“Think Global, Act Local” (shorts program)
Saturday, June 14, 2025, 12:00 noon, Presidio Theater, 99 Moraga Ave., SF
⚠️ content advisories: (see individual listings below)
- ⚠️ WIPEOUTS, dir. Nesrine Majzoub, 2024, USA, 14 min. π
- ⚠️ What Would You Tell Your Past Self? dir. Nyah Renee Edington, 2025, USA, 9 min. π
- ⚠️ (Invisible) Ultra Violet, dir. Beli Sullivan, 2024, USA, 5 min. π
- ⚠️ Ardent Dissonance Harmonic Discord (Super Emotional), dir. Emily Park, 2025, USA, 4 min. π
- Memories on Rewind, dir. Lynette Esparza, 2025, USA, 3 min. π
- ⚠️ Where do we go? dir. Shabnam Singla, 2025, USA, 5 min. π
- Miss you, dir. Yen-Vy Ngo, 2023, USA, 6 min. π
- ⚠️ silence as resistance, dir. Xahej Bajipura, 2025, USA, 8 min., in English and Hindi with full English subtitles π
- ⚠️ Land’s End/ν μ§μ λ, dir. haejin bang, 2025, USA, 8 min., in Korean and English with full English subtitles π
- ⚠️ Self Portrait, dir. Sage Tran, 2024, USA, 7 min. π
- ⚠️ and the wind answered, dir. Peace Waters, 2025, USA, 7 min. π
- PARAMITA, dir. Kirthi Nath, 2023, USA, 24 min. π
WIPEOUTS, documentary, dir. Nesrine Majzoub, 2024, USA, 14 min. π
⚠️ content advisory: mention of PTSD, racism
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| WIPEOUTS |
QWOCFF blurb: An intergenerational community of women and gender-expansive people of color who joyfully ride the waves and hold space for each other to fall.
Surfing in northern California has long been dominated by white men, but a group of women and gender-expansive people of color have created Salted Roots to encourage more diverse people to try it. Particularly strong in the stories they tell is the aspect that in surfing, you are going to wipe out occasionally, especially when you’re starting out, but it’s an environment where falling on your face is relatively safe, so you have room to experience falling and picking yourself up again, not having failed just because you fell.
It’s a powerful message, with some people who clearly love surfing. I’ve only been surfing once in my life, for a total of an hour, and barely managed to stand up, even on the “bunny slopes” waves. Still, I love watching surfing, and the metaphor for life in this film is appealing. Must see.
• IMDb • trailer • official website • Instagram: @SaltedRootsSurf @NesrineMajzoub • post specifically about Wipeouts •
What Would You Tell Your Past Self? dir. Nyah Renee Edington, 2025, USA, 9 min. π
⚠️ content advisory: flashing images
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| What Would You Tell Your Past Self? |
QWOCFF blurb: Black and brown nonbinary individuals in the East Bay explore joy and inspiration.
We start with a bong-inspired contemplation of what message you would want to send to your past self. A key thread is don’t change yourself, and don’t try to change the other person, to make love work. Interesting and thought-provoking. Highly recommended.
• IMDb • trailer • official website • Instagram: @Nyah_Edington • YouTube channel • Nyah directed π “Your Part,” which was in the 2024 San Francisco Transgender Film Festival •
(Invisible) Ultra Violet, dir. Beli Sullivan, 2024, USA, 5 min. π
⚠️ content advisory: emotional pain
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| (Invisible) Ultra Violet |
QWOCFF blurb: A Black woman’s life-threatening health issues spin her into a deep sea of anxiety.
A Black woman wanders about the town, accompanied by her guardian angel Pebo (the character in the lower left corner of the image), dealing with health issues and general anxiety. It’s engaging, and an interesting visual style. Highly recommended.
• IMDb (Beli Sullivan) • trailer • official website (note: the main page on the website is labeled as BeliCreates.com, but that address is in correct. The correct address is B9Creative.WixSite.com/BeliCreates, as shown in the QWOCFF program.) •
Ardent Dissonance Harmonic Discord (Super Emotional), dir. Emily Park, 2025, USA, 4 min. π
⚠️ content advisory: emotional pain
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| Ardent Dissonance Harmonic Discord (Super Emotional) |
QWOCFF blurb: A neurodivergent Black & Corean non-binary femme turns to creativity after a breakup.
The main character goes to @InkThePainAway for tattoos to express her pain in a creative way. The key pull quote: “I am enough. I can’t be abandoned. I hae myself.” Those words help our protagonist on her way to healing. Personally expressive, highly recommended.
• IMDb • trailer • official website •
Memories on Rewind, dir. Lynette Esparza, 2025, USA, 3 min. π
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| Memories on Rewind |
QWOCFF blurb: A girl walks into a room with a TV that plays her past memories.
An old analog TV set hooked up to a genuine VCR, with a box of tapes to choose from. As she wanders through old memories, the protagonist contemplates the way that making a different choice at some pivotal moments might have led her down very different timelines. What if she had pursued other interests or opportunities? It’s interesting and well done, highly recommended.
• IMDb (Lynette Esparza) • trailer • official website • watch free on YouTube •
Where do we go? dir. Shabnam Singla, 2025, USA, 5 min. π
⚠️ content advisory: body dysmorphia
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| Where do we go? |
QWOCFF blurb: A letter from an Indian daughter to her mother transforms into a journey between the city and herself.
An Indian woman has moved to San Francisco and sends her mother letters with lots of pictures of the city, but not of herself because of issues of body image. Heartfelt and personal, highly recommended.
• IMDb • trailer • official website • Instagram: @BreadOmelette •
Miss you, dir. Yen-Vy Ngo, 2023, USA, 6 min. π
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| Miss you |
QWOCFF blurb: A Southeast Asian person reflects on relationships and care amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
COVID is still here, and we still need to take precautions to protect our own health and especially to protect the more vulnerable members of our community. The filmmaker goes to considerable lengths to explore ways to be careful, with a reference to @OutdoorsWithNico. Thoughtful and well done, highly recommended.
• IMDb • trailer • official website • Instagram: @YenVoid •
silence as resistance, dir. Xahej Bajipura, 2025, USA, 8 min., in English and Hindi with full English subtitles π
⚠️ content advisory: racism, sexism, flashing images, emotional pain
 |
| silence as resistance |
QWOCFF blurb: A Desi woman turns imposed silence into an intentional, healing practice of silence from her ancestry.
“Have you ever been surrounded by a silence so loud you drowned?” That question starts us off on an exploration of silence as a healing space, particularly as part of yoga and other practices of silence and non-violence to self as well as to others. It’s a well done, contemplative moment, highly recommended.
• IMDb (Xahej Bajipura) • trailer • official website •
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| Land’s End ν μ§μ λ |
Land’s End/ν μ§μ λ, dir. haejin bang, 2025, USA, 8 min., in Korean and English with full English subtitles π
Technical note: the QWOCFF.org page has Korean characters in the address, which may confuse older browsers.
⚠️ content advisory: grief, displacement
QWOCFF blurb: A diasporic trans corean explores their father's relationship to home and land through body and ritual.
The main character goes back to their father’s home town, which has seen major development, dramatically reducing the amount of public nature space, including beaches. It’s an engaging personal journey, highly recommended.
• IMDb • trailer • official website • Instagram: @soom_sori •
Self Portrait, documentary, dir. Sage Tran, 2024, USA, 7 min. π
⚠️ content advisory: grief, adoption
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| Self Portrait |
QWOCFF blurb: For a queer Korean-American adoptee, self-portraits are a vessel for healing and belonging.
Having not done one for some time, the subject of this short documentary paints a self-portrait, and discusses the emotional and spiritual aspects of that process, including bits that touch on their background as an adoptee. Highly recommended.
• IMDb (Sage Tran) • trailer • official website •
and the wind answered, dir. Peace Waters, 2025, USA, 7 min. π
⚠️ content advisory: grief
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| and the wind answered |
QWOCFF blurb: A Black blues ancestor travels through time and space to visit their descendant.
Several films in this year’s QWOCFF are about sending messages back in time to our ancestors, but this one is about messages from the ancestor, one with some powerful thoughts to share. One pull quote: “Cowards attack by committee.” Must see.
• IMDb • trailer • official website •
PARAMITA, documentary, dir. Kirthi Nath, 2023, USA, 24 min. π
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| Paramita |
QWOCFF blurb: A first-generation Bangladeshi lesbian comes out to her traditional mother and connects with Buddhist practices and nature as gateways for intergenerational healing.
Prajna Paramita is a Hindu/Buddhist name meaning “perfection of wisdom.” Paramita has come to the United States and come out as a lesbian; she finally comes out to her mother, who has a very difficult time with it, saying things like, “I know you better than you know yourself, and you are not [LGBTQ].” Neither one gives up on the other, though, and over time things begin to shift. A powerful exploration of the conflict between family expectations and honoring your truth. Must see.
• IMDb • trailer • official website •
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