Resilient
Creations
2026 Program
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Lulu Arrow Mckown
United States
Goddamn's Great Big Adventure: The Dating Crisis // 2:30
Director's Statement: Hi, I’m Lulu! I’m a vis-dev and character design artist currently living in Santa Clarita California and attending Calarts for Character Animation. When I’m not drawing, I enjoy going on late-night walks with friends, becoming my cat’s favorite bed, and window shopping for stuff I’ll never buy.
Synopsis: Goddamn an adorably naive sock ventures out to find love, and runs into a few problems along the way.
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Rita Chen
United States
Play again? // 4:06
Director's Statement: I'm Rita Chen! I am a Toronto/LA-based visual development artist going into my 4th year at CalArts' Character Animation program. I write stories about love in fantastical places.
Synopsis: Faced with the end of their world, two time-travelers say their last goodbyes.
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Ana Ruíz Sánchez, Charlie Ben Jazia, Clémence Lépine, Maximilien Delmas, Victoria Salvanès
Canada
Yee-haw! // 2:00
Director's Statement: Ana, Charlie, Clémence, Maximilien and Victoria are a group of friends and international students who recently graduated in Animation from the Rubika Schoo in Montréal. After 3 years of studies, they all plan to stay in Québec, yearning to find their path in careers such as modeler, animator, visual artist or project coordinator.
Synopsis: In a hot and dry desert, two gruff cowboys are set for a tense duel. Fingers wiggling as they try to intimidate each other. Unless their bond is not the one we suspect…
Suddenly, they fire their guns… at targets inside a fair shooting booth. When a big stuffed animal is awarded to the winner, he decides to gift it to his boyfriend to uplift his grumpy mood. Both happy, the couple continues the fair hand in hand!
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King Louie Palomo
Canada
Queen Mother // 13:47
CONTAINS: Mentions of death
Director's Statement: King Louie is a Queer, Filipino-Canadian, producer-director committed to uncompromising visions that challenge conventional paradigms. He works to encourage dialogue and foster community through his films. Over the years, King has produced projects that have been screened at local and international film festivals. He is an alumna of the 2024 CFC Norman Jewison Film Program: Director’s Lab.
Synopsis: When a mother visits her son, a drag performer, a night of raw confessions forces them to confront the unhealed wounds of their past.
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Lisa Aleta Nazareth
India
Unpack // 3:46
Synopsis: An animated short film about identity, trauma, and healing. The story follows the changing nature of the protagonist and their coping mechanism.
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Dasha Levin, Mason Cazalet,
Mihika Das, Matthew Wisdom
India, Ireland, Mexico
Handwoven // 9:00
CONTAINS: Images of slaughtered animals
Director's Statement: Dasha Levin is an award-winning Mexican American documentary filmmaker from San Diego, California. A graduate of Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, his work has been shown internationally, featured on PBS, and screened at Academy Award–qualifying festivals, earning honors including the nexGEN Filmmaker Award at the Berkshire International Film Festival and Best Student Documentary at the Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at the Cannes Film Festival.
Synopsis: A lyrical portrait of Nikyle Begay, a non-binary shepherd and weaver; working to preserve their way of life through the traditional art of weaving.
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Fanélie Ollivier, Louhann Daval
Canada
Gaze // 3:52
Synopsis: Kim and Jennie, inseparable best friends, live a quiet, carefree university life — until the arrival of Nate, a charming new student who falls for Jennie. While Jennie politely turns down his advances, Kim, consumed by jealousy, slowly comes to realize she’s in love with her best friend. As she tries to keep Nate away, her emotions become harder and harder to hide...
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Kat Schmitz
Germany
translucent // 2:00
Director's Statement: Kat Schmitz is a director and filmmaker. After working in bars, cruise ships, journalism, and NGOs worldwide, pursued an education in Translating and Media & Communication. Ranging from documentaries about Analogue Astronauts in the Negev Desert, Swedish space missions to Munich’s club scene during COVID, Kat Schmitz assisted in camera, sound and editing. They are passionate about telling stories about spaces that are emotionally or conceptually difficult to access, and in portraying our world in all its diversity—perhaps even bit more. Since 2023, studying Directing at the Internationale Filmschule Köln and realized six short films ranging from 2 to 10 minutes in length.
Synopsis: Translucent tells the perspective of gender-diverse athletes inspired by the real life example of tennis player Renée Richards. Produced within 48 hours, this film looks back on Renées vibrant career in competitive sport and her search for belonging through the eyes of her older self. It raises the most pressing question in the sports world right now onto the tennis court: Where do trans athletes belong in the sports principles of fairness?
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Gryphon Vorbach
United States
shadows of me // 15:00
CONTAINS: Homophobia and attempted self-harm
Director's Statement: Gryphon Vorbach is a young, Transgender filmmaker from southern Maine. After getting into filmmaking during high school, Gryphon went on to go attend Southern Maine Community College through their CNMS program. During that program she got chosen as one of 8 filmmakers from a group of 25 to make her first short, "Shadows of Me". After SMCC Gryphon went on to attend Husson university to finish her college education in film.
Synopsis: Haunted each night by a cruel, distorted version of themselves, Chloe, a young nonbinary person, battles overwhelming self-hatred and trauma in a dark dreamscape. When they meet Farrah—a warm, genuine presence in the real world—Chloe begins to glimpse the possibility of love and self-acceptance. But as past wounds and rejection resurface, the line between reality and nightmare begins to blur. In a final confrontation with their darkest thoughts, Chloe must decide whether to surrender to the pain or fight to believe they’re worthy of healing.
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Oscar Bittner
Germany
high diver // 4:58
CONTAINS: Blood & Injury
Director's Statement: Oscar Bittner was born in Berlin, 1996. He gained his first experience in professional Filmmaking during internships in France and in Berlin. In 2024 he graduated at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. From 2019 to 2020 he did an exchange to the renowned Gobelins school in Paris. After finishing his graduation film “Turmspringer” he works on an animated feature film.
Synopsis: Since early childhood, Tuan and Felix have been inseparable. As they train to become Olympic high divers, however, their budding love for each other suffers under the weight of the competition. Professional sport is a harsh business, and Tuan will sacrifice everything for it ... or will he?
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Aaron Szabo
United States
the desire to be // 15:30
Director's Statement: Aaron Szabo (he/him) is a filmmaker and video editor currently living in Philadelphia. He is drawn to stories about queer and trans lives, and loves to create film in collaborative, non-traditional ways.
Synopsis: A documentary video-scrapbook exploring trans joy, gender euphoria, and what it means to boldly declare agency over your own happiness.
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Alex King
United States
alyssum // 6:26
CONTAINS: Blood & Depictions of Mental Illness
Director's Statement: My name is Alex King, and I’m a director and storyboard artist with a passion for visual storytelling and a long-term goal of directing. I thrive in collaborative environments and bring hands-on experience from working as a Production Assistant across multiple projects.
Synopsis: Alyssum follows Alyson, a young woman who’s struggling with perfectionism as she attempts to craft the perfect bouquet for her wife, Lilith. Overwhelmed by anxiety and self-doubt, she battles her inner critic, represented by corrupting vines. As she spirals deeper into self-doubt, she must decide: will she push forward and embrace imperfection, or will her fears consume her?
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Mama Ganuush
Palestine
a message // 4:48
CONTAINS: Mentions of Genocide, SA, Vulgarity, Death
Director's Statement: Mama Ganuush is a trans Palestinian performance artist, filmmaker, organizer, and activist whose work is a potent and unflinching expression of Palestinian futurism. Based between San Francisco and Lisbon, their performances are a powerful synthesis of Palestinian folk art and music, the elegance of Egyptian golden-era dance, and the raw, spontaneous energy of clown and theater. They use their platform to manifest a future where Palestine is free, presenting Palestinians not as subjects of tragedy but as architects of freedom. Mama Ganuush is the founder of the Heritage Activists and Liberation Artists (HALA) Collective, a radically queer collaboration of artists dedicated to the liberation of Palestine and all people fighting colonialism. Through productions like PinkWash, Cabaret Palestina and Salon Hala, they curate explicitly anti-colonial spaces where art and community fortify one another.
Synopsis: A short documentary film capturing the queer Palestinian voices in exile
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Ulysse Patrick Thevenot
France
it is not dirty // 4:22
CONTAINS: Internalized Homophobia, AIDS, Death
Synopsis: Didier remembers. In the intimacy of his daily life, he recounts his memories of love and loneliness, of what is hidden and what remains. The film questions how memories build our identity, while raising awareness of the struggles and hardships that LGBT seniors face throughout their lives. It values resilience in the face of discrimination, while offering support tailored to this community. The film is also a message of hope to future generations with worries and fears about growing up and growing old in a blurred and uncertain world and future, where acquired rights - those of women, LGBT+ people and minorities - seem once again to be weakened and called into question. To preserve essential narratives.
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Mae Malay
Philippines
sisenta! // 19:40
Director's statement: Mae Malaya is a graduate student of Comparative Literature at the Department of English and Comparative Literature at the University of the Philippines. By day, She works as a Content Marketing Specialist for one of the leading maritime companies in the world. She was a Fellow at the Virgin Labfest 18 Writing Fellowship Program of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, where she debuted her first play, “Dalaga na Kami”, Her maikling kuwento, “Diliman, ang Panibagong Zombieland”, was the first prize of Likhaan: University of the Philippines Institute of Creative Writing’s Life UPdates. She was the Editor-in-Chief of the 7th issue of Kino Punch, the literary/film magazine of UP Cinema. Mae is also a film critic for Society of the Filipino Film Reviewers and Film Police Reviews. Her writings center on stories of Filipino children, women, and queer. In 2023, Mae co-wrote Ivan Gentolizo’s film, “Last Full Show”, and co-produced his UPFI thesis film, “Sakaling Malimutan Kita”. “Sisenta” is her debut film.An animated short film about identity, trauma, and healing. The story follows the changing nature of the protagonist and their coping mechanism.
Synopsis: Cora has just turned sixty and received her senior citizen’s privilege card, marking the start of a new chapter in her life. After reconnecting with her high school barkada, she rekindles a deep bond with Gina, a friend who has secretly harbored feelings for her since their youth. What begins as nostalgia soon blossoms into something deeper, pushing Cora to confront emotions unfamiliar to her. Meanwhile, her gay son, Carlo, becomes her anchor, guiding her through this unexpected journey of self-discovery and love. As Cora and Gina navigate the complexities of their relationship, they face not only the challenges of aging but also societal expectations and personal fears surrounding a love that has long been misunderstood. Together, they must decide whether to pursue a love denied for decades, knowing it could redefine their identities and transform their futures in ways they never imagined.
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Melina Kian
Iran, Islamic Republic of
Excess // 9:37
Director's Statement: Melina Kian. Actress, writer and director, born (June 10, 1995). She was born and lives in Iran. She studied at the Faculty of Architecture. She initially entered the profession with the aim of acting. She started various acting classes at the age of 14 and her first experience in front of the camera was at the age of 19 when she was chosen by the director to play in a television series. After that, she devoted several years to training and acting on the theater stage and also has international performance experience at the ITFOK 2020 festival in India. She was a talented storyteller since her adolescence and during the (Covid-19) era, she started writing scripts and chose a small part of the script for her first filmmaking experience called (Woman Minus Two) which was later renamed to (Afrat) and was produced by her mother: Hengam Rahmani and received very good feedback. But unfortunately, due to inexperience and trust in the wrong people, she has suffered abuse and material and moral damages, which her lawyer is pursuing with legal authorities to recover her work and moral rights. She has also acted in a short film (Yuma), a feature film (Afshar), and a feature film (Hidden Moon). Melina Kian successfully made her second short film and is waiting to complete the editing process. She has also written several ready-made scripts for short films, interesting film projects, and a mini-series that she plans to start pre-production in the near future in collaboration with a prominent producer. According to her, she has found a great interest in screenwriting and directing and sees a challenging and interesting path ahead...
Synopsis: Three sisters named Sara-Atfeh-Panthea are involved in the issue of dividing the inheritance left to them by their deceased father. Their father bequeathed that all 3 of them inherit according to the law. But the point of the story is that Panthea left the family 4 years ago. And 2 years before the father's death, he performed a legal gender reassignment and now he is a boy, now the court is left with the question of whether he should give more share to the boy or not?
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Yasmine Aarts
Netherlands
she grew wings // 4:10
Director's statement: Yasmine Aarts (2001). I am a versatile animation artist with a strong desire to experiment, illustrate, and design. I would describe my work as energetic and whimsical. Not afraid to make mistakes, I often leave a rough touch to my work, adding to the authenticity. I let myself get inspired by accidents and uncertainty. As a filmmaker, I focus on a particular emotion or atmosphere conveyed with appropriate mixed media techniques and analog materials. My films often contain themes of identity and femininity. I have great interests in (art) direction, animation and VJing. I love being surrounded by other passionate animators and illustrators, I still have a lot to learn and I am constantly growing!
synopsis: A short film about butterflies that are irreverently pinned for display. Meanwhile, a diverse group of women speak up about their complicated relationship with beauty and womanhood, as if they are suffering a similar fate. A mixed media animation made with paint and other analog techniques.
CONTAINS: Discussions of Body Shaming
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Carolina Meza
Mexico
call me ro // 20:00
CONTAINS: Flashing Lights, Nudity, Violence
Director's Statement: Carolina Meza is a transdisciplinary and experimental artist, director, and performer. Non binary. Their thesis film Dime Ro (2024) had its world premiere in São Paulo, Brazil, where it won the Audience Award for Best Foreign Short Film at the 32nd edition of the MixBrasil Festival. It was also part of the official selection of the 63rd Ann Arbor Film Festival, the oldest experimental and avant-garde film festival in the world. The film continues its journey and has been shown across Europe, Asia, North America, and South America. Carolina is one of 23 artists who created the collective feature film Centenario, which uses footage originally shot in 9.5mm format to preserve and celebrate the history of cinema. The project was produced by Archivo Fílmico Reyes with support from FOCINE. As part of her filmography, their documentary Aprendiendo a cantar (2021) won Best Short Film at the 21st Silver Wave Film Festival in Canada, as well as the Feminist Perspective Award at the 13th REC in Argentina, and has been selected for more than 15 national and international film festivals. Meanwhile, RMI or Resonancia Magnética (2023) premiered at the Cinema de Girona Festival in Spain and won Best Experimental Short Film at both the Taxco Film Fest and Cinegro in Guerrero. As an actxr, Carolina has starred in short films and music videos. In theater, she was part of the cast of the play Requiem por una Gota o La Cruzada de Las Sedientas (2024) from Andalucía, with performances at La Capilla, El Hormiguero, Huerto Roma Verde, and Teatro para el Fin del Mundo in Tampico. Carolina have directed music videos for Universal Music and worked on various feature films—such as The Exorcism of God (USA/MX) by Alejandro Hidalgo—as a still photographer. She has also been part of the directing team for Sin Decir Adiós, Soy Mario, and Madres, all currently in post-production. Currently they are creating film for the Opera Cuauhtemóctzin, which will premiere at Mexico City’s Zócalo as part of the celebration of the 700th anniversary of Tenochtitlán.
Synopsis: Romelia, a queer raver, starts a journey of self-discovery and identity transition. This exploration hinders their relationship with “El Flako” breaking and questioning their routine with new needs and desires.
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Rajshi Rajesh Chauhan
India
forget me not // 14:22
Director's statement: Rajshi is a Filmmaker from Haridwar, currently based in Mumbai, India. With expertise spanning direction, screenwriting, and content creation, she believes in the power of inclusive storytelling. Rajshi’s short documentary, Udhampur – The City of Goddess, showcases her ability to blend global concerns, such as climate change, with a cultural lens. Her accolades include the Srimati Sheela Marwah Memorial Award for Excellence in Academics and recognition for her short films at various Film festivals in India. She has honed her craft at institutions such as the Asian Academy of Film and Television and Whistling Woods International, blending formal training with a unique perspective shaped by her personal experiences. Her short film script has been a semi-finalist in the Shore Short Scripts Fund Spring Edition and the Outstanding Screenplays Short Film Fund 2025. Her latest short film, “Forget Me Not,” is a queer story that revolves around grief and memories.
Synopsis: Forget Me Not is the story of Nikki, who, after the death of her girlfriend, Sara, decides to undergo a procedure that will erase her memories. As Sara’s ghost tries to change her mind, Nikki must choose between her grief and her past.
CONTAINS: Death
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Julia Cohen Ribeiro, Sofian Lanaro
Argentina
what's left fades away // 15:00
Director's Statement: Julia Cohen Ribeiro is an afro jewish queer filmmaker, argentine/brazilian. As a director, she has done the documentary “María Presente” (2022); the documentary “They call us chinese” (2018), winner of best short doc of MAFICI (2022). She is also a member of Kukily Afrofeminist Arts Collective. In 2021, Julia was recipient of the Prince Claus Seed Award. So Lanaro is a queer argentine actor and filmmaker. They worked in feature films as “Scavenger”(2021) winning best actress in the San Cugat Film Fest and “Weekend”(2016) which premiered in the 64th San Sebastian International Film Fest. In the last years, So developed their career working in many films as assistant director and photographer. They both co-wrote and directed the short What’s left fades away (in its distribution stage).
Synopsis: Andrea is going through an awakening of her Afro identity, which strains her relationship with her white girlfriend Valentina. She finds refuge in her new circle of black friends. Andrea and Valentina feel trapped in their differences and wonder if a new connection is possible.
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Rosy Dayane do Nascimento Costa
Brazil
artists' beach // 14:56
Director's statement: Rosy Nascimento integra o Conselho Nordeste da Associação dos Profissionais do Audiovisual Negro (APAN). Dirigiu "Praia das Artistas" (2025), "Te guardo no bolso da saudade (2021). Foi Diretor Assistente em "Eu Estou Aqui" (André Santos, 2025) e "Trânsfuga" (Ana Mendes, 2025).
Synopsis: Three friends go through a turbulent day at work and, at the end of the day, end up in the sea.
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Rafa Hoss
Brazil
small field// 14:58
CONTAINS: Discussion of Queer Trauma
Director's Statement: Rafa Hoss is a Brazilian multidisciplinary artist with nearly 15 years of experience rooted in theater, performance, and visual arts. Born and raised in southern Brazil in a culture that taught him to remain silent, especially as a gay man, his work is marked by a visceral commitment to LGBTQ+ rights, crafting stories that merge intimate vulnerability with sharp political edge. As a queer artist navigating a deeply unequal country, his narratives confront silence with poetry and pain with beauty.
Synopsis: In a small town in southern Brazil, six LGBTQIAP+ youths gather in a basement and come up with a bold idea: to organize the town’s first-ever Pride Parade. Amid laughter, painful memories, and dreams of change, the group faces fears, prejudice, and a deep longing for belonging.
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Rodrigo Valenti
Spain
One floor away // 9:30
Director's statement: Born in Lima in 2005, student at the Peruvian University of Applied Sciences and the renowned Film Institute of Madrid. Rodrigo Valenti, film director, produced projects such as "SILENCIOS" and "VERDADES Y SECRETOS" both funded by the INSTITUTO DEL CINE, now he embarks on short and long projects such as "ONE FLOOR AWAY".
synopsis: Marie moves to a new city and on the way she meets Lola, a girl who quickly catches her eye. Both get to know each other little by little and create a bond.
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Qinyuan Liu
China
game for two // 13:25
Director's Statement: Graduated from the School of Drama, Film & Television at Communication University of China , now pursuing Documentary Production at The University of Hong Kong . She’s crafted observational shorts for digital platforms and penned raw, intimate stories for subculture media. Thriving on the unpolished edges of ordinary people, her work finds poetry in the gritty textures of the everyday life , always with a sting of humor in its gaze.
Synopsis: Past midnight, Zhang Chenchen helps the heavily drunk Yang Xin check into a cheap hotel. The intense noises from the next room unsettle both. After a heated argument, the two girls decide to carry out a prank...
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Anica Goco
Phillippines
last song syndrome // 18:51
Director's statement: Anica Goco is an award-winning student filmmaker and scholar whose work boldly explores social issues and the complexities of the human condition. Known for pushing creative boundaries, her films often challenge conventions and invite audiences to confront uncomfortable truths with empathy and reflection. Her short film The Exam earned multiple awards at the Ateneo Film Festival, while Last Song Syndrome won recognition at De La Salle’s Film Festival. Despite being diagnosed with lupus, Anica continues to create with resilience and purpose, using her art to tell stories that empower and provoke thought. Through film, she aims to inspire awareness, compassion, and change—one story at a time.
synopsis: In the heart of Manila’s vibrant music scene, a rising rockstar finds her world slowly slipping into silence. When her passion leads to unexpected loss, she drifts into isolation, until an unexpected encounter with a quiet voice on the bustling street rekindles something she thought she’d lost.
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Lucas Tomaz Neves
Brazil
fissure // 19:55
Director's Statement: Lucas Tomaz Neves is a director, screenwriter, and editor, working since 2015 on fiction and documentary films. His first short film, "Everything You Love Will Be Taken Away", was selected for Cannes Short Corner and Clermont-Ferrand. He directed the documentary "The Image of Music", about MTV Brazil, and "Movement," both screened at national and international festivals. In 2023, he released the short films "Spark" and "Boiling Point."
Synopsis: After the sudden end of a friendship, Laura dives into a quiet process of mourning. Unable to grasp where the rupture began, she faces the emptiness left by Vic, her best friend. Between reconstructed memories and lingering silence, Laura searches for meaning in the absence of answers. Time becomes both an enemy and a guide, revealing the invisible marks that reshape her perception of the past, the present, and what is yet to come.
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Canada
Beatrice Villadelgado
late bloomer // 6:37
Director's Statement: Beatrice Villadelgado is a queer, Filipino-Canadian film director and editor based in Ottawa, ON. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Media Production and Design with a minor in Film Studies from Carleton University, where she served as President of the Carleton Film Society (2021-2024). During her presidency, Beatrice worked to build a community of film enthusiasts and emerging filmmakers, organizing workshops, a film festival, and networking opportunities to build collaboration and creative growth. Passionate about artistic activism, Beatrice explores social and environmental issues through film. As part of Hot Docs’ Youth Documentary Impact Producers Program, she presented a Water Warriors screening, exhibition, and panel discussion, addressing Canada’s water access challenges. Her capstone documentary, “Smoke Signals: The Impact of the Media’s Take on Wildfires”, explores the 2023 wildfires in Ontario and Quebec, examining their effects on the Ottawa community while critiquing media strategies for covering future climate crises. Her short film “A 21st Century Best Friend” critiques modern dependence on our phones, earning her first place at Carleton University’s 2023 Create-athon. Beatrice's recent narrative short film, “Late Bloomer”, was directed, produced, and edited as part of Digi60’s Filmmakers’ Festival 60-Challenge. The film is a coming-of-age, slice-of-life story about Jesse, who faces her fear of driving while navigating the challenges of taking control of her own life.
Hosted By Lydia
@wretchedlydia
Lydia is Salem's premiere Horror Hostess, a 3035 year old sorceress, and a (temporarily) deposed empress. When not tending to her army of goblins or casting foul spells, she spends her freetime tormenting poor souls by subjecting them to the worst, shlockiest, dumpster quality horror movies to ever blight the Earth. You may have also seen her hawking wares for alternative clothing shop, Die With Your Boots On. Lydia may be evil, egotistical, and incompetent but you have to admit- she is charming!" -Written by Lydia (DO NOT TELL ANYONE I WROTE THIS FOR MYSELF)
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Lula Cherry
United States
Loser Lesbian vampire // 18:41
Director's statement: Lula Cherry is a transgender woman writer and director currently studying at CalArts. Her films are transgressive in nature, confronting normative ideas around gender, sexuality, the body, and identity. Working in the space between personal narrative and radical expression, Lula uses cinema as a space for disruption. She breaks form, challenges comfort, and centers trans and queer subjectivities. Her work pushes against the boundaries of genre and taste, often embracing the raw, the uncanny, and the vulnerable to provoke new ways of seeing and feeling.
synopsis: Carmilla is a vampire with a hopeless crush on Laura, an effortlessly cool writing major. To cope, Carmilla throws herself into toxic distractions: hooking up with a Mormon closeted lesbian whose blood tastes like repression, and murdering men (even though she finds masculine blood absolutely revolting.) Torn between hunger and heartbreak, Carmilla's unlife is spiraling. But obsession, like immortality, is hard to kill.
CONTAINS: Blood
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Mouad Ezzahir & Mackai Sharp
Canada, France, Morocco, Portugal
Full stomach // 8:11
Director's Statement: My name is Mouad Ezzahir. Originally from Morocco, I began my artistic career as a musician before transitioning into screenwriting. With a foundation in theatre, I have since focused my work on fiction, specializing in the horror genre,a field that has always inspired me.
Synopsis: Lola and Elle are two students whose friendship slowly deepens into intimacy. When Elle invites Lola home for dinner, things shift. The apartment is warm, her mother is kind, and Elle is charming. But in the basement, something waits. Something on all fours. Something Elle calls family. Full Stomach is a horror short about obedience, family dynamics, and the moment intimacy tips into violence. It starts with softness, ends in blood, and lingers in your throat.
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Pablo Chacón
Columbia
otro // 5:42
Director's statement: Pablo Chacón M. is a Colombian visual artist and director. His work is an exploration of the queer body through culture, the monstrous and the divine.
synopsis: A man faces all the desire and horror that come with creation after bringing to life the most atrocious of monsters: a clone.
CONTAINS: Flashing Lights
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Karen Bucay
Mexico
dinner party // 9:01
CONTAINS: Blood, Gore, Cannibalism, Suicide
Director's Statement: Karen is a Mexican director whose projects explore the meaning of life, expectations, and the challenges of living in contemporary society. Her interests include learning about the world and the stories hidden in the ground, as well as exploring the importance of insignificance and how it frees us. In her films, Karen presents us with deep characters, full of conflicts and complex feelings, which make us empathize with them through our own emotions.
Synopsis: Romelia, A dinner party where the main guest is forced to face the nature of their identity, and the not so natural aspect of it. The guests will witness as Bee is fed an hegemonic femininity which drowns they’re gender identity. What shall they eat? And how does that eat them? Dinner Party is an analysis on how we understand gender, sexuality and identity, in a society that gives birth to people and transforms them into dolls. The main character is a queer person struggling with their identity and who they are supposed and expected to be just because of the gender they were assigned at birth. Through the film, the character will struggle while suppressing their identity just to please gender norms and what is expected of them.
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Raye Rivera
United States
let it out // 9:18
CONTAINS: Blood
Director's Statement: Ramon (Reymen) Rivera is a queer filmmaker and educator based in Atlanta, Georgia. During their time in production, they worked as a first and second AC; they also have experience in G&E, production design, script supervision, and as a first assistant director. Their resume includes work on short films, feature films, music videos, and web series. Currently, their focus has landed on directing, screenwriting, and editing. Their filmmaking captures stories not bound by the constraints of one specific genre or mode. Rivera has a taste for sci-fi, thrillers, and drama, and is unafraid to look beyond traditional narrative to the realm of the experimental. Common themes in their work are the juxtaposition of chosen family versus blood relatives, queer life and queer experiences, mental health, and overall the internal emotional experience. Filmmaking as their art is ever-evolving as they continue to live life and create films. Working in higher education through their role as a graduate student in Georgia State University’s MFA Digital Filmmaking program has allowed them to hone their skills not only in filmmaking but in film education as well. As they continue their work, in their own projects and working with others, they hope to bring their knowledge and experience into the classroom.
Synopsis: Let It Out is an experimental narrative film that follows Cass, a troubled young adult who suffers from manifestations of trauma as he maneuvers his first experience with therapy.
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Lad Charlie Lévesque
Canada
I // 0:55
Director's statement: Hello! I just graduated from Old Montreal College in 2D animation and will always continue to learn and improve. This thesis film is my first but certainly not my last; look out world, here I come!
synopsis: He is nothing remarkable, with no final destination, but he sometimes dares disturb the universe; he experiences himself through multiples realities, a symphony always being played.
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Lisa Aleta Nazareth
India
Beach Vacation // 3:46
Synopsis: An animated short about nostalgia and home, or the lack thereof. A film that touches upon belonging, family, and memory. An urge to understand and accept.
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Sandra Heiberger
Germany
Could we be friends? // 2:45
Director's statement: Sandra is a young filmmaker and illustrator. She always loved illustrating and directed various collaborations between artists and now made her animation director‘s debut with Could We Be Friends in 2025 in her third semester of university, which was also the first time she animated. Even though her strength lies in illustrating, animating gave her a new view of how she can tell stories through moving pictures.
synopsis: The shy girl Darcy comes by a coffee shop and meets Sophia the barista. She wants to talk to her but fears to do so, panics and runs out. Outside she makes a choice: face her fear. Darcy decides to write a letter and returns, hoping her small act of courage will be enough. She faced her fear and gets rewarded by Sophia accepting her request.
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David Kmet
Croatia, United Kingdom
By a thread // 4:40
Director's Statement: David Kmet, award-winning Croatian production designer and animator, is a London-based 2D digital artist with a background in traditional media and art.
Synopsis: After rediscovering a lost bond with a memory from his past, heartbroken Orestes attempts to lead his love back into his present. Anchored to it, he stretches the past to its limits and faces a choice of preserving the memory as it was, or altering it beyond recognition.
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Amber Ou
Canada
to the moon & back // 2:52
Director's statement: Amber Ou (born 2001) is a Taiwanese-Canadian animator who graduated from the Bachelor of Animation program at Sheridan College in 2024. The short film "To the Moon and Back" is their first self-directed film and was created as their thesis project during their final year of school.
synopsis: A romantic rendezvous between the Ocean and the Moon who meet every night to dance together under the stars. Their time together is never enough as they must part ways again when morning comes
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MJ Celaya
Mexico
keep it together // 7:57
Director's Statement: Animation student at Universidad de Monterrey, passionate about illustration and visual storytelling.
Synopsis: A 2D-animated lighthearted comedy short film about an insecure zombie and a cheerful girl on their first date at a mall, where love wins over appearances.
CONTAINS: Depictions of a car crash, cartoon blood/exposed brains
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Ana Ruíz Sánchez, Charlie Ben Jazia, Clémence Lépine, Maximilien Delmas, Victoria Salvanès
Canada
yee-haw! // 2:00
Director's statement: Ana, Charlie, Clémence, Maximilien and Victoria are a group of friends and international students who recently graduated in Animation from the Rubika Schoo in Montréal. After 3 years of studies, they all plan to stay in Québec, yearning to find their path in careers such as modeler, animator, visual artist or project coordinator.
synopsis: In a hot and dry desert, two gruff cowboys are set for a tense duel. Fingers wiggling as they try to intimidate each other. Unless their bond is not the one we suspect… Suddenly, they fire their guns… at targets inside a fair shooting booth. When a big stuffed animal is awarded to the winner, he decides to gift it to his boyfriend to uplift his grumpy mood. Both happy, the couple continues the fair hand in hand !
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Oscar Bittner
Germany
high diver // 4:58
Director's Statement: Oscar Bittner was born in Berlin, 1996. He gained his first experience in professional Filmmaking during internships in France and in Berlin. In 2024 he graduated at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. From 2019 to 2020 he did an exchange to the renowned Gobelins school in Paris. After finishing his graduation film “Turmspringer” he works on an animated feature film.
Synopsis: Since early childhood, Tuan and Felix have been inseparable. As they train to become Olympic high divers, however, their budding love for each other suffers under the weight of the competition. Professional sport is a harsh business, and Tuan will sacrifice everything for it ... or will he?
CONTAINS: Blood, Injury
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Diya Joseph
India
Nautilus // 2:32
synopsis:A short film about friendship, the beach, and hazy summer memories - some things are meant to be experienced only once.
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Rastriciha Dorneles &
Caim pacheco do nascimento
Brazil
Parla Italiano // 15:00
Director's statement: Rastricinha and Caim are two trans individuals who connected through the association of trans professionals in the audiovisual field - APTA. Rastricinha is a screenwriter and filmmaker who made her first film in 2023, Erê: Child in Axé. She invited Caim, director and photographer of 'Workshop of the Devil' (2020), to join this production, focused on trans and dissident creativity, rethinking imaginaries through screens. Bringing a vibrant and underrepresented Brazilian essence to the screens.
synopsis: Gabriela and Julia are going through a moment of transformation in their relationship: the friendship is becoming something more. However, all the romantic atmosphere is destroyed when Gabriela goes into a trance. Julia, not knowing what to do, needs to call the neighbor to help with her crush's crisis.
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Max van Wijgerden
Netherlands
canvas // 2:34
Director's Statement: Max van Wijgerden is an animation student at the HKU University of the Arts Utrecht and an emerging filmmaker. Their practice centers on themes of queerness and the unsettling beauty of the human body.
Synopsis: Two transgender individuals reshape themselves, using creative tools to sculpt the bodies that feel right for them.
CONTAINS: Cutting into skin and genitalia, Nudity
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Jessica Wilcock
United Kingdom
support available // 5:01
Director's statement: Jess Wilcock is a 22-year old multidisplinary artist based in London, specializing in Visual Development for Animation and Costume Design. Raised in the North West of England, she moved to London to study and further develop her craft. Her current aspirations are to pursue a design based career with a focus on whimsical, colourful and narrative based projects, both personal and professional.
synopsis: In the future, the government replaces the healthcare system with a money- saving alternative: a vending machine that requires an item from the patient that’s of equal value to their medical needs. A young transgender boy hears about the machine and goes to seek its assistance. We follow him in his never-ending quest to find an item with a worth equal to his need for gender affirming care. Support available is a visually dynamic and emotionally driven short film that explores themes of inaccessibility and the importance of friendship and community in the face of hardship. It is a predominantly 2D animated short film with 3D mixed media elements created as a 3rd Year Graduate project by Jessica Wilcock, Jennifer Payne and Leonardo Delazzer who studied on the BA (Hons) Animation Course.
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Gael Jara & Martín André
Chile
Chimera // 11:21
Synopsis: A non-binary folk watches the handover of the first non-binary ID in the history of Chile. As they try to do the paperwork, they will face the bureaucracy of the legal proceedings and their own memories.
CONTAINS: Flashing Lights
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Matheus Almeida
Brazil
Home // 7:10
Director's statement: Graduated in journalism from Centro Universitário Nossa Senhora do Patrocínio, I have been working in the audiovisual segment for over ten years, producing for radio, tv and internet. Winner of the Anselmo Duarte International Film Festival, Brazilian Nanofilm Festival and the J. Silvestre Photography Prize, I have dedicated my recent career to cinema and documentary productions. In addition to scripting, directing, recording and editing, I am also familiar with the process of capturing, processing and mixing audio, as well as acting in some of my productions in relatively small roles.
synopsis: What does it mean to be trans? What is a trans person's daily routine? What are their fears, dreams, and desires? How does a trans person survive so much hate and prejudice? These are questions almost no one asks. After all, who cares about the trans cause, other than trans people themselves? In a society that marginalizes and kills us, our identities and our stories are erased or simply ignored. Yet, we exist. We exist and we resist, and our voices need to be heard, just as our bodies need to be seen and normalized.
CONTAINS: Drugs, Alcohol, Nudity, Mentions of Sex Work
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Leo Pickard
United States
bird's nest (the mourning dove and the cardinal) // 3:49
Director's Statement: Leo Pickard is a transgender filmmaker and musician from Austin, Texas. In his filmmaking practice, he pull from his personal experience to tell stories which discuss themes of queerness, interpersonal relationships, and the transgender body whether it be through explicit narratives consisting of characters and settings or through symbolic representation, multimedia animation and heavy use of metaphor, or a combination of both.
Synopsis: An animated retelling of the directors personal journey with his body as a transgender man from Texas.
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Hachul Le Do
Vietnam
The Tale of Tran Thanh Duong // 5:00
Director's statement: Hachul Le Do (b.2000, HCMc) is an artist primarily recognised as an animation filmmaker. He is also a poet, an illustrator, a sculptor, a mixed reality creator. Hachul likes cats and spirituality. He cares about time, culture, transgenderism, queer expression, and disability rights.
synopsis: The Tale of Tran Thanh Duong takes place in a world where men are fish, and women are shrimp. The Xẩm, Chèo-singing-influenced (Hát Xẩm, Hát Chèo) score prompts a conversation about the duality of identities: Which body of water carries that which aren’t fish or shrimp? Drawing inspiration from Vietnamese folklore and traditional musical theatre, this cross-temporal film tells a story of the birth of a species that is not fish nor shrimp: Trần Thanh Dương, a fictional reimagining of Saint Gióng. Little Gióng stretched himself and suddenly transformed into a mighty warrior of over a dozen feet tall with an awe-inspiring presence. Gióng’s stretching is a traditional motifs of folk literature: the desire to transform.
CONTAINS: Eroticism
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Zoe Smith
Australia
meet my joy // 3:08
Synopsis: Two childhood friends reunite for the first time since one of them has transitioned.
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Milo de Figueiredo Galante
Canada
coming back // 1:22
Director's statement: Born and raised in the state of São Paulo, Milo Galarte is a proud queer animator who is passionate about the art of animation of all kinds, but specially 2D. He is an aluminum in two animation schools, FAAP in Brazil and VFS in Canada, and has worked as a director on three short films until now.
synopsis: After a long, ordinary day, our main character, F, is walking home when suddenly their headphones run out of battery. With no way to distract themself from overthinking, F keeps walking, trying to get home before they are consumed by his overflowing paranoid thoughts.
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José Rafael Vélez & José Antonio Alameda
Puerto Rico
a doll's house // 22:52
Director's statement: José Alameda Lugo (Josh Anton) Director: began his career through the dynamism and the intrinsic theatricality of drag artists and fashion photography. The style of these early subjects have characterized his commercial production and conceptual work. Josh Anton is distinguished by his panoramic mastery of photography, dominating an inclusive range of styles from commercial to fine art photography & video. His work is characterized by the use of color, light and shadows as second photography subject, often having equal importance his his compositions as de models.Established in Puerto Rico for more than 10 years, Josh Anton has succeeded in making his photography into a platform for the LGBTQI+ community, young artists, models and celebrities with numerous publications in print and digital media. Most important, since 2021 his studio, Nosveran Studio, has become safe space for LGBTQI+ creative individuals. José Vélez, Director: has a master degree on architecture and a second concentration on art & tecnology. Since 2016 has been working on photography and video lighting designing for commercial and artistic work. His personal creative production sorrounds itself around an artistic and conceptual view of erotic photography and video higltighted by anonymous spaces and color blurs. Since 2021 his studio, Nosveran Studio, has become safe space for LGBTQI+ creative individuals.
synopsis: A Doll’s House" is a documentary short film highlighting the work of multidisciplinary artist Alfonso Muñoz Alma. This documentary focuses on the LGBTQ+ community and women as foundational elements in Alfonso’s life and work. From an early age, Alfonso found an ally, protector, and source of inspiration in his mother, creating an environment that allowed him to question the world around him through his imagination as a queer child. His childhood was marked by the creation of dollhouses and fantastical scenes using objects found in the trash. His ability to rethink found objects within spaces translates, in adulthood, into a reinterpretation of heteronormative visual culture in his art. Through his work, Alfonso challenges the narrative of our visual culture by introducing Puerto Rican women and LGBTQ+ figures into the pictorial and narrative spaces of traditional art, which are usually dominated by men.
Jasmine Jackson
United States
PDX TBOY WRESTLING MATCH// 12:53
Synopsis: A Transmasc Wrestling match held in Portland, Oregon for the first time ever; founded by Adam Bandrowski and Mich Miller (Trans Dudes of LA)
CONTAINS: Blood, Depictions of Violence, Fighting, Intense Sex/Intimacy
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Franny Trinidad & Kelly Liu
United States
babaylan // 13:10
Director's statement: Kelly Liu is a first-year news documentary filmmaking student at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. She holds a degree from New York University, where she double-majored in Broadcast Journalism and International Relations. Passionate about visual storytelling, Liu focuses on pressing issues such as climate change, social justice, and human rights, with a particular commitment to amplifying the voices of marginalized communities. Through her work, she aims to shed light on underreported stories and drive meaningful conversations for change. franny trinidad is a documentary filmmaker and multimedia journalist based in California's Bay Area and Central Coast. She is currently in her first year as a documentary student at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and holds a B.A. in Film and Digital Media from UC Santa Cruz. Her passion for storytelling is rooted in a love for human connection, a commitment to social justice, and an understanding of cinema as a tool for liberation and political action.
synopsis: Bay Area Filipino drag queens are blending ballroom and pre-colonial Babaylan spirituality as a reclamation and celebration of queer Filipino identity.
Joshua Art Tovar
United States
War for Stockton // 25:05
Synopsis: War for Stockton is a home-grown case study in how a city gets rewritten by a Facebook-fueled outrage machine. While not centered on LGBTQ+ storylines, the film maps the rumor-economy that also shapes school-board fights, Pride debates, and the basic safety of public space for queer and trans residents.
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Hallie Harper
United States
[Trans] Texan // 20:30
Director's statement: Hallie Harper is a filmmaker and artist from Oak Harbor, WA. They recently graduated with an MFA in Documentary Production and Studies from University of North Texas and are a 2021 alum from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA where they received a BA in Communication. Hallie has worked on a variety of projects ranging from documentaries to experimental short films. Throughout their work they have received awards and recognition such as a 2025 nomination of Best Student Documentary from Thin Line Fest for documentary short Beyond Roe, and a 2021 Northwest College Emmy Award for documentary short Eyes Above: Militarization of Sacred Land.
synopsis: Amidst the changing political environment in Texas, two trans individuals-- James and Evie-- navigate their day-to-day lives while discussing the implications of the current social and political landscape.
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Bruny Derotzi
Brazil
ballroom night// 11:39
Director's Statement: Bruny Derotzi is a non-binary person with a background in theater and currently a film student. In the audiovisual field, they work in Production, Direction, and Screenwriting. Their portfolio includes two short films: Closet Monster and Ballroom Night.
Synopsis: A documentary that takes the audience into the world of Ballroom Culture through visual and sound experimentation, along with personal stories from those who are part of this scene.
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Sunna Nousuniemi & Tuomas Kumpulainen
Finland
ÁHKUIN// 20:24
Director's statement: Radio-JusSunná / Sunna Nousuniemi is a queer Sámi and Finnish audiovisual artist and storyteller. Their debut short documentary Boso mu ruovttoluotta - Breathe Me Back to Life received the Best Short Film Award at Nuuk International Film Festival and The Moving People and Images Award at the Love & Anarchy Film Festival in 2022. Guhtur Niillas Rita Duomis / Tuomas Kumpulainen is a Sámi artist and storyteller based in Guhtur, Sápmi. Kumpulainen tells stories in various forms, including theatre, singing, songwriting, composing, directing and acting. He holds a degree in traditional Sámi handicrafts, specializing in burl, reindeer antler and bone as the main materials. In 2025, ÁHKUIN received the New Voice in Storytelling Award at imagineNATIVE Media Arts Festival in Tkaronto, Canada.
synopsis: With the singular Sámi oral storytelling tradition of joik at its center, ÁHKUIN is a visual and musical call-and-response between a grandmother and her descendants. Archival interviews and the joik of Maarit-áhkku (dir. Sunná Nousuniemi’s grandmother) unspool as a connective thread across time, inviting the viewer through a portal into this corner of Sápmi. Here, the rhythms of time are set by the daily tasks that assured the survival of those who came before; seemingly mundane chores — carrying water from the river, setting up the sauna, boiling reindeer bone marrow — offer up gifts of memory, music, and Indigenous knowledge.
Gryphon Vorbach
United States
SHadows of me // 15:00
Director's statement: Gryphon Vorbach is a young, Transgender filmmaker from southern Maine. After getting into filmmaking during high school, Gryphon went on to go attend Southern Maine Community College through their CNMS program. During that program she got chosen as one of 8 filmmakers from a group of 25 to make her first short, "Shadows of Me". After SMCC Gryphon went on to attend Husson university to finish her college education in film.
Synopsis: Haunted each night by a cruel, distorted version of themselves, Chloe, a young nonbinary person, battles overwhelming self-hatred and trauma in a dark dreamscape. When they meet Farrah—a warm, genuine presence in the real world—Chloe begins to glimpse the possibility of love and self-acceptance. But as past wounds and rejection resurface, the line between reality and nightmare begins to blur. In a final confrontation with their darkest thoughts, Chloe must decide whether to surrender to the pain or fight to believe they’re worthy of healing.
CONTAINS: Homophobia and Attempted Self Harm
Aaron Hwang
United States
Slow living // 6:51
Director's Statement: "Aaron Hwang (they/them), or Wen, is a Taiwanese-American filmmaker based in Cambridge, MA. Their work centers around joy in otherness, handmade ways of being, and that ever-slippery sense of home in body and place. Day-to-day, their practice is a mediums-based approach. Recently, that includes making music with a calculator, pixel art, and rediscovering MiniDV camcorders. For work-work they are a co-founder and director with 4th District, a production company focused on Asian American stories."
Aaron Szabo
United States
The desire to be // 15:30
Director's statement: Aaron Szabo (he/him) is a filmmaker and video editor currently living in Philadelphia. He is drawn to stories about queer and trans lives, and loves to create film in collaborative, non-traditional ways.
Synopsis: A documentary video-scrapbook exploring trans joy, gender euphoria, and what it means to boldly declare agency over your own happiness.