“It’s a Family Affair” (shorts program)
Saturday, June 28, 1:00pm, Roxie Theater
Frameline description: This program looks at the relationships we have with our families and with ourselves. From self-love to the love of your deceased grandma, this collection of shorts will have you in your feels.
- 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. 👍(also screens in the “Wild Combination Streaming Shorts” program in the Digital Screening Room)
- You Don’t Have to Like Me, dir. Safiyah Chiniere, 2023, USA, 10 min. 💖
(also screens in the “Queer Quartet Streaming Shorts” program in the Digital Screening Room)
Correct Me If I’m Wrong (如你所愿), dir. Hao Zhou, 2025, Germany/USA, 23 min., in Mandarin Chinese 👏
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| Correct Me If I’m Wrong |
Frameline blurb: In a struggle of love, legacy, and belief, a southwest Chinese family tries to purge an unwanted entity from their queer heir. Be sure to also check out director Hao Zhou's other short film at Frameline49: Like What Would Sorrow Look playing before the feature Silent Sparks.
A young person from rural southwestern China, the filmmaker themself, is gender fluid. Their whole family knows that they are different; their sister accepts it, but the rest of the family doesn’t, going through elaborate (and sometimes expensive) rituals to remove the female demon they believe is inhabiting their body. If only they say the right words and wave their hands the right way and burn the right incense, surely they can pray the gay away.
It’s a documentary, which makes it all the more astonishing, but no less sad. Highly recommended.
• IMDb • trailer • official website • Previous films reviewed here: 👍🏆 Wouldn’t Make It Any Other Way (Rise Up: Doc Shorts, Frameline48) • 🫤 無地自容 (无地自容) (Wúdìzìróng) (Frozen Out) (When Doves Cry, Frameline46) •
Grandma Nai, Who Played Favorites (ចៅសំណព្វចិត្ត), dir. Chheangkea, 2025, Cambodia/France/USA, 19 min., in Khmer 💖
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| Grandma Nai |
Frameline blurb: During her chaotic family’s Qingming visit, dead Grandma Nai sneaks away from her peaceful afterlife after overhearing that her queer grandson is about to get engaged to a woman. Grandma Nai, Who Played Favorites won the Short Film Jury Award for International Fiction at this year's Sundance Film Festival.
Young man Meng and his arranged fiancée Pech meet with their families at Grandma Nai’s tomb on tomb sweeping day (Qingming), and then they all go out for dinner and karaoke. Pressed by his mother, Meng gives Pech a bracelet that belonged to Grandma Nai.
Grandma Nai is watching all this, concerned that her gay grandson is getting engaged to a woman.
I’m sure I missed a lot of cultural references, but filmmaker Chheangkea and lead actor Bonrotanak Rith capture the body language and the glances that speak volumes when the main character feels he cannot.
Beautifully done, must see.
Winner of the Sundance Short Film Jury Award (International Fiction), recipient of a Frameline Completion Fund grant.
Note: the film is dedicated to the memory of the actress who plays the spirit of the grandmother, adding an extra twist of poignancy.
• IMDb • trailer • official website •
Tara, dir. Ashutosh S. Shankar, 2025, India/UK/USA, 23 min., in Hindi & English, 🌐 World premiere 💖
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| Tara |
Frameline blurb: A Dalit, trans woman puts herself out in the dating pool of Bombay as she tries to navigate through her queer and caste identities.
At a queer party, Tara meets a charming young man, Aman, and is instantly enamored by his charm and comfort that he shares about her trans identity. Tara, on the same night, learns that Aman is an upper caste man and thus she decides to keep her Dalit (lower caste) identity to herself with the fear of Aman losing interest in her. What follows is Tara's struggle of discretion, coming to terms with her own identity, and facing her real self at the cost of losing love.
It’s a complex story of the intersection of two forms of oppression, in a culture that most Americans know only superficially. Must see.
Note that the term Dalit itself carries other social and political baggage, so tread carefully when using it.
• IMDb • trailer • official website • Instagram: @Tara.ShortFilm •
Who Raised You? dir. Dani Guzman, 2025, USA, 10 min. 👍
(also screens in the “Wild Combination Streaming Shorts” program in the Digital Screening Room)
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| Who Raised You? |
Frameline blurb: An unyielding attachment to the partner he lost in the AIDS crisis of 1980s New York propels a lonely gay man to connect with his estranged family.
It’s 1991. Robert, a gay man, goes to visit the family of his recently deceased lover Raul, with flashbacks to 1981 and talking about starting a family of their own. Robert (Nick Salem) has a good conversation with Raul’s sister. It’s quiet and understated, but maybe a little too much so. Recommended.
• IMDb • trailer • official website • Instagram: @WhoRaisedYouFilm •
You Don’t Have to Like Me, dir. Safiyah Chiniere, 2023, USA, 10 min. 💖
(also screens in the “Queer Quartet Streaming Shorts” program in the Digital Screening Room)
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| You Don’t Have to Like Me |
Frameline blurb: You Don’t Have to Like Me strives to open a poignant window into the lives of masculine-presenting women and the burdens they've borne from societal norms. This narrative unfolds with a deep exploration of emotions and intellect, unveiling the profound sense of devaluation that these women often experience. In a world marred by hate, criticism, and a painful sense of invisibility, We, yearned to cast a luminous spotlight on the significance of community.
A young masculine-presenting Black woman imagines the conversation she wants to have with her mother and grandmother, who spurn her because they disapprove of her “lifestyle.” In reality, though, the conversation doesn’t go as well, despite the young woman’s best efforts. It’s a powerful testament to the power of being yourself and taking a stand, choosing which of the conflicting messages from your family of origin you choose to embrace.
Very well crafted, to the point, expressive. Must see.
• IMDb • trailer • official website •
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