Sunday, June 16, 2024, 5:00 PM, Presidio of San Francisco; total runtime: 96 minutes
all QWOCFF films are fully open-captioned with audio description available
⚠️Content Warning: several of the films have content warnings; see below
- Expanding Sanctuary by Kristal Sotomayor, 2023 USA, 20 min. π
- Mi Abuelita, La Campeona by Isa Moreno, 2023 USA, in Spanish, 3 min. π
-
Prism: A Nonbinary Documentary
by Ginger Chen, 2024 USA, 5 min. π
World Premiere - Quears by Shabnam Singla, 2023 Austria, 24 min. π«€
- Where Do We Go by Jade Blackthorne, 2024 USA, 4 min. π
- Adulthood? by Mehak Chahal, 2024 USA, 2 min. π
- Exhale by Sara Lopez Martinez, 2024 USA, 4 min. π
-
Clocky
by Alicia Power Rangel, 2024 USA, 6 min. π
World Premiere - Rhombus by Noel King, 2022 USA, no dialogue, 4 min. ππ€
- To Glow at H.U.M. University by Naya Ryan, 2024 USA, 5 min. π
-
Courtside Bouquet: The Legacy of Leigha Rose
by Jasmine LeBlanc, 2024 USA, 8 min. π
World Premiere -
SK8RGRLS
by Jean Zamora & Florence Middleton, 2023 USA, 9 min. ππΌ
World Premiere
Expanding Sanctuary by Kristal Sotomayor, 2023 USA, 20 min. π
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Expanding Sanctuary |
Bio: Kristal Sotomayor is a nonbinary bilingual Latinx documentary filmmaker, journalist, and curator based in Philadelphia.
⚠️Content Warning: Mention of racism and deportation
This lovely documentary centers on a Dreamer, mother of 3, in Philadelphia, getting ready to get married. She wants to bring her mother from Mexico City for the wedding, but needs help getting the paperwork done. She finds a program that will help, but they require that you join some sort of local organization in your area; she joins Juntos. She came mainly to check the box on the application for help getting her mother to the wedding, but stayed for the social justice mission and for her kids’ future. It’s a compelling story, well told. Definitely a MUST SEE.
• IMDb [director] • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram: @KristalSotomayor • Facebook: @KristalASotomayor • Twitter: @KristalSotomayr [note: -yr instead of -yor] • preview • other •
Mi Abuelita, La Campeona by Isa Moreno, 2023 USA, 3 min. π
Bio: Isa Moreno is a queer and trans filmmaker and graduate student in animation from Watsonville, California.
The title translates as “My grandmother, the champion.” Dedicated to “our elders who fought so we can play,” this animated short tells the story of a girl trying to get her grandmother more engaged with life. The grandmother had dreams of being a competitive boxer, so the granddaughter figures out a way to build a bridge from that dream to the present. It’s cute and imaginative. Highly recommended.
• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram: @IsaIllustratez • Facebook • preview • other •
Prism: A Nonbinary Documentary by Ginger Chen, 2024 USA, 5 min. π
World Premiere
World Premiere
Bio: Ginger Yifan Chen (they/them) is an interdisciplinary writer, filmmaker, and artist.
Ginger Chen interviewed several nonbinary people about their experiences, plus one person who defines themself as “anti-binary,” by which they mean they not only define themselves outside the binary construct, but actively work to tear it down. It’s an interesting doc on a marginalized group (even within the LGBTQ+ community), well worth 5 minutes of your time. MUST SEE.
Quears by Shabnam Singla, 2023 Austria, 24 min. π«€
Conversations about earrings dip into queerness and gender norms.
⚠️Content Warning: Description of queerphobic incident
Bio: Shabnam Singla is a queer Indian student in Austria and Estonia combining her work of social epistemology and feminist philosophy.
People talk about their earrings and how they relate to their queerness and gender identity. There’s some interesting stuff in there, but it’s too long, and circles back to the same points multiple times. It would be much more engaging if it were edited down by a factor of 2 or 3. “Recommended, I guess.”
• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other •
Where Do We Go by Jade Blackthorne, 2024 USA, 4 min. π
On a quest to find a restroom, a trans woman is obstructed by an AI device.
⚠️Content Warning: Transphobia, Misgendering
Bio: Jade Blackthorne is a musician who has lived life in the margins of society.
A trans woman is out and about and needs to use the restroom. They find a pair of public restrooms, but there is an artificially intelligent gatekeeper that has to scan you and determine whether you are male or female, by its criteria, and they do not compute. It’s an interesting glimpse of a not-too-distant dystopian future. Highly recommended.
• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram • Facebook • preview • SoundCloud •
Adulthood? by Mehak Chahal, 2024 USA, 2 min. π
Bio: Mehak Chahal is a line cook turned aspiring filmmaker and creative dualist.
The audience liked this one, but I couldn’t follow it as it jumped to talking about “The Big One” earthquake in Southern California, which I couldn’t connect to “life’s complexities.” Recommended on the basis of the audience response.
• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other •
Exhale by Sara Lopez Martinez, 2024 USA, 4 min. π
⚠️Content Warning: Grief, Flashing images
Bio: Sara Lopez Martinez is a film student that loves to hit the gym.
This was another short that I had trouble following. With no context, we are given a series of abstract quotes. At the end, I was saying, “Huh??” Not recommended.
• IMDb [director?] • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other •
Clocky by Power, 2024 USA, 6 min. π
World Premiere
World Premiere
⚠️Content Warning: Flashing images, Emotional pain
Bio: Power is a storyteller.
A person, frustrated with human relationships, decides their clock is the ideal partner. They go everywhere together, almost inseparable. It seemed like Clocky was a metaphorical stand-in for something, but I couldn’t figure out what, or maybe I was looking for something that wasn’t actually there. This short is Weird-with-a-Capital-W, but tolerably amusing. Recommended.
• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other •
Rhombus by Noel King, 2022 USA, no dialogue, 4 min. ππ€
⚠️Content Warning: Flashing images
Bio: Noel King (she/her) is a Deaf Korean-American transracial adoptee, queer mental health clinician, and art therapist.
A deaf person wanders through a landscape of portals reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland or maybe a funhouse at the beach, or something similar to Burning Man by the Sea. The film is totally silent, with no spoken dialogue but also no ambient sounds, putting you in the experience of deafness in an intriguing way. MUST SEE.
• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram • Facebook • preview •
To Glow at H.U.M. University by Naya Ryan, 2024 USA, 5 min. π
Bio: Naya Ryan is a Southern filmmaker who brings people together onscreen and in the real world.
Maybe they didn’t say or maybe I blinked and missed it, but what does H.U.M. University stand for? My guess is How to Use Magic, but in any case it’s a school for people to explore and develop their magical powers. In the first class, several students show their powers, but one finds that using their special power alone, drains them physically and emotionally, so they hold back. It’s interesting, though definitely still rough around the edges. Recommended.
• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram: @NayasWordOfMouth • Facebook • preview • other •
Courtside Bouquet: The Legacy of Leigha Rose by Jasmine LeBlanc, 2024 USA, 8 min. π
World Premiere
World Premiere
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Courtside Bouquet: The Legacy of Leigha Rose |
Bio: Jaz Le Blanc is a filmmaker, event producer, storyteller and community hype woman.
This is a beautiful portrait of an interesting person, who draws upon strong family bonds and acceptance to be genuinely present with all sorts of people, giving back to the community and to the next generation. MUST SEE.
• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram: @Jaz_LeBlanc • Facebook • preview • other •
SK8RGRLS by Jean Zamora & Florence Middleton, 2023 USA, 9 min. ππΌ
World Premiere
World Premiere
⚠️Content Warning: Mentions of sexual harassment and assault
Bio: Jean Zamora and Florence Middleton are documentary filmmakers whose work focuses on women and other marginalized communities.
I love skates of all sorts: skateboards, old-school roller skates, Rollerblades, and the newest addition to the family: quad skates. Quads are closest to old-school roller skates, but with modifications that allow them to be used for tricks very similar to skateboards. Both skateboarding and inline skating are heavily male-dominated, only grudgingly allowing space for girls and nonbinary folks to join in the fun. Quad skating is much more inclusive, and a group of women and NBs come together as a community to keep the skate parks accessible and safe for all. Definitely a MUST SEE if you’re a skate enthusiast, but highly recommended even if you’re not.
• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker [Middleton] • Instagram: @ShotByJeanZ • Facebook • preview • watch on YouTube •
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