Sunday, June 08, 2025

Frameline 49 shorts programs (index)

With the exception of a handful that didn’t have advance screeners, I have seen all the shorts in the ten shorts programs of this year’s Frameline. Here are my thoughts.

First, by way of “tl;dr,” the best overall program is “It’s a Family Affair,” followed by runner-up “Outside Voices.” “First Impressions,” “Fun in Shorts,” “Homegrown,” and “Scared Shortless” are all pretty good.

The program I liked least overall is “Queer Quickies,” although obviously that is a category of film very much subject to individual tastes, so your mileage may vary. “Alien Extravaganza” and “Saturday Morning Cartoons” are mixed bags, with some very good and some not so good. “Truth Be Told” is dragged down by a single clunker, but it’s 30% of the runtime of the whole program.

Links to my full reviews are below, with lists of the films in each program. A red question mark ❓ indicates a film that was not available for advance review. Some of those will be filled in later, either from in-person screenings or from the online streaming part of the festival, so stay tuned.

The notation WCSS indicates that this short is available in the Digital Screening Room as part of the “Wild Combination Streaming Shorts” program. The notation QQSS indicates that this short is available in the Digital Screening Room as part of the “Queer Quartet Streaming Shorts” program.

“Alien Extravaganza” (shorts program)
Monday, June 23, 3:30pm, Vogue Theatre
also available in the Digital Screening Room

  • Arctic Diva, dir. Federico Barni, 2025, UK, 17 min., 🌎 North American premiere 👏
  • Entre Marte y la Terra (Between Mars and Earth), dir. Diego Marzuil, 2023, Argentina, 11 min., in Spanish, 🌎 North American premiere 👎
  • Br00dm0ther’s e-Fable, dir. Zijing Zhao, 2024, UK, 8 min., 🌎 North American premiere 👎
  • The Burden, dir. Tish Arana, 2023, USA, 15 min., in English and Japanese 💖
  • But wait… there’s more!, dir. Kialy Tihngang, 2023, UK, 3 min., U.S. premiere ❓
  • The Last Story on Earth, dir. Aaron Immediato, 2024, USA, 18 min. 🙂
  • PRIMALDIAL MAGMA _ ZYGMUTROPHOOZE, dir. Mirrored Fatality, 2024, USA, 7 min. ❓
  • REDMAN, dir. Edith Morris, 2025, UK, 1 min., International premiere ❓
  • Space Plug, dir. Marcus Anthony Thomas, 2023, UK, 14 min., no dialogue 👎

“First Impressions, Lasting Connections: Date Night Shorts”
Tuesday, June 24, 8:30pm, New Parkway Theater, Oakland
also available in the Digital Screening Room

  • Divine Intervention, dir. Ravenna Tran, 2024, UK, 17 min. 👏
  • Hold Me Close, dir. Aurora Brachman & LaTajh Simmons-Weaver, 2025, USA, 19 min. 👏
  • I’m the Most Racist Person I Know, dir. Leela Varghese, 2025, Australia, 13 min. 💖
  • Un movimiento extraño (An Odd Turn), dir. Francisco Lezama, 2024, Argentina/‌France, 22 min., in Spanish with subtitles 😑

“Fun in Shorts” (shorts program)
Sunday, June 22, 11:00am, Roxie Theater
Saturday, June 28, 3:30pm, Roxie Theater
also available in the Digital Screening Room (except Gender Reveal)

  • Gender Reveal, dir. Mo Matton, 2024, Canada, 13 min., in English and French 👏
  • Girlfriend Girlfriend, dir. Sara Werner, 2025, USA, 5 min., 🌐 World premiere 👏
  • Homolita, dir. Jude Dry, 2025, USA, 8 min. 👏
  • Poreless, dir. Harris Doran, 2025, USA, 13 min. 👏
  • Sister! dir. John Onieal, 2025, USA, 14 min. ❓
  • Space Daddy, dir. Stephen Carruthers, 2025, UK, 10 min., 🌐 World premiere 👏
  • Sweet Talkin’ Guy, dir. Spencer Wardwell & Dylan Wardwell, 2025, USA, 4 min. 💖
  • Teth, dir. Peter Darney, 2024, UK, 13 min., in Welsh, 🌎 North American premiere 👏

“Homegrown” (2025 shorts program)
Friday, June 20, 1:30pm, Roxie Theater
Saturday, June 28, 11:00am, Roxie Theater
also available in the Digital Screening Room

  • AutoErotica: We Buy Gay Stuff, dir. Jeremy von Stilb, 2025, USA, 17 min., 🌐 World premiere 👏
  • Budget Paradise, dir. LaTajh Simmons Weaver, 2025, USA, 14 min. 😑
  • En memoria, dir. Roberto Fatal, 2024, USA/Mexico, 11 min., in English and Spanish 👏
  • Liminality, dir. Tess Bliven, 2025, USA, 13 min. 👏
  • Rainbow Girls, dir. Nana Duffuor, 2025, USA, 16 min., 🌐 World premiere 😑
  • Thanks, Babs! dir. Jen Rainin & Rivkah Beth Medow, 2025, USA, 14 min., 🌐 World premiere 👍

“It’s a Family Affair” (shorts program)
Saturday, June 28, 1:00pm, Roxie Theater

  • Correct Me If I’m Wrong (如你所愿), dir. Hao Zhou, 2025, Germany/USA, 23 min., in Mandarin Chinese 👏
  • Grandma Nai, Who Played Favorites (ចៅសំណព្វចិត្ត) , dir. Chheangkea, 2025, Cambodia/France/USA, 19 min., in Khmer 💖
  • Tara, dir. Ashutosh S. Shankar, 2025, India/UK/USA, 23 min., in Hindi & English, 🌐 World premiere 💖
  • Who Raised You? dir. Dani Guzman, 2025, USA, 10 min. 👍 WCSS
  • You Don’t Have to Like Me, dir. Safiyah Chiniere, 2023, USA, 10 min. 💖 QQSS

“Outside Voices: Leaders in Queer Cinema Supported by Colin Higgins Foundation,” Wednesday, June 25, 6:00pm, Roxie Theater

  • Baba I’m Fine, dir. Karina Dandashi, 2025, USA, 13 min., in English and Arabic 💖 WCSS
  • Barbie Boy, dir. Remi Gabriel, 2024, USA, 15 min., in English and Spanish 💖
  • A Bird Hit My Window and Now I’m a Lesbian, dir. AJ Dubler & Carmela Murphy, 2024, USA, 8 min. 👏 WCSS
  • Unholy, dir. Daisy Friedman, 2025, USA, 13 min., in English and Hebrew 🙂 QQSS

“Queer Quickies” (2025 erotic shorts program)
Monday, June 23, 10:00pm, Roxie Theater
⚠️🔞 sexually explicit content

“Saturday Morning Cartoons” (adult shorts program)
Saturday, June 21, 2025, 11:00am, Roxie Theater
also available in the Digital Screening Room (except 27, Carrotica, and Pour exister/‌What It Takes)
⚠️ content warning: adult material 🔞

  • 27, dir. Flóra Anna Buda, 2023, France/Hungary, 11 min., in Hungarian 😑
  • Carrotica, dir. Daniel Sterlin-Altman, 2024, Germany, 13 min., 🇺🇸 U.S. premiere 👏
  • Quimera (Chimera), dir. Gael Jara & Martín André, 2024, Chile, 11 min., in Spanish 👏
  • The Eating of an Orange, dir. May Kindred-Boothby, 2024, UK, 7 min. 🙂
  • 嗨爸 (Hey, Dad), dir. Wei-Fan Wang, 2024, Taiwan, 6 min., in Mandarin Chinese 👏
  • Homunculus, dir. Bonheur Suprême, 2025, France/Italy, 17 min., in French, English, Italian, and Russian, 🇺🇸 U.S. premiere 💖
  • Tiger Lily Mountain Pass, dir. Nate King, 2024, USA, 5 min. 🙂
  • Two Black Boys in Paradise, dir. Baz Sells, 2025, UK, 9 min. 💖
  • Pour exister (What It Takes), dir. Fabien Corre & Kelsi Phụng, 2023, France, 2 min., in French ❓

“Scared Shortless” (shorts program)
Saturday, June 28, 2025, 5:45 pm, Roxie Theater
⚠️ content warning: verbal and physical abuse, intentional self-harm

  • Clean Slate, dir. Emily May Jampel, 2025, USA, 9 min. 👏
  • Dope Fiend, dir. Rosanagh Griffiths, 2023, UK, 13 min. 👏
  • Goodbye Party, dir. Sophia Lou & Nathan Pearson, 2025, USA, 13 min. 🌐 World premiere 👏
  • The Holly King, dir. Tim O’Leary, 2025, USA, 10 min. 👏
  • Munchies, dir. Brittany Alexia Young, 2025, USA, 11 min. 👏
  • ⚠️Take Care, dir. Brittany Ashley, 2025, USA, 11 min. 🌐 World premiere 👎
  • ⚠️Talk Shit, dir. Will Thede & Ben Weiss, 2025, USA, 13 min. 👏

“Truth Be Told” (2025 documentary shorts)
Tuesday, June 24, 3:30pm, Vogue Theatre
⚠️ content warning: suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, strong language

Frameline description: At a time when so much of our queer culture is under attack, this program celebrates the archives and the memories of our ancestors and paves a path toward our future.

Miscellaneous shorts in other programs

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