Our tent was located in the Community Village in Preston Park during Brighton & Hove Pride. All our films included English subtitles and a BSL interpreter was present for our introductions.
Saturday
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)
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
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
Sunday
1.30pm – 3.05pm: Love (Part 1)
Very Slightly Included
Dir: Patricia Kelly – 10:30, Ireland
In this quirky dark comedy, Eva finally brings the perfect girlfriend home to meet her family. Well, she may have one very slight flaw…
Trailer available here
Between Us
Dir: Cailleah Scott-Grimes – 17:12, Canada
Kei longs for a “normal life” in rural Japan. But for a transgender man who is jobless in his own hometown, getting to normal is one steep climb.
Trailer available here
What’s Beyond the Abyss
Dir: Washington Calegari – 24:19, Brazil
Lucca suspects that his boyfriend is lying about his identity and is looking for answers.
Trailer available here
Be My Player 2
Dir: Emily Stewart – 2:01, UK
A short film that follows a girl trying to confess her love, but her fears turn out to be much more large and intimidating than she thought.
Will fighting a dragon be easier than admitting her feelings?
The Aquarium
Dirs: Fatemeh Askarpour, Elyas Askarpour – 9:56, Iran
Two trans people fall in love with each other and because of the taboo of this love, they hide it in their workplace, and make a date in a hotel.
Trailer available here
Time & Again
Dir: Rachel Dax – 27:19, UK
Eleanor and Isabelle meet again, sixty years after their relationship break up.
3.30pm – 5.10pm: Self (part 2)
Happy Birthday, You Made It
Dir: Yuelei Song – 6:22, US
In the stillness of her childhood home, a woman spends her birthday like any other, solitary day – until she becomes lost in a reverie of past memories and dreams.
Angel / Demon
Dir: Vigdis Nielsen – 16:00, Norway
“God forgives! You can be forgiven! All you have to do is confess, and say I’m sorry.” Maria, 16, is confused: is she going to be loyal to God, or trust her emotions?
Trailer available here
Mickey or Minnie
Dir: Krissy Mahan – 1:48, US
Not only does Minnie Mouse indoctrinate children in an imaginary gender binary, she’s ready to physically pounce on gender transgressors at any time!
The Chosen Haram
Dir: Sadiq Ali – 12:31, UK
A story told through circus. Two gay men meet on a dating app, one is bound by his teachings while the other lives a life of excess.
Sparkles
Dir: Jacqueline Pelczar – 13:00, Australia
A 37-year-old woman with Down syndrome runs away from home and embarks on journey from Kalgoorlie to Perth.
L’ amour Rebelle
Dir: Leo Crane – 4:20, UK
A dove tumbles through the sky. A figure treads on discarded feathers. An egg hovers & hatches. This mini-opera, animated in charcoal, reimagines Georges Bizet’s Carmen and its enduring relevance to issues of sexuality and conflict.
Trailer available here
Sapphire
Dir: Leanne Hanley – 13:55, Australia
Caught between two worlds, Ethan must confront their inner demons. With the help of therapist, Max, Ethan attempts to transition from crippling obsession to a freedom that can only be found by becoming Sapphire.
Trailer available here
Ulrichs 1867
Dir: Sven Niemeyer – 9:50, Germany
Karl Heinrich Ulrichs was a pioneer of sexology and is known as the “first open gay man” and “LGBTQ+”-activist in Germany. In 1867, he publicly called for the impunity of same-sex sexual acts in a speech, which led to tumultuous scenes among the audience and his speech being broken off.
Trailer available here
Eliza
Dir: Amy Pennington – 9:37, UK
Appropriating a mockumentary format, Eliza is inspired by lesser known, lesbian, working class, Victorian, ‘poet of the people’ Eliza Cook. Like unfolding a game of exquisite corpse to reveal Alan Partridge, in the get up of a 19th century woman, with the cadence of a camp northerner: Eliza drags the viewer, the unsuspecting public and the artist back / forth through time exploring the overlapping edges of redevelopment, place and queer temporalities.
5.40pm – 7.25pm: Love (Part 2)
S.A.M
Dirs: – Neil Ely, Lloyd Eyre-Morgan -15:39, UK
Two young men form a connection on the swings of their local park.
Minutes
Dirs: Alix Eve, Olivia Dowd – 14:00, UK
Minutes spans the entire relationship of Harriet and Jordan and is a queer ‘rom-com’ for our times. Developed via several devising and improv workshops, the film uses a series of vignettes to explore communication, co-dependency, self-exploration and queer joy.
Trailer available here
Silent Pride
Dir: Kristy Philipps – 5:25, UK
Sammy can’t speak BSL. If she wants Ffion to stay she’ll have to find a new way to communicate, one which pushes her to confront feelings she’s suppressed since the day they met.
Camille and I
Dir: Marie Cogné – 18:14, France
Camille and Marie are in love. But everyone has something to say about their relationship.
Chariot Riders
Dir: Kate Jessop – 5:20, UK
A film about a boy’s feelings of love for his best friend, another boy. The second of two films based on the theme of Love Works: exploring South Asian LGBT+ relationships in contemporary Britain commissioned by Bobby Tiwana.
SIA
Dir: Ashlei Shyne – 12:22, US
A poetic short film that follows Nola & Sia, a Black queer female couple whose vibrant life together is upended when a global pandemic threatens to tear apart their entire world.
Trailer available here
Static Space
Dirs: John Klein, Kate Black-Spence – 28:43, US
Jamie lives an autopilot existence in Indiana until Noa’s distant voice comes through her ham radio…from space. Two women who couldn’t be more different are about to learn a powerful connection can change everything.
Trailer available here
8pm – 9.15pm: Feature
Maisie
Dir: Lee Cooper – 1:14:30, UK
An intimate portrait of ageing and friendship as Maisie Trollette, Britain’s oldest drag act, prepares for his 85th birthday and meets 87 year old Darcelle XV, Guinness World Record Holder from the USA, for the very first time.
Trailer available here
