“Queer Families Belong” (shorts program)
Sunday, June 14, 2026, 12:00 noon, Presidio Theatre, 99 Moraga Ave. in the Presidio
Online encore: Friday, September 11, 2026 through Monday, September 21, 2026
⚠️ (see individual film listings below)
- 😁 August and Ebony, dir. Sunyin Zhang, 2023, USA, 13 min., in English with open captions
- 😁 At Home, dir. Aubrey Pandori, 2025, USA, 13 min., in English with open captions
- 😁 Enjoy the View, dir. Ana Chen & Jude Garcia, 2026, USA, 7 min., in English with open captions
- 😁 If Only You Knew, dir. Safiyah Chiniere, 2025, USA, in English with open captions
- 😁 Home Visit, dir. Anushka Shah & Danna Kim, 2026, USA, 5 min., in English and Hindi with English open captions/subtitles
- 😁 Never Stand Down: The Quraishi Family, dir. Elena Chang, 2025, USA, 17 min., in English and Urdu with English open captions/subtitles
😁 August and Ebony, dir. Sunyin Zhang, 2023, USA,
13 min., in English with open captions
⚠️ Swearing (audio bleeped, at least in the version screened at QWOCFF)
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| August and Ebony |
QWOCMAP blurb: In August & Ebony, Ebony finds herself unexpectedly pregnant after a U-Haul marriage and has to navigate between her new wife August, her best friend-turned-child’s-father Justin, and her own footing as a mother-to-be.
“I can’t wait to lose count of the lifetimes with you.”
My take: Justin, the super-intrusive baby daddy, is a real Type A personality, with detailed plans for the pregnancy and birth, and probably for the child’s entire life, with no regard for what Ebony and August might think or feel, while the women need some space to build their relationship and make their own plans for the future and their child. August and Ebony is cute and well done, funny without overdoing the irritating elements (cough cough, Justin, cough cough). It’s a fun watch, with some real emotions beneath the comedy. Highly recommended.
• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram: @AugustAndEbonyFilm • Facebook • preview • other •
😁 At Home, dir. Aubrey Pandori, 2025, USA, 13 min.,
in English with open captions
⚠️ Mention of transphobia and self-harm
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| At Home |
QWOCMAP blurb: At Home pairs two voices: a 29-year-old trans musician and a 79-year-old lesbian archivist. Through jam sessions, shared gatherings, and the legacy of the Brick Hut Cafe and the Bay Area Lesbian Archives, this experimental documentary explores queer friendship as a way of life, across fifty years of difference and everything they share.
My take: I saw this one at the SFTFF in November (link below), but I didn’t get it written up here. At Home melds a personal story with its historical background. I only ate at the Brick Hut Cafe once, and I haven’t been to the Bay Area Lesbian Archives, but they are important parts of my community nonetheless. LGBTQ history is too often discarded or swept under the rug, and all the more so if you focus specifically on lesbian history. This film is well worth seeing (twice!). Highly recommended.
• IMDb: director • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other • played in the 2025 San Francisco Trans Film Festival •
😁 Enjoy the View, dir. Ana Chen & Jude Garcia,
2026, USA, 7 min., in English with open captions
⚠️ Mention of gender-affirming surgery
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| Enjoy the View |
QWOCMAP blurb: Enjoy The View is a recollection of memory in honor of caretakers everywhere.
My take: Enjoy the View deals specifically with caretaking before and after gender-affirming surgery, but the principles apply to any form of caretaking, including elders and end-of-life care, which we should all be so lucky as to need someday. Their work is worthy of recognition and respect, and this film is a solid contribution, plus a visual feast in which you can almost taste the delicious food. Highly recommended.
• IMDb: Chen • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other •
😁 If Only You Knew, dir. Safiyah Chiniere,
2025, USA, in English with open captions
⚠️ Emotional distress
 |
| If Only You Knew |
QWOCMAP blurb: In If Only You Knew, a woman confronts her father about his absence, and the pain of growing up without a parent and never fully knowing why.
My take: If the name Safiyah Chiniere sounds familiar, that’s because she made the wonderful short drama 💖 You Don’t Have to Like Me (QWOCFF 2024 and Frameline49) (watch on YouTube)
Fem finds talking to her father about like talking to a brick wall, only sometimes worse. We feel Fem’s pain as she tries to get her father to acknowledge and maybe even apologize for the effects his absence had on her formative years, but her father doesn’t seem capable of taking that in, much less reflecting it back. It’s a difficult but somewhat cathartic watch, definitely worth seeing. Highly recommended.
• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram: @IfOnlyYouKnewFilm @SafiyahChiniere • Facebook • preview • other •
😁 Home Visit, dir. Anushka Shah & Danna Kim,
2026, USA, 5 min., in English and Hindi with English open captions/subtitles
⚠️ Emotional distress, Grief, Homophobia
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| Home Visit |
QWOCMAP blurb: In Home Visit, a queer couple prepares lunch for one of their mothers, hoping the meal might change her mind about their relationship.
My take: Home Visit is a personal vignette of longing for acceptance from a “traditional” mother. It calls to mind the Romanovsky & Phillips song “Straightening Up the House.” (If you don’t know R&P, they’re worth a deep dive on their own.) The partner Maika is wonderful and supportive as the main character stresses about Mom’s impending visit. It’s a good watch, especially if you have ever faced the dilemma of how much to de-queer your space for the benefit of a parent. Highly recommended.
• IMDb: no listing found • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other •
😁 Never Stand Down: The Quraishi Family,
dir. Elena Chang, 2025, USA, 17 min., in English and Urdu with English open captions/subtitles
⚠️ Fear of family rejection due to homophobia/organized religion, Mention of cancer and limb loss
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| Never Stand Down: The Quraishi Family |
QWOCMAP blurb: Never Stand Down: The Quraishi Family follows Indian Pakistani American Khalid Quraishi and his daughter Zunaira, who is about to marry the love of her life, a woman. Khalid has lived through Partition, persecution, and the near-loss of Zunaira to illness. None of it shook what his Muslim faith taught him matters most: his love for his family.
“Religion is for my character, and sexuality is not character.” —Khalid Quraishi
My take: Zunaira Quraishi and her mother (who is blurred out and not named for privacy reasons) are both devout Muslims. They see Islam very differently, but love and accept one another and work to remain connected despite their differences. Khalid, on the other hand, openly embraces his daughter’s sexuality and her partner, with grace and humor. Never Stand Down is highly recommended for all audiences, and a must see for anyone dealing with religious (especially Islamic) rejection from family.
• IMDb • Official website • Filmmaker • Instagram • Facebook • preview • other •
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