2025 SFTFF: Program 1: local

Assigned Female at Birth, Speed Dating Ableism, Season 3, Episode 2

Theystory by Future Flowers

From a colorful house party, to an amazing pool party, to a moving underwater scene, this music video takes viewers through the multitudes of emotions and experiences that come with being transexual/ nonbinary/ gender nonconforming in the world today.

This music video is a gift to all trans people. It is a validation of our emotions and a reminder that we are never alone in the struggle. For us, by us. We are so beautiful. (4:53m)

Prisoner’s Cinema

A non-binary person follows an occult tutorial to practice scrying, and stares into their black mirror until they hallucinate…and what they see isn’t what they wanted. (2:56m)

At Home

Through the voices of a 29-year-old trans musician and a 79-year-old lesbian archivist, At Home weaves together stories of self-discovery, chosen family, and community building – from jam sessions and shared gatherings to the legacy of the Brick Hut Café and the Bay Area Lesbian Archives. (13m)

Monster in the Mirror (in the time of Executive Orders)

Performing to a Sesame Street song from my childhood, I am reimagining what a “Monster in the Mirror” could mean for me in this moment. Part emboldening of a theatrical younger self and part joyful resistance, this performance art piece celebrates the existence of trans and nonbinary people through recruiting my fellow monsters. (4:30)

This Side Up

“This Side Up” is a short film that documents the interior lives of art handlxrs and their experiences in the art world. Set in the Bay Area and contextualized by the voice of contemporary art curator Eungie Joo, this film features Adrian Clutario and Nahkoura Mahnassi as they explore the ways that their identities as LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC people intersect with their roles behind the scenes of museums and art galleries. The film also brings into view the international scale of the art world, with appearances from art handlxrs located in Los Angeles, New York, and Mexico City. (3:40)

FORever feroshUS

Shae, a man murdered in a homophobic attack, awakens in a mysterious room where the entirety of his life is projected across a series of screens. As he journeys through these memories, he must reach the final screen to uncover the truth about his death. But to get there, he must make peace with the life he’s lived.This film is an homage to O’Shae Sibley. (13:19m)

Holy Rollers

Holy Rollers 25, directed by Shawna Virago and Lindsay Gauthier, features Virago reading books banned for their LGBTQ+ content – a defiant gesture against the censorship targeting her community. The song itself, featuring Virago’s punk country sound, is a haunting meditation on willful ignorance and the weaponization of faith in contemporary America, is transformed by video into an act of resistance with its insouciant attitude and playful attitude. (3:46m)