IN ASHES (FR)

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.

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Karun, a kindly border guard, finds himself in “paradise” among Bandipora’s soaring peaks, though religious and cultural resentments simmer and scald. Jolted by Faheem’s gorgeous face revealed from behind a helmet visor, Karun is drawn into a romance with indelible repercussions in this first queer film in the Kashmiri language. Wooed by an apple and a warm ripple of attraction each time Faheem (a subtle yet potent Mir Tawseef) passes his checkpoint, Karun (Akash Unnimenon) ventures into Gurez to seek out further encounters. Gurez, a remote Kashmiri village near the border between India and Pakistan, speaks with the voice of soft lullabies and bleating sheep, of a flowing river indifferent to divisions, though that tranquility is soon replaced by distant gunfire. Determined to drop the veil of shame that partitions their lives, Faheem and Karun’s restless hearts pine for one another from a distance, the two praying to separate deities but sharing an equal desire. Wanting, so passionately, to be one. When terrorist infiltrators and a homegrown street gang make a volatile situation worse, can love bind as society breaks?

Feature

Azad is a transman and aspiring film student who lives discreetly, but happily, with his girlfriend Nora in Iran’s bustling capital, Tehran. After the long and grueling process of acquiring gender affirming care, one last step stands in Azad’s way of medically transitioning–a signature of consent from his estranged father. Farnoosh Samadi presents the heart-wrenching tale of young love strained under the confines of social oppression, where sumptuary legislation enforces dress codes and women can be subjected to ‘virginity tests.’ Even darker shadows lurk beneath the stunning scenery of the remote Iranian village where Azad hails from–a place he is no longer welcome for bringing shame to his conservative and superstitious family simply by being himself. Plagued by strange premonitions, in intermittent and surreal dream sequences, Nora soon finds herself suspicious of her partner’s true whereabouts when Azad suddenly goes missing and his family insists that he has returned to Tehran without her. A slow burn that eventually heats up with riveting intensity, Between Dreams and Hope tells a remarkable story of strength, courage, and resilience that leaves a profound and lasting impression long after the credits have rolled.

Short

When her childhood best friend falls in love, nostalgic teenager Dodo struggles to let go of the past and goes to increasingly dangerous lengths to secure her affections, threatening to spoil their idyllic lakeside holiday.

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.

Short

In the near future, Dove, a gender fluid person, discovers the powers and perils of their Inkwo (Indigenous medicine) while defending the living against a horde of ravenous monsters, testing their courage, resilience, and connection to the Earth.

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?

Short

Sam's search for identity is interrupted by a mysterious neighborhood fox. Together, they embark on a magical journey to the attic, discovering unexpected commonalities and how to celebrate their differences.

DocumentaryVIRTUAL EXCLUSIVE

Of the 8.7 million living animal species on Earth, thousands defy our expectations. Inspired by trans evolutionary biologist Dr. Joan Roughgarden’s groundbreaking work, narrator Elliot Page and preeminent queer, BIPOC, and immigrant scientists transcend well-trod narratives, revealing how survival hinges on being the most open to change. The scientific establishment has long been stymied by suppression and resistant to evidence debunking the primacy of three rigid categories: “insatiable” males, “coy” females, and “maladaptive and unnatural” others. But, from university labs to the forests of Costa Rica, that picture is changing, opening our eyes to a nature teeming with variations: polyandrous tamarins and polygamous Capuchin monkeys, “very gay” water fowl and sex-role reversed species like seahorses. We are guided through this diversity by sweeping footage, Caitlin Craggs’ delightfully quirky animations, and mind-blowing facts (for example, did you know 50% of fish on a coral reef are members of a sex-changing species?). In a political present where truth is under attack, Second Nature follows the trailblazers who are shifting the consensus from “sometimes this happens” to a codified science, leaving the “quaint myth” of the binary in the historical dust.

Short

Betty, driven by fear of rejection, lives isolated at home among her miniature figurines. When she meets a woman she can’t stop thinking about, she faces a difficult choice: remain in her safe, private world or step outside and risk vulnerability for a real connection.