A country at war, a competitive athlete, and couples exploring intimacy, this collection of shorts is all about the ups and downs of our queer realities.
Shruti Parekh
Director
Maria José Maldonaldo
Director
Latavia Young
Producer
Cecilia Delgado
Director
Apayauq Reitan
Subject
A country at war, a competitive athlete, and couples exploring intimacy, this collection of shorts is all about the ups and downs of our queer realities.
Rating and Content Advisory
14A
Sat Jun 03, 2:15 pm
TIFF Bell Lightbox 3
350 King Street West
Toronto, ON
Co-Presented by
Nadia Parfan
Director
A car races at breakneck speed through Kyiv at dawn. This contemporary remake of the French short film It’s a Date captures the heightened emotions caused by the war.
Country
Year
2023
Duration
5 mins
Interests
Shruti Parekh
Director
When an immigrant taxi driver in upstate New York takes an undocumented couple to the Canadian border, they find themselves at odds.
Country
United States
Year
2022
Duration
18 mins
Interests
María José Maldonaldo
Director
While planning a birthday party for her late aunt Bianca, María José Maldonado revisits the past in order to celebrate and correct Bianca’s legacy.
Country
United States
Year
2023
Duration
10 mins
Interests
Cecilia Delgado
Director
A young Latinx woman kidnaps the child she nannies to satisfy her girlfriend’s desire to start a family.
Country
Brazil
Year
2022
Duration
15 mins
Interests
Daisy Friedman
Director
When an interabled queer couple spends the night together for the first time, they must confront their complex relationships with desire, sexuality, and bodily autonomy.
Country
United States
Year
2023
Duration
14 mins
Interests
Zeppelin Zeerip
Director
Apayauq Reitan’s journey to become the first out transgender woman to complete the legendary Iditarod sled dog race.
Country
United States
Year
2022
Duration
16 mins
Interests
Annie Brennen
Director
Zoe is making a movie about a woman who is making a movie. In it, her character must kiss a woman.
Country
United States
Year
2022
Duration
11 mins
Interests
Inside Out’s specially-curated program showcasing the work of trans and non binary filmmakers. Curated by and for the trans* community.
When Leo turns their love of plants into an online community for Black folks to talk all things foliage, they discover that community is the key to staying rooted. As Leo’s group of Black millennial...
These short films about loud neighbours, vampires, and inner saboteurs prove that anything can be comedic if it’s in the right hands.
Connie Glachan
Director
Inside Out’s specially-curated program showcasing the work of trans and non binary filmmakers. Curated by and for the trans* community.
Rating and Content Advisory
14A | Sexual Content. Scenes containing graphic sexual content and nudity.
Fri Jun 02, 9:30 pm
TIFF Bell Lightbox 3
350 King Street West
Toronto, ON
Screening Sponsor
Neil Betteridge
Shiva Raichandani
Director
As Asifa prepares to finally undergo gender affirmation surgery, the disabled trans activist – who is also Britain’s first out Muslim drag queen – reflects on her life.
Country
United Kingdom
Year
2022
Duration
20 mins
Interests
Connie Glachan
Director
Aqua Venus provides a personalised fever dream to help YOU discover what being a woman means!
Country
Canada
Year
2022
Duration
5 mins
Interests
Hao Zhou
Director
Zee, a nonbinary aspiring nurse from China, strives to build a gender-affirming life in rural Iowa.
Country
United States
Year
2023
Duration
11 mins
Interests
Angelo Madsen Minax
Director
Through snowy stargazing, flirting with guys on dating apps, taking ketamine (or not), and watching YouTube lecture videos, outer and inner space collapse.
Country
United States
Year
2022
Duration
12 mins
Interests
Randa Jarrar
Director
A group of queer femmes and their lovers gather at a kink party for the first time since 2019.
Country
United States
Year
2022
Duration
11 mins
Interests
Spndex
Director
Caesar, a trans camboy on the run from his traumatic past, is shocked when his body starts to violently morph and transform beyond all recognition.
Country
Netherlands
Year
2022
Duration
13 mins
Interests
Mars Verrone
Director
Forty years after the Khmer Rouge regime, a transgender man returns to the village where he survived the genocide.
Country
United States
Year
0
Duration
18 mins
Interests
Malik Ever
Director
With her summer camp golf tournament looming, outcast Ursula hopes to win and prove her worth with the help of Chef Cormac, the transmasculine former ladies golf pro.
Country
United States
Year
2022
Duration
14 mins
Interests
Crushes, homecoming, and some surprising special interests: this short program highlights the complexities of young adulthood and the importance of being yourself.
These short films about loud neighbours, vampires, and inner saboteurs prove that anything can be comedic if it’s in the right hands.
When Leo turns their love of plants into an online community for Black folks to talk all things foliage, they discover that community is the key to staying rooted. As Leo’s group of Black millennial...
Judith Kanatahawi Schuyler
Peter Knegt
Andy Reid
Will Carington
Jake Goicoechea
Rivkah Reyes
Kait Schuster
These short films about loud neighbours, vampires, and inner saboteurs prove that anything can be comedic if it’s in the right hands.
Rating and Content Advisory
14A
Thu Jun 01, 9:30 pm
TIFF Bell Lightbox 3
350 King Street West
Toronto, ON
Co-Presented by
Judith Kanatahawi Schuyler
After a year living in a very straight New Zealand beach town, First Nations lesbian Tallulah can stand it no longer – she’s going back to Toronto where the rainbows fly. Or is she?
Country
Canada
Year
2022
Duration
10 mins
Interests
Mike Donahue
Troy has loud sex. Troy has loud sex 24/7. Troy shares a wall with Thea and Charlie. Troy is ruining their lives…or is he saving them?
Country
United States
Year
2022
Duration
16 mins
Interests
Nyala Moon
A whack, irrelevant comedy about a black trans woman who tries to dilate, after four years of not dilating, to hook-up IRL with her online boyfriend.
Country
United States
Year
0
Duration
14 mins
Interests
James Cooper
After being estranged for almost a decade, former best friends Jake and Drew reunite so Drew can ask Jake the age-old queer question…can I have your sperm to make a baby?
Country
Canada
Year
2022
Duration
12 mins
Interests
Andy Reid
When a young gay man suspects he has an STI, he goes in for testing and discovers the older man he recently slept with is a doctor at the clinic.
Country
Canada
Year
2022
Duration
9 mins
Interests
Will Carington
Director
Courtney Bush
Director
Jake Goicoechea
Director
A late-night conversation with an oracle launches a young Brooklyn woman on a quest to slay a vampire.
Country
United States
Year
2022
Duration
18 mins
Interests
Kait Schuster
Gina, a Filipina Gemini who is just doing her best, takes the advice of her sliding scale therapist to spend a day with her inner saboteur. Enter Gianna.
Country
United States
Year
2023
Duration
11 mins
Interests
A country at war, a competitive athlete, and couples exploring intimacy, this collection of shorts is all about the ups and downs of our queer realities.
From raves to resistance, this collection of shorts highlights the work of local queer storytellers making films that explore the multitudes this city has to offer.
Embark on a journey through themes of vulnerability and the power that lies within it with this year’s BOLD programming. This series of shorts made by Black filmmakers display the magic, vulnerabili...
Nicole Bazuin
Isak Vaillancourt
Beth Warrian
Angelina Nayyar
Tasneem Nanji
Raghed Charabaty
Tziara Reyes-Herrera
Simon Paluck
From raves to resistance, this collection of shorts highlights the work of local queer storytellers making films that explore the multitudes this city has to offer.
Rating and Content Advisory
14A
Thu Jun 01, 6:45 pm
TIFF Bell Lightbox 1
350 King Street West
Toronto, ON
Screening Sponsors
Ralph Pascht and Mark Le Messurier
Co-Presented by
Nicole Bazuin
A surrealist exploration of dissociative identity disorder (DID) based on the lived experience of a Black, nonbinary, disabled artist and former sex worker.
Country
Canada
Year
2023
Duration
10 mins
Interests
Beth Warrian
Luci, a queer Peruvian Canadian woman, gives her beloved nephew the Christmas gift of his dreams: a beautiful sequined dress.
Country
Canada
Year
2022
Duration
11 mins
Interests
Angelina Nayyar
Set against the backdrop of a city undergoing rapid gentrification, a Toronto teenager struggles to save a youth rave scene plagued by substance use and over-policing.
Country
Canada
Year
2023
Duration
11 mins
Interests
Isak Vaillancourt
Told from the perspectives of 2SLGBTQ+ Afro-Indigenous leaders and activists, this short documentary reimagines new possibilities in the relationship between Blackness and Indigeneity, which is rooted in solidarity and joy.
Country
Canada
Year
2023
Duration
17 mins
Interests
Tasneem Nanji
Two queer Muslim Women, one in Toronto and one in New York, navigate love, family, and connection the night before 9/11.
Country
Canada
Year
2022
Duration
15 mins
Interests
Raghed Charabaty
A rough and raw letter on what it means to lose love at the expense of finding freedom. An essay on family, anger and fraud.
Country
Canada
Year
2022
Duration
10 mins
Interests
Tziara Reyes
This short documentary follows an individual’s journey of shaving their head for the first time; exploring the complex relationship between hair and identity.
Country
Canada
Year
2022
Duration
5 mins
Interests
Simon Paluck
A millennial Torontonian is left reeling after breaking-up with a popular gay influencer.
Country
Canada
Year
2023
Duration
12 mins
Interests
A country at war, a competitive athlete, and couples exploring intimacy, this collection of shorts is all about the ups and downs of our queer realities.
Beards, bands, boundaries, and besties, this collection of shorts is just trying to tell you something about life.
From parenthood to plant care, this collection of shorts highlights the work of Canadian filmmakers creating from coast to coast.
James Cooper
Director
Paige Gratland
Director
Yi Shi
Director
TJ Cuthand
Director
Arshad Khan
Director
Seán Maheux Galway
Producer
Maxime Robin
Director
From parenthood to plant care, this collection of shorts highlights the work of Canadian filmmakers creating from coast to coast.
Rating and Content Advisory
14A
Sun May 28, 2:00 pm
TIFF Bell Lightbox 2
350 King Street West
Toronto ON
Co-Presented by
James Cooper
After rescuing an abandoned potted plant, Phil spirals into an absurd plant obsession to avoid visiting his father on his deathbed.
Country
Canada
Year
2023
Duration
14 mins
Interests
Paige Gratland
Director
A portrait of self-taught seamstress Brenna Bezanson, a change-maker whose creations of custom women’s clothing challenge capitalist and patriarchal ideals.
Country
Canada
Year
2022
Duration
11 mins
Interests
TJ Cuthand
Director
Over a four-year period, filmmaker TJ Cuthand collects footage capturing his experience of trying to make a baby.
Country
Canada
Year
2022
Duration
14 mins
Interests
Lauren Marsden
Director
Marlinn is a genderqueer Trinidadian woman suffering through a wet Vancouver winter and missing Carnival season back home, that is until they discover the power of masquerade is within them.
Country
Canada
Year
2022
Duration
11 mins
Interests
Arshad Khan
Director
A South Asian mother finds herself immersed in a profound state of mourning after discovering
that her beloved son identifies as gay.
Country
Canada
Year
2023
Duration
12 mins
Interests
Yi Shi
Director
As Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, a lonesome young Chinese immigrant finds comfort in a whirlwind romance with a mysterious hometown queer crush who seems too good to be true.
Country
Year
2022
Duration
9 mins
Interests
Brielle LeBlanc
Director
Crushed by unrequited love, a young queer poet finally reckons with their own emotional baggage – make that a boulder.
Country
Canada
Year
2022
Duration
9 mins
Interests
Maxime Robin
Director
Young Maxime’s mother starts worrying about him when his 2nd grade teacher declares him “abnormal.”
Country
Canada
Year
2022
Duration
13 mins
Interests
A country at war, a competitive athlete, and couples exploring intimacy, this collection of shorts is all about the ups and downs of our queer realities.
When Leo turns their love of plants into an online community for Black folks to talk all things foliage, they discover that community is the key to staying rooted. As Leo’s group of Black millennial...
Inside Out’s specially-curated program showcasing the work of trans and non binary filmmakers. Curated by and for the trans* community.
Holly Bates
Heather Posten
Lauren Beatty
Lulu Wei
Beards, bands, boundaries, and besties, this collection of shorts is just trying to tell you something about life.
Rating and Content Advisory
14A
Sun May 28, 11:45 am
TIFF Bell Lightbox 2
350 King Street West
Toronto ON
Screening Sponsor
Japneet Kaur
Screening Sponsor
Kymon Greyhorse
Director
As time goes on and the world around us shifts, we adapt and change. Although we might look different, deep down we are still the same. We are made from Mother Earth – mud, wood, love, and patience.
Country
United States
Year
2021
Duration
3 mins
Interests
Holly Laura Bates
When Violet, a suburban brothel worker returns to work after enduring a breakup, she is confronted by her recent ex-girlfriend hustling the same shift.
Country
Australia
Year
2022
Duration
15 mins
Interests
Anissa Allali
Sabrina is about to marry Younes, a wedding that’s everything for her mother and grandmother. But the day before the ceremony, Sabrina steps back.
Country
France
Year
2022
Duration
23 mins
Interests
Diane Russo Cheng
Director
An intimate look into the nonprofit skateboarding organization Skate Like A Girl, as seen through the eyes of Alexa, a trans woman skateboarder and mentor.
Country
United States
Year
2022
Duration
9 mins
Interests
Yu-Jin LEE
After a breakup, Mi-hae, the lead singer of an indie band, cannot bring herself to sing the band’s most popular song, “Oppa’s Girl”.
Country
Year
2022
Duration
11 mins
Interests
Lulu Wei
Inspired by past heartbreaks and present friendship, this short find two queer best friends going on a romantic getaway after being dumped.
Country
Canada
Year
2022
Duration
12 mins
Interests
Jude Hope Harris
When country singer Randy travels to take care of his sister Sophie, who is recovering from facial feminization surgery, he meets her girlfriend Morgan for the first time.
Country
United States
Year
2023
Duration
15 mins
Interests
A country at war, a competitive athlete, and couples exploring intimacy, this collection of shorts is all about the ups and downs of our queer realities.
Embark on a journey through themes of vulnerability and the power that lies within it with this year’s BOLD programming. This series of shorts made by Black filmmakers display the magic, vulnerabili...
From raves to resistance, this collection of shorts highlights the work of local queer storytellers making films that explore the multitudes this city has to offer.
Mx. Roti
Director
Davis Alexander James
Director
Cydney Tucker
Director
Brandon Haynes
Director
Embark on a journey through themes of vulnerability and the power that lies within it with this year’s BOLD programming. This series of shorts made by Black filmmakers display the magic, vulnerability, strength, joy and raw passion that encapsulates so many Black Queer experiences. From the mystical feminine to the power of advocating for reform and holding space for community, to exploring the complexity of the Black Trans experience through the varied lenses of both fiction and non-fictional works, this series is bound to take audiences through a journey.
Rating and Content Advisory
14A
Sat May 27, 1:30 pm
TIFF Bell Lightbox 3
350 King Street West
Toronto, ON
Screening Sponsors
Jill Andrew and Aisha Fairclough,
Body Confidence Canada
Co-Presented by
Vanesssa Beletic
Director
Destiny has been told since childhood she has seizures when she dances. When she’s challenged to face her fear and dance, Destiny makes a decision that could reveal a secret she doesn’t yet understand.
Country
United States
Year
0
Duration
12 mins
Interests
Cydney Tucker
Director
House of Tulip follows two Black trans activists as they run for office and work to build Louisiana’s first housing refuge for trans and gender non-conforming residents.
Country
United States
Year
2022
Duration
25 mins
Interests
Karimah Zakia Issa
Director
Two strangers are scared on a late walk home. As they try to escape one another, their worlds collide at an intersection, forcing them to question who they’re afraid of and why.
Country
Canada
Year
2022
Duration
11 mins
Interests
Hanz Rippe Gabriele
Director
Fernanda Pineda Palencia
Director
A portrait of dance as the greatest expression of shielding the Afro community in Quibdó. A tribute to their act of resilience and to all the lives that have been lost along the way.
Country
Colombia
Year
2023
Duration
14 mins
Interests
Davis Alexander James
Director
Mx. Roti
Director
Codeswitch follows a Black trans person as they navigate the barbershop, illuminating the complexity and dynamism of gender expression.
Country
United States
Year
2022
Duration
5 mins
Interests
Brandon Haynes
Director
The story of Donna Hylton and her project ‘A Little Piece of Light,’ a nonprofit focused on supporting black women and LGBTQ+ individuals in the prison system.
Country
United States
Year
0
Duration
22 mins
Interests
Crushes, homecoming, and some surprising special interests: this short program highlights the complexities of young adulthood and the importance of being yourself.
Sex clubs, teddy bears, cruising, and erotic wrestling, this collection of shorts is all about owning your truth and not being afraid to express yourself.
Snakes, the sea, and unexpected visitors, this collection of shorts explores relationships with everyone from ourselves and our partners to strangers.
Alex Megaro
Director
Christopher Cunetto
Director
Sex clubs, teddy bears, cruising, and erotic wrestling, this collection of shorts is all about owning your truth and not being afraid to express yourself.
Rating and Content Advisory
18A | Sexual Content. Scenes containing graphic sexual content and nudity.
Fri May 26, 9:00 pm
TIFF Bell Lightbox 2
350 King Street West
Toronto ON
Kilian Feusi
Director
Jessica Meier
Director
Sujanth Ravichandran
Director
Bob the plumber is hired to fix a broken pipe and to his surprise finds himself inside a gay fetish club.
Country
Switzerland
Year
2022
Duration
4 mins
Interests
Jimi Vall Peterson
Director
When the inexperienced, 24-year-old Elias is reunited with his cuddly, talking childhood teddy bear, a passionate relationship is re-awakened
Country
Sweden
Year
2022
Duration
15 mins
Interests
Alex Megaro
Director
Exploring the innate intimacy of submission wrestling, a lifelong wrestler turns his talents into an on-demand fetish video service.
Country
United States
Year
2022
Duration
14 mins
Interests
Donald C. Shorter Jr.
Director
State of Mind highlights the intimacy and beauty found through the experience of power exchange in BDSM/leather/fetish/kink.
Country
United States
Year
0
Duration
3 mins
Interests
Mikko Makela
Director
A filmmaker’s and a moviegoer’s ideas of cinematic romance are put to the test during a one-night stand that turns emotional.
Country
United Kingdom
Year
2023
Duration
14 mins
Interests
Julien Cadieux
Director
An Acadian country road and beautiful beach attract more than just tourists.
Country
Canada
Year
2021
Duration
7 mins
Interests
Joshua Conkel
Director
Tom has his boyfriend Mikey move in and what initially seems like domestic bliss gives way to creeping dread as a malevolent spirit makes itself known.
Country
United States
Year
2022
Duration
13 mins
Interests
Christopher Cunetto
Director
Cesar, an emotionally stunted masochist, must confront his self-loathing after his dom, Bear, reinterprets the rules of their game.
Country
United States
Year
2022
Duration
15 mins
Interests
Snakes, the sea, and unexpected visitors, this collection of shorts explores relationships with everyone from ourselves and our partners to strangers.
Crushes, homecoming, and some surprising special interests: this short program highlights the complexities of young adulthood and the importance of being yourself.
These short films about loud neighbours, vampires, and inner saboteurs prove that anything can be comedic if it’s in the right hands.
Kristian Cahatol
Director
Lourdes Miere
Director
Kay Chan
Director
Crushes, homecoming, and some surprising special interests: this short program highlights the complexities of young adulthood and the importance of being yourself.
Rating and Content Advisory
PG
Fri May 26, 1:00 pm
TIFF Bell Lightbox 1
350 King Street West
Toronto, ON
Ella Rocca
Director
Dealing with their own obsessive crushes, Ella Rocca researches what to do about it.
Country
Switzerland
Year
2022
Duration
8 mins
Interests
Ariel Mahler
Radha Mehta
This short documentary explores the journey of Florida’s first transgender Homecoming Queen, Evan Bialosuknia, and her confidence and impact on youth faced with discrimination from Florida’s newly signed “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Country
United States
Year
2022
Duration
14 mins
Interests
Nicolás Keller Sarmiento
Director
By a gas station in rural Argentina, a broken-hearted drag queen helps young Ernesto find the courage to follow his dreams.
Country
Argentina
Year
2023
Duration
13 mins
Interests
Mary Galloway
Director
Trinity – a radical, Indigenous, feminist – and Addison – a devout, Black Mormon – are forced to work together on a school project and discover they have more in common than they thought.
Country
Canada
Year
2021
Duration
11 mins
Interests
Kristian Cahatol
Director
Two non-binary young adults embark on a dream-like journey of self-discovery and acceptance as they navigate the complexities of love and identity.
Country
Canada
Year
2022
Duration
5 mins
Interests
Lourdes Miere
Director
Word by Word is a short documentary following the creative journey of Robyn Sidhu, a spoken word poet.
Country
Canada
Year
2023
Duration
9 mins
Interests
Kay Chan
Director
A pair of Two-Spirit Métis-Chinese youth soften a deer hide together, revealing a story about belonging and honoring your full self and ancestry, no matter where you are.
Country
Canada
Year
2022
Duration
2 mins
Interests
Aly Labbé-Hervieux
Fursona is an incursion into the universe of Aly, a member of the Furry community.
Country
Year
2022
Duration
5 mins
Interests
Malik Ever
With her summer camp golf tournament looming, outcast Ursula hopes to win and prove her worth with the help of Chef Cormac, the transmasculine former ladies golf pro.
Country
United States
Year
2022
Duration
14 mins
Interests
Inside Out’s specially-curated program showcasing the work of trans and non binary filmmakers. Curated by and for the trans* community.
From parenthood to plant care, this collection of shorts highlights the work of Canadian filmmakers creating from coast to coast.
From raves to resistance, this collection of shorts highlights the work of local queer storytellers making films that explore the multitudes this city has to offer.
Filmmaker Hilla Medalia (Dancing in Jaffa, Censored Voices) spent four years filming and interviewing four Israeli teenagers undergoing gender transformation. The result is an unprecedented documentary examining the social, emotional and physical challenges faced by the adolescents and their families as they navigate the various stages of the process. How does one cope with a body that is misaligned with your gender? How do parents cope when their children turn out to be different than who they thought they were? TRANSKIDS offers an honest exploration of the four young men and women who, despite paying a hefty social price, are no longer afraid of being themselves.