“Queer Asian Spirit” (shorts program)
Sunday, June 14, 2026, 7:00 PM, Presidio Theater, 99 Moraga Ave. in Presidio National Park
Online encore: Friday, September 11, 2026 through Monday, September 21, 2026
⚠️ (see individual film listings below)
- 😁 Between Us, documentary, dir. Quyên Nguyen-Le, 2025, USA, 16 min., in Central Khmer, English, and Vietnamese with English subtitles/open captions
- 😁 autism is an altar, dir. Casey Kaneyo Hidekawa, 2026, USA, 4 min., in English with open captions
- 😁 Flow, dir. Tiffany Zhang, 2026, USA, 6 min., in English and Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles/open captions
- 🤩 Yu & Me, documentary, dir. Claudine Cho & Esther Chan, 2026, USA, 26 min., in English with open captions
- 🤩 Superfan No. 1, dir. Trusha Ramesh Rahate, 2025, India, 3 min., in English with open captions
- 🤩 Đồng Quể: Of the Same Womb, documentary, dir. Sage Tran, 2025, USA/Vietnam, 57 min., in Vietnamese and English with Vietnamese and English open captions (fully subtitled in both languages)
🤩 Between Us, dir. Quyên Nguyen-Le, 2025, USA,
16 min., in Central Khmer, English, and Vietnamese
with English subtitles/open captions
⚠️ homophobia, displacement, emotional distress, mention of war, community exclusion
 |
| Between Us |
QWOCMAP blurb: Between Us follows queer Khmer and Vietnamese cultural workers in Southern California as they sit with the in-betweenness, of belonging, healing, and making space on their own terms.
My take: Los Angeles has the largest Cambodian population outside Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh, and a large Vietnamese population. However, those Cambodian and Vietnamese Americans tend to be quite homophobic, especially the elders in positions of leadership, leading to some painful clashes with the LGBTQ groups, Qhmer (a play on Khmer, the endonym for Cambodian) and VROC, Viet Rainbow of Orange County.
There are also some points of light, such as a mother who started the Volunteer Mamas, putting themselves out there as surrogate mothers for people whose birth mothers don’t support them. The subjects of this documentary are defiantly visible but also defiantly optimistic, making Between Us a must see.
• IMDb: director • Official website • Filmmaker YouTube channel • Instagram: @SmellyDurianFace • Facebook • preview • other • Quyen Nguyen-Le • also screening Sunday, June 20, 2026, 10:30 AM, Q Corner, San Jose •
😁 autism is an altar, dir. Casey Kaneyo Hidekawa,
2026, USA, 4 min., in English with open captions
⚠️ grief, emotional distress, state violence, incarceration, mention of ableism
 |
| autism is an altar |
QWOCMAP blurb: In autism is an altar, an Autistic Japanese American explores the connections between their Disabled and Asian American lineages through a trip to Angel Island.
My take: autism is an altar is a musing on the personal connection of the filmmaker to the internment of Japanese immigrants to the United States on Angel Island (and elsewhere) in 1907. The filmmaker takes the ferry across to Angel Island to connect with that heritage. It’s a good film, highly recommended.
• IMDb: no listing found • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other •
😁 Flow, dir. Tiffany Zhang, 2026, USA, 6 min.,
in English and Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles/open captions
⚠️ emotional distress
 |
| Flow |
QWOCMAP blurb: In Flow, a Chinese American young woman navigates lifelong pressure and expectations, working out what it means to live on her own timeline.
My take: Pressure from parents to be the best, get a good job, get married, have children, and make money. It’s not an unusual story, but that doesn’t make it easier to deal with. The details of how the main character sorts out those pressures in the quest for a life of her own, are the story. It’s well told, well made, and worth seeing. Highly recommended.
• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram: @TiffanyGZhang • Facebook • preview • other •
🤩 Yu & Me, dir. Claudine Cho & Esther Chan,
2026, USA, 26 min., in English with open captions
⚠️ grief, swearing, emotional pain
 |
| Yu & Me |
QWOCMAP blurb: After a fire destroys a beloved Chinatown bookstore, Yu & Me follows its fiercely independent owner as she learns that community is what survival actually looks like.
My take: Yu & Me Books is the first Asian American woman-owned bookstore in New York City, and a fixture in the Chinese community, providing a social nexus as well as hard-to-find publications. A fire in the apartment above the store led to major smoke and water damage, putting Yu & Me out of business for a period of several months, but with the support of the community, Lucy Yu rebuilds and reopens. This documentary is a heartwarming testament to resilience and the power of community. Must see.
• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram: @YuAndMeDoc @OOFStories • Facebook • preview • other •
🤩 Superfan No. 1, dir. Trusha Ramesh Rahate,
2025, India, 3 min., in English with open captions
⚠️ loud crowd noise (cheering and whistling)
 |
| Superfan No. 1 |
QWOCMAP blurb: In Superfan No. 1, a seven-year-old South Asian girl is about to discover a massive secret about her hero, her father.
My take: Pari, the 7-year-old narrator of Superfan No. 1, worships her dad, and wants to do everything with him. Dad starts being busy with other things more often, so Pari goes into detective mode to find out what Dad is up to. The answer will surprise you, and Pari’s response will warm your heart. I won’t spoil the surprise, because you must see for yourself.
• IMDb: no listing • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram: @TrushaRTV • Facebook • preview • other •
🤩 Đồng Quể: Of the Same Womb, dir. Sage Tran,
2025, USA/Vietnam, 57 min., in Vietnamese and English with Vietnamese and English open captions (fully subtitled in both languages)
⚠️ grief, emotional distress, war, displacement, family rejection, body dysphoria, gender & body challenges
 |
| Đồng Quê: Of the Same Womb |
QWOCMAP blurb: Đồng Quể: Of the Same Womb follows 13 queer and trans Vietnamese artists returning to their ancestral homeland. The film holds space for grief, resilience, and reclamation, and for the connections between queer and trans Vietnamese people, their families, and the broader communities they come from.
My take: The name Đồng Quể is a play on words, using the autocorrect for queer. A group of Vietnamese LGBTQ folks, some born in the United States, some in Vietnam, and some living in third countries, take a two-week trip to Vietnam to connect with the local LGBTQ community, and put on a show. It’s a multifaceted story that somehow squeezed down to just under an hour, and it’s worth every minute. Must see.
• IMDb: director • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram: @QTVietCafe • Facebook • preview • Note: director Sage Tran worked on the production crew for Rainbow Girls • Dong Que: Of the Same Womb •
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