We’re delighted to bring a selection of films from this year’s programme to Duke’s at Komedia. All films include English subtitles and a BSL interpreter will be present. Each screening will be followed by a Q&A with filmmakers in attendance. Please note, these screenings are 18+ only.
7.30pm – 9.30pm
Duke’s at Komedia
Gardner House, 44-47 Gardner St, Brighton BN1 1UN
Tuesday 1st August: Adventures & Quests
Queer adventurers embark on journeys of self-discovery, healing, truth-seeking, activism – and a fantasy quest! Tickets available here
Egúngún (Masquerade)
Dir: Olive Nwosu (she/her) – 14:10, Nigeria
In search of healing, a young woman returns home, to Nigeria, the country of her birth.
Hornbeam
Dir: Mark Pluck (he/him) – 16:50, UK
Under the cover of darkness, two strangers bond over a shared secret. But how well do they really know each other?
Trailer available here
Now, Daphne
Dir: Johann G. Louis (he/him) – 21:10, France
A young woman, Daphne, drives through the desert landscape. It’s nighttime. She meets people who seem to know her without being able to give her a name. Who is Daphne? Could it be that a ghost has walked in the footsteps of her past?
Tell Me Something I Don’t Know
Dir: Neal Suresh Mulani (he/him) – 15:25, US
On his 25th birthday, Cary brings his friends to the desert and requests one gift: for them to list everything they hate about him. A reckoning ensues.
Flores del Otro Patio
Dir: Jorge Cadena (he/him) – 15:46, Switzerland
In the north of Colombia, a group of queer activists use extravagant performative actions to denounce the disastrous exploitation by the country’s largest coal mine.
Trailer available here
KingDom
Dir: Joanna Vymeris (she/her) – 22:, UK
Six drag kings embark on a moustache curling adventure to steal the Monument to Masculinity, a solid gold urinal, in a mad-cap attempt to keep their gentlemen’s club KingDom afloat in times of economic peril. Unsurprisingly, the mission doesn’t quite go according to plan.
Wednesday 2nd August: Sensuality & Positivity
Arty, lyrical, candid… A sensual celebration of queer body positivity! Tickets available here
Pink Lips
Dir: Nicky Miller (they/them) – 4:12, Germany
During his tour, a nightwatcher discovers two atypical dead bodies in a position of loving kiss, blindfolded. Meanwhile, he starts to be fascinated by their otherworldliness, and feels the inevitable desire to transform and liberate himself. Pink Lips is an ode to translovers, as well as an invitation to self liberation.
Narcissism: the Auto-Erotic Images
Dir: Toni Karat (they/them) – 01:30:08, Germany
In this award-winning documentary, Toni Karat invited more than 30 bordercrossers of all kinds to a 1929 attic for a flirt or a confrontation with their mirror image, and to discuss gender, narcissism, and self-love!
Thursday 3rd August: Myths & Mystery
Myths and legends, sci-fi, gore, witchcraft, monsters – literal and figurative – this is queer horror, in many forms. Fun, but not for the faint-hearted! Tickets available here
The Monster Within Me
Dir: Kuba Marczuk (he/him) – 5:29, UK
The monster within me is a short story about Tristan, a young man who must battle with his nature and his emotions after an unexpected and tragic event.
Papergirl
Dir: Jack Warren (they/he/she) – 5:07, US
Gender dysphoria gives way to terrifying metamorphosis when a lonely partygoer discovers that their skin is turning to paper.
Itch
Dir: Susannah Farrugia (she/her) – 8:27, Malta
A psychological horror about a novice nun who develops a severe skin condition which continues to worsen, along with her mental state, as she struggles with her feelings for another nun.
Boob Cockpit
Dir: Erin Orion Kay (she/her) – 02:13, US
Titillating Wonders! Mystifying Frights! Astounding Discoveries! Boob Cockpit, a long-lost American science fiction television series follows the adventures of a gravity-defying, Double D class spaceship and it’s plucky Pilot; escaping booby traps at every turn.
AIKĀNE
Dirs: Daniel Sousa (he/him), Dean Hamer (he/him), Joe Wilson (he/him) – 13:54, US
A valiant island warrior, wounded in battle against foreign invaders, falls into a mysterious underwater world. When the octopus who rescued him transforms into a handsome young man, they become aikāne, bound by love and trust, and an epic adventure begins.
Trailer available here
Nightmare in Love
Dir: Kayla Mejia (she/her) – 11:25, US
A moment in time in a young woman’s life, to offer a complex reflection of the human experience. Eden battles with terrible nightmares and understanding her sexuality. The film demonstrates the coming of age struggle to balance all aspects of life simultaneously.
Hex the Patriarchy
Dir: Anne Brashier (she/they) – 06:06, US
Fed up with being bullied in high school, demisexual and asexual best friends Bex and Wren strike back with a bit of magic that has unintended consequences.
Monsters
Dir: Maddie Lock (they/them) – 10:00, UK
‘Monsters’ blends personal essay with unnerving imagery, in the hopes of taking the current narrative surrounding trans and queer people as ‘monsters’, and juxtaposing this with childhood videos, amusement parks, and slugs… ‘Monsters’ was inspired by queer-theory, such as Richard Dyer’s work on the queer-coding of vampires.
Requiem
Dir: Emma Gilbertson (they/them) – 24:54, UK
Requiem is set in 1605, against the backdrop of the witch trials. It’s a coming of age story, following Evelyn as she engages in a game of cat and mouse against her father, Minister Gilbert, in order to be with Mary, the woman she loves. Starring Bella Ramsey (“The Last of Us”).
The Cruise
Dir: Richard Louprasong (he/him) – 07:27, US
On Halloween night, a couple takes a drive into the woods rumored to be haunted to summon an urban legend in this ode to campy ’80s slashers.
