SQIFF

Stirling Uni LGBTQ+ Society presents: SQIFF 2018 Shorts
2018-11-21 19:00 - 21:00 UTC | Cottrell 2V1, University of Stirling, Stirling, FK9 4LA, United Kingdom
LGBTQ+ and AirTV are bringing SQIFF to Stirling. We will be screening a selection of shorts from the upcoming SQIFF 2018 programme followed by a Q&A with Michael Richardson, writer of My Loneliness is Killing Me, and SQIFF’s Coordinator, Helen Wright.
All are invited to come along, take in the incredible films and have an opportunity to ask a few of your own questions (so start writing them down now)
This is a free, unticketed event taking place in Cottrell 2V1 at Stirling University.

ACCESS
Films are in a variety of languages with English language subtitles and captions.
Large print versions of handouts available.
Cottrell 2V1 has good access for wheelchair users. Click here for a disabled access map of Stirling University Campus.
We have a limited travel fund to assist people to come to the Festival for those who could not otherwise afford to attend. If you would like to apply for this, please contact access@sqiff.org.

SQIFF Schools: Out (CCA)
2018-12-06 12:00 - 14:00 | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
So much of young people’s experience of sexual and gender identity in the present day comes via the internet. However, the old pain and awkwardness of ‘coming out’ to friends and family remains the same. This new documentary from French director Denis Parrot combines the phenomenon of online queer culture with the intimacy of young people’s revelations about themselves. Out presents a collection of compelling videos posted online by young LGBTQ+ people, showing us their experience of telling loved ones about their identity.
Followed by a discussion hosted by LGBT Youth Scotland about the experiences of LGBTQ+ young people communicating their identity to family and friends and finding acceptance. The event is kindly sponsored by LGBT Youth Scotland.
This event is free and only open to schools. The film and discussion are suitable for S1-6. Please email helen@sqiff.org to book spaces.

ACCESS
Film mostly in the English language with English language subtitles/captions. Hearing loop available.
Film relies on visual material to convey ideas but has a lot of voiceover and commentary, so is relatively accessible for blind and partially sighted audiences. Large print versions of handouts available.
CCA has good access for wheelchair users. Click here for more details on venue access.

Queer Arab Lives: Mr Gay Syria
2018-12-06 18:00 - 20:30 | Kinning Park Complex, 40 Cornwall Street, Glasgow, G41 1AQ, United Kingdom
Husein is a barber in Istanbul balancing life between his conservative family and his gay identity. Mahmoud is the founder of Syria’s LGBTI movement and a refugee living in Berlin. In this powerful documentary, they both dream of participating in an international beauty contest in order to challenge the invisibility that comes with being gay Arabs.
Screening as part of Kinning Park Complex’s monthly community meal. Food served at 6pm on a Pay-What-You-Want basis. The film will start at 7pm.
Curated by Samar Ziadat in partnership with Dardishi, a zine and Festival of Arab womxn’s art.
This is a free event with no booking required. Just show up on the night.

ACCESS
Film in the Arabic language with English language subtitles/captions.
Large print versions of handouts available.
Kinning Park Complex has good access for wheelchair users. Please email access@sqiff.org for more details on venue access.
We have a limited travel fund to assist people to come to the Festival for those who could not otherwise afford to attend. If you would like to apply for this, please contact access@sqiff.org.

Filmmaker Social
2018-12-08 17:00 - 19:00 | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
Are you queer filmmaker working in Scotland or beyond? Come and join us for some networking, schmoozing, and boozing.
A chance to meet others who are LGBTQ+ and interested or already working in filmmaking. Share ideas, discuss your projects, or just hang out and have a nice time. We hope to be joined by representatives of some of Scotland’s film funding bodies and exhibitors who will be available to give you more info on what they offer and are looking for.
This year we are offering a ‘buddy system’ for people who are anxious or nervous about coming along to this by themselves. Please email access@sqiff.org if you could like to make use of this.
This is a free event open to all.

ACCESS
CCA has good access for wheelchair users. Click here for more details on venue access. The event takes place in Saramago’s Terrace Bar on the first floor.
We have a limited travel fund to assist people to come to the Festival for those who could not otherwise afford to attend. If you would like to apply for this, please contact access@sqiff.org.

Meet The SQIFF Programmers
2018-12-09 11:00 - 12:00 | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
Your chance to meet some of the programmers behind the Festival, find out more about the process of finding and selecting films, and ask any questions you might have. As a community festival, we welcome feedback on our approach, so encourage those with thoughts and ideas on queer arts programming to come along and let us know what you think about this year’s event. We also very much welcome those with less experience of queer arts to join the session and contribute, or just listen to/watch what’s going on if you prefer. This will also be a good opportunity for those wanting to get into film exhibition to find out more.
This informal event is free and non-ticketed, just come along!

ACCESS
The discussion will be BSL interpreted. Hearing loop available.
Large print versions of handouts available.
CCA has good access for wheelchair users. Click here for more details on venue access.
Comfy seating (bean bags) available. If you would like to reserve this, please contact access@sqiff.org.
We have a limited travel fund to assist people to come to the Festival for those who could not otherwise afford to attend. If you would like to apply for this, please contact access@sqiff.org.

QTIPOC shorts for LGBT History Month
2019-02-22 19:00 - 21:00 | Kelvin Hall, 1445 Argyle Street, Glasgow, G3 8AW, United Kingdom
For LGBT History Month, SQIFF and the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER) are partnering to showcase short films focusing on QTIPOC representation and ideas.
My Loneliness is Killing Me features a femme man of colour who invites a white man to his apartment for a hook-up, unexpectedly unearthing a dark emotional connection. Clash is a short experimental documentary by queer Iraqi non-binary filmmaker Amrou Al-Khadi critiquing the lack of diversity in on-screen representation in Britain today. Iconic transgender artist and activist, Marsha “Pay it No Mind” Johnson, and her life in the hours before she ignited the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City are depicted in Happy Birthday, Marsha!.
The event will be hosted by Samar Ziadat, curator, activist, and co-founder of Dardishi, with a discussion with local QTIPOC artists and activists following the screening.
FREE ENTRY (no need to sign up, just come along on the night)
ACCESS
Films in the English language with captions for Deaf and Hard of Hearing access. BSL interpretation for the discussion. Our venue, Kelvin Hall, is wheelchair accessible with accessible toilet facilities. For more information on the venue, click here. Please get in touch via helen@sqiff.org with any questions about access.
Content note: reference to violence and scenes of a sexual nature.

Portraits of Artists as Young Men (& Women & Other)
2019-06-01 19:00 - 21:00 | The Art School, 20 Scott Street, Glasgow, G3 6PE, United Kingdom
SQIFF curates a screening as part of Glasgow School of Art’s Degree Show programme, Dress Rehearsal. Portraits of Artists as Young Men (& Women & Other) takes a look at the earlier, formative days of queer artists who have gone on to make significant bodies of work. Featuring documentation and experimental meanderings by and/or about photographer Ajamu X, circus performer Jennifer Miller, and filmmakers Thomas Allen Harris and Barbara Hammer, amongst others. Common themes emerge of hitting back against oppression and searching for identity through the creative process.
This event is free and unticketed. Just come along on the night.
Click here for GSA’s full Dress Rehearsal Degree Show programme.
ACCESS
Films are in the English language with English language captions.
Films are experimental so some are quite visual-based but there is a relatively good amount of explanatory dialogue for blind and partially sighted audiences. Large print versions of handouts available.
The Art School has good access for wheelchair users. Click here for more details on venue access.

SQIFF Schools: Norfolk Trans Youth: Respecting & Understanding Differences
2019-10-02 12:00 - 13:45 | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
Commissioned by Mancroft Advice Project, a Norwich-based charity, and created by Scottish filmmaker Nicole O’Reilly, Norfolk Trans Youth: Respecting & Understanding Differences gives a voice to young trans people. Incorporating interviews with trans youth in Norfolk, O’Reilly’s debut feature gives its participants space to explain transness in their own words. Issues of discrimination, visibility, and media representation are discussed. Norfolk Trans Youth uses an eclectic pallet of stylistic techniques, attempting to find a new way to use the documentary format to reflect trans experiences. Merging factual documentary with experimental techniques, this is a visually inventive film centring a group often marginalised in conversations about their personhood.
Director Nicole O’Reilly will join us for a Q&A after the screening. Kindly sponsored by LGBT Youth Scotland, who will also join us at the event to give information about their work supporting LGBTI young people.
This is a free event open to school groups only. Recommended for Secondary 4 – 6. To book, please email sami@sqiff.org stating how many places you would like to reserve.
Please note the film includes discussion of transphobia, mental health issues including suicidal thoughts, physical abuse, and sex education.

ACCESS
This screening has an age recommendation of N/C 15+.
Film has English audio with English language subtitles/captions. If you would like to attend this event and require a BSL interpreter for the Q&A, please contact access@sqiff.org. Hearing loop available.
The film is relatively accessible to English-speaking blind and partially sighted audiences with explanatory dialogue and relatively bright images. Large print versions of handouts available.
CCA has good access for wheelchair users, gender neutral toilets, and welcomes assistance animals. Click here for CCA’s Accessibility Guide.
A Quiet Space and programme content notes will be available. Click here for a list of content notes for the 2019 Festival.
Comfy seating (bean bags) are available. If you would like to reserve this, please contact access@sqiff.org.
We have a limited travel fund to assist people to come to the Festival for those who could not otherwise afford to attend. If you would like to apply for this, please contact access@sqiff.org.

VR & Interactive Exhibition
2019-10-03 17:30 - 19:30 | Glasgow Women’s Library, 23 Landressy Street, Glasgow, G40 1BP, United Kingdom
Our VR & Interactive Exhibition showcases stories from around the world told using the latest technology and innovative techniques. Experience the lives of trans people in Japan through the nostalgic style of early gaming, share eight LGBTQI+ individuals in Australia’s intimate memories of their mother’s kitchens via an interactive documentary, observe a mother and son discuss homophobia in Russia in 360 degree video, and lots more. No prior knowledge required – the SQIFF team will be on hand to guide your experience!
The exhibition will launch with a special event on Thursday 3 October 5.30- 7.30pm and will be open Friday 4 October 12-5pm and Saturday 5 October 12-3pm.
Click here to sign up for the Exhibition Launch on Thursday 3 October. Free and unticketed for other Exhibition days. Please note you may need to join a waiting list to try out some projects when you come along.

ACCESS
The projects have different age recommendations but the exhibition will have experiences suitable for ages 12+.
We will have full details online soon of the accessibility of the different projects featured in the exhibition. A portable induction loop is available in the library – please let a member of staff know if you require this when you visit the Library or send us an email to info@womenslibrary.org.uk to arrange this in advance.
Large print versions of handouts available.
Glasgow Women’s Library has good access for wheelchair users, gender neutral toilets, and welcomes assistance animals. Click here for Glasgow Women’s Library’s Accessibility Guide.
Programme content notes will be available. Click here for a list of content notes for the 2019 Festival.
We have a limited travel fund to assist people to come to the Festival for those who could not otherwise afford to attend. If you would like to apply for this, please contact access@sqiff.org.

Black History Month: Fabulous + Father Figure
2019-10-03 18:30 - 20:15 | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
In partnership with Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER) for Black History Month, we look at the thriving ballroom culture of contemporary Europe. In Fabulous (2019), international legend Lasseindra Ninja returns to her home of Guyana to introduce voguing to its LGBTQ community. Father Figure follows Guilliano, founding father of The Kiki House of Angels, and his friends as they share experiences of homophobia and racism in the Netherlands.
Curated and hosted by artist and researcher Claricia Parinussa, co-founder and organiser of Vogue Scotland. Followed by an introduction to the history of House Ball culture and discussion with guest from the London Ballroom scene, Elijah 007, including on the necessity of prioritising the QTIPOC community in these spaces.
Free. To book, please use the button below or call CCA box office on +44 (0)141 352 4900.

ACCESS
This screening has an age recommendation of N/C 15+.
Films have Dutch, English, and French audio with English language subtitles/captions. If you would like to attend this event and require BSL interpretation for the discussion, please email access@sqiff.org at least 2 weeks in advance. Hearing loop available.
Films are not very accessible to English-speaking blind and partially sighted audiences with a lot of visual storytelling and mostly non-English language. Large print versions of handouts available.
CCA has good access for wheelchair users, gender neutral toilets, and welcomes assistance animals. Click here for CCA’s Accessibility Guide.
A Quiet Space and programme content notes will be available. Click here for a list of content notes for the 2019 Festival.
Comfy seating (bean bags) are available. If you would like to reserve this, please contact access@sqiff.org.
We have a limited travel fund to assist people to come to the Festival for those who could not otherwise afford to attend. If you would like to apply for this, please contact access@sqiff.org.
Tickets
In order to make SQIFF more accessible to those on a low income, we use a sliding scale ticket price of £0-£8 for our events. You can choose what you pay based on your circumstances – you won’t be asked for any proof / ID, we just ask that you are honest! Our ticket sales go towards supporting the vital work of LGBTQ+ filmmakers, artists and organisers. If you have a free ticket and can no longer use it, please contact the relevant venue box office to let them know so it can be used by someone else. For more info on what you should pay, click here.

Filmmaker Social
2019-10-05 17:00 - 18:00 | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
Are you queer filmmaker working in Scotland or beyond? Come and join us for some networking, schmoozing, and boozing (non-alcoholic options also available).
A chance to meet others who are LGBTQIA+ and interested or already working in film and related media. Share ideas, discuss your projects, or just hang out and have a nice time.
In case anyone is anxious or nervous about coming along to this by themselves, please feel welcome to get in touch via info@sqiff.org and someone can meet you beforehand. A BSL interpreter will be available at the event.
Free. To book, please use the button below or call CCA box office on +44 (0)141 352 4900.

ACCESS
This event has an age recommendation of 18+.
BSL interpretation is available for socialising.
CCA has good access for wheelchair users, gender neutral toilets, and welcomes assistance animals. Click here for CCA’s Accessibility Guide.
A Quiet Space will be available.
Comfy seating (bean bags) are available. If you would like to reserve this, please contact access@sqiff.org.
We have a limited travel fund to assist people to come to the Festival for those who could not otherwise afford to attend. If you would like to apply for this, please contact access@sqiff.org.
Tickets
In order to make SQIFF more accessible to those on a low income, we use a sliding scale ticket price of £0-£8 for our events. You can choose what you pay based on your circumstances – you won’t be asked for any proof / ID, we just ask that you are honest! Our ticket sales go towards supporting the vital work of LGBTQ+ filmmakers, artists and organisers. If you have a free ticket and can no longer use it, please contact the relevant venue box office to let them know so it can be used by someone else. For more info on what you should pay, click here.

Black History Month: Portrait of Jason
2019-10-15 19:00 - 21:00 | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
Portrait of Jason shows sex worker and entertainer, Jason Holliday, recounting his life story for filmmaker Shirley Clarke.
Jason is the sole on-screen presence in the film. He narrates his life story to the camera, behind which Clarke and her partner at the time, actor Carl Lee, provoke and berate Jason with increasing hostility as the film progresses. The film alleges to employ avant-garde and cinéma vérité techniques to reach the tragedy underlying Jason’s performative persona. However, Portrait of Jason is one of if not the first documentation of black queer experiences and trauma exploited by white ‘gatekeepers’ for the sake of the artist’s cultural and financial capital gains.
Although Portrait of Jason is a landmark film, there is a need here to discuss the fuzzy problem of ‘visibility’ within the white/capitalist domination of visual culture. Are the lines between exposure and exploitation blurred in Portrait of Jason?
Curated and hosted by Sequoia Barnes, an art/design scholar and doctoral candidate at The School of Design with Edinburgh College of Art. Presented as part of Black History Month in partnership with Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER).
Free. To book, please use the button below or call CCA box office on +44 (0)141 352 4900.

ACCESS
This screening has an age recommendation of N/C 15+.
Film has English audio with English language subtitles/captions. If you would like to attend this event and require BSL interpretation for the introduction/discussion, please email access@sqiff.org at least 2 weeks in advance.
Film is moderately accessible to English-speaking blind and partially sighted audiences with a lot of visual storytelling but some explanatory dialogue and all English language. Large print versions of handouts available.
CCA has good access for wheelchair users, gender neutral toilets, and welcomes assistance animals. Click here for CCA’s Accessibility Guide.
Programme content notes will be available. Click here for a list of content notes for the 2019 Festival.
Comfy seating (bean bags) are available. If you would like to reserve this, please contact access@sqiff.org.

Black History Month: Calalai: In Betweenness + shorts
2019-10-22 19:00 - 20:30 | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
Calalai: In Betweenness by filmmaker Kiki Febriyanti depicts women in South Sulawesi Bugis culture, which for centuries has accepted gender diversity as implicit, believing humans consist of 5 genders, one of them being calalai. The film takes a closer look at the definition of femininity and masculinity in the Bugis culture. What or who is calalai? What are the dynamics of gender, spirituality, and performance? How do these dynamics define the everyday life of the Bugis people?
Screening with accompanying short films and discussion on queerness in Indonesian cultures outside of white, colonialist impositions.
Curated and hosted by artist and researcher Claricia Parinussa. Presented as part of Black History Month in partnership with Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER).
Free. To book, please use the button below or call CCA box office on +44 (0)141 352 4900.

ACCESS
This screening has an age recommendation of N/C 15+.
Film languages tbc with English language subtitles/captions. If you would like to attend this event and require BSL interpretation for the discussion, please email access@sqiff.org at least 2 weeks in advance.
Accessibility of films to English-speaking blind and partially sighted audiences tbc. Large print versions of handouts available.
CCA has good access for wheelchair users, gender neutral toilets, and welcomes assistance animals. Click here for CCA’s Accessibility Guide.
Programme content notes will be available. Click here for a list of content notes for the 2019 Festival.
Comfy seating (bean bags) are available. If you would like to reserve this, please contact access@sqiff.org.

Sqifflix: Fighting for Justice
2020-04-27 17:30 - 2020-05-27 17:30
Click here to access the full programme.
In our very first Sqifflix outing we showcase activist short films in which people fight for their right to exist and against oppressive forces. The movies cover identities including Deaf, Disabled, and Two Spirit, battle against patriarchy, white supremacy, and ableism, and feature hip-hop, a robot, and superhero finger puppets.
All films have English language subtitles or captions. See notes below for each film’s language/s, level of accessibility for blind and partially sighted people, age recommendation, content notes, and if the film contains flashing lights or sound levels that might be disturbing for some. These notes are also found on each film’s page on vimeo.
The films are all free to watch with thanks to the filmmakers. Click here to donate to LGBT Unity Scotland to support LGBTQIA+ refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants.

Regalia: Pride in Two Spirits (5m) [click here to watch]
Dir: David Ng, Jen Sungshine, Country: Canada, Year: 2016
The story of Duane and his journey as someone who identifies as Two Spirit – a queer Aboriginal person.
Language/s: English

Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Lots of voiceover; mostly bright images.
Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: Discussion of homophobia.

Like a Riot (2m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Krissy Mahan, Country: USA, Year: 2016
“Like anyone who grew up with the Muppets and Fraggle Rock, I have always wanted to have a puppet self. And of course I want my puppet self to hang out with Campbell X’s puppet self. Krissy Mahan has made it happen!” So Mayer
Language/s: English
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Only song lyrics with lots of onscreen text and visual storytelling; mostly bright images
Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: None

Trans*march (2m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Simon Schultz von Dratzig, Country: Germany/Canada, Year: 2013, Language/s: English
As the most politicized of the three marches during Pride week in San Francisco, trans*march, which had been running for ten years at the time this film was made, has a tradition of raising visibility of a marginalised group within queer culture. This documentary records queer voices during the 2013 march and reflects political discussions concerning trans* and LGBT movements.
Language/s: English
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Lots of voiceover/dialogue; bright images.
Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: Discussion of transphobia and racism.

Amar: Deaf is an Identity (4m) [click here to watch]
Dir: David Ng, Jen Sungshine, Country: Canada, Year: 2016
Amar shares his journey as a queer South Asian activist, and explains how it intersects with his identity and culture as a Deaf person.
Language/s: ASL
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: No spoken sound, all in ASL with subtitles; mostly bright images.
Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: None

Tax on Me (4m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Kiana Kalantar-Hormozi, Country: UK, Year: 2017
Local authorities in Scotland charge people for their care costs, obliging people with disabilities to pay more than others to achieve the same basic human rights. Tax on Me is a hip-hop music video by filmmaker Kiana Kalantar-Hormozi and media coop responding to the Care Tax and the effect it has on people who need support.
Language/s: English
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Quite a lot of voiceover and dialogue; mix of bright and dark images.
Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: Discussion of ableism.

Until Justice Rolls (4m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Krissy Mahan, Country: USA, Year: 2013
Faggotgirl, a butch dyke superhero action figure, and her friend Robot want to meet for a drink. But the New York City public transportation system is barely accessible for people with different kinds of bodies and their journey is thwarted by stairs, gaps, and poorly maintained curbs.
Language/s: English
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Only song lyrics with lots of onscreen text and visual storytelling; mix of bright and dark images
Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: Discussion of ableism.
Disability Justice for Palestine (1m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Sins Invalid and Micah Bazant, Country: USA, Year: 2014
Disability Justice for Palestine is a Public Service Announcement created by Sins Invalid during the extended attacks on Gaza in the Summer of 2014. “We add our words and faces to a movement for global solidarity with the people of Palestine, articulating the struggle for Palestinian liberation as a disability justice issue.”
Language/s: English
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Lots of voiceover/dialogue; mix of bright and dark images.
Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: Discussion of violence.

Sqifflix: Funny Stuff
2020-04-28 17:30 - 2020-05-27 17:30
Click here to access the full programme.
Funny Stuff features comedy shorts with queer narratives and musings involving love potions, a mystery trail of takeaway food, Fisher Price characters brought to life, cyborgs, and zombies!
All films have English language subtitles or captions. See notes for below for each film’s language/s, level of accessibility for blind and partially sighted people, age recommendation, content notes, and if the film contains flashing lights or sound levels that might be disturbing for some. These notes are also found on each film’s page on vimeo.
The films are all free to watch with thanks to the filmmakers. Click here to donate to LGBT Unity Scotland to support LGBTQIA+ refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants.

Floozy Suzy (25m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Otavio Chamorro, Country: Brazil, Year: 2015
A hilarious-love-potion-gone-wrong tale where the aim is to win the love of the hottest guy at school.
Language/s: Portuguese
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: All in Portuguese; bright images.
Sound design access notes: Loud music and sound effects.
Age recommendation: 18+
Content note: Depiction of misogyny, homophobia, ableism, and mild violence.

The Usual (5m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Ruth McNally, Country: Ireland, Year: 2014
In a small country pub, three Irish farmers are enjoying an afternoon’s drink when an unusual stranger walks in. His curious behaviour entertains them for a while but they won’t want someone like him hanging around their local for too long.
Language/s: English (Irish dialect)

Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Limited dialogue with lots of visual storytelling; mostly bright images.
Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: Reference to homophobia.

Big Queer Failure (7m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Rebecca Tritschler and Ellie Fawcett, Country: UK, Year: 2017
A DIY film celebrating and asserting our right to fail at life as individuals and communities.
Language/s: English
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Lots of voiceover and bright images.
Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: None
My Aunt Mame (9m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Krissy Mahan, Country: USA, Year: 2015
A funny/sad dramatization of a woman’s childhood visits to her working-class butch great aunt, and what happened when she came out to her mom, told through Fisher-Price people in homemade sets.
Language/s: English with one line in Irish Gaelic
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Lots of voiceover/dialogue and bright images.
Sound design access notes: Some loud music
Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: Discussion of sex, the AIDS crisis, and hospitalisation; depiction of hospitalisation.

Mymy (14m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Anna Helme, Country: Australia, Year: 2014
In a mythic cyberfeminist universe, a frustrated young man yearns for affinity and connection. In an age of digital avatars, he crafts a version of himself that is far more corporeal – by stitching together parts of himself to become his own cyborg twin. However, his new clone has been corrupted by a techno-magick virus…
Language/s: English
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Little spoken dialogue, mostly image-based storytelling; mix of light and dark images.
Sound design access notes: Some loud and abrasive sound effects
Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: Depiction of sex and nudity.

The Deaf vs The Dead – Episode 1: “Outbreak” (7m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Dickie Hearts, Country: USA, Year: 2017
When the undead apocalypse breaks out in Los Angeles, an out Deaf man must find a way to survive and protect his loved ones, even if it means teaming up with some unlikely people.
Language/s: ASL and English
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Limited spoken dialogue, lots of visual storytelling; quite bright images.
Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: Depiction of ableism and comedy violence.

Sqifflix: Gender Revealing
2020-05-07 17:00 - 2020-06-07 17:00
Click here to access the full programme.
In our programme Gender Revealing filmmakers and characters play with and question gender norms and expectations. A genderqueer AFAB person experiments with male-pattern baldness, Exa Zim narrates their life growing up trans, ‘faux’ drag queens Sergina and Venus Dimilo strut their stuff, and trans and genderless bodies float and move in unusual ways.
All films have English language subtitles or captions. See notes for below for each film’s language/s, level of accessibility for blind and partially sighted people, age recommendation, content notes, and if the film contains flashing lights or sound levels that might be disturbing for some. These notes are also found on each film’s page on vimeo.
The films are all free to watch with thanks to the filmmakers. Click here to donate to LGBT Unity Scotland to support LGBTQIA+ refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants.

Jean (6m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Anna Stypko, Country: USA, Year: 2013
A delightful eccentric has a haircut that transcends age and gender expectations. Set in the run-down Kensington neighbourhood of Philadelphia, local artist Jean talks about her shoes, hairstyle choices, and why she changed her name.
Language/s: English
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Limited voiceover/dialogue and mixture of bright and dark images.
Sound design access notes: Some loud and abrasive music.

Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: Depiction of misogyny, homophobia, ableism, and mild violence.

Phone Me Don’t Write (3m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Elly Clarke, Country: USA/Germany, Year: 2013-15
A short film (and song) about love, sex, loneliness, and relationships in the era of instant communications.
Language/s: English
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Only song lyrics, otherwise all visual, mix of bright and dark images.
Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: Discussion of sex

Alexa to Exa (17m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Exa Zim, Christian Marsh, Country: USA, Year: 2015
A very personal documentary film about about transcending assigned identity.
Language/s: English
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Lots of voiceover; mostly bright images.
Sound design access notes: Sudden loud music and abrasive sound effects.

Age recommendation: 15+
Content note: Discussion of homophobia, illness, mental health issues, and suicide.

I Want to See You from a Different Perspective (3m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Elly Clarke, Country: Canada/UK, Year: 2014
A song about trying and failing to change a person you are in a relationship with.
Language/s: English
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Only song lyrics, otherwise all visual, mix of bright and dark images.

Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: None
Venus (6m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Faye Carr-Wilson, Magenta Sharp, Country: UK, Year: 2016
Venus is a short documentary exploring gender roles within the drag community.
Language/s: English
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Some voiceover/dialogue and some visual ideas and storytelling; mixture of bright and dark images.
Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: Discussion of ableism

Instantaneous Culture (3m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Elly Clarke, Country: Germany, Year: 2013-14
A ballad about love in a time of mobile phones, about wanting, longing, desiring but not really getting. Talk versus action, song versus stillness, and some great lingerie to go with it.
Language/s: English
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Only song lyrics, otherwise all visual, mix of bright and dark images.

Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: None
Leg, Arm, Head (11m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Scout Stuart, Country: UK, Year: 2016
A highly controlled dancer moves away from the discipline and uniformity of ballet to explore her own identity.
Language/s: English
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: No dialogue – just sound effects and music; bright images.
Age recommendation: 15+
Content note: Depiction of sex.

Float (5m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Sam Berliner, Country: USA, Year: 2015
Float is a celebratory experiment shot completely underwater and depicting trans and genderqueer folk swimming naked set to music by musician Rae Spoon.
Language/s: No spoken language

Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: No spoken language, only music and sound effects; quite bright images.
Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: Depiction of nudity

The Race (4m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Soyoon Kim, Country: South Korea, Year: 2015
Tiny, genderless figurines dance to J S Bach as their environment gives way and glitches out.
Language/s: No spoken language

Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: No spoken language, only music and sound effects; bright images.
Sound design access notes: Some abrasive sound effects.

Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: Depiction of homophobia, misogyny, biphobia, butchphobia, and classism.

Sqifflix: Queer Horror Stories
2020-05-15 17:00 - 2020-06-15 17:00
Click here to access the full programme.
In Queer Horror Stories we showcase provocative, bizarre, sometimes gory, sometimes scary films that delve into the terror of queerness and oppression. In a dystopian 2064, a federation of African States initiate an annual cull of men; a young gay man in Russia has a surprise in store for the ultranationalists who attack him; the unbearable weight of family expectations and difficulty of being stuck in unhealthy relationships are explored through formal film experiments; the movies of horror director Kang-Chien Chui are given a queer reading; and two queer feminist crews tackle violent forces in a surreal present.
All films have English language subtitles or captions. See notes for below for each film’s language/s, level of accessibility for blind and partially sighted people, age recommendation, content notes, and if the film contains flashing lights or sound levels that might be disturbing for some. These notes are also found on each film’s page on vimeo.
The films are all free to watch with thanks to the filmmakers. Click here to donate to LGBT Unity Scotland to support LGBTQIA+ refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants.

2064 (12m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Joseph Adesunloye, Country: Botswana, Year: 2019
Devastating population growth, famine, and mass internal displacement pushes Africa to the brink. Many of the continent’s animals are wiped out due to hunting, ever-warming climate, and a ballooning population. A federation of African States is created and institutes an annual cull of four million men. Soon the policy is successful, and the continent’s wildlife begins to flourish again. In 2064, a nascent freedom movement led by the ‘Ladies in White’ is fighting for the emancipation of the condemned men and to put an end to the human cull.
Language/s: Tswana

Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Only Tswana spoken and mostly visual storytelling; relatively bright images.

Sound design access notes: Some abrasive sound effects.

Age recommendation: 15+
Content note: Discussion and depiction of death and suicide.

Cheat (2m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Ania Urbanowska, Country: UK, Year: 2015
At what cost to ourselves are we complicit in our families’ expectations for us? This is a film about breaking that unspoken contract; about the moment when cheating them of the person they want us to be stops feeling like a choice.
Language/s: English
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Small amount of surreal and poetic voiceover; dark images.
Sound design access notes: Loud and abrasive sound effects.
Age recommendation: 15+
Content note: Discussion of suicide.

PYOTR495 (15m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Blake Mawson, Country: Canada, Year: 2016
Set in present-day Moscow, 16-year-old Pyotr is baited by an ultranationalist group known for their violent abductions and attacks bolstered by Russia’s LGBT propaganda law, but Pyotr has a dangerous secret his attackers haven’t accounted for.
Language/s: Russian

Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: All Russian language with some dialogue and some image-based filmmaking; quite dark images.
Sound design access notes: Abrasive horror sound effects.

Age recommendation: 18+
Content note: Discussion of sex including BDSM; depiction of homophobia, xenophobia, and graphic, degrading, and gory violence.

Stuck (11m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Ania Urbanowska, Country: UK, Year: 2013
Have you ever been in relationship where you can’t see its problems…?
Language/s: No spoken language

Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: No dialogue, only music and sound effects; quite dark images.

Age recommendation: 15+
Content note: Depiction of drug-taking.

Yi-Ren (the person of whom I think) (14m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Tzuan Wu, Country: Taiwan, Year: 2015
A love letter in collage style, consisting of found footage and a queer reading of the work of Kang-Chien Chui, screenwriter of classic East Asian movies such as The Bells of Death and Twin Blades of Doom.
Language/s: Mandarin

Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: All in Mandarin, poetic voiceover; dark images.
Sound design access notes: Abrasive sound effects.
Age recommendation: 15+
Content note: Suggestion of distress and violence.

Swarm of Selenium (23m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Maude Matton & SJ Rahatoka, Country: Germany, Year: 2015
In the surreal dystopian present, two queer feminist crews cohabit the shells of an abandoned malt factory. As a troubling pattern begins to emerge from their mouths in the form of shattered glass, all are shaken, but some are hit harder than others. Through dance, visual work, and anti-work, they merge forces to try to care for one another and combat the insidious violent process which seems to increasingly come from within.
Swarm of Selenium is a queer sci fi short film about collective healing, trauma, and other world-making. It was shot in Berlin in spring 2016 by a crew of more than 40 women, nonbinary, and trans artists.
Language/s: English
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Sparse and surreal dialogue; relatively dark images.

Sound design access notes: Lots of loud and abrasive sound effects and music.
Age recommendation: 15+
Content note: Depiction of violence.

Sqifflix: Sexual Content Warning
2020-05-26 17:00 - 2020-06-26 17:00
Click here to access the full programme.
For anyone after some slightly xxx-y content to make lockdown more pleasureable, we bring you Sexual Content Warning. A sweet night cleaner has his work cut out in Canada’s busiest gay bathhouse. Disability activist Andrew Gurza reflects on his first sexual encounter and how the event shaped his identity. Scottish filmmaker John Walter addresses cruising and sexual risk, in particular around the ‘cottage,’ a public toilet that is repurposed as a space of sex. Gustavo is a photographer who captures the bodies of naked men in public spaces in Sao Paulo. And writer and poet Aurora Levins Morales, a.k.a. The Gimp Gourmet, prepares a very special recipe!
All films have English language subtitles or captions. See notes for below for each film’s language/s, level of accessibility for blind and partially sighted people, age recommendation, content notes, and if the film contains flashing lights or sound levels that might be disturbing for some. These notes are also found on each film’s page on vimeo.
The films are all free to watch with thanks to the filmmakers. Click here to donate to LGBT Unity Scotland to support LGBTQIA+ refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants.

The Night Cleaner (5m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Blair Fukumura, Country: Canada, Year: 2016
As the night cleaner in Canada’s busiest gay bathhouse, Travis has his work cut out for him. With good humour he shyly takes us on an amusing and sometimes harrowing tour through his nightly duties.
Language/s: English

Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Lots of voiceover/dialogue and bright images.

Sound design access notes: Some abrasive sound effects.

Age recommendation: 18+
Content note: Discussion of sex, bodily fluids, and brief reference to sexual harrassment; depiction of sex and bodily fluids.

Bedding Andrew (5m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Blair Fukumura, Country: USA, Year: 2014
On the eve of his 30th birthday, Andrew, a man with Cerebral Palsy, reflects on his first sexual encounter and how the event shaped his identity as a gay man.
Language/s: English
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Lots of voiceover/dialogue and bright images.
Sound design access notes: Loud and abrasive sound effects.
Age recommendation: 15+
Content note: Discussion of sex and ableism.

Courtship Disorder (5m) [click here to watch]
Dir: John Walter, Country: UK, Year: 2015
Courtship Disorder addresses cruising and sexual risk, in particular around the ‘cottage,’ a public toilet that is repurposed as a space of sex. Cruising for sex in real space has not disappeared despite the development of online cruising apps. ‘Courtship Disorder’ refers to a controversial term used by sexologists such as John Money to describe a spectrum of human behaviours, especially in men, including exhibitionism, voyeurism, toucherism, rubbing, and sexual assault.
Language/s: English

Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Film is mostly visual with surreal monologues; bright images.
Sound design access notes: Some abrasive sound effects.

Age recommendation: 18+
Content note: Discussion of sex; depiction of sex and nudity.

Lightrapping (22m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Marcio Miranda Perez, Country: Brazil, Year: 2016
Gustavo is a photographer who captures the bodies of naked men in public spaces in Sao Paulo. One night, young Pedro follows him, curious and undecided about participating in the project.
Language/s: Portuguese

Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: All in Portuguese with sparse dialogue; very dark images.

Age recommendation: 18+
Content note: Discussion of sex; depiction of possible sexual violation.

Pussy Vinaigrette (3m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Patty Berne, Country: USA, Year: 2011
The Gimp Gourmet prepares a very special recipe! Starring, written by and with fruit carving by Puerto Rican Jewish writer and poet Aurora Levins Morales. Does activist filmmaking have room for this much sexiness…?
Language/s: English

Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Poetic monologue with some visual ideas. Not very bright images.
Age recommendation: 15+
Content note: Depiction of sexual imagery and suggestiveness.

Sqifflix & Chill
2020-06-12 17:00 - 2020-07-12 17:00
Click here to access the full programme.
Our shorts programme Sqifflix & Chill, as the title suggests, includes a varied bunch of films about romantic love, its joys, pain, and complexities. Sweet stories of intense connection are found in Selina Robertson’s Couple Time and Dickie Heart’s Passengers. Some of the painful and problematic aspects of love and dating are considered in Sam Berliner’s Dating Sucks about seeking love whilst trans, and Rob Eagle’s Harding & his camera, which investigates traces of illicit love in archives and the white gaze. Violent and oppressive structures that try to curtail who gets to be with who are the core of Adrian Garcia Gomez’s Mikveh about governments refusing to recognise certain relationships, and Kiana Kalantar-Hormozi’s Poly Amour, which decontructs conventional romantic structures. For a dark comedy approach to the madness that sometimes interferes with people’s love life, Netflix & Chips is about a woman with a hot date who can’t get her chip shop job off her mind.
All films have English language subtitles or captions. See notes for below for each film’s language/s, level of accessibility for blind and partially sighted people, age recommendation, content notes, and if the film contains flashing lights or sound levels that might be disturbing for some. These notes are also found on each film’s page on vimeo.
The films are all free to watch with thanks to the filmmakers. Click here to donate to LGBT Unity Scotland to support LGBTQIA+ refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants.

Couple Time (6m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Selina Robertson, Country: UK, Year: 2015
A suitcase full of Super 8 memories from Berlin.
Language/s: English (not spoken) and German

Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: No spoken English; mostly visual ideas and onscreen text; mix of bright and dark images.

Sound design access notes: None

Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: None

Dating Sucks: A Genderqueer Misadventure (13m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Sam Berliner, Country: USA, Year: 2013
Dating Sucks: A Genderqueer Misadventure is Episode 1 of an animated documentary webseries about the successes, failures, and incredible confusion of trying to date as a genderqueer/trans person.
Language/s: English
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Lots of voiceover; bright images.
Sound design access notes: None
Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: Discussion of sex and queerphobia.

Mikveh (6m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Adrian Garcia Gomez, Country: USA, Year: 2016
In this reinterpretation of the mikveh – a purifying ritual bath performed by Jewish brides about to marry – the filmmaker and his husband’s immersions are disrupted by a government which refuses to recognise their marriage.
Language/s: No spoken language

Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: No dialogue – just sound effects; quite bright images.
Sound design access notes: Some abrasive and repetitive sound effects.

Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: None

Harding & his camera (12m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Rob Eagle, Country: Palestine, Israel, Year: 2017
An ambiguous ‘love story’ documentary told through the 1930s archive of a British archaeologist who took a camera on his digs in the British Mandate for Palestine and fell in love with his Bedouin assistant.
Language/s: English

Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Lots of voiceover/dialogue and bright images.

Sound design access notes: None
Age recommendation: 18+
Content note: Discussion of racism.

Poly Amour (7m) (version with audio description integrated) [click here to watch]
Dir: Kiana Kalantar-Hormozi, Country: UK, Year: 2016
How capable are we to love boundlessly? This film explores polyamory, deconstructing conventional stereotypes of the romantic relationship structure.
Language/s: English

Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Lots of voiceover/dialogue and quite bright images. Version with integrated audio description.

Sound design access notes: Loud, abrasive sound effects at start of film.
Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: Depiction of anti-polyamory sentiments.
Passengers (5m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Dickie Hearts, Country: UK, Year: 2015
A cab driver puts up with a series of irksome hearing passengers before picking up a cute guy more on his wavelength.
Language/s: American Sign Language and English

Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Limited dialogue, mostly in ASL with subtitles; mostly bright images.

Sound design access notes: None
Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: Depiction of ableism.
Netflix & Chips (6m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Lock Up Your Daughters, Country: UK, Year: 2015
A woman who works in a chip shop has a hot date but can’t get her job off her mind.
Language/s: English

Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Limited dialogue with lots of visual storytelling; mostly bright images.

Sound design access notes: None
Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: Depiction of mental health issues.

Sqifflix: More Love from Neelu
2020-06-22 17:00 - 2020-07-22 17:00
Click here to access the full programme.
Our special shorts programme More Love from Neelu showcases films by award-winning artist and filmmaker Neelu Bhuman, whose feature film TRANSFINITE we are screening online 25 – 28 June. Neelu’s work explores social and political themes as they play out in close relations. Playfully evoking insights into the workings of difference in intimacy, their films blend viewpoints ranging from race, gender, sexuality, culture, class, and romance.
In FU377, the dignity of queer people in India is under attack through Section 377, which the Supreme Court had recently re-introduced, re-criminalising ‘gay sex,’ when the film was made in 2014. Meanwhile, an adorable Indian mother is totally down with gay sex and wheels out some choice lines for her heartbroken queer daughter in an effort to cheer her up.
More Love. Less Prepackaged Bullshit. (2017) is set to the soul beat of Assata Shakur, and features a trio resisting dystopia with a bowl of joy, intimacy, and love.
Neelu’s 2016 short ṣadāqa is a kaleidoscopic view of friendship transcending borders.
All films have English language subtitles or captions. See notes for below for each film’s language/s, level of accessibility for blind and partially sighted people, age recommendation, content notes, and if the film contains flashing lights or sound levels that might be disturbing for some. These notes are also found on each film’s page on vimeo.
The films are all free to watch with thanks to Neelu Bhuman. Click here to donate to LGBT Unity Scotland to support LGBTQIA+ refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants. Click here to donate to the Wahala Film Fund, a film completion fund for Queer, Transgender and Intersex People of Colour filmmakers based in UK, Europe and the Global South co-founded by Neelu Bhuman.

FU377 (5m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Neelu Bhuman, Country: UK, Year: 2014
Basic dignity of queer people in India is under attack, yet again. The scorching IPC Section 377 is re-unleashed to police to criminalise “gay sex” in India. While the law and the Supreme Court dated themselves back a few hundred years, an adorable Indian mother has her knowledge of “gay sex” in mint condition, wheeling out a tidbit or two for her heartbroken queer daughter in an effort to cheer her up. The pair are shocked into action by the Supreme Court’s latest rejection.
Language/s: English

Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Quite a lot of dialogue with some visual ideas; bright images.

Sound design access notes: None

Age recommendation: 15+
Content note: Reference to sex.

More Love. Less Prepackaged Bullshit. (1m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Neelu Bhuman, Country: USA, Year: 2017
Set to the soul beat of Assata Shakur, a trio resists dystopia with a bowl of joy, intimacy and love.
Language/s: English
Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: No dialogue – only music lyrics and sound effects; quite bright images.
Sound design access notes: None
Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: None

ṣadāqa (5m) [click here to watch]
Dir: Neelu Bhuman, Country: UK, Year: 2016
A kaleidoscopic view of friendship transcending borders.
Language/s: English and Arabic

Accessibility for blind and partially sighted people: Small amount of English dialogue and some Arabic but mostly visual ideas; quite bright images.
Sound design access notes: None

Age recommendation: 12+
Content note: None

SQIFF Shorts: A is for Asexual
2020-07-15 10:00 - 2020-07-17 10:00
We are taking part in DIVE IN Cinema, a two-week online screening series in collaboration with other film festivals and exhibitors in Scotland.
DIVE IN Cinema will offer a mixture of features and short films across fiction, documentary and experimental work, as well as a few filmmaker conversations. Each screening will be programmed by one of the contributing exhibitors and will be available on demand for 48 hours from its start time, with a new programme released at 10am every day.
SQIFF’s programme is called A is for Asexual and will be available to view online for 48 hours from 10am on Wednesday 15 July.
Highlighting new work around perhaps the most under-represented identity in queer cinema, this programme celebrates films by and about asexual people of colour. Garima Kaul’s documentary Desire? explores the wide range of experiences of asexual individuals and communities in India, whilst multi-award-winning Brazilian film Infinite While It Lasts follows the budding relationship between asexual Danny and allosexual Seiji.
Click here to register to access all the films in DIVE IN Cinema for free. All screenings are FREE to view, however DIVE IN are collecting donations for Scottish charities The Unity Centre and Ubuntu Women Shelter. The Unity Centre provides advice and support to asylum seekers and migrants in Scotland. Ubuntu Women Shelter is a Glasgow-based charity that provides emergency accommodation needs for women with no recourse to public funds. There is a payment link to donate when you enter the hub.
Screenings are captioned for d/Deaf and Hard of Hearing audiences. Content notes per film will be listed on the online platform as appropriate.
Desire? (30m)
Dir: Garima Kaul, Country: India, Year: 2019
The everyday realities of some people who identify as asexual, creating small ruptures in the homogenising culture of hyper and heteronormative sexuality.
Language/s: English, Hindi

Content note: Depiction of asexual denial and acephobia; discussion of asexual denial, acephobia, homophobia, sexual/emotional abuse, masturbation, and caste discrimination.

Fixers – Asexuality (3m)
Dir: Fixers, Country: UK, Year: 2013
Fixers are young people using their past to fix the future.
Language/s: English
Content note: Depiction of asexual denial; discussion of asexual denial and suicide.

Infinite While It Lasts (17m)
Dir: Akira Kamiki, Country: Brazil, Year: 2019
After falling in love at a party, Danny and Seiji just want to be together, but their differences might prove stronger than their feelings.
Language/s: Portuguese

Content note: None

All The Feels!: Ultimate Queer Fanvid Playlist
2020-10-05 00:00 - 2020-10-18 23:30
Fanvids are short films using music, edited by fans in an expression of all the feels around their favourite fandoms. Even with today’s films and television bursting with more queer characters than ever, we still fight for true recognition, representation, and stories that go beyond the sometimes disappointing and limiting storylines we are given. Every fanvid is a DIY work of art, combining music and clever edits to celebrate favourite shows, rework plots, commiserate in collective sadness, and whatever feels there are to be had!
Curated by Tara Brown, queer crip Black fat femme and Fringe! Queer film & arts fest and freelance film curator.
Click here for Tara’s YouTube playlist.
ACCESS
This playlist has an age recommendation of N/C 12+.
The fanvids have English audio. Some have English language captions or a transcript. Transcript of the other vids coming soon. With apologies for the lack of captions on all videos thanks to YouTube removing the option for community captions. Click here to sign a petition for YouTube to reverse this decision.
The playlist is 34 minutes long.
Content notes: Discussion of homophobia, biphobia, and racism; depiction of brief nudity, sex, violence, and blood.

The videos in All the Feels!: Ultimate Queer Fanvid Playlist include some loud music and fast editing.

We have a limited access fund to assist people with no or limited internet access to attend the Festival. If you would like to take this up, please contact info@sqiff.org.
If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2020, please contact info@sqiff.org.

Many Black Moons Ago, To Go...
2020-10-05 00:00 - 2020-10-18 23:59
Time as it is Queer.
Blackness as it is Queer.
What comes next after the end of the world?
A digital exhibition programme of Afrofuturist films and writings in response to the re/imagining of Black alternative future(s). Curated by Scottish-Zimbabwean artist, researcher, and curator Natasha Thembiso Ruwona. Sign up to receive a link to access the exhibition website during the festival dates, 5th to 18th October.
Short films available as part of the exhibition across the 2 weeks include NEGRUM3 (2018) by Diego Paulino, Reifying Desire 5 (2012) by Jacolby Satterwhite, and Time Travel Experiments Pt. 2 (2017) by Black Quantum Futurism. Born in Flames (1983), depicting a future where a socialist government gains power and a group of women decides to organize and rebel, will be available to view as part of the exhibition on our Vimeo on Demand channel 12th to 13th October. Please note all films will screen with English language captions. Further access information will be available on the film’s Vimeo on Demand pages.

There will be artists’ responses to the programme by Sequoia Barnes and Naomi Gessesse.
Sequoia Barnes’ work is predominately centered around making processes, rituals, and modes of fashioning. Trained in semiotics, she deploys research through praxis often in her artistic explorations of black diasporic symbolisms, storytelling as performance, and positioning the creative process as a performance/ritual. Her scholarly work currently explores the design techniques and aesthetic semiotics of late fashion designer, Patrick Kelly. Her most recent artistic works include her artist responses to Senga Nengudi (Fruitmarket Gallery) and Nick Cave (Tramway) with performative works entitled Sew Me A Quilt. Tell You A Story. (2019) and The Burden I Bear Is Heavy (2019), respectively.
Naomi Gessesse is a movie watcher and Aries sun from Glasgow. They have written for several publications and wrote an undergraduate thesis on the politics of space at the lgbtqia+ film festival. Naomi now works for Berwick Film And Media Arts Festival while continuing to write.
A reading group led by Martha Williams on Sunday 18 October will conclude the series. Click here to book a free ticket to the reading group event, Call & Reponse. The event will have BSL interpretation, live captioning, and live audio description. The films in the exhibition all have English language captions.
Born in Flames is preserved by Anthology Film Archives with restoration funding from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and The Film Foundation. Distributed by Cinenova.

Dream Access Focus Group SOLD OUT
2020-10-10 14:00 - 16:00
**Please note this event is now sold out. You can join a waiting list by clicking Buy Tickets below and we will contact you if a space becomes available**
Disability provision is almost always a second thought even in places that are all about radical inclusivity – this is the case with queer spaces as well. This workshop is an opportunity to listen to advocates experiencing diverse disabilities, and to find solutions for radical access provisions in a collaborative way. Documentation of the event, in the form of a zine to share with SQIFF and other festivals, will provide a community-based, co created list of problems and suggested solutions, prioritising input from excluded communities rather than theoretical ‘best practices.’
Event led by Disabled activist Luke Murphy. Zine created by Dr of medieval queer+trans theology, storyteller, and zine-maker, Jonah Coman.
Please note this workshop is intended for Deaf and Disabled participants.

Tickets are free. To book, click the button below. You can book a ticket up to one hour before the start time. We will send out a Zoom link for the event to ticket holders a day or two beforehand.

ACCESS
BSL interpretation, live captioning, and live audio description are provided for the workshop. We will send instructions on how to access the live AD to all ticket holders before the event. Contact us by emailing info@sqiff.org if you would like any more information about live AD during the Festival.
The workshop is 2 hours long with a comfort break in the middle.
We have a limited access fund to assist people with no or limited internet access to attend the Festival. If you would like to take this up, please contact info@sqiff.org.
If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2020, please contact info@sqiff.org.

Party: LGBTI+ Elders Social Dance Club
2020-10-11 14:00 - 15:30
Calling all LGBTI+ Elders and allies – Dust off your dancing shoes, charge your glasses and get ready for the LGBTI+ Elders Social Dance Club – Online!
We might not be able to meet in person but we can use the magic of technology to connect, chat, and boogie. Just like regular Dance Clubs you can join in however feels right for you.
We think it’s more important than ever right now that we celebrate our community and come together in any way we can.
So please join us online so we can talk, laugh and dance together. Presented in partnership with SQIFF.
This event is FREE to attend. To receive the Zoom link and password to attend, please email thecomingbackoutball@nationaltheatrescotland.com.
The LGBTI Elders Social Dance Club is a National Theatre of Scotland and All The Queens Men co-production, in partnership with Eden Court, Luminate and in association with Glasgow City Council.

ACCESS
This event is open to all ages.
This event will have live captioning, BSL interpretation, and live audio description. We will send instructions on how to access the live AD to all ticket holders before the event. Contact us by emailing info@sqiff.org if you would like any more information about live AD during the Festival.
The event will have hosts with everyone able to join in with your camera and microphone switched on. However, you can leave these switched off if you prefer. The National Theatre of Scotland will record parts of the event for research, development, and publicity purposes only. Everyone will have the opportunity to opt out if they do not want to be recorded by turning off their camera. You will be told when recording is about to happen and see a red ‘recording’ symbol in the top left hand corner. No dance club members will record or screenshot the session, and by joining the group we assume that you agree to this.

We have a limited access fund to assist people with no or limited internet access to attend the Festival. If you would like to take this up, please contact info@sqiff.org.
If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2020, please contact info@sqiff.org.

Watch Party: Online Filmmaking Project
2020-10-11 17:00 - 18:30
A screening of one minute short films made by participants of our online filmmaking workshops taking place in September. We will invite the filmmakers to take part in a Q&A after the screening of their films. Hosted by filmmaking workshop facilitator Yasmin Al-Hadithi. Hadithi is co-founder of DOCMA_ docs – a global platform for the playful exploration of different doc-filmmaking styles – and DocKlub, “Scotland’s Support Group for Documentary Filmmakers”. Yasmin also works as a creative producer – most recently developing an international ‘film exchange’ for young people in Scotland and the Arctic called, Breaking The Ice.

Tickets are free. To book, click the button below. You can book a ticket up to one hour before the start time. We will send out a Zoom link for the event to ticket holders a day or two beforehand.

ACCESS
This screening has an age recommendation of N/C 15+.
Films’ languages tbc with English language captions. BSL interpretation and live captioning provided for introduction and Q&A.
Content notes tbc.
We have a limited access fund to assist people with no or limited internet access to attend the Festival. If you would like to take this up, please contact info@sqiff.org.
If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2020, please contact info@sqiff.org.

Q&A: Game on: queer disruptions in sport
2020-10-12 18:00 - 18:45
Game on: Queer Disruptions in Sport is a documentary which shines a light on the experiences of those with diverse identities within grassroots sport. The film features the stories of gay runners Csaba and Benjamin from Hungary; Natalie, a Scottish lesbian boxer; Pol, an intersex rower from Bulgaria, and a German trans woman footballer called Jessi. Join us for a live Q&A with the film’s director Maria Takacs, protagonists from the film, and LEAP Sports.
Presented in partnership with LEAP Sports Scotland, promoting LGBTI participation and ending LGBTI-phobia in sport. The Q&A will also be live-streamed to Facebook.

Free event. To book, click the button below. You can book a ticket up to one hour before the start time. We will send out a Zoom link for the event to ticket holders a day or two beforehand.

ACCESS
The event has BSL interpretation and live captioning.
The event is 45 minutes long.
We have a limited access fund to assist people with no or limited internet access to attend the Festival. If you would like to take this up, please contact info@sqiff.org.
If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2020, please contact info@sqiff.org.

Discussion: Film Programming for QTIPOC
2020-10-15 18:30 - 20:00
A conversation with QTIPOC film programmers from across the UK. We’ll be tackling questions such as: What does it mean to programme for us, by us? What unique and specific challenges are we facing? How do we curate safe and nourishing spaces for our communities? How do we take care of our selves while doing this grassroots work? Guest speakers include queer crip Black fat femme and Fringe! Queer film & arts fest and freelance film curator, Tara Brown, Director of CineQ and Festival Manager of SHOUT Festival, Rico Johnson-Sinclair, and Scottish-Zimbabwean artist, researcher, and curator, Natasha Thembiso Ruwona.
This event is only open to QTIPOC (queer, trans, and intersex people of colour).

Tickets are free. To book, click the button below. You can book a ticket up to one hour before the start time. We will send out a Zoom link for the event to ticket holders a day or two beforehand.

ACCESS
BSL interpretation, live captioning, and live audio description provided for the event. We will send instructions on how to access the live AD to all ticket holders before the event. Contact us by emailing info@sqiff.org if you would like any more information about live AD during the Festival.
We have a limited access fund to assist people with no or limited internet access to attend the Festival. If you would like to take this up, please contact info@sqiff.org.
If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2020, please contact info@sqiff.org.

Party feat FRAN.K & guests
2020-10-16 20:30
This year SQIFF X Vogue Scotland’s party features a performance by Vogue Scotland member FRAN.K alongside;
PURINA ALPHA
DAVID RONAN
SEQUOIA BARNES
MELE BROOMES
This live 3 hour virtual club is a collision of bodies on the dance floor in a rotating duet, mimicking our fleeting interactions in the club. Featuring four guest dancers, FRAN.K takes us on a journey through a three and a half hour soundtrack from DJ RyanAir broadcast on Zoom.
Participant videos will be set to off and mics muted on entry, so you can watch from the zoom or opt to turn on your camera to join the dance-floor. You can also join us in the chatroom, and once you’ve entered feel free to come and go through the night! Chatroom will be facilitated by our virtual host NUSSATARI.
Live Stream filmed by Daniel Hughes.
Lighting Design – Jazz Hutsby
Sound Mixing – Simon Howard / DJ RyanAir
Outfit Design Cover Image/ Pop /Techno – Asia Apolonia Przytarska
Content warning: The performance includes flashing lights and explicit language
House Rules: We are a club space that does not condone any discrimination of any kind. Anyone displaying such behaviour will be ejected. If you feel uncomfortable at any time please message in the chat to reach our security staff.
Tickets are free. To book, click the button below and you will receive a Zoom link for the event. When you enter the Zoom waiting room, please open the chat so we can say hello before you join the event.

ACCESS
The event will be captioned.
We have a limited access fund to assist people with no or limited internet access to attend the Festival. If you would like to take this up, please contact info@sqiff.org.
If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2020, please contact info@sqiff.org.

Workshop: Documentary Filmmaking with Lana Lin SOLD OUT
2020-10-17 16:00 - 18:15
**Please note this event is now sold out.**
Join us for a workshop in collaboration with Scottish Documentary Institute with Lana Lin, a filmmaker, artist, and writer whose creative practice concerns embodied vulnerabilities. Lana’s most recent film The Cancer Journals Revisited is a brave feature prompting the question of what it means to re-visit and re-vision Black lesbian feminist poet Audre Lorde’s classic 1980 memoir of her breast cancer experience today.
The workshop will be broken down into two one-hour sessions. In the first hour Lana will give an overview of her practice, particularly focussing on ethics of documentary filmmaking. For the second half of the session, Lana will workshop a couple of selected projects from submissions. Attendees are welcome to join with or without a film project in the making.

Tickets are free. To book, click the button below. We will send out a Zoom link for the event to ticket holders a day or two beforehand.

ACCESS
This workshop has an age recommendation of 18+.
BSL interpretation and live captioning are provided for the workshop.
The workshop is 2 hours long with a 15 minute break in the middle.
We have a limited access fund to assist people with no or limited internet access to attend the Festival. If you would like to take this up, please contact info@sqiff.org.
If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2020, please contact info@sqiff.org.
