Safe Word (2023)

I Am My Own Woman

The life story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, who survived the Nazi reign as a trans woman and helped start the German gay liberation movement. Documentary with some dramatized scenes. Two actors play the young and middle aged Charlotte and she plays herself in the later years.

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

A visiting city reporter's assignment suddenly revolves around the murder trial of a local millionaire, whom he befriends.

Labyrinth of Passion

An array of outrageous people, including a desperate nymphomaniac and a terrorist with an acute sense of smell, seek love and happiness in Madrid.

The Passion of Remembrance

Co-directed by Blackwood and Julien, the first full-length feature film by Sankofa Film and Video offers a radical and necessary interrogation into what constitutes 'post-colonial' identity at a time of political and social restlessness in Britain. Set within an isolated desert landscape contrasted with recognizable scenes of the intensity of family life, this vanguard work demonstrates the richness and variety of the black experience; it is a poetic and hard-hitting commentary on the complexities of race, gender and sexuality.

Stonewall

Kicked out by his parents, a gay teenager leaves small-town Indiana for New York's Greenwich Village, where growing discrimination against the gay community leads to riots on June 28, 1969.

Negative Space

Even though Sam's father is hardly ever home because he is often away on business trips, he is able to connect with his son by teaching him how to pack a suitcase.

Bea

At the age of 19, Bea realizes that the love she deemed infinite is as decadent and full of excesses as a night in the port of Acapulco.

Perfect Roast Potatoes

William comes to Los Angeles to celebrate Christmas only to find his mother has died, but his sister insists they still have Christmas dinner, corpse and all.

Fag

Thomas, a 17-year-old high school student, finds himself attracted to Esteban, another boy from his school. The rumor of Thomas's homosexuality is spreading fast, and he begins to suffer the gaze of others.

Masculine

A romantic and nocturnal encounter between Arthus, a "masculine" young man and Marin, a drag-queen. Their discussion around gender and sexuality slowly leads them to understand and tame each other.

Suppietij

The extremities of a middle-class being ramble on, reflecting poetically on the wretchedness of moderation.

If I Die in America

According to Muslim practice, burial ought to occur within 24 hours of death — so after Manny’s immigrant husband, Sameer, passes away in an accident, he is confronted by a representative of Sameer’s family urging him to sign the paperwork needed to ship the body back to Kuwait. Manny initially refuses, clinging to his rights as Sameer's husband, while knowing that with every passing hour, Sameer's family grows more infuriated. After an emotional climax, spurred on by the family’s homophobic claim that Manny and Sameer’s marriage was merely a green-card arrangement, Manny comes to realize that his objections won't change the fact that his husband died — try as he might, he cannot delay grief.

Mon chéri

On a hot summer‘s day, lonely Franklin is invited to play with other kids for the first time since moving to a new village. But when the children stumble across a recently moved-in house and observe his mother, things take a drastic turn – and Franklin once again has to play a role that he is not meant for…

The Projectionist

Clive, an old film projectionist, fears his profession is becoming obsolete. Holding on to the love and magic of film, he desperately tries to rekindle his relationship with his daughter, Mary, by forging a new one with his granddaughter.

Victim

A web of blackmail and murder attracts the attention of a barrister with a seemingly idyllic life, threatening to derail his career on the path of success.

Corto Maltese: The Secret Court of the Arcane

At the end of 1918 while civil war is raging on in Russia, antagonism is slowly spreading to the East, between the Oral mountains and Shanghai. Stuck between a desire to save what's left of the great Imperial Russia, and starting from a clean slate, old generals, secret organizations, and mercenaries attracted by gold, struggle to take advantage of the events. As Corto Maltese returns to Shanghai, he barely gets time to cross paths with his old friend/nemesis Rasputin, and escape a murder attempt before being contacted by members of a Chinese secret organization called "The Red Lanterns". In the heart of violent Manchurian horizons, Corto and Rasputin launch themselves into a fabulous treasure hunt, following the tracks of the mysterious armor-plated train of Kolchak. A steel monster spiked with canons and machine guns, this trains protects the counter-revolutionaries gold...

Spider Lilies

When Jade, a web-cam girl, visits Takeko's tattoo studio she becomes entranced with the image of the spider lily and with Takeko as well. In order to get closer to the object of her desire, Jade asks Takeko to give her the same lily tattoo, challenging Takeko's monastic existence and opening up memories which threaten to tear the two women apart.

My Ira

The true story of a young mother sitting in a tree, while a rope languishes around her neck.

Family Values

In this short comedy drama, a trans South Asian person visits their family for Rakhi, a Hindu religious ceremony that symbolizes the bond between brothers and sisters. Celebrating a ceremony that is so centered around gender, this non-binary character must reconcile their gender identity with their deeply rooted family values.

Everything Is Illuminated

A young Jewish American man endeavors—with the help of eccentric, distant relatives—to find the woman who saved his grandfather during World War II—in a Ukrainian village which was ultimately razed by the Nazis.

Summer Storm

Tobi and Achim, the pride of the local crew club, have been the best of friends for years and are convinced that nothing will ever stand in the way of their friendship. They look forward to the upcoming summer camp and the crew competition. Then the gay team from Berlin arrives and Tobi is totally confused. The evening before the races begin, the storm that breaks out is more than meteorological.

Mala Noche

Walt is a lonely convenience store clerk who has fallen in love with a Mexican migrant worker named Johnny. Though Walt has little in common with the object of his affections — including a shared language — his desire to possess Johnny prompts a sexual awakening that results in a tangled love triangle.

Leave

Billy the Marine's last day home before going back to Iraq. Realizing he may never come back, he tries to make amends with various people in his life. For Billy, the real battle may be on the home front rather than the front lines. LEAVE is an entirely improvised drama that was shot over the course of one day in Arlington, Texas, using both actors and non actors, both family and friends of the director, all from a one page outline. The story ultimately describes the different ways people express their love to one another, and how these ways of communicating love are sometimes lost.

Lions' Den

A group of old friends are hanging at one of their houses exchanging stories of sexual escapades, awaiting another friend to arrive so they can celebrate a birthday at a nude bar. When one of them is suddenly accused of having masturbated in his friend's bathroom, what starts as a McCarthy-era trial of accusations at one individual suddenly escalates into a night of judgment that tests the truth of their words and the strength of all their friendships. LIONS' DEN is an entirely improvised drama using both actors and non actors shot over the course of an evening, based from a loose outline. It ultimately is a probing of the way men behave with one another. It also emphasizes the way people point the finger at others to hide their own sins and actions. A melting pot of lies, truths, egos, and masculinity that is stirred with documentary-style filmmaking.

Some Nights I Feel Like Walking

A rich teenager runs away from home and joins a group of street hustlers who go on a road trip to fulfill the final wish of their dead friend.

Hold Your Breath

Marguerite and Coline fall in love at their local swimming pool, where they kiss for the first time. The stopwatch starts and there already is not much time left. Hold your breath depicts five pictures, five memories, five phases of their story.

Brokeback Mountain

In 1960s Wyoming, two men develop a strong emotional and sexual relationship that endures as a lifelong connection complicating their lives as they get married and start families of their own.

Boiling Point

During the busy run-up to Christmas, a single-take snapshot of the immense stress and skills of a talented head chef reveals that things are about to burst behind the restaurant's flash façade.

Chasing Amy

Holden and Banky are comic book artists. Everything is going good for them until they meet Alyssa, also a comic book artist. Holden falls for her, but his hopes are crushed when he finds out she's a lesbian.

2:37

A contemporary, ensemble drama that tells the complex tale of six high school students whose lives are interwoven with situations that so many of today's youth are faced with. The story takes place during a normal school day. At precisely 2:37 a tragedy will occur, affecting the lives of a group of students and their teachers.

The Right Words

Kenza 15 years old and her little brother Mahdi 13 years old regularly humiliate one another on social media in cruel ways. Today, as they travel by bus, Kenza puts her naive and romantic little brother to the test: to profess his love for Jada; a girl that Mahdi loves but that does not know him. Placed under pressure by his sister, Mahdi ends up confessing.

Shadow / Self

Shadow / Self is a film project that combines dance, fashion and music to explore the darker side of the feminine psyche. A story of human struggle told with movement, beauty and light.

Crossroads

After the death of his wife, a father finds out his son is gay and confronts him leading to devastating consequences.

Night Swimming

A night in the woods, and its aftermath, helps Otter with a major life decision. He's a high school senior, hanging out with Darby - the local alpha male - and Darby's girlfriend Amber. Their public displays of affection irritate Otter.

Sideral

In Natal, on the Brazilian north coast, the country is preparing to launch its first manned space rocket into space. A couple lives with their two children near the space centre, she is a cleaner and he is a mechanic, but she dreams of other horizons.

Reminiscence

Juliana is an experienced taxi driver who is trapped in the memory of her childhood until a difficult situation makes her reconsider past decisions.

The Bus to Birra Birra

Arielle's path changes forever when she befriends a young man whose fate rests on the outcome of his journey home from prison.

Hands

When his boyfriend suddenly leaves him without an explanation, Michel develops a fear of emotional attachment. He starts meeting other people, but every new pair of hands remind him of his ex.

Plus. Minus.

Told in reverse chronological order, an aspiring drag queen creates a world out of desolated motel rooms with the guy he met online.

Sugar Dumplin

Attempting to forge a deeper connection with her estranged father, who is grappling with dementia, a young woman prepares foods that evoke memories of his Jamaican childhood.

The Wedding Banquet

A Taiwanese-American man is happily settled in New York with his American boyfriend. He plans a marriage of convenience to a Chinese woman in order to keep his parents off his back and to get the woman a green card. Chaos follows when his parents arrive in New York for the wedding.

Unicorn

A young German/Bolivian Mennonite risks his life to escape his strict religious community to find love and freedom in the city.

Wanks

Two friends decide to have a wank remembering old times.

Zack & Luc

A split-screen film telling two versions of the entire story of a relationship. Each memory becomes intertwined with all the others: the firsts, the lasts, the middles, each of the small nothing moments that add up to something in the end.

Adam

This short film centers around a high school student whose declaration of love to another boy leads to hostile reactions from his classmates.

101 Reykjavik

Thirty-year-old Hlynur still lives with his mother and spends his days drinking, watching porn and surfing the net while living off unemployment checks. A girl is interested in him, but he stands back from commitment. His mother's Spanish flamenco teacher, Lola, moves in with them for Christmas. On New Year's Eve, while his mother is away, Hlynur finds out Lola is a lesbian, but also ends up having sex with her. He soon finds out he and his mother are sharing more than a house. Eventually he must find out where he fits into the puzzle, and how to live life less selfishly.

Farewell My Concubine

Two boys meet at an opera training school in Peking in 1924. Their resulting friendship will span nearly 70 years and endure some of the most troublesome times in China's history.

Wonder Boys

Grady is a 50-ish English professor who hasn't had a thing published in years—not since he wrote his award winning 'Great American Novel' 7 years ago. This weekend proves even worse than he could imagine as he finds himself reeling from one misadventure to another in the company of a new wonder boy author.

The North-Ming Fish

Short film from Taiwan.

May

A socially awkward veterinary assistant with a lazy eye and obsession with perfection descends into depravity after developing a crush on a boy with perfect hands.