Transfinite is a sci-fi omnibus feature film by Neelu Bhuman composed of seven standalone short stories where supernatural trans and queer people from various cultures use their powers to protect, love, teach, fight, and thrive. Most of us have been in situations where we feel completely powerless and deeply frustrated with the unfairness of it […]
We present a round-up of the excellent, idiosyncratic new queer filmmaking produced within Scotland. We welcome the return of filmmakers who have screened at SQIFF before including Michael Lee Richardson, Wei Zhang, Siri Rødnes, Eleanor Capaldi, and Natasha Lall, and are excited by a whole host of new names bringing very impressive work packed with […]
In director Zi Xiang's exceptional feature debut - a Teddy Jury award-winner at the Berlin Film Festival - decades of open secrets and resentment create chaos within a Chinese family. When she brings her white western boyfriend for a visit to China, pregnant Huang Xiaoyu gets caught up in her parent’s ongoing feud. Her father’s […]
Cassandro is a well-known lucha libre wrestler known for his extravagant gayness and equally spectacular wrestling moves. Shot on 16mm over the course of 5 years, Marie Losier’s film follows a champion coming to terms with his increasingly ailing body. We bear witness to Cassandro's scars, both mental and physical, his pain contrasting with his […]
On June 27 1969, police raided The Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York. In a spontaneous show of support and frustration, the city’s queer community rioted for three nights, an event often considered the birth of the modern LGBT Rights Movement. Revealing and often humorous, Before Stonewall exposes the fascinating decade-by-decade history of […]
We delve into the varied practices of BDSM and societal attitudes towards this age-old erotic preference, which continues to be subject to stigmatisation and censorship. In Lasting Marks, one of sixteen gay men put on trial for taking part in consensual sadomasochism in late 80s England narrates his experience. Berlin-based conscious BDSM practitioner, Caritia, explains […]
Pity Party Film Club presents a rare screening of Walt Davis' lesbian sexploitation opus Evil Come, Evil Go. Sister Sarah Jane (Cleo O'Hara) is hellbent on ridding the world of evil, sex-obsessed men. Taking to the streets of Los Angeles, she quickly befriends a gullible young woman and the two embark on a mad, sex-filled […]
Sing along with Emmas Watson and Thompson and Ewan McGregor in this romantic fairytale with a queer twist. Belle, a bright, beautiful, and independent young woman, is taken prisoner by a beast in its castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle's enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the beast's exterior, allowing her to recognise […]
Short films exploring what it means to have faith as a queer person today. A seemingly pious Hasidic man living a secret double life faces a challenge when his two worlds collide. A chaplain from Cheshire sets up a helpline for gay farmers and is inundated with calls. LGBTQIA+ people in Nepal use a Hindu […]
Pedro Lemebel’s sharp, poetic texts and provocative performances make him one of South America’s most significant artists. Under Pinochet’s dictatorship in Chile, Lemebel expressed things most wouldn’t dare. For the country’s left-wing opposition, his queerness made him an awkward figure as he exposed their machismo and homophobia. Lemebel embodied an uncomfortable gay identity and fiercely […]
