SQIFF

SQIFF Shorts: Gross Out
2019-10-06 20:00 - 21:00 UTC | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
With supposed tolerance and acceptance of LGBT people in western public life comes enforced sanitisation and respectability. Straight society pats itself on the back for allowing (some of) us to get married and feature in shiny corporate advertising but is still repelled by our bodies and sex lives. To counter the continued suppression of fleshly and carnal appetites and practices, we went on a hunt for the grossest, most yucky films we could find. Featuring experimental musing on why we find our bodies disgusting and scary; some gay sex-tinged body horror; literal shit in a variety of forms; and a performance involving an empty stomach and a large jar of honey. Please note this programme requires resilience for what some would consider stomach-churning and gruesome imagery.
Tickets are priced on a sliding scale £0-£8 depending on what you can afford. 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 18+.
Films have English and Spanish audio with English language subtitles/captions. Hearing loop available.
Films are not very accessible to English-speaking blind and partially sighted audiences with a lot of visual storytelling and ideas and dark 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.
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.

Ämber (6m)
Dir: Remmi E. Välja, Country: UK, Year: 2019, Language/s: No spoken sound
Ämber is an experimental film about the basic functions of the human body. The film studies affect; it seeks to raise the question of why we sometimes find our own bodies and their natural existence to be unpleasant, disgusting, and scary. The aim of the film is to make the audience uncomfortable in a humorous way.
Content note: Depiction of bleeding.
Estigma (14m)
Dir: David Velduque, Country: Spain, Year: 2018, Language/s: Spanish
It’s Friday night, the bell rings and Alex opens the door to the worst of his fears. “Estigma speaks to us about that inner prison we build because of fear of rejection and not being loved for who we are. This is the starting point of a story that I’ve intended to face as a personal matter, dealing with my complex relationship with illness and rejection.” David Velduque
Content note: Depiction of injury with body horror elements.
Next Level Shit (11m)
Dir: Gary Jaffe, Country: USA, Year: 2018, Language/s: English
Taylor wants to be squeaky clean downstairs before his big third date with dreamboat Chris, but his efforts backfire, sending the relationship spiralling to a whole new level of intimacy.
Content note: None.
Bear (13m)
Dir: Fred Guerrier, Country: USA, Year: 2018, Language/s: English
A bear-suit wearing dancer ignores the news of his estranged father’s death but begins to see his ghost. Meanwhile, an ex-lover’s infatuation quickly devolves into something more sinister (and stinky). The line between reality and fiction get blurred during the terrifying showdown between the Bear, the ghost, and the lover.
Content note: Depiction of death.
Force Feed (15m)
Dir: Alan Vincent, Country: USA, Year: 2018, Language/s: No spoken sound
Performance for video. One empty stomach, one pound of honey.
Content note: Depiction of overeating.

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: 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: Vision Portraits
2020-06-15 00:00 - 2020-06-21 23:30
Vision Portraits is a vivid and hypnotic exploration by filmmaker Rodney Evans illuminating the compelling stories of four visually impaired artists – photographer John Dugdale, dancer Kayla Hamilton, writer Ryan Knighton, and the filmmaker himself. Evans contrasts their journeys with his own personal and professional one as a filmmaker gradually losing his vision and as a gay man. Evans’ self-reflexive approach emphasises how each artist adapted creatively and thrived as their process evolved with their unique perspectives. An important film for anyone interested in disability aesthetics, demonstrating how blindness and visual impairment bring about distinct artistic viewpoints.
We are pleased to be hosting a live Q&A with director Rodney Evans on Saturday 20 June at 7pm. The Q&A will take place on SQIFF’s Facebook page at facebook.com/sqiff. Hosted by Amelia Cavallo, theatre practioner, academic, and co-founder of Quiplash.
In partnership with LGBT Health & Wellbeing. Supported by Film Hub Scotland, part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, and funded by Screen Scotland and Lottery funding from the BFI.
Vision Portraits will be available online 15 to 21 June. Tickets are priced on a sliding scale £0-£8 on a pay what you can basis. To book, please use the button below. We will email a link to the film to ticket holders and this will be available to view/experience at any time between 15 to 21 June.

Access
Film has English audio with English language captions.
Audio description available. We will send the version of Vision Portraits that has audio description built into the soundtrack to all ticket holders.
Film is otherwise relatively accessible to blind and partially sighted audiences with some visual storytelling but a reasonable amount of explanatory dialogue and voiceover and bright images.
Age recommendation of N/C 12+.
Content note: Discussion of ableism.
Live Q&A with BSL interpretation and live captioning.

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

Sqifflix: TRANSFINITE + shorts
2020-06-25 00:00 - 2020-06-28 23:30
TRANSFINITE is a sci-fi omnibus feature film by Neelu Bhuman composed of seven standalone short stories where supernatural trans and queer people from various cultures use their powers to protect, love, teach, fight, and thrive. Most of us have been in situations where we feel completely powerless and deeply frustrated with the unfairness of it all. Sometimes we have lost control of life and sometimes we find a way to use our rage, resentment, and frustrations to grow a beautiful garden. In TRANSFINITE, the protagonists, like smooth warriors, choose to find that inner power and use it to transform undesirable situations into desirable ones in a snap.
Screening with shorts FETISH and Something In The Closet. In Topher Campbell’s FETISH a multi-dimensional being bestrides the streets of New York in defiance and celebration as he embodies the past, present and future of Blackness. Featuring a mesmerising original score by Mercury Prize Award Winner’s Young fathers. Something In The Closet directed by Nosa Eke is about a queer teenager struggling with her sexuality, as desires manifest their way from the depths of her eerie closet into reality.
We are pleased to be hosting a live discussion with Black queer UK artists’ responses to the films on Saturday 27 June at 7pm. The discussion will take place on SQIFF’s Facebook page at facebook.com/sqiff. Hosted by writer and programmer Harvey Dimond with filmmaker Nosa Eke and other guests tbc.

In partnership with LGBT Health & Wellbeing. Supported by Film Hub Scotland, part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, and funded by Screen Scotland and Lottery funding from the BFI.
TRANSFINITE + shorts will be available online 25 to 28 June. Tickets are priced on a sliding scale £0-£8 on a pay what you can basis. Films are viewable within UK and Ireland only. To book, please use the button below. We will email a link to the film to ticket holders and this will be available to view at any time between 25 to 28 June.

Access
Films have English, Navajo, Swahili, Spanish, Asura (in Japanese), and Tagalog audio with English language subtitles or captions.
Films are less accessible to blind and partially sighted audiences with lots of visual storytelling and large non-English language sections.
Loud and abrasive sound effects throughout the films.
Age recommendation of N/C 15+.
Content note: Discussion of racism including anti-blackness and violence; depiction of homophobia, transphobia, racism including anti-blackness, mild and/or animated violence, nudity, sex, vomit, and urine.
Live discussion with BSL interpretation and live captioning.

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.

SQIFF 2020 Opening Film: Pride & Protest
2020-10-05 19:00 - 21:15
Pride & Protest is a documentary about QTIPOC communities and activists in Britain today and struggles surrounding the politics of desire, self-care, and found family. In the wake of the Birmingham protests against LGBTIQ+ relationship education in primary schools, director Blaise Singh follows various queer people of colour as they challenge homophobia and racism in their communities. They speak out against internalised shame and lack of representation, and we follow them trying to figure out their place in the world in the build up to UK Black Pride.
We are screening the film as a live watch party on Zoom. We are very happy to be joined by director Blaise Singh for a Q&A after the film. Pride & Protest will also be available on SQIFF’s Vimeo on Demand channel between 5 and 18 October.
Tickets are on a sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, or £8. 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 screening has an age recommendation of N/C 15+.
The film has English audio with English language captions. BSL interpretation and live captioning provided for introduction and Q&A.
This event has 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 film has lots of dialogue and voiceover, all English language, and mostly bright images.
The film is 90 minutes long with a 10 minute introduction at the start, a 5 minute comfort break after the film, and a Q&A lasting approximately 30 minutes.
Content notes: Discussion of racism, homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia; depiction of homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, and brief racist violence.
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.
Tickets
Tickets for most live events are on a sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, or £8. Our sliding scale allows you to choose what to pay based on what you feel you can afford. No evidence or proof of circumstances is required. If you can afford to pay more, we really appreciate it as we rely on this income to pay queer people fairly for their work and keep the festival going.

Watch Party: Tchindas
2020-10-06 19:00 - 21:30
Tchindas explores queer identity and acceptance in the Cape Verde archipelago, and follows Tchinda, a transgender woman who is a national heroine, as she prepares for Carnival month. The camera closely follows Tchinda and her cohorts – an engaging, closely knit group of trans women and gay men – as they take the lead in preparing their neighbourhood for the festivities. Screening with short The Whole World is Turning (21m) by Ada M. Patterson.
Followed by a conversation with Ada M. Patterson examining the themes raised. Ada M. Patterson (Bridgetown, 1994) is a visual artist and writer based between Barbados, London and Rotterdam. They work with masquerade, textiles, performance, video and poetry, telling new stories or rethinking old stories in new recuperative ways. Click here for Ada’s Instagram.
Part of Islands and Oceans curated by Harvey Dimond. Tchindas and The Whole World is Turning will also be available on SQIFF’s Vimeo on Demand channel between 5 and 18 October. Supported by Film Hub Scotland, part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, and funded by Screen Scotland and Lottery funding from the BFI.
Tickets are on a sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, or £8. 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 screening has an age recommendation of N/C 15+.
The films have Cape Verdean Creole audio with English language captions. BSL interpretation and live captioning provided for introduction and Q&A.
The films are 115 minutes long with a brief introduction at the start, a 5 minute comfort break after the film, and a discussion lasting approximately 30 minutes.
Content notes: discussion of homophobia, transphobia, and swearing.
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[at]sqiff.org.
If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2020, please contact info[at]sqiff.org.
Tickets
Tickets for most live events are on a sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, or £8. Our sliding scale allows you to choose what to pay based on what you feel you can afford. No evidence or proof of circumstances is required. If you can afford to pay more, we really appreciate it as we rely on this income to pay queer people fairly for their work and keep the festival going.

Workshop: Filmmaking with Wahala Film Fund
2020-10-08 18:00 - 19:30
Wahala Film Fund is a short film completion fund for Queer, Transgender, and Intersex People of Colour filmmakers based in UK, Europe, and the Global South. Wahala’s aim is to challenge the pervasiveness of the marginalisation of Queer People of Colour within films and film industries and also empower the many talented QTIPOC filmmakers who struggle to make work, or who stop continuing to make work because of the systemic pressures we face in actualising work which prioritises QTIPOC people in front of and behind the camera. Wahala co-founders and filmmakers Campbell X and Neelu Bhuman will lead this workshop for queer filmmakers of colour to find their voice and discuss their place in the industry.
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
This workshop has an age recommendation of 18+.
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 90 minutes 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.

Watch Party: Tongues Untied
2020-10-08 20:30 - 22:15
In his own words, Marlon Riggs aimed to shatter the “nation’s brutalizing silence on matters of sexual and racial difference” with his 1989 film Tongues Untied. A challenging and captivating work, many of Riggs’ key messages still resonate with the Black queer experience in the USA and Europe.
Screening with Beyond ‘There’s always a black issue Dear’ by Claire Lawrie, exploring and celebrating black LGBT identities to demarcate the huge influence that Black LGBT culture has had upon Fashion, Fine art, Dance, Music and Language, much of which has been appropriated by the cultural mainstream.
Curated by Harvey Dimond, who will introduce the event. Presented in partnership with Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER) for Black History Month.

Tickets are on a sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, or £8. 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+.
The films have English audio with English language captions. BSL interpretation and live captioning provided for introduction.
The films are 90 minutes long with a brief introduction at the start.
Content notes: discussion of racism including anti-Blackness, homophobia, and transphobia: depiction of nudity and violence.

Tongues Untied contains some abrasive sound effects and disorientating 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.
Tickets
Tickets for most live events are on a sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, or £8. Our sliding scale allows you to choose what to pay based on what you feel you can afford. No evidence or proof of circumstances is required. If you can afford to pay more, we really appreciate it as we rely on this income to pay queer people fairly for their work and keep the festival going.

Watch Party: The Wound + South African Shorts
2020-10-13 19:00 - 21:30
Despite a rich queer history and long fight to guarantee the rights of queer people under the first democratic government of Nelson Mandela, queer and trans South Africans face many challenges, which intersect with class and cultural identities. This screening attests to those challenges but demonstrates that love and support comes from surprising and subversive places. The Wound explores the relationship between traditional Xhosa initiation rituals and queer identity, also alluded to in My Transgender Life (12m) by Yonela Simetu. The Men Who Speak Gayle (11m) celebrates a secret language used during the apartheid era to hide queer identities from the authorities.
Curated by Harvey Dimond and followed by a Q&A with Yonela Simetu, a Cape Town-based filmmaker and the director of My Transgender Life. Supported by Film Hub Scotland, part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, and funded by Screen Scotland and Lottery funding from the BFI.

Tickets are on a sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, or £8. 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+.
The films have Xhosa and English audio with English language captions. BSL interpretation and live captioning provided for introduction and Q&A.
The films are 2 hours long with a brief introduction at the start and a 30 minute Q&A after the films.
Content notes: discussion of racism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, swearing, and violence; depiction of nudity, sex, violence, blood, death, and graphic depictions of animal slaughter.
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.
Tickets
Tickets for most live events are on a sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, or £8. Our sliding scale allows you to choose what to pay based on what you feel you can afford. No evidence or proof of circumstances is required. If you can afford to pay more, we really appreciate it as we rely on this income to pay queer people fairly for their work and keep the festival going.

Workshop: Queer Speculative Fiction with Katalina Watt
2020-10-14 18:00 - 19:00
Katalina Watt is an Edinburgh-based author and publisher with a background in digital publishing, copywriting, and bookselling. A champion of representative voices and stories, she has been published in various anthologies and magazines, and was longlisted for Penguin Random House UK’s 2020 Write Now programme. She is currently working on her debut Horror-Fantasy short story collection inspired by folklore of the Philippine islands. As part of the festival’s focus on all things speculative and fantastic, this informal event will feature an introduction to Katalina’s work, discussions around representation in new writing, and a chance for writers in the audience to talk through some next steps on what to do with their own work.
With thanks to the Scottish BAME Writers Network.

Tickets are on a sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, or £8. 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 workshop has an age recommendation of 15+.
BSL interpretation and live captioning are provided for the workshop.
The workshop is 1 hour 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.

Watch Party: Lesbian Shorts by Shu Lea Cheang
2020-10-14 21:00 - 22:00
Shu Lea Cheang’s work from the early-to-mid 1990s demonstrated an exciting fusion of identity politics and erotic exploration, making her one of the period’s most prominent queer media artists.
This collection presents two of her solo works and two collaborations, alongside a Q&A with Cheang hosted by scholar and critic B. Ruby Rich.
Part of our Shu Lea Cheang Retrospective, Cruising the Future. Cheang is a multi-media artist working in experimental video and net art since the early 1980s. Her work deals with the techno body, queer erotics and politics, race relations, and governmental and institutional power. Click here to access Cheang’s 2000 feature film I.K.U. on our Vimeo on Demand. Click here to access Fluidø (2017).

Tickets are on a sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, or £8. To book, click the button below. We will send out a Zoom link for the event to ticket holders on the day.

ACCESS
This screening has an age recommendation of N/C 18+.
The films have Japanese and English audio with English language captions. BSL interpretation and live captioning provided for introduction and Q&A.
Content notes: discussion of cancer, death, and sex; depiction of nudity and sex.
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.

PROGRAMME
Sex Fish (6m)
Dir: Shu Lea Cheang, Country: USA, Year: 1993, Language/s: English
An erotic lesbian video involving swimming upstream, female power, and fish love. Made as a collaboration under the name E.T. (Ela Troyano) Baby (Jane Castle) Maniac (Cheang).
“In Sex Fish water provides the common denominator for nature imagery and explicit sex. Unlike 1970s feminist imagery, however, nature is sexualized rather than sex naturalized. Dripping from the faucet, spraying against a shower curtain, swirling down a toilet, water leads viewers from one sex scene to another, private to public and back again. Swimming through the video are various fish, seemingly unaware of the derogatory pun they enact, and all gulping enviously as cunnilingus surrounds them.”
—Chris Straayer, Deviant Eyes, Deviant Bodies: Sexual Re-orientations in Film and Video (New York: Columbia University Press, 1996)
Sex Bowl (8m)
Dir: Shu Lea Cheang, Country: USA, Year: 1994, Language/s: English
All forms of human sport become sites for sexual play and celebratory eroticism.
“The tape’s images are quick, suggestive, and sexy: fingers moving into bowling balls, shoe-smelling and toe-sucking, a dog wearing chain jewelry, fish being wrapped at the market, young naked couples having sex…. Edited like a music video, the image track is a constant flow of fetishes that lure us into the promiscuous pace of girls who keep lists of their sexual encounters.”
—Chris Straayer, Deviant Eyes, Deviant Bodies: Sexual Re-orientations in Film and Video (New York: Columbia University Press, 1996)
Fingers and Kisses (5m)
Dir: Shu Lea Cheang, Country: Japan, Year: 1995, Language/s: Japanese, English
Cheang has taken her camera to the streets for a candid glimpse of lesbian public sexuality. If Asian women and lesbians share a certain amount of invisibility in the culture, Fingers and Kisses offers not only a bold representation of both, but a challenge to the question “What do lesbians do?” Tokyo’s own out-and-loud music by Chu punctuates the narrative as what begins in the streets continues under the sheets.
Coming Home (5m)
Dir: Shu Lea Cheang, Country: USA, Year: 1995, Language/s: Japanese, English
This humorous video begins with two women—one white, the other Asian—attempting to fit into a Japanese bathtub. The awkward fitting of bodies into a small space is just one of the allegorical scenarios dramatized in a pressing appeal for lesbian rights. In a game of hanafuda (flower cards), the terms of lesbian domesticity are cleverly played out according to such legalities as joint property, social security, and pensions.

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.

Watch Party: The Cancer Journals Revisited
2020-10-16 18:00 - 20:10
The Cancer Journals Revisited is prompted by 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. At the invitation of filmmaker Lana Lin, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010, twenty-seven writers, artists, activists, health care advocates, and current and former patients recite Lorde’s manifesto aloud on camera, collectively dramatising it and producing an oration for the screen. The film is both a critical commentary and a poetic reflection upon the precarious conditions of survival within the intimate and politicised public sphere of illness.
Followed by a Q&A with director Lana Lin hosted by Anahit Behrooz. Anahit is an arts journalist based in Edinburgh, currently working as events editor at The Skinny and commissioning editor at Bella Caledonia, with bylines in The List, Girls on Tops, and Club des Femmes among others. Presented in partnership with Scottish Documentary Institute.

Tickets are on a sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, or £8. 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+.
The films have English, Spanish, and German audio with English language captions. BSL interpretation and live captioning provided for introduction and Q&A.
The film is 98 minutes long with a brief introduction at the start, a 5 minute comfort break after the film, and a 30 minute Q&A.
Content notes: discussion of racism including anti-Blackness, violence, cancer, and death.
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.
Tickets
Tickets for most live events are on a sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, or £8. Our sliding scale allows you to choose what to pay based on what you feel you can afford. No evidence or proof of circumstances is required. If you can afford to pay more, we really appreciate it as we rely on this income to pay queer people fairly for their work and keep the festival going.

Call & Response: Reading and Writing for the Future
2020-10-18 14:00 - 16:00
A workshop and reading group led by Martha Williams. The discussion and activities will be based around one or more of the texts selected for the Many Black Moons Ago, To Go programme. Texts will be sent to participants prior to the workshop.
The workshop is for Black people only.
Martha Adonai Williams is a writer, facilitator, and community organiser. She is a coordinator for the Black Feminist Bookshop and runs the Black womxn/non-binary writing space, Call+Response.

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 an age recommendation of 18+.
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.
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.

Unsettled: Seeking Refuge in America
2021-02-03 - 2021-02-18
Unsettled: Seeking Refuge in America is a feature-length documentary revealing the untold stories of LGBT refugees and asylum seekers who have fled intense persecution from their home countries and who are resettling in the United States. As leadership in America continues to demonize immigrants and drastically restrict the flow of refugees and asylum seekers into the U.S., Unsettled follows Subhi, a gay Syrian refugee, Cheyenne and Mari, a lesbian couple from Angola, and Junior, a gender non-conforming gay man from the Congo, struggling to create new lives for themselves.
Click here to rent Unsettled on our Vimeo on Demand channel up until 17 February. You can rent the film on our pay what you can sliding scale of free to £8. Please note the film is only available to rent within the UK.
We are holding two free online events to discuss the themes of the film and the situation for LGBTQ+ asylum seekers in the UK on 4 and 11 February. To book for our discussion 7-8pm on Thursday 11 February with Leni Candan from UK Lesbian & Gay Immigration Group and Solomon Adebayo LGBT Unity Scotland responding to the film, click the button below. We will send out a Zoom link for the event to ticket holders on the day.

Presented in partnership with LGBT Unity Scotland, a community-led group providing essential support to LGBTQIA+ refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants, and Scottish Borders LGBT Equality for LGBT History Month. 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.

ACCESS
The film and events have an age recommendation of N/C 12+.
The film has English audio with English language captions. Live captioning provided for online discussions.
The film has quite a lot of dialogue and voiceover, all English language, and mostly bright images.
The film is 84 minutes long. Each discussion event is 1 hour long.
Content notes: Discussion and depiction of homophobic violence, honour-based violence, trauma, emotional distress, and substance abuse.

If you have any questions about accessibility for the film and events, please contact info@sqiff.org.
Film rental price

Rental of the film on our Vimeo on Demand is on a sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, or £8. Our sliding scale allows you to choose what to pay based on what you feel you can afford. No evidence or proof of circumstances is required. If you can afford to pay more, we really appreciate it as we rely on this income to pay queer people fairly for their work and keep the festival going.

Pride & Protest: Live Watch Party + Q&A with director Blaise Singh
2021-02-20 18:00 - 20:00
Pride & Protest is a documentary about QTIPOC communities and activists in Britain today and struggles surrounding the politics of desire, self-care, and found family. In the wake of the Birmingham protests against LGBTIQ+ relationship education in primary schools, director Blaise Singh follows various queer people of colour as they challenge homophobia and racism in their communities. They speak out against internalised shame and lack of representation, and we follow them trying to figure out their place in the world in the build up to UK Black Pride.
The film will screen on Zoom as a live watch party followed by a Q&A with director Blaise Singh and other members of the cast and crew. We will send out a Zoom link for the event to ticket holders on the day. We are partnering with An Lanntair to host this event to mark LGBT History Month 2021 this February.
This event is a ‘Pay What You Can’ event – come for free or pay what you can afford. To book, click the button below or call An Lanntair on 01851 708 480.

ACCESS
The film is English language with captions and the Q&A will have live captions available. The event is suitable for ages 12+. If you have any questions or access requests for this event, please get in touch by emailing info@sqiff.org.
Content notes: Discussion of racism, homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia; depiction of homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, and brief racist violence.

Sanctuary shorts in association with SQIFF + Q+A
2021-10-03 18:00 - 20:00 | Online
This community-curated programme* explores the acceptance of identity, self, and of the world around us, while highlighting the universal experience of being queer–with a special focus on being lesbian. The films’ instinctive narratives show the lows of being ‘othered’, and the highs of finding a safe space within that, no matter what age, country, or time period. Join us for powerfully diverse stories, told with heart, honesty, and a perfect amount of humour. You’ll leave the event with a new community of queer film-lovers: your very own sanctuary.
*Back in July, Sanctuary collaborated with SQIFF producer and co-founder Helen Wright to offer 2 online workshops for LGBTQIA+ people, aged 18+, to learn about film programming. Participants worked together to watch a selection of queer short films and make decisions about a final shorts programme. Thanks to Ewan McPherson, Kate Hammer, Liam Rees, JD Stewart, Merik Tiz, Ben Cave, Beth Cooper, Jonathan McLean, Vee Smith and Sand Owsnett.
This is a free event. Book tickets using the button below.

ACCESS
We’ll be using Zoom Webinar for this screening event and Q&A. Audience members will be able to interact with the discussion through the chat function. Once you book a ticket you’ll be sent a link to access the event, 24 hours before the event starts.
The films are in a mixture of spoken languages with English language captions and the Q&A will have live captions and BSL-English interpretation available. The event is suitable for ages 16+. If you have any questions or access requests for this event, please get in touch by emailing info@sqiff.org.
The total films running time is 1 hour 25 minutes.
This film and discussion may include reference to: mental health breakdown, homophobia, transphobia, alcohol or substance addiction. We appreciate this list is not comprehensive and encourage you to confidentially get in touch if there is a particular subject matter not listed you wish to avoid: hello@sanctuaryqueerarts.com.
PROGRAMME
The Way We Are (16m)
Dir: Amanda Ann-Min Wong, Country: Canada, Year: 2020, Language/s:
English
“The Way We Are” shares excerpts of stories from audio interviews with 4 queer Asian women: Katherine Chun, Wenda Li, Tamai Kobayashi, and Nancy Seto. Told in the present-tense, these stories are arranged in a way that explores the past as the present, and in doing so, immersing viewers into the real-lived experiences from a different generation.

A Story of Wedding (27m)
Dir: Wei Zhao, Country: France, Year: 2021, Language/s: Mandarin
To satisfy their families, Huanlin, a gay man, and Ziqiao, a lesbian, have agreed to have a marriage of convenience, which will be held online due to the pandemic. In addition, they have also agreed to have and raise a baby together. However, this decision is changing their lives before they know it.

Fora de Época | Out of Place (13m)
Dir: Drica Czech, Laís Catalano Aranha, Country: Brazil, Year: 2020,
Language/s: Portuguese
2018: Brazil’s general election. Emotionally shaken by the possibility of Bolsonaro being elected, a young lesbian takes refuge in her family’s farm. As she tries to understand why her mother spent the last days of her life alone in the old house, she is faced with revelations about her own story.

Subjekträume (Subject Spaces) (29m) Dir: Kat Voss, Country: Germany, Year: 2020, Language/s: German
Leather, metal, fur: Pelze Multimedia, West Berlin 1981-1996, provided a space for art, musix, sex parties, experiments. A glimpse into an almost forgotten site of lesbian/queer history.

Immigrant Stories with LGBT Unity Scotland SOLD OUT
2022-10-21 15:00 - 17:30 | Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2 3JD, United Kingdom
This screening is a raw look into queer immigrant stories. Who I Am Now follows a conversation between two teammates, Tariq and Denise, talking about their trans refugee identities and sharing their stories about friends and family. No Hard Feelings presents a love story between Parvis, the son of exiled Iranians, and Amon who has fled Iran and is seeking asylum in Germany with his sister. This screening powerfully captures intersectional queer and refugee identities, with the two films complementing each other in exploring aspects of the family we’re born intro and the families we make from our friends.
Presented in partnership with LGBT Unity Scotland, a community-led group providing essential support to LGBTQIA+ refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants. 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.
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 the button below or call the CCA Box Office on 0141 352 4900.

Accessibility:
Live Captioning
Closed Captions
Induction Loop
BSL-English Interpreter
Wheelchair Accessible
Quiet Space in the Intermedia Lab at the CCA
Audience Travel and Access Fund
All films have subtitles and/or closed captions in English. Films for this programme are in the following languages: Arabic, English, German, Persian.
If you would like to discuss any access needs, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org.

Content Notes:
Depictions: nudity, sex, racism, flashing lights, homophobia
Descriptions: transphobia

Framing Agnes + Conversation at Eden Court, Inverness
2023-04-22 18:00 - 20:00
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. The panel will be hosted by Mal Fraser, a participatory artist, filmmaker and facilitator from the Highlands who currently facilitates the Queer Youth Arts Collective online with Eden Court. They are passionate about utilising the arts to build nurturing and accessible community spaces, and loves chatting about queer films and stories.
Curated by Indigo Korres.
Tickets are available on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, or £10. To book, click the button below.

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.
Presented in partnership with Highland Pride, Inverness Kiki Family, and Queer Youth Arts Collective.
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.

Framing Agnes + Conversation at Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling
2023-05-11 19:00 - 21:00
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.
This event is presented in partnership with Stirling Trans Collective, Stirling LGBTQ+ Society and LGBT Youth Scotland.
Curated by Indigo Korres.
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £4.50, £6.50, £8.50. To book, click the button below.

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.
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.

Framing Agnes + Conversation at GFT Glasgow
2023-05-12 20:15 - 22:30 | Glasgow Film Theatre, 12 Rose Street, Glasgow, G3 6RB, United Kingdom
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 on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £2, £4, £6, £8, or £10. To book, click the button below or call the GFT Box Office on 0141 332 6535.

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.
Live Captioning available for the introduction and 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.

Note:
These events were originally scheduled to take place at CCA, Glasgow. We decided to postpone our Trans-Generational Tour events in Glasgow after three weeks of demonstrations at Saramago (the independent bar & restaurant at CCA), with no sign of a resolution. SQIFF stands in solidarity with the workers and supports them and Clydeside IWW in their actions against Saramago.
