Framing Agnes + Conversation at An Lanntair, Stornoway
2023-06-16 18:00 - 20:00 UTC
Agnes, the pioneering, pseudonymized, transgender woman who participated in Harold Garfinkel’s gender health research at UCLA in the 1960s, has long stood as a figurehead of trans history.
In this rigorous cinematic exercise that blends fiction and nonfiction, director Chase Joynt explores where and how her platform has become a pigeonhole. Framing Agnes endeavors to widen the frame through which trans history is viewed — one that has remained too narrow to capture the multiplicity of experiences eclipsed by Agnes’.
Through a collaborative practice of reimagination, an impressive lineup of trans stars take on vividly rendered, impeccably vintage reenactments, bringing to life groundbreaking artifacts of trans healthcare.
Joynt’s signature form-rupturing style radically reenvisions the imposition of the frame on the cultural memory of transness through his brilliantly crafted, communally-driven excavation. This reclamation tears away with remarkable precision the myth of isolation as the mode of existence of transgender history-makers, breathing new life into a lineage of collaborators and conspirators who have been forgotten for far too long.
Following the screening of Framing Agnes, stay tuned for a conversation with local trans and non-binary people on inter-generational trans experiences and creating space for the community.
Curated by Indigo Korres.
Tickets are available on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £5, £6.50, £8. To book, click here

Accessibility:
This screening has an age recommendation of N/C 15+.
English audio and British Sign Language with English language captions. BSL-English interpretation for intro and post-film conversation.
Audio description available for the film. Headsets available at the cinema entrance.
Quiet Room available.
Induction Loop available.
75 minutes long with a 45 minutes post-film conversation.
We have an Audience Access Fund for travel costs. If you would like to take this up, please contact info@sqiff.org.
We ask that you wear a mask if possible and please don’t attend the screening if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 or have been in recent contact with a confirmed case. Surgical masks will be available for free by the Quiet Space.
If you have any other access needs you would like to discuss with us, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org.
Supported by Film Hub Scotland, part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, and funded by Screen Scotland and National Lottery funding from the BFI.

SQIFF 2023 Opening Night Scottish Shorts - SOLD OUT
2023-09-26 19:00 - 21:00 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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**Please note this event is now sold out – we may be able to release more tickets nearer the screening. CCA Box Office are operating a waiting list for sold out events – please contact them directly to be added to this!**
Starting the festival, as always, we have ’Scottish Shorts’. The screening exclusively contains short films by artists based in Scotland and highlights exquisite talent on our home turf. The very first film stars SQIFF’s own Jamie Rea. Jamie co-curated our 2021 festival and now treats us to a touching lead performance in The Singer. Later, we have Selkie, which brings Scottish mythology and folk song to queer cinema. And, we have Pixie that follows the local party girl as she shares her experience of coming out, transitioning and go-go dancing.
Curated by Nat Lall.
We hope to welcome several of the filmmakers for a Q&A after the films. All ticket holders are invited to join us for a drink at CCA after the screening.
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, or £10. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

The Singer (2023, Dir. Cora Bissett): In the loud streets of Glasgow, deaf song-writer Joe meets busker Andy. The two learn to communicate over their love of music and realise together they can create something unique.
Groom (2022, Dir. Leyla Coll-O’Reilly): is about a young, school leaver called Hannah who is on a trial shift at a beauty salon. It’s a story about coercive relationships, consent, puberty and sexual desire.
Selkie (2022, Dir. Sophie Suliman): This is an experimental performative and social documentary exploring humankind’s relationship to nature and other lifeforms through the ancient Nordic and Celtic myth of the selkie and the impact of wild swimming on our psyche and wellbeing. Based in different locations and through collaboration with various communities around Scotland.
DIG (2022, Dir. G J Hewitt): A mother searches a secluded beach, determined to find a certain item, that will bring her some closure.
Kitchen Sink Fantasy (2023, Dir. Heath Virgoe): A fantasy rom-com that follows a gender-swapping Gen-Z narcissist on a quest to pay rent on time.
Pixie (2022, Dir. Beth Johnston): This documentary provides a portrait of Pixie, a young transgender woman from Glasgow.
Once upon a time in Easter house (2019, Dir. Paul Cochrane): In the East End of Glasgow, a teen boy confronts his secret after falling in love for the first time.

ACCESSIBLITY
This screening has slight use of slow strobing light.
Content Warnings:

Discussion of sex, mental health, suicide, death, porn, bullying, alcohol abuse;
Depiction of power abuse, nudity, alcohol use, drug use, physical violence, transphobia, homophobia, misogyny, and vomit.

This screening is for all ages.
89 minutes long with a Q&A after the screening.
English and Spanish audio with English language captions. BSL-English interpretation and live captioning provided for the intro and panel discussion.
Audio description available for the film. Headsets available at the cinema entrance.
We have an Audience Access Fund for travel. If you would like to take this up, please visit the access desk at the entrance of the CCA, or contact info@sqiff.org.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2023 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2023, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.
We ask that you wear a mask if possible and please don’t attend the screening if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 or have been in recent contact with a confirmed case. FFP2 masks will be available for free around the building.
Image: from Kitchen Sink Fantasy (2023, Heath Virgoe)

Are you into emotional edging?
2023-09-27 15:30 - 17:30 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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Join us for a journey of conscious and unconscious thoughts. This screening features distinct experimental shorts made by trans and non-binary people that focuses on the varied ways our community tell stories of forming and navigating relationships, both digitally and in real life.
The films in this programme utilise archival footage, found footage, digital glitch, chemical abstraction, digital animation, layered imagery, and direct animation to explore the telling of our stories.
Milo Clenshaw will be hosting a panel discussion after the screening with special guests Hogan Seidel, director of The Backside of God, and Jamie Crewe, director of A Luxury.
Curated by Indigo Korres.

Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, or £10. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

A Luxury (2021, Dir. Jamie Crewe): A film commssioned by Edinburgh International Book Festival, 2021, in response to Shola Von Reinhold’s novel LOTE (2020). Made in homage to Curtis Harrington’s film The Wormwood Star (1956), a portrait of the artist Cameron, the film finds Shola in the attic of Preston Hall, Midlothian, undergoing a transportation. A section of LOTE is read over churning abstract liquids, and finally an escape.
A Trans with a Movie Camera (2018, Dir. Frances Damian Arpaia): A non-narrative cine-essay that collaboratively explores the potentials for trans-feminine representation in film.
The Backside of God (2020, Dir. Hogan Seidel): The Backside of God is an experimental documentary utilizing archival footage, digital glitch, chemical abstraction, and direct animation to explore the intricacies of the artist’s relationship with their familial, religious, and queer identity.
Bigger on the Inside (2022, Dir. Angelo Madsen Minax): From an isolated wooded cabin a trans man star gazes, scruff chats with guys, watches youtube tutorials, takes drugs, and lies about taking drugs – feeling his way through a cosmology of embodiment. Relative to the immensity of longing, the bodily insides become both portal and lens through which to probe the porousness between interior and exterior, the micro and macro. Nudes and landscapes are equally erotic, as Eros is an issue of boundaries: When i desire you, a part of me is gone.

ACCESSIBLITY
Content Warnings:

Discussion of transphobia, misogyny, religious views, homophobia, emotional edging, mental health, sex;
Depiction of masturbation, sex.

Access Notes:

Glitchy imagery

This screening has an age recommendation of N/C 16+.
61 minutes long with a Q&A after the screening.
English, Latin, Portuguese, and Vietnamese audio and screens with English language captions. BSL-English interpretation and live captioning provided.
Audio description available for the film. Headsets available at the cinema entrance.
We have an Audience Access Fund for travel. If you would like to take this up, please visit the access desk at the entrance of the CCA, or contact by emailing info@sqiff.org.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2023 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2023, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.
We ask that you wear a mask if possible and please don’t attend the screening if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 or have been in recent contact with a confirmed case. FFP2 masks will be available for free around the building.
Image: from Bigger on the Inside (2022, Dir. Angelo Madsen Minax)

Begana
2023-09-27 18:00 - 20:00 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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Begana is bringing you more films from the South Asian queer diaspora! Combining hidden stories, politics with joy and queer loving, come watch films from Rohan Kanawade’s drama U for Usha, in which a single mother and a farm labourer in rural India who feels drawn to a female teacher of a local primary school, to Rohin Raveendran’s romance The Booth, where a female frisking booth inside a crowded shopping mall stands as a silent ally to a forbidden romance. We hope you’re ready for a fresh view through these Sapphic love stories.
Curated by Neha Apsara.
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, or £10. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

U for Usha (2019, Dir. Rohan Kanawade):Usha, a single mother and a farm labourer in rural India, feels drawn to a female teacher at a local primary school. This attraction plays an integral part in firing her passion for learning how to read and write.
Devi (Goddess) (2017, Dir. Karishma Dube): A young closeted lesbian risks both family and tradition, as she embraces her attraction for her childhood maid, Devi. A young closeted lesbian risks both family and tradition, as she embraces her attraction for her childhood maid, Devi.
The Booth (2019, Dir. Rohin Raveendran): A female frisking booth inside a crowded shopping mall stands as a silent ally to a forbidden romance.
My Mother’s Girlfriend (2021, Dir. Arun Fulara): is the story of two relationships colliding. Renuka and Sadiya, two mature working-class women, in love with each other, are out celebrating Renuka’s birthday. Unknown to them, Renuka’s son, Mangesh, is around.

ACCESSIBLITY
Content Warnings:

Discussion of sex, sex work, abuse, violence, trauma, transphobia, racism, sex work
Depiction of violence, homophobia.

This screening has an age recommendation of N/C 16+.

66 minutes long.

Films are in Bengali, English, Hindi, Marathi audio and screen with English language captions for access. BSL-English interpretation and live captioning provided.
Audio description available for the film. Headsets available at the cinema entrance.
We have an Audience Access Fund for travel. If you would like to take this up, please visit the access desk at the entrance of the CCA, or contact info@sqiff.org.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2023 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2023, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.
We ask that you wear a mask if possible and please don’t attend the screening if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 or have been in recent contact with a confirmed case. FFP2 masks will be available for free around the building.
Image: From My Mother’s Girlfriend (2021, Dir. Arun Fulara)

Fleeting Love
2023-09-28 18:00 - 20:00 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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‘Fleeting Love’ is a collection of short films that capture brief (but tender) romantic encounters. Expect sepia-toned super 8 clips, wind blowing through long hair, lustful stares and tugs on your heartstrings. The pace of the films in the selection ebbs and flows with runtimes ranging from 3 to 20 minutes. Films such as Swimming in the Dark bring slower romantic builds alongside slow rippling water. Whereas the closing film Strangers is the shortest of the collection and follows two lovers clinging on to each other as they zoom past the camera on a motorbike.
Curated by Nat Lall.
The screening starts with poetry from local queer poet Hatty Nestor.
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, or £10. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

Heart Fruit (2022 , dir. Kim Allamand): Late summer heats up the city where people search for their own form of love.
Dreaming of You (2023 , dir. Andrzej Kosma Perliński): A Polish-Danish story of a cross-cultural encounter during a winter night in 1986. It’s a dreamy reminiscence focusing on the choreography of glances, breaths, and communication beyond language when meeting a magnetic stranger. The fantasy starts to prevail with the night getting darker, but will it still be there at sunrise?
Swimming in the Dark (2022, dir. Pin Ru Chen): When the swimming competition is coming, Wen is under lots of pressure. Ann who is inseparable from her found out something different. To confront Wen’s closure and trauma, Ann decides to be closer to Wen. But, when she gets closer to Wen, it pushes them further…
i get so sad sometimes (2021 , dir. Trishtan Tala Perez): In the small town of Pagadian, a gay teenager eagerly waits for a mature man to reveal his face after developing an anonymous sexual relationship with him online.
Scaffold (2023 , dir. Billy Klotsa): Fragments of bereavement and collapsing love appear in an isolated house between the land and the sea. Death arrives. The landscape shivers. What holds us close in moments of rupture?
Strangers (2022 , dir. Ahan Kadam): Moments like seeing an ex-partner at a gas station are always filled with a deep sense of nostalgia and sadness, the tragedy of seeing someone you once knew so intimately now be a complete stranger to you.

ACCESSIBLITY
Content Warnings:

Discussions of sex, self-harm
Depiction of sex, cigarette use

This screening is recommended for ages 16+
94 minutes long with a poetry reading before the screening.
Danish, English, German, Mandarin Chinese, Polish, Swiss German, Tagalog audio with English captions. BSL-English interpretation and live captioning provided for the intro and poetry.
We have an Audience Access Fund for travel. If you would like to take this up, please visit the access desk at the entrance of the CCA, or contact info@sqiff.org.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2023 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2023, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.
We ask that you wear a mask if possible and please don’t attend the screening if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 or have been in recent contact with a confirmed case. FFP2 masks will be available for free around the building.
Image: from Heart Fruit (2022, Dir. Kim Allamand)

Queer East Presents: Alien Body, Human Dreams - SOLD OUT
2023-09-28 18:30 - 20:30 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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**Please note this event is now sold out – we may be able to release more tickets nearer the screening. CCA Box Office are operating a waiting list for sold out events – please contact them directly to be added to this!**
A series of cinematic investigations that centre the body as a potent site of hybridity, rejecting false divisions of man/woman, human/animal/alien, self/other to construct their own embodied, multifaceted ways of being. Artists in this programme purposefully employ queering as a technique to misread, re-appropriate, and puncture the systems of power projected onto the body.
In these works by queer Southeast and East Asian filmmakers, we meet a speculative reality where human body parts are sold in food trucks and witness a dance-fight between a lion dancer and a contemporary dancer. Bodyhacking, ritualising, and ceremonialising is used to knead cosmologies, folding knowledges in upon themselves.
Curated by April Lin 林森
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, or £10. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

to boyhood, i never knew him (2022, dir. Trâm Anh Nguyễn): Words from a transgender man float to the surface as fleeting memories go on.
Longing for the Sun to Set Upwards (2022, dir. Jao San Pedro): An ode to the multiplicity, mutability, and expansion of what constitutes a body and a self, through imaging and technological mediations.
beast (2022, dir. Aileen Ye): A martial arts inspired dance-fight between a lion dancer and queer performer reflects the tension between traditional and modern identities.
Disease of Manifestation (2011, dir. Tzu-An Wu) The work builds itself towards the anarchistic conditions of the inner scenes, can also be seem as a wrong-manifesto.
Yummy Body Truck (2021, dir. Noam Youngrak Son) A fictional food truck selling human body parts mixed with other organisms in a biotechno-queer fantasy of interspecies mixing.
BXBY (2022, dir. Soojin Chang) In this self-recorded performance blending documentary and ritual practice, a hybrid creature attempts reproduction.
Garden Amidst the Flame (2022, dir. Natasha Tontey) A playful and imaginative fantasy that challenges the hypermasculine presentation of Minahasan ritual culture and everyday life.

ACCESSIBLITY
This screening contains strobing lights, distorted imagery, distorted voice.
Content Warnings:

Discussions of cannibalism, direct reference to terminated pregnancy
Depiction of animated detached human parts, fake body parts being eaten, animal parts, recording of the inside a human bodysex, self-harm, distressing scenes, contains graphic reproductive content, imagery of the culling and dissection of a deer.

BXBY Content Warning (please note this may contain spoilers)
BXBY contains explicit content, including a close-up of a person using a speculum on themself and inserting a tube into their vagina (in a later scene they inject fluid into their vagina) and the graphic disembowelment and dismembering of a recently killed deer, which is revealed to be pregnant.
This screening is recommended for ages 16+
93 minutes long
Chinese, English, French, Indonesian audio with English captions. BSL-English interpretation and live captioning provided.
We have an Audience Access Fund for travel. If you would like to take this up, please visit the access desk at the entrance of the CCA, or contact info@sqiff.org.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2023 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2023, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.
We ask that you wear a mask if possible and please don’t attend the screening if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 or have been in recent contact with a confirmed case. FFP2 masks will be available for free around the building.
Image: from BXBY (2022, dir. Soojin Chang)

Sex Change: Shock! Horror! Probe! with TGirlsonFilm - SOLD OUT
2023-09-28 21:00 - 23:00 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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**Please note this event is now sold out – we may be able to release more tickets nearer the screening. CCA Box Office are operating a waiting list for sold out events – please contact them directly to be added to this!**
Thatcherite Britain, 1989 and transexuals are fighting back. Cabaret star, Adele Anderson is facing a transphobic backlash after being cruelly outed by the press. Meanwhile in Manchester, Stephanie Anne Lloyd is a successful trans business woman selling gender affirming products to a huge cross dressing clientele, with shoulder pads and gusto. The European Court faces Mark Rees as he argues his case to be legally seen as male, whilst Christine Goodwin hurtles round East London driving a bus. The first trans MP, Racheal Webb, attempts to reclaim the guardianship of her child since transitioning. Director Kristiene Clark fought back against the transphobic media, with an appeal to gender liberation.
Director Kristiene Clark will join us for an exclusive Q&A after the screening.
Curated by Jaye Hudson.
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, or £10. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

ACCESSIBLITY
Content Warnings:

Discussion of sexual assault, transphobia, surgery and suicide.

This screening is recommended for ages 16+
58 minutes long with a Q&A after the screening.
English audio with English captions. BSL-English interpretation and live captioning provided for the intro and Q&A.
Audio description is available for this film. Headsets available at the cinema entrance.
We have an Audience Access Fund for travel. If you would like to take this up, please visit the access desk at the entrance of the CCA, or contact info@sqiff.org.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2023 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2023, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.
We ask that you wear a mask if possible and please don’t attend the screening if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 or have been in recent contact with a confirmed case. FFP2 masks will be available for free around the building.
Image: from Sex Change: Shock! Horror! Probe! (1988, Dir. Kristiene Clark)

Building Community with LGBT Unity
2023-09-29 12:30 - 14:00 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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In the summer of 2023, SQIFF and LGBT Unity hosted filmmaking workshops for queer asylum seekers and refugees. The workshops were facilitated by filmmakers Campbell X and Ambroise of Paradax Period, and focused on not only storytelling, filming and editing, but also building community and creating accessible ways to make films.
In this screening, we bring you all the shorts made during this workshop series, followed by a small Q&A where Campbell X and Ambroise talk about this process with some of the participants.
Presented in partnership with LGBT Unity Scotland, a community-led group providing essential support to LGBTQIA+ refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants.

Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, or £10. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

ACCESSIBLITY
Content Warnings:

Depiction of date rape drug, being outed, drug use, alcohol use, suicide attempt;
Discussion of persecution, transphobia, abuse, assault, homophobia, conversion therapy, mental health issues.

This screening has an age recommendation of N/C 16+.
30 minutes long and a Q&A after the screening.
English and Portuguese audio and screens with English language captions. BSL-English interpretation and live captioning provided for the intro and panel discussion.
We have an Audience Access Fund for travel. If you would like to take this up, please visit the access desk at the entrance of the CCA, or contact info@sqiff.org.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2023 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2023, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.
We ask that you wear a mask if possible and please don’t attend the screening if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 or have been in recent contact with a confirmed case. FFP2 masks will be available for free around the building.
Image: from SQIFF x LGBT Unity

Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean Jimmy Dean with TGirlsonFilm
2023-09-29 15:00 - 17:00 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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Five girlies reunite at a five-and-dime for the 20th anniversary of James Dean’s death. They all gossip and process where life has led them over a cup of coffee, the film features five female leads, one of which is Cher and another is a glamorous transexual. Based on a play and directed by Robert Altman, this is trans director Kristiene Clarke’s favourite trans representation.
Curated by Jaye Hudson. Presented with TGirlsonFilm and Introduction by Kristiene Clarke.

Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, or £10. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

ACCESSIBLITY
Content Warnings:

Depiction of transmisogyny, ableism, outdated language and sexism.

This screening has an age recommendation of BBFC 15.
109 minutes long.
English audio and screens with English language captions. BSL-English interpretation and live captioning provided.
Audio description available for the film. Headsets available at the cinema entrance.
We have an Audience Access Fund for travel. If you would like to take this up, please visit the access desk at the entrance of the CCA, or contact info@sqiff.org.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2023 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2023, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.
We ask that you wear a mask if possible and please don’t attend the screening if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 or have been in recent contact with a confirmed case. FFP2 masks will be available for free around the building.
Image: from Come Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean Jimmy Dean (1982, Dir. Robert Altman)

Animation Now
2023-09-29 18:00 - 20:00 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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‘Animation Now’ celebrates a new generation of queer animators. The programme includes both 2D and 3D animation in the form of narrative shorts, experimental art film and an immersive game walkthrough.
The screening starts with the heartfelt 3D animation Dear Nana telling the story of the narrator’s late grandmother who was a supportive figure throughout their life. Clotilde follows in a stop-motion animated medium and provides a playful light-hearted moment in the programme.
The screening ends with a panel featuring some of the filmmakers in the programme on the newest wave of digital animation. Expect talk of gaming-inspired filmmaking.
Curated by Nat Lall.

Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, or £10. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

Dear Nana (2023, Dir. Han Nguyen): 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.
Clotilde (2023, Dir. Maria João Lourenço): In a planet where reproduction is mandatory in the daily life of its inhabitants, there is an alien who just wishes to pleasure herself.
White-Haired Witch and Black-Haired Witch (2023, Dir. Yini Yang): In a distant corner of the universe, amidst flowers, vines, and an endless expanse of crimson water, numerous placentas float. One of the placentas connects two fetuses, and in a flash of lightning, the placenta is divided into two halves. From one of the halves, a white-haired witch grows gradually, longing to find the other half of the fetus but unable to locate it. Consequently, it gives birth to a black-haired witch from its own body to coexist. One day, the black-haired witch embarks on a journey, leaving behind a letter documenting its travels for the white-haired witch. While waiting, the white-haired witch finds answers and returns to the primordial dream.
Living with It (2023, Dir. Holly Summerson): Perfectionist Lee (Annabelle Davis) must adapt to the imperfect reality of living with an illness – brought to life as a chaotic supernatural flatmate – Bug (Lawrence Chaney). Accepting the long-term effects of illness – and making the best of an imperfect situation – are explored through the relationship between two dysfunctional flatmates in this dark comedy animated short.
Coming Out Autistic (2023, Dir. Steven Fraser): Coming out Autistic is a short animated documentary that explores the experience of telling the world that you are autistic when you also identify as LGBTQ+. Queer coming out stories are well documented, but the occurrence of telling friends, family, co-workers and strangers that you are autistic is less explored. Parallels with queer experiences are investigated and a wide range of individuals are interviewed to express the array of feelings and reactions that are encountered.
Desire’s Exhibition (2023, Dir. Salmo Pagão): With the aim of finding Desire, so-and-so performs a ritual to go down in the depths of himself. There he came across an exhibition of Desire’s works which had until then haunted his dreams and non-dreams in land. It is important to him confront the works, recognize them, and rise with crucial answers.
A mother’s love for her baby (2022, Dirs. Éiméar McClay & Cat McClay): Using a combination of 3D animation and experimental prose, A mother’s love for her baby explores the corruption and conditions endemic in the Magdalene Laundries and mother and baby homes run by the Catholic church in Ireland throughout the 20th century. Influenced by Saidiya Hartman’s concept of “critical fabulation” – the use of storytelling to fill the gaps left in historical records – the film advocates for a bottom-up form of historiography: centring historically marginalised voices of Irish women and critiquing the structures of power that (re)produce their dispossession.
Junior & The Kid (2023, Dir. Dani Wasserman): Junior & The Kid is a sparse retelling of a fictional love affair between an unnamed western cowboy and 90s baseball superstar and heartthrob Ken Griffey Jr.
Where the Mouth is (Machinima Version) (2022, Dir. Benjamiin Hall): Set in the Saxon-era archipelago once where Oxford now stands, “Where the Mouth” is (re)builds Oxfordshire as an interactive world outside of time, leaping off from the collections of the public Museum of Oxford. You are let loose in the swampy terrain to observe the local tradition of ‘beating the bounds’ – marking parish boundary stones with a stick in order to embed them in the memory of the town’s residents. The mouth of that collective memory has issued many truths, half-truths, desires, cries, anecdotes, apocryphal stories, and tiny reminders of a future from the past.
Originally commissioned by the Museum of Oxford and Digital Artist Residency, with later support from Bloomberg New Contemporaries Digital Fellowships; Soundtrack by Peter Talisman (Slugabed and Samuel Organ) as mixed from their 2021 album ‘Lord of the Harvest’; Movement/ motion capture performance by Anya Sirina; Special thanks to Tom Milnes.
Patches (2021, Dir. Georgie Athanasopoulos): Outcast due to physical differences, a lonely little boy in the 1920’s makes an unlikely friend and finds belonging through sacrifice.
The Prince’s Dilemma (2023, Dir. Devin Rowe): The film follows Prince Philip, who longing to be with a prince of his own, must decide to follow the traditional tale expected of him or forge his own happily ever after.

ACCESSIBLITY
Content Warnings:

Discussion of living with a chronic illness;
Depictions of animated genitalia, animated masturbation.

This screening has an age recommendation of N/C 16+.
74 minutes long with a Q&A after the screening.
English, Latin, Portuguese, and Vietnamese audio and screens with English language captions. BSL-English interpretation and live captioning provided for the intro and panel discussion.
We have an Audience Access Fund for travel. If you would like to take this up, please visit the access desk at the entrance of the CCA, or contact by emailing info@sqiff.org.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2023 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2023, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.
We ask that you wear a mask if possible and please don’t attend the screening if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 or have been in recent contact with a confirmed case. FFP2 masks will be available for free around the building.
Image: from Coming Out Autistic (2023, Dir. Steven Fraser)

Queer East Presents: Peafowl 공작새
2023-09-29 21:00 - 23:00 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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Shin-myung is a transgender woman and dancer who competes in waacking. Having cut ties with her family and rural hometown, Shin-myung seeks various ways to fund her gender reassignment surgery. But one day, she is informed that her estranged father, a master of Nongak folk music, has died. He stipulated that Shin-myung can receive her inheritance money if she returns to the village and performs a traditional drum dance, as part of his memorial rituals. Unwilling to yield to her intolerant father’s posthumous demands, the unapologetic Shin-myung is forced to reluctantly reconnect with her past while staying true to herself. Driven by an empowering vision of trans identity, this assured debut feature from Byun Sung-bin contemplates the possibilities – and limits – of forgiveness.
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, or £10. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

ACCESSIBLITY
This screening has an age recommendation of N/C 16+.
115 minutes long.
Korean audio with English language captions. BSL-English interpretation and live captioning provided.
We have an Audience Access Fund for travel. If you would like to take this up, please visit the access desk at the entrance of the CCA, or contact info@sqiff.org.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2023 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2023, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.
We ask that you wear a mask if possible and please don’t attend the screening if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 or have been in recent contact with a confirmed case. FFP2 masks will be available for free around the building.
Image: from Peafowl 공작새 (2022, Dir. Byun Sung-bin)

Not Quite That
2023-09-30 12:30 - 14:30 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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‘Not Quite That’ follows 57-year-old Sarah, a butch lesbian predisposed to breast cancer.
Sarah discusses the implications of a mastectomy as a butch presenting person. She contemplates if people would perceive her as transmasculine and how that would make her feel.
Her long-term close friends listen attentively and help her process the situation. The love and support shared by this group of old friends is heartwarming. A feel-good film for sure.
This film is followed by two shorts. Director Leo Torre of The Ship of Theseus will join us to chat about short filmmaking and the importance of queer/trans friendships.
Curated by Nat Lall.

Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, or £10. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

Not Quite That (2022, Dir. Ali Grant): Might a genetic mutation be the very thing that allows this nice Jewish butch lesbian to be fully seen at last? Meet Sarah, 57. Lesbian? For sure. Jewish? Yes and no. Mother? In all but one sense. Trans? No, just often mistaken as such. Breast cancer survivor? Well, that’s the plan, the survival bit, but without the cancer or the breasts. Not Quite That is an intimate and insightful exploration of how we are seen, how we see ourselves, and why it matters.
The Ship Of Theseus (2022, Dir. Leo Torre): A creative trans self-documentary video exploring themes of early transition and gender rebirth using themes of mythology and the sea.
Patricia in the Dark (2023, Dir. Laura Hartley): Born into a world where the word ‘transgender’ didn’t exist, 95-year-old Patricia spent most of her life longing for love and acceptance but too afraid to reveal her true self.

ACCESSIBLITY
Content Warnings:

Discussion of cancer diagnosis, surgery, gender dysphoria, body image, transphobia;
Depictions of pregnancy, nudity, drains, hospitalisation.

This screening has an age recommendation of N/C 16+.
60 minutes long with Q&A after the screening.
English and French audio with English language captions. BSL-English interpretation and live captioning provided.
Audio description available for the film. Headsets available at the cinema entrance.
We have an Audience Access Fund for travel. If you would like to take this up, please visit the access desk at the entrance of the CCA, or contact info@sqiff.org.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2023 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2023, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.
We ask that you wear a mask if possible and please don’t attend the screening if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 or have been in recent contact with a confirmed case. FFP2 masks will be available for free around the building.
Image: from Not Quite That (2022, Dir. Ali Grant)

Queerventures with Kendal Mountain Events
2023-09-30 15:00 - 17:00 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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Kendal Mountain Festival is one of the UK’s longest running Adventure Film Festivals. Their programming goes far beyond the stereotypical adventurer, reaching out to individuals whose narratives are often overlooked. As part of this they have proudly curated a film programme of Queer-led films to stand in solidarity with the local LGBTQIA+ community and ensure that everyone sees themselves represented in the adventure world.
The event will be hosted by one of the Kendal Mountain team, Emily Lyons who will guide you through films that will transport you all over the world and showcase a multitude of folk from the community, from those getting outdoors everyday and people at the top of their game.
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, or £10. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

I am a Fellrunner (2020, Dirs. Jessie Leong & Julie Carter): Fell running is more than a sport – it is part of an identity. Through the evocation of a poem, ‘I am a Fellrunner,’ explores the way in which one woman is defined as a fellrunner in the place where she belongs.
Fragments Choisis (2022, Dir. Alicia Cenci): In the mountains, she is Elisabeth the skier, in the streets, she is Elisabeth the activist. She lives her two lives very separately and makes sure those two sides do not interfere with each other.
Until the day she becomes world freeride champion. The activist then meets the sportswoman when Elisabeth decides to use her title and the attention around it to come out publicly.
Eden (2021, Dir. Charlie Bush): Eden Elgeti was part way through her male to female transition when she realised she wanted biological children in the future. Told she was now unable to produce fertile sperm after the hormone treatments, a medical practitioner suggested there was a very small chance cold water might help reverse the effects and so she started extreme cold water swimming.
Venture Out (2020, Dirs. Jamie DiNicola, Matthew Mikkelsen & Palmer Morse): Venture Out is a story of overcoming odds, the power of resilience, and ultimately, the ever-lasting effects of LGBTQ community building. The Venture Out Project, founded by Perry Cohen, is a non profit organisation that brings LGBTQ folks together outdoors on wilderness trips. In sharing Perry’s story, and hearing from the other TVOP participants, we get a glimpse into the healing qualities of nature and life-saving community bonds that are being forged as a result of Perry’s work.
Ascension (2023, Dirs. Emma Crome & Matt Pycroft): Elite climber Alex Johnson has attempted to climb the iconic boulder The Swarm, California, for a decade. Not succeeding breaks her down into self-reflection where she finally accepts her sexuality.
Big Things to Come (2022): One of Europe’s leading adventure photographers, Hamish Frost lives twin lives. In Ascension, we explore the side of himself he has kept hidden from the outdoor community. A story of confidence and connection and a reminder of the importance of diversity in the great outdoors.

ACCESSIBLITY
Content Warnings:

Discussion of mental health, fertility, suicide, depression, eating disorder, mental health, bullying, homophobia.

This screening has an age recommendation of N/C 16+.
71 minutes long.
English and French audio with English language captions. BSL-English interpretation and live captioning provided.
We have an Audience Access Fund for travel. If you would like to take this up, please visit the access desk at the entrance of the CCA, or contact info@sqiff.org.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2023 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2023, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.
We ask that you wear a mask if possible and please don’t attend the screening if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 or have been in recent contact with a confirmed case. FFP2 masks will be available for free around the building.
Image: from Eden (2021, Dir. Charlie Bush)

Documenting and Archiving
2023-09-30 15:30 - 17:30 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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This event is all about queer histories, past and present. It explores a range of approaches to documentation and archiving.
The programme alternates between shorts of around 5min and ‘longer shorts’ of 10+ minutes. The first films are about American and English histories of the 80s-90s. The next couple document millennial queer experiences surrounding advancements in technological communication. And the latter films tell of QTIBPOC resistance, love and solidarity.
This screening will conclude with a panel discussion hosting River Seager of I Am a Cyborg: Conversations About Queerness and Anime, and Campbell X of Still We Thrive, on the importance of documenting queer experiences.
Curated by Nat Lall.
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, or £10. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

Pride TM (2019, Dir. Hogan Seidel): An observational film about the changing environment surrounding pride festivals. This piece specifically looks at my current city of residence, Boston’s Pride Parade.
Stonewall Postal Action Network (2023, Dir. Sarah Elizabeth Drummond): Stonewall Postal Action Network (SPAN), is a short documentary, telling the story of Austin’s activism, his letter writing campaign and the packing up of his life work for an archive as he contemplates his legacy from his new home in rural Wales.
Digital Natives (2022, Dir. Jo Reid): Made as part of the BBC100 Make Film History project, Digital Natives is a personal exploration of a childhood on the internet. Using the computer desktop like a diary, Digital Natives reflects on posting as performance.
I Am a Cyborg: Conversations About Queerness and Anime (2023, Dir. River Seager): Composed of interviews with LGBT+ individuals, this is a documentary that discusses the popularity of anime in Queer communities. The visual style is heavily influenced by mid-2000s fandom aesthetics, and the discussions rotate around androgyny in anime, television censorship, identity formation, and fandom as a site of expression.
Still We Thrive (2022, Dir. Campbell X): Archive footage of Black history from the Caribbean, United Kingdom, United States and the African continent is interwoven with Black actors speaking direct to camera. Performers are Black – trans / non-binary, and cis including Martina Laird, Michelle Tiwo, Kim Tatum and Don Warrington. Included are poems A Negro Dreams of Rivers by Langston Hughes and Yemoja by Olive Senior. Still We Thrive is a balm to Black people’s mental health now being assailed by images of violence and trauma.
Aangan ‘a blooming space’ (2023, Dir. Shiv Priya): In the world of insensitivity and insecurity, some plants of the new generation of LGBTQI+ community members especially transgenders are flourishing in the courtyard of their Maai(Mother).

ACCESSIBLITY
Content Warnings:

Discussion of transphobia, homophobia, violence, jail, Section 28, bullying, colonisation, racism, slavery, physical abuse, mental abuse, sexual abuse, violence, abduction, sex work.

This screening has an age recommendation of N/C 18+.
85 minutes long with a Q&A after the screening.
English and Hindi audio with English language captions. BSL-English interpretation and live captioning provided for the intro and panel discussion.
We have an Audience Access Fund for travel. If you would like to take this up, please visit the access desk at the entrance of the CCA, or contact info@sqiff.org.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2023 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2023, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.
We ask that you wear a mask if possible and please don’t attend the screening if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 or have been in recent contact with a confirmed case. FFP2 masks will be available for free around the building.
Image: from Still We Thrive (2022, Campbell X)

Closing Film: Mutt - SOLD OUT
2023-09-30 19:00 - 21:00 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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**Please note this event is now sold out – we may be able to release more tickets nearer the screening. CCA Box Office are operating a waiting list for sold out events – please contact them directly to be added to this!**
Mutt tells the story of a young trans man named Feña reacquainting with family and friends he has not seen since before his transition.
Feña (Lío Mehiel) experiences contrasting moments of hostility and heartfelt care upon reintroduction to his father, younger sister and ex-boyfriend. The father shows signs of intimidation by his child’s new masculinity, the ex-boyfriend questions his own sexuality and the younger sister naively asks questions that hit a nerve.
Mutt is the final film of our 2023 festival and will be followed by a short closing ceremony. Join us to celebrate another year of the Scottish Queer International Film Festival.
Curated by Nat Lall.
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, or £10. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

ACCESSIBLITY
Content Warnings:

Discussion of transphobia, mental health, dysphoria;
Depiction of sex, violence.

This screening has an age recommendation of N/C 16+.
97 minutes long with a introduction by SQIFF.
English and Spanish audio with English language captions. BSL-English interpretation and live captioning provided.
Audio description available for the film. Headsets available at the cinema entrance.
We have an Audience Access Fund for travel. If you would like to take this up, please visit the access desk at the entrance of the CCA, or contact info@sqiff.org.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2023 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2023, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.
We ask that you wear a mask if possible and please don’t attend the screening if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 or have been in recent contact with a confirmed case. FFP2 masks will be available for free around the building.
Image: from Mutt (2023, Dir. Vuk Lungulov-Klotz)

SQIFF x Porty Pride Film Night
2024-06-28 19:00 - 21:00 (Europe/London) | Portobello Town Hall, 147-149 Portobello High Street, Edinburgh, EH15 1AF
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This year SQIFF and Porty Pride are partnering to bring an exciting selection of short films from Scotland and beyond to Portobello Town Hall!
This screening presents a mix of animation, documentary and fiction film exploring various queer identities. The Singer, Coming Out Autistic and Living with It are Scottish films made by queer people with various disabilities. Still We Thrive is an experimental documentary directed by Campbell X, showcasing a rich tapestry of image, music and poetry is interwoven in this powerful meditation on Black resilience. Digital Natives is a personal film and exploration of Jo’s relationship to the internet. Finally, Not Quite That is a raw documentary about a queer woman and breast cancer survivor in Canada. The film is an intimate and insightful exploration of how we are seen, how we see ourselves, and why it matters.
Join us for an incredible conversation after the screening with Scottish filmmaker Holly Summerson, and hosted by Nat Lall. BSL-English Interpretation, and wheelchair access are available at this event.
Curated by Indigo Korres.
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of £5, or £10. To book, please click here.

The Singer (2023, Dir. Cora Bissett): In the loud streets of Glasgow, deaf song-writer Joe meets busker Andy. The two learn to communicate over their love of music and realise together they can create something unique.
Coming Out Autistic (2023, Steven Fraser): This animated documentary explores the experience of telling the world that you are autistic when you also identify as LGBTQ+.
Living with It (2023, Holly Summerson): Perfectionist Lee must adapt to the imperfect reality of living with an illness – brought to life as her chaotic supernatural flatmate Bug.
Still We Thrive (2021, Campbell X): A rich tapestry of image, music and poetry is interwoven in this powerful meditation on Black resilience.
Digital Natives (2022, Jo Reid): A film by Jo Reid (2022) – an exploration of Jo’s relationship to the internet.
Not Quite That (2023, Ali Grant): Might a genetic mutation be the very thing that allows this nice Jewish butch lesbian to be fully seen at last? Meet Sarah, 57. Lesbian? For sure. Jewish? Yes and no. Mother? In all but one sense. Trans? No, just often mistaken as such. Breast cancer survivor? Well, that’s the plan, the survival bit, but without the cancer or the breasts. Not Quite That is an intimate and insightful exploration of how we are seen, how we see ourselves, and why it matters.

ACCESSIBLITY
Content Warnings:

Discussion of cancer diagnosis, surgery, colonialism, body image;
Depictions of pregnancy, nudity, drains, hospitalisation, ableism.

This screening has an age recommendation of N/C 16+.
89 minutes long with a introduction and Q&A.
English audio and British Sign Language with English language descriptive subtitles. BSL-English interpretation provided.
If you have any questions about accessibility at for this event, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org.
We ask that you wear a mask if possible and please don’t attend the screening if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 or have been in recent contact with a confirmed case.
Image: from Living with It (2023, Dir. Holly Summerson)

Crossing
2024-07-22 20:10 - 22:10 UTC | Glasgow Film Theatre, 12 Rose Street, Glasgow, G3 6RB, United Kingdom
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Glasgow Film Theatre, Mubi and SQIFF are collaborating on a beautiful screening of Crossing by Levan Akin on Monday 22nd July at 8:10pm at the Glasgow Film Theatre!
From acclaimed director Levan Akin (And Then We Danced), Crossing is a moving and tender tale of identity, acceptance and unlikely connection that transcends borders and generations.
Lia, a retired school teacher living in Georgia, hears from a young neighbour Achi that her long lost niece Tekla, a transgender woman, has crossed the border into Türkiye. Hoping to bring Tekla home after a period of estrangement, Lia travels to Istanbul with the unpredictable Achi to find her. Exploring the hidden depths of the city, they cross paths with a transgender lawyer called Evrim, who helps them in their search. As a reluctant and surprising friendship forms between Achi and Lia, the unexpected duo begin to discover that Tekla may not want to be found.
With remarkably authentic performances from Mzia Arabuli and newcomers Lucas Kankava and Deniz Dumanli, Akin’s third film offers a vibrant and evocative portrait of the city of Istanbul. Humanistic and compassionate, this hopeful vision of forgiveness is a heartfelt portrayal of overcoming the degrees of separation that divide us.
This screening of Crossing will be introduced by SQIFF’s Director, Indigo Korres. You don’t want to miss it!
Tickets are available through the Glasgow Film Theatre website, click here.

ACCESSIBLITY
This screening has an age recommendation of 15+.
106 minutes long with a 15 minutes captioned introduction.
English, Georgian, and Turkish audio with English language descriptive subtitles.
If you have any questions about accessibility at for this event, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org.
We ask that you wear a mask if possible and please don’t attend the screening if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 or have been in recent contact with a confirmed case.
Image: Crossing (2024, Dir. Levan Akin)

Donate:
Donate to SQIFF via PayPal or sign up to one of our four Patreon tiers to support our work and show us you’re a big SQIFF fan 🌈✨

Filming Our World: Queer Ecologies and Rewilding BSL (Showcase)
2024-08-13 13:00 - 15:30 UTC | Deaf Action, Deaf Action - GEIKIE SUITE - 49 Albany St, EDINBURGH, EH1 3QY, United Kingdom
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What does it mean for our world to be truly ‘ours’? Join Take One Action, SQIFF and Edinburgh Deaf Festival for a special lunchtime showcase of short films by emerging deaf filmmakers created in response to the Scottish Sensory Centre’s ‘Rewilding BSL’ project.
Exploring the intersections between Deafness, queer ecologies and climate justice, this short film programme celebrates the power in our collectivity, and how we can centre wildness in our intertwined struggles.
Featuring food and informal networking as an opportunity to meet other folk interested in climate storytelling on film.
Tickets are FREE (optional £5 or £10 donation). To book, click here.

ACCESSIBLITY
This screening has an age recommendation of N/C 12+.
Screening with introduction and Q&A.
English and British Sing Language with English language descriptive subtitles. BSL-English interpretation provided. Induction Loop available.
If you have any questions about accessibility at for this event, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org.
We ask that you wear a mask if possible and please don’t attend the screening if you have any symptoms of Covid-19 or have been in recent contact with a confirmed case.

Donate:
Donate to SQIFF via PayPal or sign up to one of our four Patreon tiers to support our work and show us you’re a big SQIFF fan 🌈✨

SQIFF 2024 Opening Night Scottish Shorts - SOLD OUT
2024-10-08 20:20 - 22:20 UTC | Glasgow Film Theatre, 12 Rose Street, Glasgow, G3 6RB, United Kingdom
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**Please note this event is now sold out – we may be able to release more tickets nearer the screening.**
We warmly welcome you back to another year of SQIFF with our ‘Scottish Shorts’. This screening exclusively contains short films by artists based in Scotland and highlights outstanding local talent. We are also delighted to showcase three new films made by SQIFF’s very own Queer Filmmakers Group. Expect a screening that celebrates community, resistance and various filmmaking media. We hope to welcome several of the filmmakers for a Q&A after the screening.
All filmmakers in this screening and ‘Scottish Shorts 2’ 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 2024.
Curated by Nat Lall and Huss.

Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, £10, or £12. To book, click here or call the GFT Box Office on 0141 332 6535.

Accessibility
This programme has:

English audio with English language descriptive captions
English to BSL interpretation for introduction and panel discussion
Live Captioning for introduction and panel discussion
Audio Description

This screening is 75 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 15+.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2024 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2024, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.

Films in this programme include:

Films not Bombs: Soup, Stickers and Solidarity, Dirs. Rosie Bowyer, Léo Paiva Capocci, Morgan Gabriel Hares, Kat Robertson, 2024, United Kingdom, 11 min
Films Not Bombs is a community film about Glasgow’s Food Not Bombs chapter in Govanhill. It highlights how the group offers free food weekly to challenge war and capitalism, demonstrating the transformative power of community action. Created through a University of Glasgow and GMAC course, the film features Glasgow’s queer community and is the debut film for three of its creators.
Content Notes: Depiction of police. Discussion of food scarcity, capitalism.

A Float, Dir. Isabel Barfod, 2023, United Kingdom, 3 min
A Float explores subtle modes of refusal through the lens of a Black Queer swimmer in a hostile environment. Set in a Victorian era public swimming pool, A Float follows our protagonist as they access alternate realities, speculated futures and enact small acts of revenge.
Content Notes: Depiction of racism.
Access Notes: Contains flashing imagery.

In Our Millions, Dirs. Meli Vasiloudes Bayada, Ally Lloyd, Esme Haddrill Selman, 2023, United Kingdom, 3 min
‘In Our Millions’ is a short film about Scottish solidarity with Palestine filmed during the November 11th protests. It is a Super8 film collaboratively shot and ecologically hand-processed over the course of a day as part of a workshop run by Lydia Beilby and Take One Action.
Content Notes: Depiction of a protest.

Just Jackie, Dir. Michael Lee Richardson, 2023, United Kingdom, 12 min
JACKIE (9) loves sweets, trying on their mum’s clothes and make up, and admiring girl-next-door TEGAN (11) on her trampoline from the bedroom window.
Jackie adores her, and they’ll do anything to get close to her. Even, to health-conscious mum CAROL’s surprise, ask for a trampoline.
Content Notes: Depiction of deadnaming. Discussion of dieting.

Planet Abundance, Dirs. Emma Bowen, Ailie Rutherford, 2022, United Kingdom, 4 min
This short film documents The Planet Abundance project, a series of artist-led workshops at Category Is Books. Participants imagined a feminist world of abundance and post-work society, exploring alternatives to capitalism through speculative science fiction based on Teresa Feldmann’s draft. Commissioned by Feminist Exchange Network (Glasgow) and curated by Ailie Rutherford, the project fosters radical political imagination.

A Different Home, Dir. Jules Lacave-Fontourcy, 2024, United Kingdom, 15 min
Where is “home” for queer people who live in a city but grew up rural? This documentary explores the tensions between craving rural life and thriving in urban queer communities while feeling alienated from both. Visually rooted to the land, this film reflects on what it means to grieve a home which remains but does not welcome us as who we are.
Content Notes: Discussion of queerphobia, ableism, transphobia, misgendering, deadnaming, and trauma.

A Tight Five Hours, Dir. Ewan McPherson, 2024, United Kingdom, 15 min
As the queer comic Ewan McPherson battles his stammer while performing live, a worker inside his brain tries frantically to prevent the damage caused by negative thoughts by recalling memories of interviews with fellow queer performers and promoters”.
Content Notes: Discussion of homophobia.
Access Notes: Short length distorted imagery.

Hot Young Geek Seeks Bloodsucking Freak, Dir. Heath Virgoe, 2024, United Kingdom, 12 min
When best friends Max and Ricky find themselves the prey of an angry vampire, they must ditch their Halloween plans to hide out at home. But when a forgotten pizza delivery shows up, can they risk letting the driver in? Can they stop arguing with each other? And can Max find the courage to face the one thing worse than death – coming out?
Content Notes: Discussion of sex, role-play. Depiction of death.
Access Notes: Contains flashing imagery.

Donate:
Donate to SQIFF via PayPal or sign up to one of our four Patreon tiers to support our work and show us you’re a big SQIFF fan 🌈✨

Image Credit: Just Jackie, Dir. Michael Lee Richardson, 2023

Blossoming Wilt - SOLD OUT
2024-10-09 15:30 - 17:30 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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**Please note this event is now sold out – we may be able to release more tickets nearer the screening. CCA Box Office are operating a waiting list for sold out events – please contact them directly or go to their website to be added to this!**
Blossoming Wilt is a visually striking short film screening programme that delves into the delicate and often heartbreaking nature of queer love. Each film captures the fragility of relationships and the poignant moments of connection and separation, offering an evocative exploration of love’s complexities. This programme presents a collection of films that depict the tender and vulnerable aspects of queer love, highlighting the beauty and pain that often accompany it. Through exquisite cinematography and heartfelt storytelling, these films offer a profound reflection on the transience and resilience of Queer love.
The screening starts with a poetry performance by Esraa Husain, a freelance creative writer, community curator, researcher and facilitator based in Glasgow.
Curated by Nat Lall.

Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, £10, or £12. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

Accessibility
This programme has:

Arabic, Chinese, English, Greek, Hindi audio with English language descriptive subtitles
English-BSL interpretation for introduction and performance
Live Captioning for introduction and performance

This screening is 109 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 18+.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2024 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2024, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.

Films in this programme include:

Bubbling, Dir. Che-ming Chang, 2023, Taiwan, 24 min
Guang has difficulty focusing during school choir. He’s distracted by something more enticing than singing. When a charismatic new student arrives, Guang’s curiosity and sexual desire is taken to a new level.

Pigeons are dying when the city is on fire, Dir. Stavros Markoulakis, 2023, Greece, 21 min
On the warmest day of the year, two boys meet. A few hours later a pigeon gets trapped with them. During this heatwave, all creatures dream of escaping from the city that’s burning.
Content Notes: Depiction of cigarette use, sex, nudity.

Places I’ve Called My Own, Dir. Sushma Khadepaun, 2023, India, 29 min
After several years in the US, Tara, in the midst of her IVF process, returns to India for the funeral of her father. There, she finds a mother in denial about her sexual orientation, an ex-girlfriend who has rebuilt her life with a man, and the shadow of the paterfamilias that continues to hang over the home.
Content Notes: Depiction of injection. Discussion of COVID-19, pregnancy, death, family discord, homophobia.

Like Wave Like Cloud, Dir. Yulin Yang, 2023, China, 16 min
On a surfing trip, a female couple with an age difference attempts to navigate their uncertain relationship. Yet after an unexpected change in circumstance, they each begin to see themselves and their relationship in a new light.
Content Notes: Depiction of sex, alcohol use. Discussion of death.

Mondial 2010, Dir. Roy Dib, 2013, Lebanon, 19 min
Mondial 2010 is a film on love and place. A Lebanese gay couple decides to take a road trip to Ramallah. The film is recorded with their camera as they chronicle their journey. The viewers are invited through the couple’s conversations into the universe of a fading city.
Content notes: Depiction of alcohol use, tear gas, illegal israeli settlements.

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Image Credit: Pigeons are dying when the city is on fire, Dir. Stavros Markoulakis, 2023

Sci-Fi Meets Reality - SOLD OUT
2024-10-09 18:00 - 20:00 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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**Please note this event is now sold out – we may be able to release more tickets nearer the screening. CCA Box Office are operating a waiting list for sold out events – please contact them directly or go to their website to be added to this!**
Sci-Fi Meets Reality explores the border between science fiction and reality. We live in an age of extraordinary rapid technological advancements and fantasy feels eerily real. How we document, analyse and develop ourselves feels more futuristic than ever. But that ‘future’ is now. ‘Sci-Fi meets Reality’ highlights uncanny filmmaking as a tool for gender exploration and historical critique.
This screening starts with an incredible performance by Kyalo Searle-Mbullu, a Glasgow-based musician and audio-visual artist.
Performance Access Notes: Flashing imagery throughout.
Curated by Nat Lall.

Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, £10, or £12. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

Accessibility
This programme has:

English and Scottish Gaelic audio with English language descriptive subtitles
English-BSL interpretation for introduction and performance
Live Captioning for introduction and performance

This screening is 78 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 18+.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2024 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2024, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.

Films in this programme include:
a border of flat stones, Dirs. Cáit McClay, Éiméar McClay, 2023, United Kingdom, 10 min
This film by Cáit and Éiméar McClay reflects on the Irish Potato Famine, showing how British laissez-faire policies facilitated food exports and limited aid, portraying the famine as a natural event to consolidate estates. The McClays critique this portrayal and link famines to settler colonialism, analysing the contemporary political, cultural, and economic impacts of British imperialism on Irish land reclamation and state formation.
Content notes: Discussion of capitalism, religion, famine, death, displacement. Depiction of mould.
Access notes: Throughout the film, a narrative text with no audio appears on screen with a small font.

Priob, Dir. Choirstaidh NicArtair, 2022, United Kingdom, 5 min
We meet a young woman on her windowsill in the early hours of the morning, while she is in conversation with her late grandfather, The Coal Man, who lives in the clouds above and communicates through radio waves. Priob is a film about our inner children and the people who raised them, wherever they are.
Content notes: Discussion of death.
Access notes: Glitchy imagery with some fast pace editing.

Queer Bodies, Dirs. Elin Laut, Mattia Friso, 2022, Germany, 5 min
“Queer Bodies” is a three chapters video piece that explores the process of embracing queer identity: From the death of the former self, to the searching for agency, to the creation of a community. The viewer is drawn into a reality where subjects tell about themselves and bodies manifest themselves in an unconventional way.
Content notes: Discussion of funeral, body image.

Dr. XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology, Dir. El Jones, 2023, United Kingdom, 14 min
Dr. XYZ is a community-made trans+ healthcare training film and ethnofiction. It is an exercise in queering the public information film genre, shot in 16mm. The film weaves ethnographic healthcare accounts from Birmingham’s trans+ community with moments of drag-satire re-enactment to depict a collective vision of the UK’s healthcare system.
Content notes: Discussion of suicidal ideation, suicide attempt, mental health issues, medical neglect within NHS, transphobia, ableism, racism, passing culture, self-medicating, gender dysphoria, medical waiting lists, explicit language. Depiction of animated genitalia.

Trans-form, Dir. Luca Asta, 2023, United Kingdom, 12 min
From flesh to 3D printing, ‘TRANS-FORM’ follows the journey of five trans+ individuals.
Content notes: Discussion of body image, surgery, medical transition, gender dysphoria, transphobia. Depiction of animated genitalia, packers.

The Space Dykes and Other Adventures, Dir. Julian Konuk, 2022, United Kingdom, 11 min
This film explores dykiness and bodily abjection, examining home and unhome-liness beyond traditional kinship. Presented as a chaotic video and sonic collage, it focuses on transition by blending clips in harsh and fluid ways. The work alternates between fast and slow movements, reflecting on queer intimacy and the notion of home in relation to the queer body.
Content notes: Depiction of cigarette use, eyeball being licked, meat. Discussion of body image, medical neglect.
Access notes: Distorted imagery, distorted voice for voice-over, flashing imagery.

Maskuline, Dir. Rev Sullivan, 2023, United Kingdom, 6 min
A psychoanalytical pry through the structures that form the creation of a gendered identity.
Content notes: Depiction of body distortion, topless person.
Access notes: Distorted imagery, distorted sound and voice.

at first and then, Dir. Joanne Matthews, 2023, United Kingdom, 15 min
A speculative fiction piece set in a saline world, this work combines photographs, moving images, and sound. It explores a future or alternate dimension through a salted lens, set in an over-salinated beach town. With a queer approach and a nod to 1960s French New Wave, it layers a 35-voice choir with digital sounds, evoking past sci-fi visions of the future.

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Image Credit: Priob, Dir. Choirstaidh NicArtair, 2022

★,。·::·ﾟ☆ "The Real Internet Is Inside You" ·ﾟ✧*:·ﾟ✧ - SOLD OUT
2024-10-09 18:30 - 20:30 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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**Please note this event is now sold out – we may be able to release more tickets nearer the screening. CCA Box Office are operating a waiting list for sold out events – please contact them directly or go to their website to be added to this!**
Dive into ★,｡･::･ﾟ☆ “The Real Internet Is Inside You” ･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧, a collection of six short films exploring nearly 20 years of our evolving relationship with the internet. Blurring the lines between reality and fiction, this event delves into the complex interplay of digital identity and self-expression, responding to the overwhelming, contradictory messages that fuel confusion, anxiety, and disconnection in the digital age. With a focus on sensory overload and emotional vulnerability, the program offers a fresh perspective on contemporary life.
Join us for an interactive workshop led by internet studies expert Kirsty Dunlop and Reema Vadoliya, founder of People of Data.
Curated by Zeo Fawcett.

Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, £10, or £12. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

Accessibility
This programme has:

English, Chinese, Russian, Japanese audio with English language descriptive subtitles
English-BSL interpretation for the introduction and workshop
Live Captioning for the introduction and workshop

This screening is 61 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 18+.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2024 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2024, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.

Films in this programme include:

In the end I saw something on my phone, Dir. Nicholas Sanchez, 2023, United States, 2 min
This Instagram post is now a short film—a meme turned theatre. What happens when a meme becomes a film?
new phone who dis?
The post’s essence stretches beyond your grasp. Can memes exist outside the phone?
I bleed the meme for you.
I bleed real for you.
Always shifting, always ending.
remember when your body ended? That’s when you saw it on your phone.
Content notes: Discussion of body image, mental health, blood, death, sex, masturbation. Depiction of partial nudity, and overall contains strange and unusual imagery that is difficult to interpret.
Access notes: Flashing and strobe lights, frequent and sudden bright images, layered and complex glitchy visual imagery, rapid cuts and fast-paced editing sequences throughout.
Audio at a range of levels, jumping randomly from quiet to loud. Sounds are layered in overwhelming ways. On screen text moving quickly.

(Tommy Chat Just E-mailed Me.), Dir. Ryan Trecartin, 2007, United States of America, 7 min
Trecartin’s (Tommy Chat Just E-mailed Me) is a short set inside and outside an email. Featuring Trecartin’s stylised characters—Pam, a librarian with a baby; Tammy and Beth, surrounded by installation art; and Tommy, in a lake house—the film explores electronic communication. Trecartin, playing several roles, blends manic interactions with bright animations. The story shifts like a web browser, revealing growing isolation.
Content notes: Child distress depicted, menstruation and child abuse discussed, and use of ableist slurs.
Access notes: Rapid cuts and fast-paced editing sequences and harsh, distorted dialogue throughout.

DEEP DOWN TIDAL, Dir. Tabita Rezaire, 2017, French Guina, South Africa, 19 min
Deep Down Tidal examines water’s role in communication, political, and technological systems. It explores submarine cables over colonial routes and the ocean as a repository of Black knowledge and global connectivity. Could Internet violence against Africa and more generally Black people stem from its infrastructure? The film links water’s preservation of histories and traumas to colonial legacies.
Content notes: Discussion of genocide, colonialism, racism, partial nudity.
Access notes: Glitchy visuals.

Monad 3, Dir. Dana Dawud, 2024, Dubai, United States of America, Spain and France, 26 min
Monad, situates webcam footage, projection mapping and texting both within the time space of the film and in the real time space outside, reformulating itself with each screening until Monad becomes fully saturated or until submarine internet cables stop working, whichever comes first.
Content notes: Discussion of revolutionary ideologies, assassination, death, and sexual language. Depiction of vaping.
Access notes: Glitchy, blurred and flashing imagery, sudden bright images, prolonged dark scenes and visually intense, gritty imagery. Frequent use of silence with occasional sounds.

Valentine for Perfect Strangers, Dir. Ben Coonley, 2007, United States of America, 4 min
A love letter to the Internet from a feral cat in Brooklyn.
Anonymously published to the web in 2006, Valentine for Perfect Strangers was an early example of an art video that “went viral,” amassing over a half-million views and landing on the front page of YouTube.
Content notes: Discussion of mental health issues
Access notes: Bright colours and glitchy editing, with distorted music, VHS effects, and high-pitched ringing. A robotic, distorted English voice-over and subtitles run throughout.

Diffused in Marginalised Orders, Dir. Florence To, 2024, United Kingdom, 3 min
Words have a powerful role in shaping identity and transforming our lived experiences. The Scottish-born Hong Kong artist uses texts that ignite deep connections and solidarity. Their work confronts the dispossessions wrought by imperialism and challenges complicity in public amnesia about ongoing injustices, redefining our relationship within social barriers and power struggles in public spaces.
Access notes: Flashing light and rapid visual effects.

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Image Credit: Valentine for Perfect Strangers, Dir. Ben Coonley, 2007

Queer Asia - SOLD OUT
2024-10-09 21:00 - 23:00 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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**Please note this event is now sold out – we may be able to release more tickets nearer the screening. CCA Box Office are operating a waiting list for sold out events – please contact them directly or go to their website to be added to this!**
Queer Asia is a vibrant and evocative short film screening programme that shines a spotlight on queer Asian stories and filmmakers. This collection of films delves into diverse experiences of identity, love, struggle, and resilience within the LGBTQ+ community across Asia and the diaspora. This screening offers a compelling and multifaceted look at the queer Asian experience, celebrating the resilience and creativity of its storytellers. Through these films, audiences are invited to explore the rich tapestry of identities and narratives that define the LGBTQ+ community across Asia and beyond.
This programme starts with a special introduction by filmmaker and visual artist Wei Zhang.
Curated by Nat Lall and Huss.

Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, £10, or £12. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

Accessibility
This programme has:

Bengali, Burmese, Chinese, English, Mandarin Chinese, Nepali, Tagalog, Tamil audio with English language descriptive subtitles
English-BSL interpretation for the introduction.
Live Captioning for the introduction

This screening is 122 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 18+.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2024 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2024, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.

Films in this programme include:

In the place where we left and arrived, Dir. Samuel Zhang, 2022, United Kingdom, 20 min
This film explores shared experiences of queer Chinese people living in the UK, offering a look at the wider context of these important issues as the director tries to understand the possible definitions of home and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Chinese lives through voice over, intimate letter changes, archives, interviews, and digital mappings.
Content notes: Discussion of COVID-19 pandemic, queerphobia, racism, xenophobia, beauty standards, fetishisation, microaggression. Depiction of physical violence.

Narratives and Counternarratives, Dir. Chaoying Rao, 2022, United Kingdom, 9 min
This work examines representations of the self, dissecting the persistent fetishisation of Asian women through collaging and reviewing memorable moments in Western culture. Questioning the ideas of the ‘Asian mystique’ and how it manifests in popular culture, this film examines how the legacy of orientalism continues to manifest in spaces both physical and digital.
Content notes: Depiction of nudity, physical violence, body modification, fetishisation, racism, sex, sensual dancing, death, gun violence, knife violence, sword violence, decapitated head, blood. Discussion of harassment, violence.

Arkesta, Dir. Safal Pandey, 2023, Nepal, 19 min
Gokul is a single father, who feels a sense of embarrassment as he watches his son’s public dance performance. Determined to bring about a change in his son’s lifestyle, Gokul wholeheartedly commits himself to putting in considerable effort and taking the required actions. Over time, Gokul gradually becomes aware of his son’s inherent feminine side.
Content notes: Depiction of homophobia, cigarette use.

Forbidden Reverie 宿祭, Dir. Yisong Huang, 2023, China, 4 min
A groundbreaking 3D CG film that navigates the dynamic virtual realm of Generation Z. This film sheds light on the struggles, victories, and identity journeys within the LGBTQ+ community; providing a powerful platform for increased visibility and acceptance. “Forbidden Reverie” contributes to a vital conversation on LGBTQ+ representation and acceptance in contemporary contexts.

Religiosa, Dir. Han Oo Htet, 2024, Myanmar, 8 min
Before transitioning, Eingyinn May Tun was a famous actress. Now, he is trying to get back into the film industry as a producer and an actor. A Buddhist devotee, Eingyinn May Tun dreams of the day he will be reborn in a male body.

Scrapped Fabric, Dir. Jake Muñoz Consing, 2024, Philippines, 11 min
Fearing her mother’s disapproval, a teenage trans girl secretly sews a prom dress from her mother’s scrap fabric (“retaso”).
Content notes: Discussion of transphobia.

If, Dir. Tathagata Ghosh, 2023, India, 26 min
An arranged marriage tears a lesbian couple apart, but with a mother’s love, perhaps another future is possible.
Content notes: Discussion of death. Depiction of cigarette use.

Farewell, Dir. Soham Kundu, 2024, United Kingdom, 15 min
Two friends: one with a broken heart, the other on the brink of marriage. Together they set out on a day’s journey that leads them to confront their past amidst shared grief and hopes for a brighter future. Centred around intimate friendships between men of colour, Farewell presents evolving expressions of modern masculinity.
Content notes: Depiction of cigarette use.

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Image Credit: Narratives and Counternarratives, Dir. Chaoying Rao, 2022

Queer East Presents: Bye Bye Love (50th Anniversary) - SOLD OUT
2024-10-10 18:00 - 20:00 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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**Please note this event is now sold out – we may be able to release more tickets nearer the screening. CCA Box Office are operating a waiting list for sold out events – please contact them directly or go to their website to be added to this!**
Until the 2018 discovery of a film negative in a warehouse, Bye Bye Love was long considered lost: a new print gives audiences a rare chance to revisit this radical work from 1974. Following two young people, Utamaro and Giko, on a doomed summer road trip through Japan, Isao Fujisawa’s poetic, surreal work reflects on the dissipating promise of 1960s counterculture and free love. The film is stylistically influenced by the French New Wave and American New Cinema, notably Jean-Luc Godard and Arthur Penn. Yet the main character’s name – Utamaro – also suggests a rethinking of Japanese artistic traditions, especially male perspectives on feminine beauty. Here, romantic love transcends gender, sexuality, and even the body; a queer challenge to conventional understandings of relationships that adds to the political charge of this rediscovered classic.
With a recorded message from director Isao Fujisawa and special introduction by Xuanlin Tham.
Content notes: Depiction of physical violence, police, sex, gun violence, death, nudity, cigarette use, small amounts of blood, cut.
Curated by Yi Wang.

Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, £10, or £12. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

Accessibility
This programme has:

English, Japanese audio with English language descriptive subtitles
English-BSL interpretation for the introduction
Live Captioning for the introduction

This screening is 85 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 18+.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2024 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2024, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.

Donate:
Donate to SQIFF via PayPal or sign up to one of our four Patreon tiers to support our work and show us you’re a big SQIFF fan 🌈✨

Image Credit: Bye Bye Love, Dir. Isao Fujisawa, 1974

Do you think Memory will ever land on the statue of someone like you and me? - SOLD OUT
2024-10-10 21:00 - 23:00 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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**Please note this event is now sold out – we may be able to release more tickets nearer the screening. CCA Box Office are operating a waiting list for sold out events – please contact them directly or go to their website to be added to this!**
Join us for an evening of T4T love. This screening features four films that explore the distinct ways in which we build relationships with one another as trans people. These relationships can be romantic, platonic, familial, or even that mutual feeling of care between strangers. The programme starts with I Feel (For) You, an euphoric documentary about a group of queer and trans friends. This is followed by A Bird Called Memory, Les garçons dans l’eau, and Dismantle Me; three narrative fiction films delving into the various ways we give and receive love. This trans-focused programme is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of love within our community.
Gina Gwenffrewi, an interdisciplinary researcher, tutor and lecturer in Trans Studies, Queer Studies and English Literature at the University of Edinburgh, will give a special introduction to this programme.
Curated by Indigo Korres.

Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, £10, or £12. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

Accessibility
This programme has:

British Sign Language and English audio with English language descriptive subtitles
English-BSL interpretation for the introduction
Live Captioning for the introduction

This screening is 75 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 15+.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2024 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2024, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.

Films in this programme include:

I Feel (For) You, Dir. Bella Cintra, 2023, Spain, 7 min
We embark on a journey in which the deepest feelings of a group of trans individuals will guide an intimate and emotional relationship between two trans people through their experiences.
Content notes: Discussion of homophobic slur, transmisogyny.

A Bird Called Memory, Dir. Leonardo Martinelli, 2023, Brazil, 15 min
A bird called Memory has forgotten how to come back home. Lua, a trans woman, tries to find Memory in the streets, but the city can be a hostile place.
Content notes: Depiction of transphobia.

Les garçons dans l’eau, Dir. Pawel Thomas Larue, 2023, France, 40 min
End of summer on the Breton coast. Oscar invites his group of friends to spend a week’s vacation at his grandparents’ house. He hasn’t been back to his childhood home for years – not since he came out as a trans boy. On the beach, the gang meets Malo, a handsome local guy, also trans. The story is about their meeting, which will turn everything upside down.
Content notes: Depiction of sex, alcohol use, cigarette use. Discussion of internalised homophobia.

Dismantle Me, Dir. Max Disgrace, 2023, United Kingdom, 13 min
A comical proposition turns into an arousing powerplay when a smoldering-hot trans woman helps a heartbroken trans man tidy his messy bedroom.
Associate produced by Lilly Wachowski, Dismantle Me is a dark comedy-romance by trans people of colour, and created with a majority transgender and non-binary cast and crew. Made in collaboration with Trans+ On Screen.
Content notes: Depiction of sex, cuts, blood. Discussion of sex, sexual language.

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Image Credit: Les garçons dans l’eau, Dir. Pawel Thomas Larue, 2023

Oska Bright Presents: Wild Women - SOLD OUT
2024-10-11 15:30 - 17:30 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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**Please note this event is now sold out – we may be able to release more tickets nearer the screening. CCA Box Office are operating a waiting list for sold out events – please contact them directly or go to their website to be added to this!**
Let’s go on a wild ride; it will be crazy, joyful and unexpected…
We’re proud to showcase a specially curated selection of short films from the world’s biggest learning disability film festival, Oska Bright. Wild Women are just that – exploring the darkest realms of what freedom means, to sexy times with beans, and unabashed self-love – this isn’t a selection to be missed.
With less than 5% of disabled people working in the UK film industry, Oska Bright Film Festival is driven to make change happen. Working internationally with industry partners and funded by the BFI, our team produces the BAFTA and BIFA qualifying Oska Bright Film Festival, promotes accessible screenings, runs training for venues and develops skills for aspiring filmmakers. Oska Bright Film Festival puts people with learning disabilities or autism where they should be, on the big screen.
Join us for a conversation after the screening with Julieta Tetelbaum, director of Black Chalk, and hosted by Stella Nicholson.
Curated by Oska Bright Film Festival.

Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, £10, or £12. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

Accessibility:
This programme has:

English, Spanish audio with English language descriptive subtitles.
English-BSL interpretation for the introduction and panel discussion.
Live Captioning for the introduction and panel discussion.

This screening is 78 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 15+.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2024 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2024, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.

Films in this programme include:

Dead Cat Film, Dirs. Josie Charles, Nathan Miller, 2022, United Kingdom, 5 min
A young woman becomes increasingly attached to the taxidermied corpse of her housemate’s cat. A dark comedy starring Will Gao (Heartstopper/Netflix), Josie Charles and featuring the voice of Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey, Notting Hill). The short was produced by Rasp Films who were BAFTA-nominated in 2021 for their short Lucky Break.
Content notes: Depiction of dead animal.

Ice Cream on Mondays, Dirs. Flo Gordon, Reggie London, 2023, United Kingdom, 3 min
F.witch is Flo Gordon, a classically trained singer from Brighton. Her music is described as psychedelic indie folk, and Flo describes it as being ‘a bit like a modern day Kate Bush.’

Out of Water, Dir. Georgia Kumari Bradburn, 2022, United States, 15 min
A female alien returns to earth with a charismatic scientist, however her security lies in the balance when she suspects that he is hiding something from her.
Content notes: Depiction of death.

Black Chalk, Dir. Julieta Tetelbaum, 2022, Argentina, 8 min
Julieta Tetelbaum ‘Black Chalk’ is a film about the intimacy of a woman with Down’s Syndrome who writes with black chalk a list of daily activities to organise her life. (English/Spanish/French/Italian Subtitles available)

Pripyat Horse, Dir. Sally Patricia Pearce, 2023, United Kingdom, 2 min
‘A sparrow flies swiftly in through one door of the hall, and out through another…. Even so, man appears on earth for a little while; but of what went before this life or of what follows, we know nothing.’ Bede A moment for mourning, for a friend, for the earth.

Forgotten/Hidden, Dir. Frida Stålkrantz Lindholm, 2021, Sweden, 3 min
‘Something is not what it seems in this basement. In here something, or someone, is hidden, forgotten by the passage of time. We enter a space in which strange voices are heard, and doors slam on their own accord. Suddenly, a door creaks open and a creature scarier than our wildest imaginations enters the stage. Do you dare to stay until the end?”

The Cunning, Dir. Alexandra Maher, 2022, United Kingdom, 13 min
A teenager with Down’s syndrome helps herself, and others, to escape from accusations of witchcraft.
1724 – Dolly is locked up in a cell with her mother, sentenced to be tarred, feathered and burned. Elizabeth, though, has a plan for escape…
Content notes: Depiction of dead animals, blood, imprisonment, religion, gun violence.

Mariee Siou: Circle of Signs, Dir. Samantha Shay, 2023, Iceland, 6 min
This film urges reflection on indigenous prophecies about The Great Shift—choosing between technology and reconnecting with the earth. Siou emphasises the lyrics’ challenge to address our destructive impact. Filmed in Iceland, Circle of Signs tackles climate grief and colonialism. Collaborating with 15-year-old Seraphia Behr, Shay explores California wildfires and youth voices, symbolising the struggle to reclaim nature and identity.

PU EKAW TNOD, Dir. Rebecca Culverhouse, 2023, United Kingdom, 7 min
A couple watching a horror film about a strangely familiar basement realise they’re dreaming when they suddenly find themselves in the very same basement. And that’s when it sees them… it knows they shouldn’t be awake…
Access notes: Flashing light, flashing imagery, distorted sound.

Bean Grenade, Dirs. Sophie Sparkes, Simon Glass, United Kingdom, 16 min
Alex can’t stop thinking about Laura. She’s even dreaming about her. She’s even dreaming about throwing beans at her. When Laura hosts a poetry-themed birthday party, Alex crashes it with a multipack of tinned beans. She comes across Laura, alone.
Alex decides the only way she can possibly tell Laura how she feels is through a poem – a poem about a bean grenade.

Donate:
Donate to SQIFF via PayPal or sign up to one of our four Patreon tiers to support our work and show us you’re a big SQIFF fan 🌈✨

Image Credit: Dead Cat Film, Dirs. Josie Charles, Nathan Miller, 2022

Drag & Performance Through Censorship - SOLD OUT
2024-10-11 21:00 - 23:00 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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**Please note this event is now sold out – we may be able to release more tickets nearer the screening. CCA Box Office are operating a waiting list for sold out events – please contact them directly or go to their website to be added to this!**
Drag & Performance through Censorship is a captivating short film screening programme that delves into the stories of Arab, Turkish, and displaced drag queens and performers. The programme highlights the ways these artists navigate and resist the censorship and social conservatism in their home countries, offering a powerful insight into their struggles, resilience, and artistry. These selection of short films paint a vivid and emotional portrait of the drag/performance community’s defiance, creativity, and spirit, offering audiences a deeper understanding of their fight for visibility and freedom.
Following the screening, Huss is hosting a panel discussion with drag queens Kiki Rivera and Caramella aka 3MR.
Curated by Huss.

Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, £10, or £12. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

Accessibility:
This programme has:

Arabic, English, French, Russian, Turkish audio with English language descriptive subtitles.
English-BSL interpretation for the introduction and panel discussion.
Live Captioning for the introduction and panel discussion.

This screening is 58 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 15+.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2024 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2024, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.

Films in this programme include:

Sultana’s Reign, Dir. Hadi Moussally, 2023, France, 10 min
‘Sultana of New York’ is a Palestinian drag queen and artist. ‘Sultana’s Reign’ begins with her being painted by Jordanian artist RIDIKKULUZ. She reflects on her journey from the Middle East to New York, discussing the challenges of drag in conservative societies, her nostalgia for Egyptian cinema, and her commitment to self-expression and authenticity.
Content notes: Discussion of displacement, war, family discord, death, suicide.

Queen’s Illusion, Dirs. Ceren Özkanlı Samlı, Erinç Durlanık, 2024, Turkey, 21 min
In an era of political repression and growing conservatism in Turkey, Istanbul’s drag scene thrives. This documentary goes backstage with popular queens like Cake Mosq, Pepi IV, Ahsen Gönülce, Anna Tholia, and Gia Androgeny. They discuss the effort behind their personas, the threat of harassment, and new opportunities online, sharing the challenges of performing drag in a sometimes-hostile world.
Content notes: Discussion of drug use, homophobia. Depiction of alcohol use, cigarette use.

Show Up, Dir. Maria Zakhodiaichenko, 2024, United States, 11min
Friday evening. Coney Island, New York. Russian-American drag artist Maxim and his mom Ilona separately tell us the history of their family back in Russia and during their immigration to the US while getting ready for the Maxim’s performance. Soon they will reunite, just it should be.
Content notes: Discussion of homophobia, death.

ANYA KNEEZ: A Queen in Beirut, Dir. Mohamad Abdouni, 2017, Turkey, Lebanon, 11 min
Anya Kneez, an Arab Drag Queen, left Brooklyn in 2012 after 23 years in America and returned to live with her parents in Beirut. At 28, she still grapples with the values of a Middle Eastern society that struggles to accept her lifestyle. This short documentary glimpses the journey of the drag performer who brought Brooklyn’s drag scene to Beirut’s clubs.
Content notes: Discussion of homophobia, family discord.
Access notes: Flashing lights.

Bellydance Vogue, Dir. Hadi Moussally, 2020, Lebanon, 5 min
“My birthday was on the 3rd of April 2020 during lockdown, and for the first time, I celebrated it all by myself. But even if I was alone, I decided to celebrate it as if it’s the last one”
The film was made during quarantine.

Donate:
Donate to SQIFF via PayPal or sign up to one of our four Patreon tiers to support our work and show us you’re a big SQIFF fan 🌈✨

Image Credit: Sultana’s Reign, Dir. Hadi Moussally, 2023

Dear Future Self
2024-10-12 12:30 - 14:30 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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Dear Future Self is a heartfelt short film screening programme that explores the personal journeys of queer individuals through the art of letter writing and poetry. Each film delves into the self-reflection of its protagonists as they navigate various hurdles, offering intimate glimpses into their thoughts, emotions, and growth. The short film screening offers a compelling and deeply personal look into the lives of queer individuals as they reflect on their past and envision their futures. Through the medium of letters and poetry, these films capture the raw, unfiltered emotions and the transformative power of self-expression and introspection.
Following the screening, enjoy a letter writing workshop with creative practitioner and artist Huss Mitha. In this session participants will use tools from abolitionist theory and sci-fi to imagine liberated future selves and others. The writing exercise will seek to imagine emergent worlds out of the intersection of queer and anti-colonial struggles of the present.
Curated by Huss.

Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, £10, or £12. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

Accessibility:
This programme has:

English, Italian, Portuguese, Yue Chinese (Cantonese) audio with English language descriptive subtitles.
English-BSL interpretation for the introduction and workshop.
Live Captioning for the introduction and workshop.

This screening is 73 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 18+.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2024 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2024, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.

Films in this programme include:

Twenty Something, Dir. João Nunes, 2024, Portugal, 14 min
After the end of a 3-year relationship, João writes a letter about the past, the future, love, friendship, fears and personal growth.
Content notes: Discussion of relationship grief.

Cara Mamma, Dir. Sky Neal, 2024, United Kingdom, 24 min
When dancer Naissa tells his mum, Daniela, that he is transitioning, she struggles to understand. Over three years of candid letters, dream-like sequences, and cinéma vérité, Cara Mamma follows Naissa as he asserts his identity and Daniela as she grapples with losing a daughter. As Naissa begins his dance career and embraces his gender, Daniela learns to listen with love.
Content notes: Discussion of transition, gender dysphoria, family discord, transphobia, mental health.

Letter To Dad, Dir. Rafael Ferreira, 2023, Portugal, 10 min
An audiovisual letter from a son to his dad in which he travels through his earlier memories and tries to fix their relationship. The director intends not only to create an environment where his sexuality related conflicts with his dad can be solved in order to repair their connection, but also heal himself from all the past wounds those issues may have caused.
Content notes: Discussion of homophobia, family discord.

Heart Murmurs, Dir. Dorothy Cheung, 2023, Hong Kong, 9 min
Heart Murmurs is a poetic dialogue between the filmmaker and Dean, a young man living in Hong Kong. In reflecting on his experience living with a congenital disability and HIV during the first years of the COVID pandemic, the film questions the boundary of care and control in relationships.
Content notes: Discussion of COVID-19 pandemic, hospital, medical treatments.

Letter To My Daughter, Dir. Jess T. Dugan, 2023, United States, 16 min
Letter to My Daughter is an autobiographical video about my journey to parenthood and my daughter’s first five years. Narrated through a letter, it features personal images like snapshots and ultrasound photos. It covers my expectations, challenges of having a child, miscarriage, and adjusting to parenthood as a queer, nonbinary person, while exploring the deep love and personal growth that come with being a parent.
Content notes: Discussion of miscarriage, homophobia. Depiction of pregnancy, nudity, hospitalisation.

Donate:
Donate to SQIFF via PayPal or sign up to one of our four Patreon tiers to support our work and show us you’re a big SQIFF fan 🌈✨

Image Credit: Twenty Something, Dir. João Nunes, 2024

Music as Resistance - SOLD OUT
2024-10-12 15:00 - 17:00 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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**Please note this event is now sold out – we may be able to release more tickets nearer the screening. CCA Box Office are operating a waiting list for sold out events – please contact them directly or go to their website to be added to this!**
People have been gathering to perform and listen to music since the dawn of time. How is it being utilised by queer people now? Music As Resistance delves into the universal language of music being used across the globe to gather and empower marginalised communities. Expect informative films on the history of newer sub-genres such as Bounce and Guaracha and current insights into underground music by Armenian and Asian-American artists.
This screening is followed by a panel discussion hosted by Nat Lall with Nxa and Queer History of Dance Music duo Duncan Ross McBride and Amy Rodgers.
Curated by Nat Lall.

Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, £10, or £12. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

Accessibility:
This programme has:

Armenian, English, Spanish audio with English language descriptive subtitles.
English-BSL interpretation for the introduction and panel discussion.
Live Captioning for the introduction and panel discussion.

This screening is 47 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 18+.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2024 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2024, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.

Films in this programme include:

Symptom, Dir. Kamee Abrahamian, 2023, Armenia, 23 min
Embodying the dreams and poetics of a post-Soviet generation, two young Armenian women share their politics of justice and feminism with the world through their music.
Content notes: Discussion of queerphobia. Depiction of physical violence, police violence, alcohol use, cigarette use.
Access notes: Minimal flashing lights.

Confluence: A Meditation in Documentary Form, Dirs. ETA, Shanhuan Manton, 2021, United States, 15 min
CONFLUENCE is a meditation on ancestry and identity through the lens of APIDA and queer artists, filmed during moonroom’s 2019 PHASE event series celebrating APIDA Heritage Month in Southern California. This mix of hypnotic images and heartfelt testimonies explores the turmoil of being othered, while creatively shattering community and perceptual barriers. The film directly challenges reductive myths about the Asian American diaspora, advocating for self-defined identities.
Content notes: Discussion of colourism, racism, colonialism, fetishisation.
Access notes: Hypnotic layered imagery appears throughout the film.

furious guaracha (videomanifesto), Dir. Resonantes Ruido Trans, 2023, Colombia, 4 min
⚧️🔥🚨may the scream embrace us and our fury lead us to tenderize our emancipation🔥🚨⚧️
🏳️‍⚧️ we share with you the videomafiesto of our furious guaracha, a creation resulting from our outbreaks of trans love
In this piece we weave elements from our collective archive of the trans present, with the party as a struggle. 📢📢
Content notes: Discussion of sex work.
Access notes: Minimal glitchy imagery, flashing lights within party footage.

Jump, Dir. Wilberto Lucci, 2023, United States, 5 min
A history about the origins of twerking and the uber-successful Bounce Music genre of New Orleans. Narrated by New Orleans own LGBTIQA+ artist & award winning reality show star “Big Freedia”. Big Freedia is featured on Beyonce’s current #1 hit”Break My Soul” and Drake’s #1 bounce music hit “Nice For What”.
Content notes: Discussion of hurricane destruction.
Access notes: Minimal flashing laser lights within party footage.

Donate:
Donate to SQIFF via PayPal or sign up to one of our four Patreon tiers to support our work and show us you’re a big SQIFF fan 🌈✨

Image Credit: Symptom, Dir. Kamee Abrahamian, 2023

In Rage and Grief - SOLD OUT
2024-10-12 15:30 - 17:30 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
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**Please note this event is now sold out – we may be able to release more tickets nearer the screening. CCA Box Office are operating a waiting list for sold out events – please contact them directly or go to their website to be added to this!**
In Rage, In Grief is a powerful and emotive short film screening programme that explores the harrowing experiences and resilient spirits of queer activists who have been forcefully displaced from their homelands. Each film captures the intersection of activism, identity, and the struggle for safety and acceptance in the face of adversity. This short film screening provides a profound and intimate look into the lives of queer activists who, despite being displaced, continue to fight for their rights and the rights of others. Through these films, audiences will gain insight into the courage, determination, and enduring spirit of those who face persecution yet remain committed to their cause.
This screening is in partnership with the Scottish Refugee Council, who will be leading a panel discussion with LGBTIA+ people who have found safety in Scotland.
Curated by Huss.

Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, £10, or £12. To book, click here or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

Accessibility:
This programme has:

Arabic, Dutch, English, Georgian, German audio with English language descriptive subtitles.
English-BSL interpretation for the introduction and panel discussion.
Live Captioning for the introduction and panel discussion.

This screening is 80 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 18+.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2024 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2024, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.

Films in this programme include:

Beirut Dreams In Color, Dir. Michael Collins, 2022, Lebanon, 28 min
At a Cairo concert, Mashrou’ Leila’s lead singer, Hamed, the first openly gay Arab rock star, performs for 35,000 fans. A fan waves a rainbow flag, creating a magical night that results in tragic fallout. Beirut Dreams in Color explores the band’s activism and the fight for LGBTQ equality in the Middle East, showcasing music’s power and the universal desire for freedom.
Content notes: Discussion of suicide, death, queerphobia, trauma, mental health, religion, death threat, police violence, torture, physical violence, prison, forced displacement. Depiction of bomb explosion.
Access notes: Minimal flashing lights.

Queer Exile, Dir. Ahmed Awadalla, 2024, Germany, 10 min
After fleeing Egypt post-2011 revolution, an activist seeks safety in Berlin but ends up in a refugee camp plagued by far-right protests. Torn between the hostility of his new environment and nostalgia for his past, he questions his choices and queer identity. Reflecting on his memories, he gains new insights into exile, forges friendships, and redefines “home” in Berlin.
Content notes: Depiction of police violence. Discussion of racism, forced displacement, police violence, queerphobia.

The Pride Liar, Dir. Andres Lübbert, 2023, Belgium, 19 min
Emzo, a courageous queer activist, escaped persecution in Georgia five years ago, finding refuge in Belgium. This short documentary captures his unyielding commitment to the LGBTQ+ cause, showcasing the indomitable spirit of one individual’s fight for acceptance and equality.
Content notes: Discussion of queerphobia, physical violence, forced displacement, family discord, war, mental health, drug use. Depiction of physical violence, queerphobia, police violence.

MOTHER, Dirs. Meg Shutzer, Brandon Yadegari Moreno, 2023, United States, 23 min
In San Francisco, a city known for its queer community and bustling gay nightlife, there hasn’t been a lesbian bar for almost a decade. Driven by nostalgia for a time when queer women had spaces, Malia Spanyol, a self-identified dyke sets out to build one for the next generation of women and femmes.
Content notes: Depiction of alcohol use, cigarette use, vape use. Discussion of homophobia, patriarchy.

Donate:
Donate to SQIFF via PayPal or sign up to one of our four Patreon tiers to support our work and show us you’re a big SQIFF fan 🌈✨

Image Credit: Beirut Dreams In Color, Dir. Michael Collins, 2022
