This stirring collection centers images of transgender and gender-nonconforming folks, celebrating the beautiful richness of self-discovery and the driving determination of living an authentic life.

Directed by Nicole Opper (Off and Running, Frameline33) Mezzo celebrates the life and artistic endeavors of Breanna Sinclaire, an African American opera singer and the first openly trans woman to study at a major conservatory. Victor needs to explore hir gender. But secrets don’t last forever, and Victor XX will have to defend the true image that the mirror reflects back. The powerful Vessels (winner of the prestigious 2015 Iris Prize for Best Narrative Short Film) follows Diamond, a young Latina transgirl, as she seeks gender confirmation by visiting a hermana who is a “pumper.” Two young guys meet at an underground party after midnight on New Year’s Eve, and they push each other to try something new in Say U Will. Writer-director Jake Graf (Brace, Frameline38) returns with a lyrical soul-gazing short: as Dawn creeps across London, two lost outcasts meet in the darkness, more afraid of themselves than each other.

— Desiree Buford

Co-presented by:

Project AFFIRM

Trans:Thrive