Realness & Revelations

Queer and trans people of color take center stage! Meet some of the LGBTQ+ community in Ivory Coast. In Puerto Rico, two women rekindle an historic romance. In the US, two Asian American women share awkward high school stories, and a young man heads to a mysterious boat party. In Canada, two siblings embark on an adventure. And in India, a trans woman wishes to become a star.

— PAUL STRUTHERS

FILMS IN THIS PROGRAM

Flood

DIRECTOR Joseph Amenta | 2019 | Canada | 13m

A queer teenage boy takes his younger sister on an adventure wearing face paint and glitter on her tenth birthday. These colorful bandits move through their environments experiencing small joys while turning a blind eye to reality. It isn’t until their celebration is interrupted that the cost of their freedom is exposed.

Darling

DIRECTOR Saim Sadiq | 2019 | USA, Pakistan | 15m | In Urdu with English subtitles

As a new show is introduced at an erotic dance theatre in Lahore, a sacrificial goat goes missing, a dreamy trans girl desperately tries to become a star and a naive young boy falls in love. Winner of the Horizons Award at last year’s Venice Film Festival and a Special Jury Award at the SXSW Film Festival.

The Mistress (La amante)

DIRECTOR Pati Cruz | 2019 | Puerto Rico | 11m | In Spanish with English subtitles

During her husband’s funeral, Maritere receives an unexpected visit from Angela, whose presence reawakens feelings from the past.

The Alternative

DIRECTOR Adesua Okosun | 2020 | Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria | 19m

The story follows three people of the LGBTQ+ community: a queer female, a transgender male, and a transgender female, living in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Each character takes us on a journey into their world, and shows us how Ivory Coast is trying to change the narrative of the LGBTQ+ community, changing the narrative about West Africa and continuously educating its people about the community within Africa.

Were You Gay in High School?

DIRECTOR Niki Ang | 2020 | USA | 13m

Two queer women recall their awkward, closeted high school days of kissing boys and straight-girl crushes.

Buck

DIRECTORS Elegance Bratton & Jovan James | 2020 | USA | 14m

Caught in the midst of a depressive fugue Lynn turns to debauchery to ease his troubled soul only to discover that happiness is a complicated goal. Co-directed by Elegance Bratton (Pier Kids, Frameline44; Walk for Me, Frameline41).

Buying Note: This digital screening is available to view between 12:01am Thursday, September 17 and 11:59pm Sunday, September 27. We suggest watching it at 9:00pm Saturday, September 19. There is no Q&A.

SPONSORED BY
Beaux

CO-PRESENTED BY
Bay Area Video Coalition, Lavender Seniors of the East Bay