BETWEEN DREAMS AND HOPE (MIAN ROYA VA OMID)

Short

Frustrated sci-fi writer Julian is facing a slump in his relationship. So will his fiancé Leo's trip into orbit with the world's first ever low-cost alternative spaceline provide them with just the space they need to get back on track?

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FRENCH + FLEMISH • FRENCH ST | Fifteen-year-old Malou is a competitive rower living in a tiny Belgian village with her brothers and divorced mother. A shy tomboy, Malou’s teammates bully her for her non-conforming gender identity, but she’s accepted by her brother Max—until he finds himself in competition with her over his girlfriend Nouria. Skiff is the sweet sixteen and summer fling story that we have been waiting for. Forget cars, pink dresses, and pining over boys—how about scooters, polo shirts, and … falling for your brother’s girlfriend? Director Cecilia Verheyden delivers a poignant coming-of-age story about first love with its many risks and dilemmas, on top of questioning sexuality and gender identity while dealing with a familial love triangle and a sense of social alienation. Though lighthearted with plenty of laughs, especially for the oblivious heteronormativity of small-town life, Skiff is a film that moves you, makes you remember, shows you how despite all of the world’s social progress of the twenty-first century, some things never change—gender will always define who we are and our humanity. It is anything but trivial. Also, the importance of a young person’s right to define their gender for themselves.

Feature

A tight-knit group of revolutionary gay filmmakers in late-1950s former Yugoslavia are shackled by the state to Emir, a communist bureaucrat conditioned to see sabotage everywhere. When the group endeavours to use the Tito regime’s ideological weapons against them, an upended system or the horrors of Barren Island await. Desire—for all of us—can be a heady cocktail. In a society that turns desire inside out, with trust shaken and lover pitted against lover, it becomes a minefield. Dancing cheek to cheek and screwing with abandon turned into revolutionary acts, art a tool for undermining authority. All tactics taken up by professional and romantic partners Lovro (Dado Cosic) and Nenad (Djordje Galic) and their fellow filmmakers (Slaven Doslo, Elmir Krivalic). The four friends determined to savour glimpses of the beautiful lives possible if defense mechanisms could safely fall—a boogie-woogie record; a secluded, seaside house in Istria—as they risk their lives for the cause of freedom. In Croatia’s official submission for the 2025 Academy Awards, the sex is explicit, the stakes and brutality intense, the cinematography stunning. A gutting and rarefied concoction immortalized by writer-director Ivona Juka’s daring cinematic achievement.

Documentary

In Muslim-majority Malaysia, a queer punk band led by a transman are outliers of the system —carving out spaces to exist through their music while challenging conservative traditions and religious extremism. Brash, defiant and wickedly funny, punk rockers Shh…Diam! are an underground sensation in Kuala Lumpur. An all-queer band led by charismatic trans man Farris Saad, they’ve won devoted fans with playful anthems like “I Woke Up Gay” and “Lonely Lesbian.” Even their name (“Shut up!” in Malay) is a joke, poking fun at those who’d rather queer folks just kept quiet. Malaysia’s harsh laws are no laughing matter, however, and they put Farris and his bandmates at real risk of state persecution. Filming over six years, director Yihwen Chen follows them to practices, gigs and protests, capturing their irreverent advocacy amid a spate of anti-LGBTQ+ raids and arrests. She also documents major developments in their personal lives and relationships, including Farris’s preparations for his surgical transition. Both an iconic portrait of fearless activism and an intimate chronicle of chosen family, Queer as Punk is an instant entry in the queer cult canon.

Short

A dancer struggles to break free from the hold of his choreographer, now drawn to another. This silent film explores power, inspiration, and replacement within the LGBTQ+ dance community through body language and music.

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DANISH • ENGLISH ST | With In Ashes, writer-director Ludvig Christian Næsted Poulsen grippingly toys with genre. He inflects one Danish collegian’s immersion in frantic hook-up culture amidst a relationship mysteriously ended with elements of psychological horror and the tension of a spy thriller. In 2017 Copenhagen, baby-faced Christian (Rex Leonard, a nervy knockout) is glued to his camera, determined to capture every giddy moment he spends with his long-distance boyfriend Aske (Lior Cohen). Flash forward to 2022 Aarhus, “the most wonderful city in the world,” and a scruffier Christian seems less than content. He interrogates his schoolmate’s perspective and confronts strangers over assumed slights. He’s plagued by an unspoken ailment. And Aske seems nowhere to be found. With each empty tryst, each hungrily inhaled cigarette, Christian descends into a type of madness. Or is it clarity? Aske’s reappearance, arriving with the jolt of a jump scare, may hold the key to that question, as desperation congeals into starry-eyed determination. For those drawn in by the enigmatic pull of All of Us Strangers, In Ashes will have you guessing ‘is this a romance or a tragedy’ until the very last second—perhaps, even, long after.

Feature

Cass (Asia Kate Dillon, Billions) is a millennial gig worker, traversing the streetscapes of San Francisco by scooter, on the hustle to make ends meet, when a chance encounter with an intriguing coworker sets them on an inward journey of healing and self-discovery. Originally from Michigan–strong, silent and dependable Cass now lives in the Outer Sunset region of San Francisco (aka the Outerlands), a neighbourhood brushed by gentrification. Though they shy away from connection—their loneliness captured by quiet, camera close-ups—Cass soon becomes visible to Denise (Lea DeLaria), a compassionate bank teller who begins doling out advice, not only on landlord subterfuge, but also queer survival. As Cass continues to tread the tightrope of social and economic displacement–working as a nanny, a server, and even selling drugs–they are left wanting after a one night stand with Kalli (Louisa Krause), their desire for connection met with another gig opportunity: babysitting Kalli’s eleven-year-old daughter, Ari (Ridley Asha Bateman). Eventually bonding with Ari over video games, Cass battles long-forgotten, inner demons, but not without gaining the hope that home—though a place they can never return to—can perhaps be a place that they build for themselves.

Short

Trapped within their frames and watched by a menacing curator, two paintings form a silent bond that sparks a revolution. Blending live-action and animation, this surreal short explores power, resistance, queer identity, and the longing to break free from the confines of constructed worlds.

Documentary

Executive produced by Elliot Page and Bob the Drag Queen, this on-the-couch and in-the-spotlight documentary charts the rise ’n grind ascent of a drag superstar. Through sweat and vocals, Peppermint trades relative Harlem obscurity for Drag Race glory as its first openly trans contestant, all while slaying society’s strictures. Whether vibing with famous friends like Laverne Cox and Sasha Velour or entering the dating scene while feeling devalued and pressured to pass, Peppermint lays out her truth. And regardless of the many obstacles littering her runway—personal and professional—she pursues her craft, knowing her “spirit belongs on the stage.” We are with Peppermint in the operating room during breast augmentation surgery, as a headliner on Broadway and during an historic pride celebration in Berlin, and in rehearsals as she prepares for sold out Nubia shows starring and produced by all Black queens. Then, as COVID hits and her tour is shut down, Peppermint’s resolve is put to the test as the career she so painstakingly constructed faces huge global shifts. Glammed up, laid low, ready for a fight for trans rights—this is Peppermint unfiltered and compelled, always, to create.

Feature

The dangers of the past come in many forms. Two estranged Mi’kmaw siblings confront old animosities in an ancient forest, both in desperate need of healing. In their quest to rid themselves of the lingering evil that haunts them, they encounter the trail of their ancestors—and of their former selves. Mise’l (Blake Alec Miranda) is working a grueling shift when the jukebox warbles to life and an ominous presence from their childhood reveals itself, still capable of inflicting its wounds. Desperate, they seek out their younger brother, Antle (Forrest Goodluck). A task that requires them to part from their supportive partner and return home after many years away. Begrudgingly, their brother agrees to the journey, worried for his daughter’s safety if he does nothing, and they set out on a time-spanning mission. Elders are consulted. Strange creatures stalk them. Kinship is tested. The two heading deeper and deeper into nature at its most nurturing, and most menacing. From Bretten Hannam, the Two-Spirit L'nu filmmaker behind 2021’s acclaimed Wildhood (Opening Film I+N34, 2021), this is a ghost story of the highest order—equal parts eerie and edifying, and utterly unforgettable.