Bay Area Queer Shorts Program

Shows:
* Sunday, June 11, 4:30 pm

Screening + Conversation with Filmmakers

This program champions important and diverse voices of local filmmakers expressing a vibrant intersectionality of experience, from coming-of-age stories to elder queer lives. These awarded shorts showcase and amplifies unique perspectives on crucial issues.

• The Girl that Got Away
  After four decades playing tough guy roles, a Mexican-American actor in San Francisco must choose whether to continue presenting as male or come out as female and risk losing job security and family acceptance. San Francisco Independent Film Festival 2023 winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary Short
  Directors: Ephi Stempler, Lauren Veen (US 2019) 14 min
• Semiotics of Sab
  This experimental film essay explores the poetics of identity through an oblique portrait of gay Japanese American actor Sab Shimono, whose work on stage and screen spans more than five decades. The grammatology of his career attests to conflicting lexicons of race, representation, and selfhood.
  Director: TT Takemoto (US 2016) 5 min
• From X to Z
  A cranky Gen X butch is forced to spend time with a disaffected Zennial who seems to represent everything that bugs her about “kids today.”
  Director: Florencia Manóvil (US 2021) 11 min
• Holding Moses
  A Broadway performer becomes a mother, braiding rhythm, grief and time with joy on her path to connect with her profoundly disabled son. Academy Award 2023 shortlisted for Best Documentary Short.
  Directors: Rivkah Beth Medow, Jen Rainin (US 2022) 17 min
• Sharks & Minnows
  Ben is a free spirited, yet closeted teen, who loves to dance and sing. When he meets up to rehearse with the rhythmically-challenged Shayne for their school’s show choir, their dance evolves into a little two-step into Shayne’s pool. Things further escalate as Shayne’s girlfriend Shannon pops a visit as Ben discovers Shayne has more on his mind than jazz hands. California Independent Film Festival Winner for Best Short.
  Director: Matthew Ruitta (US 2019) 11 min
• Queens of the South
  “Being openly, visibly queer is resistance in itself.” This year, at least 17 states have introduced bills banning drag performances. For Brut, filmmaker Dallin Mello visits Tennessee, the first state to sign the ban into law, and visits the drag queens at the center of the resistance.
  Director: Dallin Mello (US 2023) 8 min
• Sex, Politics & Sticky Rice
  Protests, potlucks, and threeways are just the “tip of the rice bowl” for five Asian American lesbians recounting their adventures in sex, love, and queer activism. They were among the first generation of out Asian Pacific Islander queer activists in the San Francisco Bay Area.
  Director: TT Takemoto (US 2014) 8 min

June is Pride Month, a celebration of LGBTQIA+ people and culture – a time to reflect on the great strides we’ve made as a community and to take inventory of the challenges we continue to face. As varied and vibrant as the community is, so are their stories put to film. CAFILM is proud to present its first-ever Pride series, showcasing the best LGBQTIA+ films that made history, not only because they were awarded or internationally recognized, but because of their importance in elevating new perspectives and voices.

This event seeks to promote awareness and understanding of LGBTQIA+ issues and create a safe and supportive environment for the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies to come together and celebrate their identities. It is a positive step towards creating a more inclusive and welcoming community for all.