We are located in the Community Village in Preston Park. All our films include English subtitles and a BSL interpreter will be present for our introductions.
2.30pm – 3.45pm: Family
M(other)hood
Dir: Bea Goddard – 16:34, UK
Spring 2021 is a season of transformation for ex-dancer Jack López – a nonbinary, transmasculine parent of four children. Starting testosterone at 43 and readying himself for top surgery, it is a period of huge physical change, but Diego, Frida, Issac and Emilia see Jack as “mummy” whether he has a moustache or not.
Trailer available here
Three Letters
Dir: Ian Smith – 7:00, UK
Following the death of his beloved step mother and grandmother, disability and LGBT campaigner Paul Davies attempts to write to the father he feels rejected by to find resolution and peace.
Trailer available here
GAyME
Dir: Rani Gijbels – 4:12, Belgium
Through a board game loosely based on “The Game of Life”, a little girl tries to find her own path, while up against a dominant mother trying to decide her life for her.
My Mother’s Girlfriend
Dir: Arun Fulara – 14:45, India
Renuka and Sadiya, two working-class women in love with each other, enjoy their day out celebrating Renuka’s birthday. After a fun-filled day, they head home to spend the night together. But unknown to them, Renuka’s son, Mangesh, is around. My Mother’s Girlfriend is the story of what happens when these two relationships collide.
Trailer available here
Octopus
Dir: Ella Glendining – 12:31, UK
Mini returns to the seaside town in which she grew up for the funeral of one of her closest friends, Frank. Frank’s death is beyond tragic, but not a complete surprise to those that knew him best. Having moved away and unexpectedly started a family, Mini is guilt-ridden that she hadn’t seen Frank in the year since she had her baby, a year which has been fraught with adjusting to her new identity as a mum.
Make Me A King
Dir: Sofia Olins – 15:55, UK
Ari performs as a Jewish Drag King, much to the confusion of their family. Idolising real-life hero, Pepi Littman, who carved out a space for Drag Kings over 100 years ago, they use this history to open up a space for acceptance in the present.
Trailer available here
4.15pm – 6pm: Self (Part 1)
Please note, this screening is for over 18s only.
Punch Line
Dir: Becky Cheatle – 10:14, Ireland
On the eve of a transphobic attack, a transgender comedian processes her feeling the only way she knows how: through stand up comedy.
Trailer available here
This Is Katharine
Dir: Ida H. Eldøen – 15:00, Norway
At a young age, Katharine starts thinking she might be gay. To find her sexual identity, she turns to movies and tv, and from the representations she creates an image of how she should be. An image that is far from the shy and scared girl she really is. Through an all-knowing voiceover, we hear her story, her thoughts and feelings, and we take part in her journey to find and to free herself.
Trailer available here
Pride Flag Emoji
Dirs: Vee Smith, Sadiq Ali, Donald Dalziel – 9:09, UK
A party within a party, this short film celebrates queerness, outsider sensibilities, experimental circus and video art. Fast-paced and quirky, these hyper-saturated vignettes are a collection of micro-stories; our childhood moments that lead us to who we are now, times when we felt lost but had to pretend to be ok, how we define ourselves outside of sexual spaces and moments we broke free of stigma.
Trailer available here
Made Up – A Trans Origin Stories
Dir: Valiant Endeavour Lynch-Mathew – 4:52, UK
A colourful exploration of Trans awakening. The stories we tell ourselves, the things we’re told about us, the faces we wear along the way. Making that all make some kind of sense is, difficult. Would a puppet and dragon help? Can it be done?
Pussy Cruising
Dirs: Masa Zia Lenardic & Anja Wutej – 7:30, Germany
What would cruising among lesbians look like? Cruising seems to be a normal part of the gay culture and we all know scenes from famous gay films where men cruise in parks or other public spaces. At the same time, cruising is barely practised among lesbians. Why? Pussy Cruising tackles this topic in a humorous way and takes you on a flirtatious journey between vibrant fantasy and mundane reality.
Trailer available here
Embrace
Dir: Latesha Merkel – 5:18, US
Embrace is an animated short film about asexuality. It explores the common asexual experience of feeling isolated and confused by one’s own orientation, but also the joy that comes from knowing one’s self and connecting with the asexual community.
The Comfort Zone
Dir: Ran Yatim – 17:00, US
What would it take to break you out of your comfort zone? Caleb is by all accounts a successful executive cis man. Despite exceeding his father’s expectations, Caleb is far from happy. That is, until Star, a vibrant and aspiring black trans female rockstar, comes crashing into his world and turns his comfortably numb existence upside down with a string of reckless misadventures and a new outlook on life.
Trailer available here
Virgin My Ass
Dir: Adar Sigler – 16:39, Israel
Ophir asks Harel for a small favour that might make him feel like a normal gay guy. OK, maybe not that small a favour. During the somewhat ridiculous, somewhat exciting night the two will spend in bed, they will learn a small lesson in intimacy and belonging to the community.
Rebel Dykes Present: Dyke Tales
Dirs: Harri Shanahan, Siân. A. Williams – 04:00, UK
“Life in the 1980s? Well… it was exciting, it was scary, it was fun, it was poor, it was a great time and a terrible time to be young and queer in London.” Two extracts from the Rebel Dykes History Project, which focuses on the heritage of a group of young lesbians who lived in London in the 1980s. From the makers of cult documentary Rebel Dykes.
The Cost Of Living
Dir: Alice Trueman – 12:38, UK
Lily, a disconnected, neurotic fitness-freak, has a brush with death and comes face-to-face with her worst fear. But Death appears to Lily as a femme fatale and Lily finds herself unexpectedly giddy with desire. The force she has tried to distance herself from now appears in the doorway of every room – Lily can no longer deny her own mortality – soon the fear gives way to rapture and a desire to transcend…
Trailer available here
6.30pm – 8.15pm: FilmPride 2021 – Bitesize
A very small selection of films from last year’s online festival, on a big screen!
Please note, this screening is for over 18s only.
Have We Met Before?
Dir: Oliver Mason – 12:03, UK
From hanky codes to the (r)evolution of the internet, this short docudrama utilises slices of LGBT social history to explore our basic human need for sex and intimacy.
Trailer available here
Eve
Dir: Joe Solomon – 13:04, UK
Your wedding is meant to be the best day of your life for a young bride, but what if you come out as gay as soon as you’ve tied the knot to your boyfriend?
Trailer available here
My Brother is a Mermaid
Dir: Alfie Dale – 19:30, UK
Social realist fairytale about a trans-feminine teenager, as seen through the eyes of their 7 year old brother. Set in a desolate and prejudiced coastal town, the film examines how a child’s unconditional love can be a powerful and disruptive force for good.
Trailer available here
Is It Me
Dir: Christopher McGill – 9:45, UK
An intimate portrait of a bio drag queen. Body dysmorphia takes centre stage in this highly visual examination of the selves we invent to navigate the world.
Trailer available here
Tender
Dir: Felicia Pride – 14:53, US
After an unexpected one night stand, two women at very different stages of their lives, share an even more intimate morning after.
Trailer available here
Trans Happiness is Real
Dir: Quinton Baker – 8:05, UK
A trans activist chronicles their street art activism, which combats an anti-trans stickering campaign on the streets of Oxford with unwavering but not untested hope.
From A to Q
Dir: Emmalie El Fadli – 18:52, UK
22 year old Alex who wakes suddenly from a dream where she’s intimate with Kayla. Only problem is; Kayla happens to be Alex’s best friend and Alex has never been with a girl before… She now has to navigate through her new found feelings, all the while trying really hard not to mess up the friendship she’s had since she was 5.
Trailer available here
