SQIFF

Halloween Night: The Serpent's Skin
2025-10-31 21:00 - 23:00 UTC | The Social Hub, The Social Hub, Candleriggs Square, Glasgow, G1 1TQ
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Join us for a ghoulishly good night of queer horror at SQIFF’s Halloween screening! This chilling double bill sinks its teeth into the monstrous and the sensual, the grotesque and the beautiful.
First up is ¡Beso de lengua! by José Luiz Zorrero, a surreal and seductive descent into a world where desire takes monstrous form. Then, The Serpent’s Skin by Alice Maio Mackay slithers into darker territory, weaving a tale of trans identity, vengeance, and the supernatural, with all the blood-soaked camp you’d expect from a Mackay horror.
Both films push the boundaries of body, gender, and genre, creating a perfect night of queer frights and delights. The fabulous Jaye Hudson from TGirlsOnFilm will introduce the films and host a Best Halloween Costume Competition! Come dressed to impress for a chance to win a pint of SQIFF and Closet Brewing’s Director’s Cut. Let’s celebrate Halloween the queerest way we know how!
Curated by Indigo Korres.

Click here to book your ticket for this event
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £4, £8, £12, £16, or £20, in order to make SQIFF more accessible to those on a low income. 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! Please find the ‘What Should I Pay?’ guidance here.

Accessibility
This programme has:

English, Spanish audio with English language Descriptive Subtitles
English-BSL interpretation for introduction and costume competition. The interpreter for this event is Lisa Li.
Live Captioning for introduction and costume competition

This screening is 98 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 18+.
If you require access seating please get in touch. Access seating includes: wheelchair spaces, bean bag seating, sitting in the front row / in the aisle / at the back. If you need any other provisions, please let us know by emailing info@sqiff.org with your name, ticket information and access request. If you are attending with companions and they need seating with you please also let us know. We will provide one free PA ticket for people who require any type of assistance (all tickets are pay what you can). We will do our best to work with you whilst also managing the capacity of each venue. Thank you for working with us on this.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2025 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2025, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.

Films in this programme include:
¡Beso de lengua!, Dir. José Luis Zorrero, 2024, Mexico, 15 min
Itzcóatl and Moisés are on their first date. After a couple of hours of getting to know each other, they both “play” a very unusual and riveting game that strengthens their romantic chemistry.
Content notes: Depiction of blood, hospitalisation, wounds.

The Serpent’s Skin, Dir. Alice Maio Mackay, 2025, Australia, 83 min
Two young women form a romantic bond after discovering they have supernatural powers. Their insecurities unknowingly release a demon, which possesses one of their exes and begins feeding on their friends. As the bodies pile up, it becomes up to the women to face their pasts and stop the growing evil.
Content notes: Depiction of alcohol use, blood, cigarette use, death, drug use, gore, self-harm, sex.
Access notes: Flashing imagery, flashing lights.

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

Supported by Screen Scotland, the BFI Audience Projects Fund and Film Hub Scotland (part of the BFI Film Audience Network), all awarding National Lottery funding.

Image Credit: The Serpent’s Skin, Dir. Alice Maio Mackay, 2025

Queer Freedom
2025-11-01 10:00 - 12:00 UTC | The Social Hub, The Social Hub, Candleriggs Square, Glasgow, G1 1TQ
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Oska Brights very own Head Programmer, Matthew Hellett is back at SQIFF with a fearless, unapologetic celebration of Learning Disabled and autistic filmmakers stories, who are reshaping cinema with their unique voices, powerful stories, and visionary perspectives. He presents a specially curated programme of some of his highlights from over the years at Oska Bright Film Festival. After the screening, stay tuned for a special conversation hosted by Stella Nicholson with Matthew Hellett.
Curated by Matthew Hellett.

Click here to book your ticket for this event
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £4, £8, £12, £16, or £20, in order to make SQIFF more accessible to those on a low income. 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! Please find the ‘What Should I Pay?’ guidance here.

Accessibility
This programme has:

English audio with English language Descriptive Subtitles
English-BSL interpretation for introduction and panel discussion. The interpreter for this event is Lou Hanson.
Live Captioning for introduction and panel discussion

This screening is 54 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 15+.
If you require access seating please get in touch. Access seating includes: wheelchair spaces, bean bag seating, sitting in the front row / in the aisle / at the back. If you need any other provisions, please let us know by emailing info@sqiff.org with your name, ticket information and access request. If you are attending with companions and they need seating with you please also let us know. We will provide one free PA ticket for people who require any type of assistance (all tickets are pay what you can). We will do our best to work with you whilst also managing the capacity of each venue. Thank you for working with us on this.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2025 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2025, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.

Films in this programme include:
Just Me, Dir. Mattie Kennedy, 2014, United Kingdom, 3 min
A film about individual identities and family ties, Versions is made through the technique of stop-motion and collage in which the filmmaker uses various silhouettes, which could potentially represent rebirth.
Content notes: Discussion of ableism.

Izzy Aman: The Joy of Drag, Dir. Isabella Walton, 2023, United Kingdom, 13 min
This film explores the rich expressive world of drag kinging through the experience of one individual: Isabel Adomakoh Young, known as Izzy Aman in the drag world.
Content notes: Discussion of patriarchy, racism, toxic masculinity.

Coming out Autistic, Dir. Steven Fraser, 2023, United Kingdom, 4 min
Coming out Autistic is a short animated documentary that explores the experience of telling the world that you are autistic when you also identify as LGBTQ+.

S.A.M., Dirs. Neil Ely, Lloyd Eyre-Morgan, 2020, United Kingdom, 16 min
S.A.M. is a short drama film in which two teenagers bond after meeting in a park after school.
Content notes: Depiction of ableism.

Sparkle, Dir. Matthew Hellett, 2008, United Kingdom, 3 min
Sparkle, made by Matthew Hellett, charts his transformation into a glamorous alternative persona, the drag queen Mrs. Sparkle.

(Un)fit to Work, Dir. Yasmin Godo, 2023, United Kingdom, 5 min
A disabled mechanic takes us on a musical journey of 80s disco & ballroom through his imagination after he’s denied access to apply for the job he’s best suited for at his local job center.
Content notes: Depiction of ableism.

Born to Dance with an Extra Chromosome: the Drag Queens (and Kings) with Down’s Syndrome, Dir. Nikolay Nikolov, 2020, United Kingdom, 10 min
Born to dance with an extra chromosome: the drag queens (and kings) with Down syndrome. This short film follows Drag Syndrome during a performance at the Ace Hotel in East London.

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

Supported by Screen Scotland, the BFI Audience Projects Fund and Film Hub Scotland (part of the BFI Film Audience Network), all awarding National Lottery funding.

Image Credit: Izzy Aman: The Joy of Drag, Dir. Isabella Walton, 2023

Craft Fair
2025-11-01 12:00 - 17:00 UTC | The Social Hub, The Social Hub, Candleriggs Square, Glasgow, G1 1TQ
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We are proud to announce SQIFF’s Craft Fair is coming back! The fair hosts local queer artists selling their works. Expect a range of media, all in one room. Come and meet some of the best local creatives and treat yourself to a crafty souvenir from our 2025 festival!

Artists in the fair include:

Greenbananas_420: Hank is a queer mixed media textile artist and tooth gem technician from Glasgow. Using mainly crochet and embroidery inspired by memories, memes and nature.
PJ Harper: PJ Harper (he/him) is a Glasgow-based artist and sculptor whose practice explores beauty, mythology, and storytelling through figurative polymer clay sculpture and illustration. His work celebrates Blackness, queerness, and personal heritage, blending fine art with playful, character-driven creations.
Croissant Cat Studio: Mith Chahal (they/them) is an illustrator and polymer clay artist based in Glasgow. They make prints and stickers of their illustration work and handmade bakery-themed collectibles.
Nina: Nina is a Scottish/Brazilian artist based in Glasgow. Inspired by folklore, mythology, film, and childhood memories she creates playful and wearable sculptures that explore identity and our relationship to the world. By combining traditional metalworking techniques with experimental methods her work uses jewellery as a tool to share stories, decorate bodies and empower the wearer.

Nytastic: Ny Ali (she/her) is a Hijabi muslim artist who specialises in comics, illustration and sells products such as prints, wooden pins, badges and crochet plushies. She has a HND in illustration and has been selling her wares online and conventions, comic and market events. You can find her hiding under her table at conventions or on her social media.

Sunday: Sunday is a trans Masc artist born and bred in Glasgow. He works with different clay bodies shifting them into organic-rugged shapes that encapsulate different elements of nature deteriorating. You will find his recent and upcoming works resembling his deepest admirations such as rock formations, mould, mud, moss and rust.
Art of Birdie Studio: Art of Birdie Studio is a queer, PoC-led visual arts studio based in Scotland, crafting change through intersectional feminist and decolonial design. From witty illustrated stickers to bold activist artwork, we celebrate authenticity, joy, and justice through accessible creative expression.
Medb: Born in Canada under the sign of Taurus, and raised in post-conflict Northern Ireland, medb is a multi-disciplinary artist, beauty and socialite taking Glasgow by storm. With a mix of esoteric wit and heart-wrenching earnestness, her work concerns such novelties as sex, death, nostalgia, celebrity, and, ultimately, the ache inside which can never be filled! Her self-published project Thumb Suck Girl is an annual photobook of fashion photography, art and creative writing, that aims to platform voices from underrepresented backgrounds in traditional media.

… and many more!

Curated by Nat Lall and Huss.

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

Image Credit: Ocean Teal

Re:Frame
2025-11-01 12:30 - 14:30 UTC | The Social Hub, The Social Hub, Candleriggs Square, Glasgow, G1 1TQ
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This special screening showcases bold and original short films created by participants of the SQIFF Filmmaking Workshops for Trans and Non-Binary People, led by artist and filmmaker Erica Monde. Delivered in collaboration with Scottish Trans, the workshops offered a series of collaborative sessions where participants explored storytelling, visual language, and filmmaking techniques in a supportive, trans-led space. The result is a powerful collection of short works that reflect the diversity, complexity, and creativity of trans and non-binary lives and perspectives. From personal reflection to experimental narrative, these films challenge the mainstream gaze and reclaim the frame through authentic self-expression. Whether playful, political, poetic, or all of the above, each piece is a testament to the value of community-centred filmmaking and the importance of trans voices in cinema. Join us in celebrating these emerging filmmakers and the stories they’ve chosen to share with the world. There will be a Q&A with the filmmakers following the screening.
Hosted by Erica Monde.

Click here to book your ticket for this event
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £4, £8, £12, £16, or £20, in order to make SQIFF more accessible to those on a low income. 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! Please find the ‘What Should I Pay?’ guidance here.

Accessibility
This programme has:

English and Portuguese audio with English language Descriptive Subtitles
English-BSL interpretation for introduction and panel discussion. The interpreter for this event is Louise Rodgers.
Live Captioning for introduction and panel discussion

This screening is 58 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 18+.
If you require access seating please get in touch. Access seating includes: wheelchair spaces, bean bag seating, sitting in the front row / in the aisle / at the back. If you need any other provisions, please let us know by emailing info@sqiff.org with your name, ticket information and access request. If you are attending with companions and they need seating with you please also let us know. We will provide one free PA ticket for people who require any type of assistance (all tickets are pay what you can). We will do our best to work with you whilst also managing the capacity of each venue. Thank you for working with us on this.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2025 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2025, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.

Films in this programme include:
Pretty Sick, Dirs. Zed Von Benzon, Aster Emschild, 2025, United Kingdom, 10 min
Glasgow-based disability advocate and artist Sara, who masked before COVID, creates bold glittering mask jewelry, transforming survival symbols into defiance and hope. This intimate documentary explores ongoing pandemic impacts on those still masking, weaving together disability, activism, and fashion while advocating for visibility and inclusion.
Content notes: Discussion of Covid-19 pandemic.

Modernism/Us, Dir. Morgan Black, 2025, United Kingdom, 14 min
Two lovers – Isla and Tris – find themselves emotionally, verbally and physically dancing around the consummation of their mutual affections. Driven by music, they discuss and express their feelings for each other in a series of vignettes, leading towards an emotional and ultimately fulfilling climax.
Content notes: Depiction of nudity.

Thresh/olding, Dir. Deviji Jaani-Jaan, 2025, United Kingdom, 5 min
Thresh/olding is an experimental film dreaming the QTIPoC body through poetry, movement, selkies and mangroves roots as radical, fecund sites of queer and trans resilience and resistance.

WORM, Dirs. Lish Adam, Jules Brick, Jo Hauge, Cal Mowatt, 2025, United Kingdom, 13 min
I want to share a body with you and also with a worm. Worms can feel with their whole bodies.
Content notes: Depiction of sensual language.

Bianca, Dir. Priscila Fróes, 2025, United Kingdom, 8 min
A trans woman blends documentary footage of her past as a sex worker in Porto Alegre and Rio de Janeiro with experimental visuals and a hybrid soundscape to transform marginalised memories into a powerful act of cinematic reclamation.
Content notes: Depiction of sex work, stalking.
Access notes: Distorted imagery.

Lock In, Dir. Louis Utieyin, 2025, United Kingdom, 8 min
JJ decides to try out a new spiritual retreat because they are struggling with their mental health. 24 hours later they are in an interrogation room and try to make sense of what happened at the retreat. Reality and imagination begin to blur. What is real and what is fake?
Content notes: Discussion of mental health, murder.

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

Supported by Screen Scotland, the BFI Audience Projects Fund and Film Hub Scotland (part of the BFI Film Audience Network), all awarding National Lottery funding.

Image Credit: WORM, Dirs. Lish Adam, Jules Brick, Jo Hauge, Cal Mowatt, 2025

Animation Now
2025-11-01 13:00 - 15:00 UTC | The Social Hub, The Social Hub, Candleriggs Square, Glasgow, G1 1TQ
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Back for the third year ‘Animation Now’ showcases the best of contemporary queer animation. In this screening there are complex and mature characters that challenge the assumption that cartoons are just for kids. We are taken on journeys exploring sex, love, death, parenting and protest. And of course, there are also moments of playfulness, colour and childlike imagination in this selection. Expect everything in this jam packed screening showing 10 films.
Curated by Nat Lall and Huss.

Click here to book your ticket for this event
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £4, £8, £12, £16, or £20, in order to make SQIFF more accessible to those on a low income. 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! Please find the ‘What Should I Pay?’ guidance here.

Accessibility
This programme has:

English and Mandarin Chinese audio with English language Descriptive Subtitles
English-BSL interpretation for introduction and workshop. The interpreter for this event is Lou Hanson.
Live Captioning for introduction and workshop

This screening is 76 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 18+.
If you require access seating please get in touch. Access seating includes: wheelchair spaces, bean bag seating, sitting in the front row / in the aisle / at the back. If you need any other provisions, please let us know by emailing info@sqiff.org with your name, ticket information and access request. If you are attending with companions and they need seating with you please also let us know. We will provide one free PA ticket for people who require any type of assistance (all tickets are pay what you can). We will do our best to work with you whilst also managing the capacity of each venue. Thank you for working with us on this.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2025 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2025, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.

Films in this programme include:
The Last Garden, Dir Eloise Jenninger, 2024, United Kingdom, 8 min
For Henry, the community garden is his escape from the daily toil in the city. However, the day has come for it to be demolished, Henry and his community can’t agree on how to save it.

The Prospectors, episode 1 Pip Pop’s Find, Dir. David Hutchison, 2025, United Kingdom, 10 min
Cat dads Ahab and Gert discover rejuvenating goo on their asteroid, but sharing it leads to capture by space cannibal Sunny Bean.

Two Black Boys In Paradise, Dir. Baz Sells, 2025, United Kingdom, 9 min
A movingly tender animation, based on Dean Atta’s eponymous poem, sees two boys (Edan, 19 and Dula, 18) on a journey of self-acceptance and love – for each other and themselves.
Content notes: Depiction of animated nudity, homophobia, police harassment, racism, sex.

Beacon, Dir. Alicia Brown, 2025, United Kingdom, 2 min
An animation about finding a way home after crash-landing on an unknown planet.

Colour Me Pink, Dir. Anika O’Hagan-Ploug, 2024, Ireland, 3 min
Music Video for indie pop song Colour Me Pink by K E L, created by Anika O’Hagan-Ploug.

Dragfox, Dir. Lisa Ott, 2024, United Kingdom, Switzerland, 8 min
Sam’s search for identity gets interrupted by a mysterious neighbourhood fox. Together they embark on a magical journey to the attic to discover the surprising things they might have in common, and how to celebrate the ways in which they differ.

Falling for Greta, Dir. Gustavo Arteaga, 2023, United Kingdom, 11 min
When love comes knocking Greta’s world is turned upside down. As her passion grows complications follow but change is coming in the shape of water.

Hey Dad, Dir. WeiFan Wang, 2023, Taiwan, 6 min
I’ve practiced these words for 20 years now, but maybe being candid isn’t the best idea. I’m starting my countdown again, another 20 years. Maybe it might be the right time by then.
Access notes: Flashing imagery.

Grand Dandy (For Ezra), Dirs. The Campbells (Jen and Crystal Campbell), 2024, United Kingdom, 4 min
Non-binary grandparent Libro Levi Bridgeman shares tender moments with grandson Ezra while exploring how to explain their queer identity lovingly.

Fried!, Dir. Lizzie Watts, 2025, United Kingdom, 10 min
As Dev drives home from a mysterious, ageing nuclear facility, he becomes stranded at an isolated emu farm run by old mystic lesbians. Suspicious of their intentions, Dev fears they will sacrifice him at the local stone circle.
Content notes: Depiction of animated nudity.
Access notes: Flashing imagery.

Midnight at Mickey’s, Dir. Vin Wolff, 2024, United Kingdom, 5 min
Two tough guys face off in a seedy late-night diner.

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

Supported by Screen Scotland, the BFI Audience Projects Fund and Film Hub Scotland (part of the BFI Film Audience Network), all awarding National Lottery funding.

Image Credit: Two Black Boys In Paradise, Dir. Baz Sells, 2025

Scottish Shorts 2 - SOLD OUT
2025-11-01 15:30 - 17:30 UTC | The Social Hub, The Social Hub, Candleriggs Square, Glasgow, G1 1TQ
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**Please note this event is now sold out – we may be able to release more tickets nearer the screening. We are operating a waiting list for sold out events on the platform Ticket Tailor, where we sell our tickets for SQIFF 2025 – please add your name to the waitlist and you’ll be notified by Ticket Tailor if any tickets become available!**

Returning for another year at the festival, Scottish Shorts 2 is a bold and intimate programme of short films by queer filmmakers working across Scotland. This selection continues to explore the queer Scottish experience through stories shaped by displacement, desire, care, survival, and play.
These films move between personal documentary, narrative storytelling, and experimental textures. Some reflect on home and migration, others explore relationships, identity, and transformation. These films reveal queer lives in all their depth and nuance, telling stories with humour and heart.
At its core, this programme brings forward voices and perspectives too often absent from Scottish screens. It celebrates a growing queer cinema that is rooted, restless, and unapologetically present.
All filmmakers in this screening and in ‘Scottish Shorts 1’ are automatically entered into a competition to win the title of Best Scottish Short. The winner will be announced at the closing screening of SQIFF 2025.
Following the screening, we’ll be joined by the filmmakers for a Q&A to reflect on their work, share insights, and open up space for conversation.
Curated by Nat Lall and Huss.

Click here to book your ticket for this event
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £4, £8, £12, £16, or £20, in order to make SQIFF more accessible to those on a low income. 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! Please find the ‘What Should I Pay?’ guidance here.

Accessibility
This programme has:

Chinese, English, Mandarin audio with English language Descriptive Subtitles
English-BSL interpretation for introduction and panel discussion. The interpreter for this event is Lou Hanson.
Live Captioning for introduction and panel discussion

This screening is 76 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 18+.
If you require access seating please get in touch. Access seating includes: wheelchair spaces, bean bag seating, sitting in the front row / in the aisle / at the back. If you need any other provisions, please let us know by emailing info@sqiff.org with your name, ticket information and access request. If you are attending with companions and they need seating with you please also let us know. We will provide one free PA ticket for people who require any type of assistance (all tickets are pay what you can). We will do our best to work with you whilst also managing the capacity of each venue. Thank you for working with us on this.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2025 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2025, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.

Films in this programme include:
A Journey Of The Leaves, Dir. Yash Zhang, 2024, United Kingdom, 11 min
When memories of his father’s violence chase him from China, a queer filmmaker drifts into an autumn-touched Estonian town. There, a wandering traveler, a bookstore owner, a poet’s living statue, and another queer Chinese soul carrying similar wounds guide him through the scattered pieces of his past.
Content notes: Discussion of violence.

Be Honest!, Dir. Alice Harper, 2025, United Kingdom, 11 min
With a chance to win £100,000 for their ailing child, a couple enter a game show where they must face the most brutal challenge of all — being honest.

Before You Leave, Dir. Louise Thomas, 2024, United Kingdom, 12 min
On the day before her move to Australia, Innes, a veterinarian in her mid-twenties, grapples with mounting uncertainty as she and her sister, Saoirse, navigate the streets of Edinburgh. On this journey, they deliver the last of her belongings to a coworker, an ex-boyfriend, and a childhood friend. Each encounter becomes a poignant reminder of what she’s leaving behind.

Keith, Dir. Steven Fraser, 2024, United Kingdom, 8 min
A Glasgow filmmaker discovers a dead body behind bins and embarks on a phone-based investigation to identify the victim. Using animation techniques exploring social media, apps, and blogs, the film examines neurodiversity and autistic communication styles while building tension toward revealing the deceased person’s name.
Content notes: Depiction of animated nudity, drug use.

Bowl, Dir. John Kelbie, 2025, United Kingdom, 10 min
Arthur is an elderly, quick-witted, gay man who has recently been diagnosed with arthritis. Upon finding out that his old foe and competitor Norma is playing in the upcoming lawn bowls charity match, Arthur seeks the chance to prove himself. He faces many challenges along the way as he bickers with Norma and comes to terms with his illness and the losses he has faced, but with a little help from Norma’s granddaughter Jenn, he is able to confront his past and learn what is truly important to him.
Content notes: Discussion of death, grief, illness, loss.

Cahā, Dir. Chak Hin Leung, 2024, United Kingdom, 10 min
Intimate documentary capturing two immigrants—Indian and Bruneian—meeting in a London teahouse. Over tea (“cahā”), their casual conversation reveals profound stories of sacrifice, identity, and adaptation. The film explores immigrant experiences and colonial tea legacy, showing how this simple ritual creates unexpected connection and understanding across borders.
Content notes: Discussion of colonialism, transphobia.

Changing Homes, Dir. Mano Mandal, 2025, United Kingdom, 6 min
An Indian nonbinary transmasculine person goes to a European beach for the first time since their top surgery. As they sit and read about a historical trans person, they navigate the idea of being shirtless in public for the very first time. While doing so, they reflect on Eurocentric body standards and on their sense of home — in their own body and amidst bodies of water.
Content notes: Depiction of surgery scars. Discussion of gender affirming surgery, racialisation of bodies and European body standards, and relationship with natal family.

First Contact, Dir. James Crang, 2025, United Kingdom, 8 min
In isolation on the moon, a gardener tends to his small patch of life. When another person appears, he is forced to confront his fears of connection. Will he nurture a bond that could bring light to his lonely existence, or will his anxiety keep him in darkness?

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

Supported by Screen Scotland, the BFI Audience Projects Fund and Film Hub Scotland (part of the BFI Film Audience Network), all awarding National Lottery funding.

Image Credit: Keith, Dir. Steven Fraser, 2024

Queerly Beloved
2025-11-01 16:00 - 18:00 UTC | The Social Hub, The Social Hub, Candleriggs Square, Glasgow, G1 1TQ
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Join us for a vibrant collection of short films that dive into queer experiences with wit, warmth, and a generous dose of heart. These stories celebrate the everyday absurdities, quiet triumphs, and unapologetic joy that shape queer life. In a world that so often focuses on queer pain, this programme shifts the spotlight to laughter, love, and the resilience found in connection.
Expect a dynamic mix of voices and perspectives. From awkward firsts to bold declarations, from moments of celebration to quiet self-discovery, each film brings its own spark. What unites them is a spirit of humour that uplifts, disarms, and gently insists on being seen.
The evening opens with a stand-up set by the brilliant Kathleen Hughes, whose sharp comedy sets the tone for what’s to come. After the films, stay with us for a live performance by the electrifying Craig Manson.
Come laugh with us. Maybe cry a little too. This is queer storytelling at its most joyful, defiant and alive.
Curated by Huss.

Click here to book your ticket for this event
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £4, £8, £12, £16, or £20, in order to make SQIFF more accessible to those on a low income. 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! Please find the ‘What Should I Pay?’ guidance here.

Accessibility
This programme has:

Audio Description
English and French audio with English language Descriptive Subtitles
English-BSL interpretation for introduction and performance. The interpreter for this event is Lisa Li.
Live Captioning for introduction and performance

This screening is 77 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 18+.
If you require access seating please get in touch. Access seating includes: wheelchair spaces, bean bag seating, sitting in the front row / in the aisle / at the back. If you need any other provisions, please let us know by emailing info@sqiff.org with your name, ticket information and access request. If you are attending with companions and they need seating with you please also let us know. We will provide one free PA ticket for people who require any type of assistance (all tickets are pay what you can). We will do our best to work with you whilst also managing the capacity of each venue. Thank you for working with us on this.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2025 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2025, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.

Films in this programme include:
Bury Your Gays, Dir. Charlotte Serena Cooper, 2025, United Kingdom, 20 min
Bury Your Gays follows actor Grace, who can’t understand why every role she lands ends in her untimely death—until a mysterious agent explains the ‘Bury Your Gays’ trope. Now, trapped in a genre-hopping battle for survival, Grace has one mission: do not die.
Content notes: Depiction of comedic death.

ASL, Dir. Cal Freeman, 2024, United Kingdom, 5 min
Rulf (19) meets Ziggy (38) for a car hookup, but attraction turns awkward when Ziggy’s internalized homophobia clashes with Rulf’s progressive views. After confronting contradictions and guilt, a flamboyant radio ad breaks the tension. They reconnect through laughter, reconsidering their desires before finally embracing their mutual attraction.
Content notes: Discussion of sex.

Bi-Nocular Panic, Dir. Anouk Witkowska Hiffle, 2024, United Kingdom, 7 min
Cass and Jane spend their afternoon doing what every normal teenager does on a sunny day: spying on boys. But when the captivating Melody appears, Cass realises she might be interested in more than just boys.

Gender Reveal, Dir. Mo Matton, 2024, Canada, 13 min
Rhys, a dedicated people pleaser, winds up at their boss’ gender reveal party with their two partners. The trans throuple soon realize that they are dealing with more than they were prepared for and their ability to survive the event comes into question.
Content notes: Depiction of blood, cigarette use, death, strong language use.

Sriracha, Dir. Weili Hsing, 2024, United Kingdom, 10 min
In a chaotic London kebab shop, Asian drag king Li clashes with traditional Turkish chef Hamza over sriracha. When drunk British lads arrive seeking trouble, a simple condiment dispute erupts into a full food fight. Through the mayhem, Li and Hamza discover their shared experience bridges cultural divides, forging unexpected friendship.
Content notes: Depiction of transphobia.

Principal Boy, Dir. Maz Murray, 2024, United Kingdom, 22 min
Principal Boy follows the audition, rehearsal, and performance of British pantomime’s traditional lead—a male hero conventionally played by a woman in drag. Using and subverting pantomime conventions, it explores trans and gender-nonconforming representation in mainstream culture, examining presence and absence in film and theatre.
Content notes: Discussion of discrimination, gaslighting, violence towards Trans people.
Access notes: Brief use of laser.

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

Supported by Screen Scotland, the BFI Audience Projects Fund and Film Hub Scotland (part of the BFI Film Audience Network), all awarding National Lottery funding.

Image Credit: Gender Reveal, Dir. Mo Matton, 2024

Closing Film: Dreams in Nightmares - SOLD OUT
2025-11-01 19:00 - 21:00 UTC | The Social Hub, The Social Hub, Candleriggs Square, Glasgow, G1 1TQ
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**Please note this event is now sold out – we may be able to release more tickets nearer the screening. We are operating a waiting list for sold out events on the platform Ticket Tailor, where we sell our tickets for SQIFF 2025 – please add your name to the waitlist and you’ll be notified by Ticket Tailor if any tickets become available!**

Three queer black femmes embark on a road trip across the Midwest United States in search of their missing friend. The trio face challenges as they encounter different communities along their journey and this prompts reflection on the group as friends, as well as individuals.
Expect tender friends and lovers, open country roads and a chance to dream in a world of nightmares.
The winner of Best Scottish Shorts will be announced at the end of this event.
Curated by Nat Lall.

Click here to book your ticket for this event
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £4, £8, £12, £16, or £20, in order to make SQIFF more accessible to those on a low income. 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! Please find the ‘What Should I Pay?’ guidance here.

Accessibility:
This programme has:

Content notes: Depiction of alcohol use, distressing argument scenes, nudity, sex. Discussion of racism and transphobia.
English audio with English language Descriptive Subtitles
English-BSL interpretation for introduction. The interpreter for this event is Sula Brookes.
Live Captioning for introduction

This screening is 128 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 18+.
If you require access seating please get in touch. Access seating includes: wheelchair spaces, bean bag seating, sitting in the front row / in the aisle / at the back. If you need any other provisions, please let us know by emailing info@sqiff.org with your name, ticket information and access request. If you are attending with companions and they need seating with you please also let us know. We will provide one free PA ticket for people who require any type of assistance (all tickets are pay what you can). We will do our best to work with you whilst also managing the capacity of each venue. Thank you for working with us on this.
You can find out more information about accessibility at SQIFF 2025 here. If you have any questions about accessibility at SQIFF 2025, please get in touch with us at info@sqiff.org or by phone on 07873 331 036.

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

Supported by Screen Scotland, the BFI Audience Projects Fund and Film Hub Scotland (part of the BFI Film Audience Network), all awarding National Lottery funding.

Image Credit: Dreams in Nightmares, Dir. Shatara Michelle Ford, 2024

Closing Night Party with Scandal & WSHWSH
2025-11-01 23:00 - 2025-11-02 03:00 UTC | The Art School, 20 Scott Street, Glasgow, G3 6PE, United Kingdom
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After a week of ground-breaking queer and trans cinema, we’re ending the festival on a high. Join us at The Art School for the SQIFF Closing Night Party, brought to you by, Scandal, WSHWSH and SQIFF.
This is a celebration of QTIPOC+ joy, resistance, and nightlife, with a line-up made entirely by and for queer and trans or people of colour. Expect genre-spanning DJ sets, electric energy, and a space held by some of Glasgow’s most vital QTIPOC+ collectives.
Come through, bring your people, and close out the festival with sweat, rhythm, and full-bodied queer euphoria.
Curated by Scandal, WSHWSH, and SQIFF.

Click here to book your ticket for this event
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £4, £8, £12, £16, or £20, in order to make SQIFF more accessible to those on a low income. 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! Please find the ‘What Should I Pay?’ guidance here.

Accessibility:
If you require access seating please get in touch. Access seating includes: wheelchair spaces, bean bag seating, sitting in the front row / in the aisle / at the back. If you need any other provisions, please let us know by emailing info@sqiff.org with your name, ticket information and access request. If you are attending with companions and they need seating with you please also let us know. We will provide one free PA ticket for people who require any type of assistance (all tickets are pay what you can). We will do our best to work with you whilst also managing the capacity of each venue. Thank you for working with us on this.

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

Image Credit: Tiu Makkonen

NIÑXS (Dundee)
2025-11-08 18:00 - 20:30 UTC | Steps Theatre, Central Library, The Wellgate Dundee, Dundee, DD1 1DB, United Kingdom
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In the rural small town of Tepoztlán, Mexico, fifteen-year-old Karla gets to tell her own coming-of-age story as she navigates the joys and complexities of trans adolescence. Irresistibly warm and funny, NIÑXS bursts the seams of documentary convention by dissolving the distance between filmmaker and subject. Director Kani Lapuerta and Karla reflect together on their transness as they watch eight years’ worth of footage documenting this formative period of Karla’s life: from trying out for the cheer team, playing with makeup, to being embarrassed by her loving and supportive parents. In an era where trans kids are spoken over and spoken for, NIÑXS sparkles with confidence, wit, and magic: a joyous demand that trans youth get to narrate their own stories. Presented as part of Take One Action Film Festivals 2025!
Grasping with both hands the joy, tenderness and tenacity that jumps through the screen in NIÑXS, stay on after the screening for a celebration of trans life lived to its fullest.

Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £5, £10, £15, or £20. To book your ticket for this event, click here.

Accessibility
This programme has:

Content Notes: Discussions of transphobia, gender dysphoria, death and surgery. Contains two brief depictions of fake blood.
Access Notes: Mix of explanatory dialogue (in Spanish) and visual storytelling. Mainly bright images, with a short sequence of darker images towards the end of the film.
Spanish audio with English language Descriptive Subtitles
English-BSL interpretation for introduction and workshop
Live Captioning for introduction

This screening is 86 minutes long and has an age recommendation of N/C 15+.

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

Image Credit: NINXS, Dir. Kani Lapuerta, 2025

¡Quba!
2025-11-16 17:00 - 19:00 UTC | The Boardwalk, The Boardwalk, 105 Brunswick St, Glasgow, G1 1TF
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¡QUBA! chronicles the raw, revolutionary fight of Cuba’s LGBTQIA+ activists as they battle deep-rooted homophobia to achieve a historic victory.
¡Quba! documents Cuba’s extraordinary journey toward LGBTQIA+ equality, culminating in one of the most unexpected civil rights victories of the 21st century – the historic 2022 referendum that overwhelmingly approved the new Family Code, legalizing same-sex marriage and adoption.
Against the backdrop of Havana’s sun-drenched streets and the countryside’s conservative heartlands, the film traces the decades-long struggle of activists who turned a revolution within the Revolution into reality.
At its heart are two iconic trailblazers: Adela Hernández, Cuba’s first openly transgender elected official, whose quiet perseverance broke barriers in rural Caibarién, and Ramón Silverio, the subversive theater director who transformed his cultural hub, El Mejunje, into a sanctuary for queer art and resistance. Through their friendship, we witness how Cuba’s LGBTQ movement took root—from the dark days of UMAP labor camps to the defiant drag performances that challenged homophobia in Santa Clara. Ramón’s rainbow caravan of artists brought radical acceptance to Cuba’s most isolated towns, proving that change could bloom even in hardened soil.
Their legacy fuels a new generation of firebrands. In Santiago, the lesbian collective Las Isabelas —Maritza, Ana, and Isel—combat machismo with radical visibility, conducting educational campaigns to empower women and girls. In Havana, young activists like Ulises push boundaries through relentless advocacy, while Mariela Castro, head of CENESEX, navigates Cuba’s political machinery to bridge grassroots movements and government policy. Their efforts collide with a rising evangelical backlash, setting the stage for a cultural battle that divides families and tests the nation’s revolutionary ideals.
Archival footage reveals the shadows of state persecution and religious bigotry, but the film pulses with the defiant rhythms of resistance—drag spectacles, underground queer gatherings, and clandestine activism that kept hope alive. As the campaign for the 2022 Family Code reaches its climax, activists hold their breath: will Cuba, a nation that once imprisoned its LGBTQ citizens, now embrace them?
Set to the defiant rhythms that fueled this movement, ¡Quba! captures a paradox shattered: in a nation that had already overturned capitalism but still wrestled with patriarchal traditions, the people themselves became the vanguard. This victory—won through art, organizing, and unapologetic joy—proves that revolution is never finished. From Adela’s trailblazing resilience to Ramón’s artistic insurgency and the bold fury of Las Isabelas, the film is a testament to love’s power to rewrite history.
In collaboration with Havana Glasgow Film Festival.
Followed by Q&A with Director Kim Anno, SQIFF Director Indigo Korres and HGFF co-Director Hugo Rivalta.
READ HGFF’S INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR KIM ANNO.

Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of £2, £4, £6, £8, £10, or £12. To book your ticket for this event, click here.

Accessibility
This programme has:

Content Notes: This documentary contains mature thematic material including discussions of discrimination, homophobia, and political conflict. Suitable for mature audiences.
Spanish audio with English language Descriptive Subtitles
English-BSL interpretation for introduction and Q&A

This screening is 70 minutes long.

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

Image Credit: ¡Quba!, Dir. Kim Anno, 2025

Castration Movie Anthology i. Traps
2025-12-06 13:00 - 18:00 UTC | Edinburgh Filmhouse, 88 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, EH3 9BZ
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Castration Movie Anthology ii. The Best of Both Worlds
Dir. Louise Weard | 2025 | 300m (incl. intermission) | DCP, Digital
Certificate: 18 | Abusive behaviour, strong sex, nudity, drug misuse
Castration Movie Anthology i. The Fear of Having No One to Hold at the End of the World
Dir. Louise Weard | 2024 | 275m (incl. intermission) | DCP, Digital
Certificate: 18 | Strong sex, nudity
Castration Movie is a labyrinthine post-modern epic about gender. The first part of this four-part film includes Chapter i. Incel Superman and Chapter ii. Traps Swan Princess. Castration Movie Anthology ii. The Best of Both Worlds contains one chapter, Chapter iii. Polygon!!!! Heartmoder. The final two parts are due for release in 2026.
In Chapter iii. Polygon!!!! Heartmoder, Circle (Alex Walton) tries to leave a trans separatist cult in New York. Castration Movie Anthology ii.‘s cast includes Alex Walton (Pomp and Circumstance), Ivy Wolk (Anora), Jack Haven (I Saw the TV Glow), Lea Rose Sebastianis (In a Violent Nature), Hesse Deni (Brain Death), Theda Hammel (Stress Positions), Alexandra McVicker (The Serpent’s Skin), Betsey Brown (Actors), and Peter Vack (Assholes), amongst a mix of other emerging talent and weird and wonderful cameos.
Incel Superman follows Turner Stewart, a production assistant who sees his world spiral out of control as he uncompromisingly attempts to shape his life into the one he feels he deserves. Traps Swan Princess follows a trans woman named Michaela “Traps” Sinclair, a sex worker in Vancouver who splits her time between seeing clients and hanging out with her group of trans friends, who finds her relationships strained when she decides to pursue motherhood.
Written and Directed by Louise Weard, the film’s cast includes Vera Drew (The People’s Joker), Ada Rook (Black Dresses), Alice Maio Mackay (T Blockers), Avalon Fast (Honeycomb), John Paizs (Crime Wave), and Lea Rose Sebastianis and Nate Wilson (The All Golden) amongst a mix of other emerging talent and weird and wonderful cameos. The original score was composed by Aoife Josie Clements/Ravine Angel, with additional music by Magda Baker, Alex Walton, and E_DEATH.
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £4, £8, £12, £16, or £20. To book your ticket for this event, click here.

Accessibility
This programme has:

English audio with English language Descriptive Subtitles

This screening is 276 minutes long.

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

Image Credit: Castration Movie Anthology i. Traps, Dir. Louise Weard, 2024

Castration Movie Anthology ii. The Best of Both Worlds
2025-12-12 18:00 - 2025-12-13 00:00 UTC | GMAC Film, 103 Trongate, Glasgow, Scotland, G1 5HD, United Kingdom
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Castration Movie Anthology ii. The Best of Both Worlds
Dir. Louise Weard | 2025 | 300m (incl. intermission) | DCP, Digital
Certificate: 18 | Abusive behaviour, strong sex, nudity, drug misuse
Castration Movie Anthology i. The Fear of Having No One to Hold at the End of the World
Dir. Louise Weard | 2024 | 275m (incl. intermission) | DCP, Digital
Certificate: 18 | Strong sex, nudity
Castration Movie is a labyrinthine post-modern epic about gender. The first part of this four-part film includes Chapter i. Incel Superman and Chapter ii. Traps Swan Princess. Castration Movie Anthology ii. The Best of Both Worlds contains one chapter, Chapter iii. Polygon!!!! Heartmoder. The final two parts are due for release in 2026.
In Chapter iii. Polygon!!!! Heartmoder, Circle (Alex Walton) tries to leave a trans separatist cult in New York. Castration Movie Anthology ii.‘s cast includes Alex Walton (Pomp and Circumstance), Ivy Wolk (Anora), Jack Haven (I Saw the TV Glow), Lea Rose Sebastianis (In a Violent Nature), Hesse Deni (Brain Death), Theda Hammel (Stress Positions), Alexandra McVicker (The Serpent’s Skin), Betsey Brown (Actors), and Peter Vack (Assholes), amongst a mix of other emerging talent and weird and wonderful cameos.
Incel Superman follows Turner Stewart, a production assistant who sees his world spiral out of control as he uncompromisingly attempts to shape his life into the one he feels he deserves. Traps Swan Princess follows a trans woman named Michaela “Traps” Sinclair, a sex worker in Vancouver who splits her time between seeing clients and hanging out with her group of trans friends, who finds her relationships strained when she decides to pursue motherhood.
Written and Directed by Louise Weard, the film’s cast includes Vera Drew (The People’s Joker), Ada Rook (Black Dresses), Alice Maio Mackay (T Blockers), Avalon Fast (Honeycomb), John Paizs (Crime Wave), and Lea Rose Sebastianis and Nate Wilson (The All Golden) amongst a mix of other emerging talent and weird and wonderful cameos. The original score was composed by Aoife Josie Clements/Ravine Angel, with additional music by Magda Baker, Alex Walton, and E_DEATH.
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £4, £8, £12, £16, or £20. To book your ticket for this event, click here.

Accessibility
This programme has:

English audio with English language Descriptive Subtitles
Live Captioning for introduction and Q&A

This screening is 300 minutes long.

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

Image Credit: Castration Movie Anthology ii. The Best of Both Worlds, Dir. Louise Weard, 2025

Castration Movie Anthology ii. The Best of Both Worlds - SOLD OUT
2025-12-13 13:00 - 18:30 UTC | Edinburgh Filmhouse, 88 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, EH3 9BZ

Dundead: SQIFF presents Sleepaway Camp
2026-03-14 20:00 - 22:00 UTC | DCA, 152 Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4DY, United Kingdom
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We are delighted that this screening will be introduced by Indigo Korres, Director of SQIFF.
One of the definitive cult horror films, Sleepaway Camp is a trashy teen slasher in the Friday the 13th mould. And while slasher films can be broadly remembered for their restrictive heteronormativity, Sleepaway Camp is particularly notable for its exploration of queer themes. Sleepaway Camp is not subtle or necessarily in good taste, and often plays into problematic tropes, but the film has nonetheless been reclaimed and celebrated by queer audiences in the years since its release.
Shy, mute Angela (an iconic performance by Felissa Rose) goes to stay at Camp Arawak with her cousin Ricky. Unlike other teen slashers, Sleepaway Camp’s cast of campers are mostly made up of actual teenagers, and the scenes of them hanging out and misbehaving feel refreshingly authentic. It also means that when the teens are put in danger, the results feel particularly transgressive.
There is an element of sexual violence to some scenes near the start, and while thankfully restrained in terms of onscreen depictions, there can be a bit of a nasty streak to the film.
It’s a fascinatingly thorny film with an undeniable legacy, filled with brilliant moments, memorable performances and a truly unforgettable, and now rightly iconic, ending.
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £4, £8, £12, £16, or £20. To book your ticket for this event, click here.

Accessibility
This programme has:

English audio with English language Descriptive Subtitles
Text on Screen for the introduction

This screening is 84 minutes long.

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

Image Credit: Sleepaway Camp Dir. Robert Hiltzik, 1983

Queer as Punk + intro + pre-recorded Q&A
2026-05-13 20:30 - 22:30 UTC | Edinburgh Filmhouse, 88 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, EH3 9BZ
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Cinetopia:DOC in collaboration with SQIFF presents this Scottish special preview of Queer As Punk ahead of its wider UK release with T A P E Collective. The screening will have an introduction by artist Kai Khidir Hassan (fka Aki Hassan) and the film will be followed by a 20-minute pre-recorded Q&A.

Faris is a transman and the lead singer of “Shh..Diam!” (meaning “shut up!” in Malay), an openly queer punk band in Malaysia. Together with his bandmates Yon and Yoyo, they use their music to fight for LGBTQI+ rights in a country where conservative Muslim policies and society severely curtail human rights and freedom of expression. As discrimination against them intensifies, Yoyo chooses to leave the country. However in the face of the many challenges, Faris opts to stay, determined to continue using their music as a platform to advocate for freedom and equality, refusing to let the pressures of society silence their voice.
Director Yihwen Chen followed the trio for several years as they toured, documenting their gigs, experiences, and wide-ranging discussions. Queer As Punk continue to use their nonconformist live performances to fight for justice, in the face of intense pressure to and threats to silence their voices.
Kai Khidir Hassan (fka Aki Hassan) is a visual artist, researcher and organiser who primarily works with expanded sculpture, drawing and self-publishing. Rooted in collaborative inquiry and community-building, Aki’s practice extends beyond the studio into organising spaces that foreground collective knowledge, mutual support, and slower modes of active engagement.
Cinetopia:DOC is a monthly club bringing audiences together around exceptional documentary films alongside filmmaker Q&As or conversations, followed by continued discussion and networking in the Filmhouse Bar. Cinetopia:DOC is 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 and the Scottish Documentary Institute and produced by Cinetopia, a hub of activity around filmgoing and filmmaking based in Edinburgh.
SQIFF (Scottish Queer International Film Festival) is a charity formed with the aim of showcasing diverse queer cinema and uplifting creative voices from the LGBTQIA+ community in Scotland and beyond. The organisation runs an annual film festival in Glasgow, pop-up and year-round events, and community-focused programmes across Scotland.
T A P E Collective: Reppin’ could-be-cult classics, T A P E is a UK-based film company working across exhibition and distribution to platform the works of global majority filmmakers. Cross-curatorial, but firmly rooted in film, T A P E creates ties with art, music, talks and more, to bring exciting and subversive filmmaking to new and established audiences. With a focus on representation, identity and heritage, we champion the forgotten could-be cult films of the festival circuit.
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £4, £8, £12, £16, or £20. To book your ticket for this event, click here.

Accessibility
This programme has:

English and Malay audio with English language Descriptive Subtitles
Text on Screen for the introduction

This screening is 88 minutes long.

Supported by Film Hub Scotland, part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, awarding funding on behalf of Screen Scotland and the BFI National Lottery.

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

Image Credit: Queer as Punk, Dir. Yihwen Chen, 2025

Queer Filmmakers Group - 48 Hour Film Challenge 2026
2026-05-27 18:30 - 20:30 (Europe/Paris) | The Boardwalk, The Boardwalk, 105 Brunswick St, Glasgow, G1 1TF
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Are you a queer filmmaker? Do you want to meet other queer filmmakers? Do you want to make a film in two days? Join SQIFF for the return of the Queer Filmmakers Group for a 48 Hour Film Challenge!
The SQIFF 48 Hour Film Challenge works like this: by signing up you will work with a group of other filmmakers to complete the challenge of making an entire film from beginning to end in just two days.
The Brief, which includes film themes, required elements, guidelines, and time frames for the challenge will be discussed in person at the start of our 48 hours. You will then set out in your teams to make your films. All completed films will then be screened at the next Queer Filmmaker’s Group session in June (bring your friends)!
The challenge is open for any and all levels of filmmaking experience and we encourage people who are brand-new to film to attend. You can either sign up as a group or as an individual, where we will assign you to a group.

CLICK HERE to book your ticket for this event.
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £4, £8, £12, £16, or £20, in order to make SQIFF more accessible to those on a low income. 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! Please find the ‘What Should I Pay?’ guidance here.

About the group:
The SQIFF Queer Filmmakers Group is a monthly meetup designed for LGBTQIA+ filmmakers in Scotland to meet other queer creatives and do everything film. From challenges to networking events, skills development to special guest speakers, the SQIFF Queer Filmmakers Group is THE place to be if you’re queer and into film.
The group is open for any level of filmmaking or film supporting arts (ie. acting, prop making, music and sound design…) and we really encourage people just starting out in these mediums to come along.
Join a very friendly and supportive cohort of queer artists in Scotland making films!

Accessibility:

BSL-English interpretation for the whole event.
Relaxed event.
Wheelchair Access.
We have an Audience Access Fund for travel costs. If you would like to take this up, please contact info@sqiff.org.

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 Screen Scotland.

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

Image Credit: Tiu Makkonen

SQIFF x Porty Pride Film Night
2026-06-07 19:00 - 21:00 UTC | Portobello Town Hall, 147-149 Portobello High Street, Edinburgh, EH15 1AF
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Once again, SQIFF and Porty Pride are teaming up to bring you an eclectic mix of queer short films.
This edition celebrates multi-cultural intersections in queer cinema. The first film, Who Will Be Remembered Here, is a brave tale of reclaiming history against the backdrop of rural Scotland. Next is Dissonance which follows a young Black woman fleeing a homophobic upbringing and discovering herself in Glasgow.
Then we have Oceania, a colourful, softly lit short about a teenage gamer dealing with grief. This is followed by a moving animation named Two Black Boys in Paradise that explores the joys and woes of queer black gays passionately in love.
Then comes Two Travelling Aunties, the adorable and funny story of two older lesbians from Singapore living out their dream travelling the world together in their van. Last but not least is the hilarious Sriracha. An east-asian drag king and a Turkish kebab chef clash over the condiment but are brought together by their rage towards some drunk British lads.
Then please join us for a chatty informal Q&A with some of the filmmakers, hosted by Nat Lall.
Curated by Nat Lall
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of £5, £10, £15. To book your ticket for this event, click here.

Accessibility
This programme has:

An age recommendation of N/C 16+.
British Sign Language and English, French, Scottish Gaelic audio with English language Descriptive Subtitles
BSL-English interpretation provided for the introduction and panel discussion.

This screening is 126 minutes long with a introduction and panel discussion.

Films in this programme include:
who will be remembered here, Dirs. Michael Sherrington, Lewis Hetherington, CJ Mahony, 2025, United Kingdom, 30 min
A cry against cultural erasure. Four queer people across Scotland’s historic landscapes question the stories we tell and their impact on future generations. This intimate film archives marginalized identities, claiming space in history as a beacon for those who follow a tender refusal to be forgotten.
Content notes: Discussion of death, war, queer and disabled erasure.

Dissonance, Dir. Aderayo Adenekan, 2025, United Kingdom, 30 min
Experimental short following a young Black woman exploring her queerness after moving cities, battling internal conflict from homophobic upbringing. Split between wordless narrative and documentary epilogue, the film uses movement, sound, and symbolism to capture psychological dissonance between taught identity and authentic self-discovery.
Content notes: Discussion of homophobia, racism, transphobia.
Access notes: Flashing lights.

Oceania, Dir. Valentin Noujaïm, 2024, Lebanon, 24 min
Najib, 16, spends his summer on a video game, until his mother, Asma, discovers the death of their elderly and lonely neighbour. He steals the keys to the apartment, and dives into an unexpected world.
Content notes: Discussion of death, HIV stigma.
Access notes: Flashing imagery, flashing lights.

Two Black Boys in Paradise, Dir. Baz Sells, 2025, United Kingdom, 9 min
A movingly tender animation, based on Dean Atta’s eponymous poem, sees two boys (Edan, 19 and Dula, 18) on a journey of self-acceptance and love – for each other and themselves.
Content notes: Depiction of animated nudity, homophobia, police harassment, racism, sex.

Two Travelling Aunties, Dir. Christine Seow, 2025, Singapore, 22 min
Two spirited Singaporean seniors ditch conventional living for van life, embracing adventure, newfound freedom, and the joy of living on their terms.
Content notes: Depiction of drug use. Discussion of family rejection.

Sriracha, Dir. Weili Hsing, 2024, United Kingdom, 10 min
In a chaotic London kebab shop, Asian drag king Li clashes with traditional Turkish chef Hamza over sriracha. When drunk British lads arrive seeking trouble, a simple condiment dispute erupts into a full food fight. Through the mayhem, Li and Hamza discover their shared experience bridges cultural divides, forging unexpected friendship.
Content notes: Depiction of transphobia.

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

Image Credit: Porty Pride, 2025

Queer Filmmakers Group - 48 Hour Film Screening and SQIFF Trailer
2026-06-17 18:30 - 20:30 UTC | The Boardwalk, The Boardwalk, 105 Brunswick St, Glasgow, G1 1TF
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Want to see what the Queer Filmmakers Group made last month, and help shape what thousands of festival-goers will see this autumn? Join The Queer Filmmaker’s Group in a creative and practical session making the official festival trailer for the 2026 edition of the Scottish Queer International Film Festival!
Working as a group, we will use this session to brainstorm and come up with ideas for making a short trailer over the course of the month. This session is a casual, fun, and hands-on way to get creative with a group of other queer filmmakers in Scotland.The completed trailer will be shown before each screening of the 2026 film festival, and will be watched by over 5000 people.
This session will also start with special screening of all the completed films made in the SQIFF 48 Hour Film Challenge in the previous month’s Queer Filmmaker’s Group.

CLICK HERE to book your ticket for this event.
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £4, £8, £12, £16, or £20, in order to make SQIFF more accessible to those on a low income. 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! Please find the ‘What Should I Pay?’ guidance here.

About the group:
The SQIFF Queer Filmmakers Group is a monthly meetup designed for LGBTQIA+ filmmakers in Scotland to meet other queer creatives and do everything film. From challenges to networking events, skills development to special guest speakers, the SQIFF Queer Filmmakers Group is THE place to be if you’re queer and into film.
The group is open for any level of filmmaking or film supporting arts (ie. acting, prop making, music and sound design…) and we really encourage people just starting out in these mediums to come along.
Join a very friendly and supportive cohort of queer artists in Scotland making films!

Accessibility:

BSL-English interpretation for the whole event.
Relaxed event.
Wheelchair Access.
We have an Audience Travel and Access Fund for travel costs. If you would like to take this up, please contact info@sqiff.org.

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 Screen Scotland.

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

Image Credit: Tiu Makkonen

SQIFF x The Social Hub Movie Night: Nina's Heavenly Delights (20th Anniversary)
2026-07-14 18:00 - 21:00 UTC | The Social Hub, The Social Hub, Candleriggs Square, Glasgow, G1 1TQ
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SQIFF are excited to announce another collaboration with the Social Hub for this year’s Pride Hub event. This year we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of a queer, South Asian classic set right here in Glasgow, Nina’s Heavenly Delights. The film follows Nina’s return to her hometown of Glasgow to save her late father’s struggling curry house. Nina pairs up with childhood friend and chef Lisa to save the business and let’s just say things get a bit ‘spicy’. Expect laughs, bright colours and a celebration of Scottish Asian cuisine.

Alongside this feature we will be screening the short Bhangra Jig also by director Pratibha Parmar. This short film captures the high energy music genre of Bhangra being enjoyed, again, right here in Glasgow.

The films will be followed by a pre-recorded Q&A with Pratibha and SQIFF curator Nat Lall. We would love for you to join us for a celebration of the rich culture right here on our doorstep.

Tickets are Free with a donation option. To book your ticket for this event, click here.

Accessibility
We aim to be as accessible as possible, please get in touch if there’s anything we can do to make this event more accessible to you. This programme has:

An age recommendation of N/C 16+.
English language descriptive subtitles for the films and pre-recorded Q&A.
Text on screen provided for the introduction.
The Social Hub is wheelchair accessible, with gender neutral toilets.
Please let us know at check in if you don’t want to be in pictures or video.

This screening is 98 minutes long with an introduction and pre-recorded Q&A.

Films in this programme include:
Bhangra Jig, Dir. Pratibha Parmar, 1990, United Kingdom, 4 min
A young South Asian woman walks through the city of Glasgow, once the second largest city of the British Empire. Her eyes reflect on the wealth symbolised in the textures of the city’s architecture. Signs of Empire ever present in the stone freizes, imposing cast iron statues of dead colonialists, ornate pillars and the opulence of marble. Against histories of colonial carnage, Asian people build our communities and cultures, forging identities of self-affirmation. Against echoes of colonial memories is the living memory of today’s cultures of resistance: through dance and music, young Asian people celebrate desire and self pride. Bhangra Jig disrupts dominant notions of European culture and offers new meanings of what constitutes national cultures and identities, of what it means to be Asian, British and European. It was a four-minute television intervention piece, commissioned by Channel 4 celebrating Glasgow as the European cultural capital for 1990.

Nina’s Heavenly Delights, Dir. Pratibha Parmar, 2006, United Kingdom, 94 min
A feisty young woman returns to Glasgow to run her deceased father’s curry house.

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

Image Credit: Nina’s Heavenly Delights, Dir. Pratibha Parmar, 2006

Queer Filmmakers Group - Industry Speed Dating
2026-07-29 18:30 - 20:30 (Europe/London) | The Boardwalk, The Boardwalk, 105 Brunswick St, Glasgow, G1 1TF
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Looking to find collaborators, crew, or just more queer people to talk about film with? Join the Queer Filmmaker’s Group for an Industry Speed Dating session and get to know other LGBTQIA+ film workers in Scotland!
In classic speed dating fashion, participants will have 5 minutes to connect with another film worker before moving on to the next person. This session can be used to network for an upcoming project, find crew or make connections for future work, or just get more involved in the queer filmmaking scene in Scotland.
The speed dating session will last an hour and twenty minutes, with a short introduction and half an hour at the end for casual networking.
Bring yourself and an openness to meet new people!

CLICK HERE to book your ticket for this event.
Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £4, £8, £12, £16, or £20, in order to make SQIFF more accessible to those on a low income. 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! Please find the ‘What Should I Pay?’ guidance here.

About the group:
The SQIFF Queer Filmmakers Group is a monthly meetup designed for LGBTQIA+ filmmakers in Scotland to meet other queer creatives and do everything film. From challenges to networking events, skills development to special guest speakers, the SQIFF Queer Filmmakers Group is THE place to be if you’re queer and into film.
The group is open for any level of filmmaking or film supporting arts (ie. acting, prop making, music and sound design…) and we really encourage people just starting out in these mediums to come along.
Join a very friendly and supportive cohort of queer artists in Scotland making films!

Accessibility:

BSL-English interpretation for the whole event.
Relaxed event.
Wheelchair Access.
We have an Audience Travel and Access Fund for travel costs. If you would like to take this up, please contact info@sqiff.org.

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 Screen Scotland.

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

Image Credit: Tiu Makkonen

Bouchra + intro
2026-08-07 18:15 - 20:00 UTC | Edinburgh Filmhouse, 88 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, EH3 9BZ
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This film contains flashing images which may affect viewers who are susceptible to photosensitive epilepsy.

This screening of Bouchra is hosted by SQIFF, and will have an introduction from SQIFF Programmer, Huss, which will be accompanied by text backing slides for accessibility. The film itself will be screened with Descriptive Subtitles.

We have a Reduced Rate ticket option to make this screening more accessible to those on a low income. If cost is a barrier please email info@sqiff.org for a complimentary ticket.

Bouchra (35), a queer Moroccan coyote living in NYC, is wrestling with writer’s block for her first film. As she begins a series of difficult yet long overdue phone calls with her mother, Aicha, in Casablanca, forgotten memories begin to resurface. Balancing the precarity of working as an artist in New York, the rift in her identity between her two homes and an array of friendships and romantic interests, Bouchra’s emotional reckoning with her mother and herself becomes her path to expression.

With a lived-in granularity and unmistakable visual style, Bouchra, the debut feature from acclaimed visual artists Meriem Bennani and Orian Barki (best known together from their 2020 web series 2 Lizards), is a singular portrait effortlessly towing the line between documentary, visual art and resonant family drama. Deeply felt, surprisingly sexy and formally adventurous, Bennani and Barki’s distinctive debut forges new ground.

Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of £7.50, or £13, with an Access Ticket at £5 and a Senior Ticket at £11.50. To book your ticket for this event, click here.

Accessibility
This programme has:

Arabic, English and French audio with English language Descriptive Subtitles
Text on Screen for the introduction

This screening is 83 minutes long.

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

Image Credit: Bouchra, Dirs. Orian Barki, Meriem Bennani, 2025

Fun films with Queer Families
2026-09-05 13:00 - 16:00 UTC | Hidden Gardens, 25A Albert Dr, Glasgow, G41 2PE, United Kingdom
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Queer Families and welcomes you to the 3rd year of this fun family film event! With short films for children and LGBTIQ+ families and community.

A relaxed film event hosted by the Queer Families community group. Join us for short films, snacks and creative activities for all ages around storytelling, film, and community!
In The Boilerhouse room, at the Hidden Gardens. 1-4pm.
Films for children 1-3pm
Inclusive animated shorts for children (0-8) and their families, curated by Nat Lall. All families welcome!
Short films: queer parenting 3-4pm
A selection of 3 short films exploring queer parenting and starting families. Everyone welcome!

About this event
The Queer Families Glasgow group hosts an annual film event celebrating short films that include LGBTIQ+ families – and give their children a chance to see families like theirs on screen! We’ll also have short films about animals, the sea, childhood, myths, magic and more.
We hold the event as a very relaxed film screening – you can drop in any time, and everyone’s free to move around, play and chat during the event. You can also try out DIY stop-motion and direct animation, make paper puppets, and share your ideas about the kinds of films you’d like to see!
Setting up: as this is a community event, we’ll spend the first 10 minutes setting up, and the last 15 minutes tidying up. We welcome people helping out with this at the start and end!

Tickets are free, get your tickets here!

Programme
FOR CHILDREN 1-3pm
Seaside Escape
Sea/Shore
The Penguin Who Couldn’t Swim
Sea Scouts’ Regatta
Edinburgh Zoo penguins livestream
Grand Dandy (For Ezra)
In Nature
Toti
Astral
Stop motion animations by children of the Queer Families group
And more!
These shorts are chosen to be interesting for children 0-8+ years old – with a range of stories and styles, and themes and characters to spark imagination. And we’ve included as many films as we could find that support belonging by showing LGBTQ parents, carers, grandparents (and lions, penguins, etc…) in positive, everyday ways that’ll resonate with young viewers!

FOR PARENTS, CARERS, AND EVERYONE ELSE 3pm
How to Make a Rainbow (16 mins)
Saturnrania (5 mins)
Lunchboxes (17 mins)
These shorts are chosen especially for LGBTIQ+ parents, carers and people starting families. You’re welcome to have your children with you at this screening, though the films aren’t chosen for children. Content warnings: How to Make a Rainbow mentions not being accepted by wider family. Lunchboxes talks about a parent’s fear of bullying. The overall tone of these short films is heart-warming, engaging, thoughtful – showing the joy and strength in LGBTIQ+ parenting.
Hosted by the Queer Families community groups, with support from Outside the Box and in partnership with SQIFF (Scottish Queer International Film Festival. Made possible by an award from the National Lottery Community Fund.

Accessibility:

The Boilerhouse room at the Hidden Gardens is a wheelchair accessible 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.

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

Image Credit: Queer Families

BSL Film Club x SQIFF: Reconnection + Close to You + Q&A
2026-09-20 14:30 - 17:30 UTC | Scotland
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This screening will have an introduction and be followed by a Q&A with Reconnection director Amy Helena, moderated by BSL Film Club co-programmer Charlie Little.

BSL Film Club are delighted to be collaborating with Scottish Queer International Film Festival (SQIFF) on a partnership screening with Filmhouse.

BSL Film Club is Deaf Action’s monthly community screening, programmed by Charlie Little and Tomas Gerrard. These screenings are designed for all deaf, hard-of-hearing, and hearing audiences with an interest in British Sign Language. Our screenings are presented with on-screen descriptive subtitles, and all fluency levels of BSL are welcome.

SQIFF (Scottish Queer International Film Festival) is a charity formed with the aim of showcasing diverse queer cinema and uplifting creative voices from the LGBTQIA+ community in Scotland and beyond. The organisation runs an annual film festival in Glasgow, pop-up and year-round events, and community-focused programmes across Scotland.

Join us afterwards for a Q&A with Reconnection director Amy Helena, moderated by BSL Film Club co-programmer Charlie Little.

Tickets are on a pay what you can sliding scale of FREE, £4, £8, £12, £16, or £20. To book your ticket for this event, click here.

Accessibility
This programme has:

English audio and British Sing Language with English language Descriptive Subtitles
BSL-English Interpretation for the intro and panel discussion.
Live Captioning for the intro and panel discussion.

This screening is 110 minutes long.

Films in this programme includes:

Reconnection (dir. Amy Helena, UK, 2026, 11 mins, British Sign Language w/ English subtitles)

A couple’s argument is interrupted by a blackout. In candlelight, silence gives way to honesty, helping them reconnect and bridge the emotional distance between them.

Close to You (dir. Dominic Savage, Canada/UK/USA, 2023, 99 mins, English and American Sign Language w/ English subtitles)

Elliot Page stars in this gentle romantic drama alongside co-star Hillary Baack (Sound of Metal). Close to You follows a trans man as he returns to his hometown, facing family tensions and complicated dynamics. He reunites with a former love interest, and begins a journey of self-acceptance.

This event is supported by Film Hub Scotland, part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, awarding funding on behalf of Screen Scotland and the BFI National Lottery.

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

Image Credit: Close to You Dir. Dominic Savage, 2023
