MUTANT DOLL (2023)

A Tight, Warm Hug

Lucy Rose, a transgender woman, shares her journey of self-love and empowerment since starting hormone replacement therapy three years ago. The film is part animation, part documentary and part VHS archive footage.

Jeder Tag ein Kampf? Queere Menschen in Deutschland

Summer 2021: The Allianz Arena in Munich is to be lit up in rainbow colors for Germany's match against Hungary. UEFA forbids this - and Germany is in a rainbow frenzy in protest: landmarks are illuminated in color, rainbow flags are hoisted, and the country's own tolerance is celebrated. Germany, a paradise for queer people? Reporter Klaas-Wilhelm Brandenburg has had other experiences. "Die Story im Ersten" meets queer people in various phases of their lives: children at school, young people at work, senior citizens in nursing homes. We take stock after five years of "marriage for all": How equal are queer people in Germany? How tolerant is our society really?

Siamo qui

Activists of the LGBTQ+ association Rain Arcigay Caserta come back living in a property given to them in concession, confiscated from the Camorra in Castel Volturno. The goal is to reconnect with the local inhabitants and propose a new idea of ​​sharing and regenerating the park.

África

Africa, a trans woman dedicated to musical representation and comic entertainment on Facebook exhibits her daily life through live broadcasts, having success and a large influx of viewers. This while she is getting ready for her special program in honor of her best friend Vicenta de Loris, since a year has passed since her life was taken from her.

Where Have All the Lesbians Gone?

Lesbian director Brigid McFall and lesbian photographer Vic Lentaigne create a series of intimate, revealing portraits of what it means to be lesbian in 2022, exploring why it is that so many young women who are sexually attracted to other women now prefer to identify as queer.

Dream Boat

A cruise ship and 3,000 men – it is a universe without heteros and women that usually remains a mystery to the outside world. Once a year the Dream Boat sets sail for a cruise exclusively for gay men where most passengers are united by the wish to live life authentically as themselves in a protected place.

Queerkamp

It takes courage to be a queer teenager at an LGBTQIA+ youth summer camp. Along with 65 other queer youngsters, Faas, Fano, Jeroen, and Finley are on their first summer camp, spending five intensive days of workshops that teach them how they can love themselves more. For the first time in their lives, the youths are surrounded by peers, all struggling with the same problems and feelings. As different as they are, they all share one thing: the need for contact and understanding. Mutual recognition of each other’s childhood or coming-out stories stirs up more emotions than they may have thought. Will this help them get closer to each other and eventually themselves?

Genderless

Everything is political, even something as insignificant as a bathroom. The struggle to occupy spaces represents the struggle to reaffirm one's very existence. This is why we explore why the creation of gender-neutral bathrooms in the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters is so important in a country that leads in hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community.

Queer Japan

Trailblazing artists, activists, and everyday people from across the spectrum of gender and sexuality defy social norms and dare to live unconventional lives in this kaleidoscopic view of LGBTQ+ culture in contemporary Japan.

Teenage and Gay

A documentary that follows five British teenagers as they come out, capturing intimate first-hand experiences, and empathizing with them as they seek acceptance for their sexuality. From the 14-year-old footballer who describes herself as a ‘butch lesbian’ to the transgender boy forced out of home and school, the program features a cross-section of characters. Intimate, confessional, and raw, the film celebrates their bravery and exposes the ostracism and bullying they can suffer.

I Did Not Choose

I Did Not Choose is a documentary movie about a lesbian person living in Turkey. She lives with her family, friends and makes them accept her queer existence.

We Are Perfect

In this documentary, a group of trans and nonbinary actors share common experiences while pursuing a life-changing role for the film "Fanfic".

Synonymous With

A student's increasingly intimate line of questioning causes his interview with a local horror host to take a vulnerable turn.

Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution

A documentary on Queercore, the cultural and social movement that began as an offshoot of punk and was distinguished by its discontent with society's disapproval of the gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender communities.

How I Learned to Love the Numbers

How I Learned to Love the Numbers is a New York film and at the same time the study of a young man suffering from an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The Berlin filmmaker Oliver Sechting (37) and his co-director Max Taubert (23) travel to New York with the idea of documenting the art scene there. However, the project is quickly overshadowed by Oliver's OCD, and the two directors fall prey to a conflict that becomes the central theme of their film. Encounters with such artists as film directors Tom Tykwer (Cloud Atlas), Ira Sachs (Keep The Lights On), and Jonathan Caouette (Tarnation) or the transmedia artist Phoebe Legere seem more and more to resemble therapy sessions. At last, Andy Warhol-Superstar Ultra Violet succeeds in opening a new door for Oliver.

Letter Beyond the Walls

Letter Beyond the Walls reconstructs the trajectory of HIV and AIDS with a focus on Brazil, through interviews with doctors, activists, patients and other actors, in addition to extensive archival material. From the initial panic to awareness campaigns, passing through the stigma imposed on people living with HIV, the documentary shows how society faced this epidemic in its deadliest phase over more than two decades. With this historical approach as its base, the film looks at the way HIV is viewed in today's society, revealing a picture of persistent misinformation and prejudice, which especially affects Brazil’s most historically vulnerable populations.

The Hat Man: Documented Cases of Pure Evil

Eyewitnesses across the globe describe encountering the same evil entity.

Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero

A remarkably intimate portrait of an artist on tour navigating identity, family, expectations, and acceptance, all while reflecting on his place within the legacy of Black, queer performers.

Outside the Lines

Three young queer people share their experiences on what it’s like to deviate from the straight cis-norm. Throughout the film, painful experiences make room for a more positive perspective, such as the overwhelming sense of connection with millions of other queer individuals worldwide or the freedom that arises as one can relinquish certain expectations. This so-called ‘queer-joy’ is being discovered, providing inspiring and moving insights.

Country Queer

Benoît built his paradise hidden from view, emancipated in his own way, resolved to face the constraints of a space which, in imaginations, conflicts with his identity. The countryside. One day, he and other queers from the area decide to organize the first Pride of the Périgord vert, because it is time to come out, to take up space to celebrate, heal, and finally open a path.

It Will Always End in the End

Gabriel Drolet-Maguire, a designer living in Montreal, takes us into their artistic world to discuss their HIV diagnosis. This is a timely and hopeful look at past and present day HIV/AIDS activism in Quebec.

Tara Byte

Tara Byte is a documentary short that explores the art and performance of the eclectic Soren Liu (He/They) while illuminating the interplay between art and identity, showcasing the dynamic intersection where Liu's creativity and self-expression converge.

Hape Kerkeling – Total Normal

To mark the 60th birthday of the multi-talented comedian, singer and author Hape Kerkeling, the two documentary filmmakers André Schäfer and Eric Friedler have created a quiet, thoughtful and entertaining portrait of this often anarchic humorist. The film tells of his rapid rise as a teenager, his time and the blows of fate during the AIDS epidemic, the controversial forced outing, his confident exit from the show business and his new beginning. The film is a sensitive insight into the family history and a fast-paced journey through the career stages of a formative figure in German TV entertainment.

The Glitterstorm

A documentary that chronicles the twenty years of Pride parading in Iceland. Filmmaker Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdóttir has shot the parade from the beginning, with all its pride and power, beauty and sometimes ugliness. She mixes old material and new interviews with activists who reminisce about their participation in the parade, it’s impact on society in general, and what Pride means for the LGBTQ+ community.

Anhell69

A funeral car cruises the streets of Medellín, while a young director tells the story of his past in this violent and conservative city. He remembers the pre-production of his first film, a Class-B movie with ghosts. The young queer scene of Medellín is casted for the film, but the main protagonist dies of a heroin overdose at the age of 21, just like many friends of the director. Anhell69 explores the dreams, doubts and fears of an annihilated generation, and the struggle to carry on making cinema.

AS AN EARTHQUAKE

On February 6, 2023, an earthquake on the border of Turkey and Syria claims more than 55,000 lives. On this day, I am in an oncology center, 6 days since having my tumor removed, and in the afternoon my partner ends our relationships. Blending memory and theory, this autofiction documentary unfolds the relationships between love(s) and catastrophes.

Wërapara

Amidst the Colombian Andes, a group of trans women from the Embera Chami community make their way into the international fashion scene, empowered through artistic collaboration and creation while preserving their spiritual heritage and ancestral connection to their territory.

Your Inbox Is Full

The 3rd installment in James A. Burkhalter's QUEER ROOTS trilogy: After years of his mother begging him to do it, James decides to finally review and erase 10 years' worth of phone messages. It tells the story of James' "roaring twenties," constructed solely through the voices of friends, family, and lovers.

Trailblazers

Alia and Muz are Pakistani-Welsh queer chosen siblings who overcome rejection and forge a path towards inclusivity. While being part of the local house ballroom scene, they soon meet Aiman, who compels them to form a trio as an Asian artist's collective in Wales. 'Trailblazers' follow their journey in reclaiming their identities, preserving their cultural heritage, and empowering Asian queer artists who refuse to let their families' rejection define them.

How To Dress Like Me

Since 1979, Rose Chong Costumiers have been dealing in elaborate and vibrant maximalist attire for hire. In 40 years, it has established itself as an iconic and legendary Melbourne staple among the Inner-North's queer scene. But neither Rose Chong's nor fancy-dress are as simple as they first seem according to Dan, one of the long-time "Chongettes" who works there. When considered with care and attention, they reveal glittering ideas of play and fun and community. From a queer lens - or rather, a mirror - this unassuming costume shop is a place where one might begin to conceive truths about themselves and their identities. How to Dress Like Me is a 5-minute documentary that contends with the intersections of play, queerness, and clothes.

Drag Queens em Cena: A Expressão de Almas Artísticas

Plot unavailable

The Times of Harvey Milk

Harvey Milk was an outspoken human rights activist and one of the first openly gay U.S. politicians elected to public office; even after his assassination in 1978, he continues to inspire disenfranchised people around the world.

Femmenell (City of Mermaids)

A journey between the sacred and profane in which the Femminielli, an ancient non-binary Neapolitan figure, fight for their survival against the globalizing tides of modernity.

Art and Pep

Art Johnston and Pepe Peña are civil rights leaders whose life and love is a force behind LGBTQ+ equality in the heart of the country. Their iconic gay bar, Sidetrack, has helped fuel movements and create community for decades in Chicago's queer enclave. But, behind the business and their historic activism exists a love unlike any other.

Queen of New York

Welcome to a different kind of drag race! As NYC emerges from the chaos of 2020, Marti Cummings (they/them), an audacious and big-hearted drag queen, goes all out in a historic bid to become a City Councilperson. It’s one of the most hotly contested Council races in years, and Marti’s strongest competitor is Shaun Abreu, a tenants’ lawyer with deep roots in the district’s Latinx community. As these first-timers race to do the most good for their Upper Manhattan neighbors, they offer very different visions for Democratic politics – one in a suit and tie, the other in combat boots and floral print. As this immersive documentary reveals, Marti’s passion inspires queer activists and allies to change the political system. Their campaign becomes a community of its own, especially for Marti’s non-binary peers who have never before seen themselves represented.

Que sirva de ejemplo

What is heteronormativity, what does it mean for men and women, what is the cultural canon, does culture reflect or does culture construct? We reflect on all this by putting in dialogue ten people who, from different fields of culture, have thought about this.

Possessed by Djinn

Sparked by the true story of Aya, a four-year-old Jordanian girl killed by her father because he believed her to be possessed, filmmaker Dalia Al Kury launches a fascinating investigation into a controversial and little-known aspect of Islamic culture: belief in djinn. The djinn are believed to be supernatural creatures that occupy a parallel world to ours and their emergence is associated with sexuality, political unrest, poverty and mental illness. The taboo subject of demonic possession remains broadly unresolved in the hearts and minds of some Muslims due to its complex and uncomfortable nature. Using a subjective, “undercover” style, Al Kury journeys into the obscure world of exorcists and the possessed, confronting their traditions and rituals. It makes for a telling ghost story that bares the filmmaker’s and her society’s subconscious underbelly.

Guanajuato: Dissent and Diversity

In Guanajuato, Mexico, sexual and gender diversity activists, who have been fighting for two decades for rights such as marriage equality and the recognition of trans identities, face their greatest obstacle in a conservative society and a political party that has ruled for over 30 years, keeping the LGBTIQ+ community invisible.

Sound It Out: The Untitled LGBTQIA Music Documentary

An edgy and unapologetic look at the growing impact that open LGBTQ music artists, and their straight allies, are having on the portrayal of sexuality and gender politics in music, and its affect on the normalizing of gay culture. Using artists personal experiences as a lens, we'll look at sexuality's influence on music and the role of social media in helping artists complicate mainstream expectations of identity. How far are artists willing to push their music, messages and imagery to challenge the way pop culture defines notions of sexuality, masculinity, femininity, gender and what it means to be queer?

Escape From Rented Island: The Lost Paradise of Jack Smith

In his essay film, Jerry Tartaglia, longtime archivist and restorer of the film estate of queer New York underground, experimental film, and performance legend Jack Smith, deals less with Smith’s life than with his work, analyzing Smith’s aesthetic idiosyncrasies in 21 thematic chapters. It's a film essay about the artist’s work, rather than a documentary about his life. An unmediated vision of Jack Smith, an invitation to join him in his lost paradise.

Trans & Pregnant

Two men undertake a thought-provoking journey to parenthood. Not by adoption or surrogacy, but by Frankie, a trans man, carrying their baby. Made with support from NZ on Air.

Mother Saigon

In Saigon, family culture carries on as it has for centuries, even when blood ties are broken. Through a mosaic of intimate portraits, Má Sài Gòn explores humanity’s universal desire for love, acceptance, connection and belonging through an LGBTQ+ lens. The film is a love letter – a bittersweet ode to a comforting yet disturbing mother, to a city that is as liberating as it is oppressive.

Raja Bro

A sensitive heart-warming story of an Indian transman's acceptance, by himself and his family. Merlin, born as a girl, felt right from his childhood that he was trapped in the wrong gender.

Ultraviolette and the Blood-Spitters Gang

After the death of his grandmother Emma, Robin Hunzinger and his mother Claudie find a carefully preserved collection of letters which Emma received from a girl called Marcelle. In the 1920s, Emma and Marcelle met at school in Dijon. Secretly, love blossomed between the two teenage girls, but after two years they parted ways. Marcelle developed tuberculosis and was admitted to a sanatorium. Complementing the sparse photographs of the women, Hunzinger combines archive footage, avant-garde films, and music to create a sensuous, poetic atmosphere.

We Can Be Heroes

Sometimes, finding your tribe requires a bit of magic. For attendees of a live action role-playing (LARP) camp in upstate New York, the deeply accepting environment has given neurodivergent, queer, and self-proclaimed "nerdy" teenagers the space and community for self-discovery that they have never found anywhere else. As the campers immerse themselves in this imaginative world, they discover inner strength, heal from past traumas, and emerge as the heroes they are meant to be, both in the fantasy realm and in real life.