Shorts: Thrive
May 30, 2025
6:45 PM
TIFF Lightbox Cinema 2
Cementing roots, loving yourself, trying to love others, making history, holding each other, chasing dreams, and simple misunderstandings. Thrive celebrates the otherworldly talent of trans and nonbinary filmmakers. Always here, always together, always thriving.
Content Advisory: Our shorts programs feature a wide variety of themes. If you have any concerns about what might be depicted in this program please contact us at programming@insideout.ca.
IYKYK
IYKYK follows Kusum, a trans girl on a series of dates with boys trying to straddle the line of respecting her boundaries and expressing themselves.
Director(s): Bonita Rajpurohit
Country: India
Year: 2024
Duration: 18 mins
Roots That Reach Toward The Sky
When her mother’s Chinese Traditional Medicine shop gets vandalized, Kai, a young botanist, is thrust between her immigrant mother’s avoidance and her partner’s quest for community mutual aid.
Director(s): Jess X. Snow, Jess X. Snow
Country: Canada, United States
Year: 2024
Duration: 16 mins
Witness
A revered small-town imam faces a crisis of faith when he must choose between upholding the values of his mosque or protecting the safety and spiritual belonging of a trans man congregant.
Director(s): Radha Mehta, Saif Jaan
Country: United States
Year: 2024
Duration: 15 mins
Chimera / Quimera
A non-binary person watches the handover of the first non-binary ID in the history of Chile. A poetic exploration of transition and fluidity in the face of rigid bureaucracy.
Director(s): Gael Jara, Martín André
Country: Chile
Year: 2024
Duration: 12 mins
Egg
In a job interview, a young trans woman becomes convinced that the elderly man interviewing her is a closeted trans woman himself —- and that she's the only one who can help him.
Director(s): Jamie Kiernan O'Brien
Country: United States
Year: 2024
Duration: 7 mins
Dreams of Sunlight Through Trees
The trans joy of early transition competes with anti-trans legislation headlines.
Director(s): Theo Cuthand
Country: Canada
Year: 2024
Duration: 16 mins
Cowboy Billi / Billi il Cowboy
Billi is 12 years old: she rides horses and dreams of being a cowboy. When a casting agent shows up looking for young extras to do some stunt work, Billi knows this is her big chance.
Director(s): Fede Gianni
Country: Italy
Year: 2024
Duration: 15 mins
Lost Bois
A hedonistic and gritty exploration into the lives of three rebellious trans bois. Buckle up and embrace chaos.
Director(s): Devyn Galindo
Country: United States
Year: 2024
Duration: 4 mins
May 30, 2025
6:45 PM
TIFF Lightbox Cinema 2