Frameline50: Meet Me at the Crossroads

This shorts block centers on queer folks grappling with life-altering decisions, both big and small.

Short films showing in this program:

Black Shawl (Kamila Boichenko, 26 mins)

Lesya and her daughter Anya are living in a refugee camp, grappling with the torment of blackmail related to the disappearance of Lesya’s husband, who went missing during the war a year ago. In the camp, Lesya reconnects with her old friend Maria, a widow who, like Lesya, is haunted by the loss of a loved one. As their bond deepens, the women find solace in each other’s shared grief, however, Anya begins to suspect that her mother’s relationship with Maria is evolving into something more than just a friendship.

But Still, We Move (Theo Angel, 13 mins)

When Tendai’s housemate moves out, they find themselves facing access challenges alone for the first time. As they navigate their independence, they are hounded by the image of the “perfect wheelchair user” and how they feel they fail to match up to it, until they decide to take action and free themselves from the narrative.

I Am the Prize (Sai Karan Talwar, 19 mins)

A polarizing self-help figure (Russell Tovey) finds his carefully constructed identity begin to unravel during the height of a lecture tour.

Sweat (Edward Nguyen, 15 mins)

A farm worker prepares to illegally cross the border of rural Vietnam in search of refuge abroad in this ethereal drama, one of the recipients of this year’s Colin Higgins Youth Filmmaker grants.

Wildflowers (Akira Kamiki, 14 mins)

At almost 40, Daniel is still figuring out how to raise his 12-year-old son, Lucas, alone after the loss of his wife. When he stumbles upon a love letter Lucas has written to a boy from school, his clumsy attempt to “handle” the situation exposes the gap between his well-meaning intentions and the outdated views he still carries. Yet, in the silence that follows, Daniel is forced to confront an uncomfortable truth: maybe it’s not only Lucas who needs to grow up, but himself.

Yellow Bucket (Simon Brooke, 16 mins)

After his family sees a news report about the cause of homosexuality, Connor, a gay teenage boy, fears his apparently supportive parents will try to assure that his younger brother doesn’t grow up gay.