SQIFF

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
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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
