Homegrown (2026)

“Homegrown” (2026 local Bay Area shorts program)
Saturday, June 20, 2026, 10:30 AM, Castro
Saturday, June 27, 2026, 10:00 AM, Roxie

(The shorts may screen in a different order than listed here.)

🤩 Babaylan, dir. Franny Trinidad & Kelly Liu, 2025, USA/China, 14 min.

Babaylan

Frameline blurb: Bay Area Filipino drag queens blend ballroom and pre-colonial Babaylan spirituality as a reclamation and celebration of queer Filipino identity.

First things first: at the very beginning of the film, there is a bit of voiceover that I could not parse until I slowed it down to 50%, so here it is: “I believe that there is a revolving door between spirituality and creativity.”

Mx. Kiki Lopez and several of their friends talk about drag, gender, and escaping the influence of colonial culture. Some of the costume designs draw specifically from pre-colonial Filipino culture; indeed, the word “babaylan” refers to a shaman/healer from that pre-colonial era. This short is a vibrant and engaging look at LGBTQ+ Filipinos, from a different angle than the films you’re probably familiar with. Definitely worth your time; must see.

• IMDb: (no listing found) • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other •

🤩 Callback, dir. Matthew Puccini, 2026, USA, 17 min.

Callback

Frameline blurb: Max’s acting career has hit rock bottom, but when his boyfriend nabs a callback for a coveted role, Max discovers how much lower he can go.

Previous Frameline entries by this director: 👍 Lavender (FL43), 👍 The Mess He Made (FL41)

Two struggling actors are living together as a couple, experiencing all the frictions of being a couple: finances, emotional availability, and professional jealousy. They begin to question some fundamental things like, are you really happy for me, or are you performing “happy for me”? They are both beginning to fray under the tension. The characters are well drawn, with some good twists in the story, and some real insights into how a couple can work together well — or not so well. It’s not quite as light and fluffy as a romcom, but it’s more substantial. Worth your time; must see.

• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Twitter • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other •

❓ Femme Release, dir. Sarah Taborga & Aïma Paule, 2026, USA, 8 min. •  🌐 World premiere

Frameline blurb: In this spin-off of Femme Rage (Frameline47), Femme Release follows Esperanza as she descends into a surreal, horror-tinged Release Realm where reality fractures into ritual, ancestral force, and embodied visions. Haunted by a shifting mask, a looping inner child, and a council of Spirit Guides who observe from the edge of firelight, she is pulled through escalating states of fear, rage, and bodily unraveling. In a world where memory moves through the body like a living force, Esperanza is forced into a confrontation with what has been buried, inherited, and made flesh.

(Not available for advance review)

• IMDb: Taborga Paule • TMDB: Taborga Paule • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other • Aima Paule •

🤩 How to Find a Career That Loves You Back, dir. Ethernet Wang, 2025, USA, 26 min. • 🌉 Bay Area premiere

How to Find a Career
That Loves You Back

Frameline blurb: Khloe and Joyce, two trans software developers, work for a defense-technology corporation that monitors civilians as potential threats. When they're chosen as company representatives for a college career fair, the trip ignites a fragile romance and doubts about their work, forcing the two women to choose between safety and the uncertain path to freedom.

A bit of context from the end credits (no spoilers): the intertitles interspersed in the film are from a disturbing real source. One (rather tame) example: “As a mission-driven startup, you’re going to be stepping on some nicely manicured lawns.” Watch to the end to learn more.

The main characters have essentially made a deal with the devil, the reward being job security, but the cost being a little bit of their soul each day. The unemployment rate for trans* people is around 40%, so the allure of a dependable job can’t be underestimated, but at what cost? Thought-provoking and disturbing in a way that stays with you afterwards. Must see.

• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram: @CareerFilm • Facebook • preview • other •

👎 Infinity Mirror, dir. Aron Kantor, 2026, USA, 13 min. • 🌎 North American premiere
⚠️ Content warning: extreme flashing lights in the opening credits

Infinity Mirror

Frameline blurb: During a tense encounter in a bar bathroom, Bash gets trapped in a time loop with his ex-best friend — and his only hope of escape is to confront what tore them apart. Nik Dodani and Fin Argus star in the latest inventive queer creation from Frameline regular Aron Kantor (👍 Interdimensional Pizza Portal, “Homegrown: The Sun Tarot,” Frameline47, and others).

This short was a bit of a muddle. Neither the characters nor the situation made much sense, and the effect of the loops seemed odd, with some aspects repeating exactly but other aspects changing. The characters were also rather unsympathetic, especially Quaid (the dude with the magic drugs). I definitely wouldn’t want to be stuck in a time loop with either one of them. Mercifully, the film just ends without jumping back in time.

Not horrible, just boring and a bit annoying. Not recommended.

• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other •

😁 The Motive, dir. Jorge Molina, 2026, USA, 14 min. • 🌉 Bay Area premiere

The Motive

Frameline blurb: A famed Detective arrives to a remote mansion to find a Murderer standing over the body of someone he just killed. The Detective desperately tries to get the Murderer to confess his motive, but soon learns the truth is much more complicated than he anticipated, and that their own history together is coming into play.

Clever, well done, good plot twist, high production values, and a relatable storyline, whether you identify more with the Murderer or the Detective. Highly recommended.

• IMDb;(director Jorge Molina (VIII)) • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other •

🤩 Zeitgeist 1977: The First Festival, dir. Lauretta Molitor, 2016, USA, 7 min.

Zeitgeist 1977

Frameline blurb: Participants in the very first “Gay Film Festival of Super-8 Films” (what ultimately became Frameline) — including filmmakers Marc Huestis, David Weissman, Dan Nicoletta, and Rob Epstein — share their recollections.

My first Frameline was probably 1988 or 1989, so I missed the Super 8 days completely. I’ve met Marc, David, Dan, and Rob, plus Blackberri (interview subject in one of the archival clips), so this film felt like reminiscing with friends about stuff they did not long before we met. I can’t pretend to be an objective observer, but my personal recommendation is must see — even if you saw it ten years ago.

• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other •

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