved literary icon engaging in lesbian romping and sticking it to the patriarchy of the male-dominated literary establishment. A unique […]
Anonymous sexual encounters and flirtations with the camera, dress-up with Flawless Sabrina, and a night at the Stonewall Inn with Marsha P. Johnson: this programme proposes alternative modes of retrieving and disseminating a trans* past through an erotic gaze. Addressing an erasure of trans* legacies, these works place trans* sexual expression and resistances in conversation […]
A sensitive documentary looking at the life and death of Shar Jones, a transgender person with early onset Alzheimer's Disease, and the difficult choice he and his wife Cynthia Vitale faced as the couple struggled to figure out how to proceed amidst his chaotic decline. Tomorrow Never Knows highlights the couple's journey as they set […]
Pioneer of lesbian cinema Barbara Hammer weaves striking images of four gay and lesbian couples with footage of an unearthed, forbidden, and invisible history, searching eroded emulsions and images for lost vestiges of queer culture. Questions of historic representation are examined through addressing the margins, between-the-line readings, and images outside of prescribed textual boundaries. Archival […]
We are excited to bring Berlin-based actor and performer Bishop Black to SQIFF to present a retrospective of his amazing and varied work. Bishop has worked with some of the most prodigious and provocative directors in queer porn including Shu Lea Cheang, Erika Lust, Morgana Muses, and Bruce LaBruce. He has handpicked for us a […]
What does your town look like from someone else's perspective? What's it like to hold hands with a complete stranger and walk through the city centre? Performance art and mobile technology converge in Walking:Holding, a meditative documentary that journeys through urban landscapes exploring identity and intimacy in public space with a focus on LGBTQ+ experiences. This film is […]
What does it mean to make fun of yourself and your community as an LGBTQ+ person? This programme examines queerness and onscreen comedy, including short films by Raymond Yeung, Jordan Firstman, and Alli Logout, and episodes from Ingrid Jungermann’s classic webseries, F to 7th. Featuring self-loathing and loathable gay men, butch lesbians in denial, and […]
Owned by women, underground and illegal in nature, the club Shakedown was an independent, all black lesbian strip club operating in LA from the late 90s. Director Leilah Weinraub’s film chronicles the explicit performances and personal relationships of the party’s dancers and organisers, including Ronnie-Ron, Shakedown Productions’ creator and emcee; Mahogany, the legendary “mother” of the community; Egypt, their star performer; and Jazmine, the “Queen” of Shakedown. […]
