“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 💖
(also screens in the “Wild Combination Streaming Shorts” program in the Digital Screening Room) - 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. 👏
(also screens in the “Wild Combination Streaming Shorts” program in the Digital Screening Room) - Unholy, dir. Daisy Friedman, 2025, USA, 13 min., in English and Hebrew 🙂
(also screens in the “Queer Quartet Streaming Shorts” program in the Digital Screening Room)
Colin Higgins was the director of Harold and Maude and 9 to 5. His foundation now gives grants to support young queer filmmakers. This year’s winner and some past winners will show their films.
Baba I’m Fine, dir. Karina Dandashi, 2025, USA, 13 min., in English and Arabic 💖
(also screens in the “Wild Combination Streaming Shorts” program in the Digital Screening Room)
 |
| Baba, I’m Fine |
Frameline blurb: When Sama’s girlfriend blows off their Friday plans, the teen copes with romantic rejection by blasting music in her room. When her dad suggests hanging out, she agrees. Their evening takes an unexpected turn as a message forces her to choose between authenticity and keeping up appearances. From Karina Dandashi, director of Cousins (Frameline47), recipient of a Colin Higgins Youth Filmmaker grant in 2023.
Being a teenage Muslim lesbian in present-day Pittsburgh is pretty far removed from my own life experience, but this film brought me into the drama and the humanity of the situation, both the daughter (whose Friday date night plans dissolved into dinner with Dad) and the well-meaning father. It deftly swept me along with the story, with just enough distance to be an observer without fully reliving high school. Must see.
• IMDb • trailer • official website 1 • official website 2 •
Barbie Boy, dir. Remi Gabriel, 2024, USA, 15 min., in English and Spanish 💖
 |
| Barbie Boy |
Frameline blurb: Simon reflects on the shared tenderness and tumultuousness of a fall day living with his Abuela. Painful memories, both real and heightened, surface as he tries to reconcile the woman who loved him deeply with the one who left so much unsaid.
Simon lives with their abuela. They have begun to express another facet of themself, growing out their hair and secretly wearing feminine clothes, but Abuela insists on a haircut for their sister’s wedding. You can feel the tension building between the desire to please Abuela and the need to express their true self. Emotionally potent, with strong performances by both actors. Must see.
• IMDb • trailer • official website •
A Bird Hit My Window and Now I’m a Lesbian, dir. AJ Dubler & Carmela Murphy, 2024, USA, 8 min. 👏
(also screens in the “Wild Combination Streaming Shorts” program in the Digital Screening Room)
 |
| A Bird Hit My Window… |
Frameline blurb: After a mysterious girl shows up at Gray's doorstep holding the corpse of a bird that had just cracked her window, an impromptu bird funeral changes the way Gray views herself and her lesbian identity.
This cute claymation comedy is good fun, but also gets at some deeper realities of life and how we connect to other people. Worth seeing, highly recommended.
• IMDb • trailer • official website 1 • official website 2 •
Unholy, dir. Daisy Friedman, 2025, USA, 13 min., in English and Hebrew 🙂
(also screens in the “Queer Quartet Streaming Shorts” program in the Digital Screening Room)
 |
| Unholy |
Frameline blurb: Unholy follows Noa, a young adult with a complex gastrointestinal disorder, as she attends her family's Passover Seder for the first time since being put on a feeding tube. There, she is confronted by pushy family members, malfunctioning medical devices, and a room full of food she cannot eat. From Daisy Friedman, the director of As You Are (Frameline47), recipient of a Colin Higgins Youth Filmmaker grant in 2023.
You can feel the discomfort in the family dynamic with the relentlessly intrusive relatives, but honestly I didn’t see anything that in any way read as LGBTQ, so, other than being a past grant winner, I’m not entirely sure why this is in a queer film festival, which knocks it down to a “recommended” rating.
• IMDb • trailer • official website •
No comments:
Post a Comment