QUEER SHORTS WATCH / JAN/FEB 2025

FEATURED FILMMAKER: 

KU KI

Ku Ki is a filmmaker based in Yangon, Myanmar. They graduated from the National University of Arts and Culture with a specialization in Cinematography. Ku Ki has been working as a freelance cinematographer and scriptwriter, contributing to numerous projects, including short films, music videos, corporate films, events and commercials. The Bus Driver is their first documentary short. 

In partnership with:

Scottish Documentary Institute  - nurturing and inspiring the documentary scene in Scotland and beyond.

QUEER SHORTS WATCH is a FREE curated virtual short film showcase amplifying the visibility of genre- and geography-diverse queer cinema. 

🫶🌍🏳️‍🌈🎥

 Image © Ku Ki

QUEER SHORTS WATCH

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2025

THE BUS DRIVER (2024) 

dir. Ku Ki ｜Myanmar

This poignant short follows a bus driver and their partner as they navigate the often frustrating public transportation realities of a busy city in Myanmar. We witness the mini universe of their bus - a space for passengers, naps, massages, nervous breakdowns as well as some downtime with beers and card games with fellow bus drivers. A rare glimpse into the life of a queer couple that lives and loves unapologetically in a business dominated by men and a country that criminalizes same-sex relationships. 

In partnership with:

Scottish Documentary Institute  - nurturing and inspiring the documentary scene in Scotland and beyond.

QUEER SHORTS WATCH is a FREE curated virtual short film showcase amplifying the visibility of genre- and geography-diverse queer cinema. 

🫶🌍🏳️‍🌈🎥

FEATURED FILMMAKER: 

UYAIEDU IKPE-ETIM

Uyaiedu Ipke-Etim is a Nigerian filmmaker, producer and screenwriter who tells stories about Nigeria's marginalized LGBTQ+ communities. Her directorial debut, Ìfé, produced by Pamela Adie was hailed as Nigeria’s first lesbian film. Uyaiedu Ipke-Etim is the co-founder of Hashtag Media House, a production company dedicated to showcasing the voices of the Nigerian LGBTQ+ community. In 2020, the BBC named her among the 100 inspiring Women of the Year.

WATCH ÌFÉ HERE

@ The Equality Hub 

QUEER SHORTS WATCH is a FREE curated virtual short film showcase amplifying the visibility of genre- and geography-diverse queer cinema. 

🫶🌍🏳️‍🌈🎥

 Image © UYAIEDU IKPE-ETIM 

Credit Fati Abubakar

FEATURED FILM:

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2025

ÌFÉ (2020) 

dir. Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim ｜Nigeria

The first Nollywood (Nigerian film industry) lesbian film, Uyaiedu Ikpe-Etim’s moving short is a love story navigating the harsh realities of same-sex relationships in Nigeria where homosexuality is a criminal offense. Ìfé and Adaora fall in love over a weekend full of poetry and passion, but a sobering reality puts their love to test. A true torchbearer from Nigeria, Ìfé is a delicate “interlude for the grand sonata” (from Warsan Shire’s poem Welcome Home) that may or may not happen in this beautifully rendered queer love story.

WATCH ÌFÉ HERE

@ The Equality Hub 

QUEER SHORTS WATCH is a FREE curated virtual short film showcase amplifying the visibility of genre- and geography-diverse queer cinema. 

🫶🌍🏳️‍🌈🎥

FEATURED FILMMAKER: 

ZEPPELIN ZEERIP ｜USA

Zeppelin Zeerip is a US filmmaker with a passion for telling stories that inspire change with character-driven narratives at the intersection of the environment and the outdoors. His shorts All Bodies on Bikes (2021), Chains of Habit and Made in the Mitten (Mountainfilm 2021) have received Vimeo Staff Picks and screened at festivals globally. Apayauq (Mountainfilm 2023) is an inspiring portrait of Alaska Native Inupiaq transgender woman (Aġnainġiq), dog musher, polar bear guide and photographer, Apayauq Reitan. 

WATCH HERE

QUEER SHORTS WATCH is a FREE curated virtual short film showcase amplifying the visibility of genre- and geography-diverse queer cinema. 

🫶🌎🏳️‍🌈🎥

FEATURED FILM:

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31, 2025

APAYAUQ (2023)  

dir. Zeppelin Zeerip

An inspiring documentary about Apayauq Reitan, Indigenous Inupiaq transgender woman (Aġnainġiq) and dog musher who became the first out transgender woman to complete the legendary Iditarod sled dog race across Alaska, USA. The filmmaker followed Apayauq for more than 1,000 miles on the Iditarod trail, documenting her journey from Anchorage to Nome, a trying challenge of unforgiving yet breathtaking terrain. In a hostile anti-trans climate, Apayauq Reitan’s resolve and resilience celebrates Indigenous roots and practices while being unapologetically yourself.

WATCH HERE

QUEER SHORTS WATCH is a FREE curated virtual short film showcase amplifying the visibility of genre- and geography-diverse queer cinema. 

🫶🌎🏳️‍🌈🎥

FEATURED FILMMAKERS: 

GAO GUO & JUNMI CHEN

GAO GUO is a Chinese filmmaker, producer, and editor based in Beijing. He is currently the Festival Director of the Beijing Queer Film Festival, the longest-running queer film festival in China. Xiaodi is his first film.

JUNMI CHEN is a Chinese documentary filmmaker and LGBTQ+ rights activist whose work blends art and advocacy to champion the rights of the queer community. Xiaodi is their first documentary.

QUEER SHORTS WATCH is a FREE curated virtual short film showcase amplifying the visibility of genre- and geography-diverse queer cinema. 

See you at the next QUEER SHORTS WATCH!

🫶🌏🏳️‍🌈🎥

FEATURED FILM: 

FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2025

XIAODI (2021)

dir. Junmi Chen & Guo Gao ｜China

in partnership with CathayPlay

A poignant documentary about 17-year-old transgender girl Xiaodi who escapes conversion therapy at a military school in Chongqing, China, where her parents sent her in the hope to make her “normal” again. Intimate interviews with Xiaodi and her mother reveal a complex relationship and parallel struggles to make sense of traditional values and queer realities. The film follows Xiaodi’s ups and downs as she shares her traumatic experiences and demonstrates an unwavering resolve to fight for who she is alone and with the help of a trans rights group. An inspiring yet unsettling watch, Xiaodi is a rare glimpse into trans realities in contemporary China. 

QUEER SHORTS WATCH is a FREE curated virtual short film showcase amplifying the visibility of genre- and geography-diverse queer cinema. 

🫶🌏🏳️‍🌈🎥

FEATURED FILMMAKER: 

FLÓRA ANNA BUDA

📸 © recorder.hu

Flóra Anna Buda is a Hungarian film director and animator based in Paris, France. Her graduation film, Entropia, premiered at the 69th Berlinale and was awarded the Teddy Award for the Best Short Film. Her multi-award-winning animated short 27 premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in 2023 where it won the Palme d'Or du court métrage. Currently, she is developing new projects, installations, and paintings. One of her main goals is "to continue searching for new ways of creating diverse universes, telling honest stories, and finding a way to create an artistic project out of her recent interests with an open mind.” (source Flóra Anna Buda)

MORE HERE

QUEER SHORTS WATCH @GlobalQueerCinema is a FREE curated virtual short film showcase amplifying the visibility of genre- and geography-diverse queer cinema. 

🌍🏳️‍🌈🎥

FEATURED FILM: 

FRIDAY, JANUARY 17, 2025

27 (2023) 

dir. Flóra Anna Buda ｜Hungary

This visually stunning short animation about millennial angst tells the story of a young woman who prefers her  (s)e(x)scapist  dreams to the bleak reality of living at her parents' place at 27 with no prospects or meaningful relationship. Winner of the Short Film Palme d'Or in Cannes, 27 is a deeply personal 2D animation full of pronounced tones, punk energy, and a uniquely queer, prismatic candor. 

WATCH IT HERE

QUEER SHORTS WATCH @GlobalQueerCinema is a FREE curated virtual short film showcase amplifying the visibility of genre- and geography-diverse queer cinema. 

🌍🏳️‍🌈🎥

FEATURED FILMMAKER: 

SEYED MOHSEN POURMOHSENI SHAKIB

Seyed Mohsen Pourmohseni Shakib is from Rasht, Iran. His fifth animated short film, The Boot, was the first Iranian-produced short film to be nominated for Best Animation at the 49th Student Academy Awards. In 2022, he received the WIA Diversity Award and the Premio Riflessi nel Buio Award for his sixth short animation, It's A Gray, Gray World!, awarded respectively at Spark Animation and the Lovers Film Festival. This film also won the Best Animated Short Jury Award at the 47th Cleveland Film Festival and was longlisted for the Short Film Animated category at the 96th Academy Awards. His animations have been screened at seventeen Oscar-qualified film festivals, including Out on Film, Guadalajara, St. Louis, and many more.

MORE HERE

QUEER SHORTS WATCH @GlobalQueerCinema is a FREE curated virtual short film showcase amplifying the visibility of genre- and geography-diverse queer cinema. 

🌍🏳️‍🌈🎥

FEATURED FILM:

SUNDAY, JANUARY 12

IT'S A GRAY, GRAY WORLD! (2022)

dir. Seyed Mohsen Pourmohseni Shakib ｜Iran

 in partnership with CHEERS CINEMA

Longlisted for the best Animated Short category at the 96th Academy Awards, this vibrant animation is set in a monochrome world where colors are a crime. It tells the story of a young man whose true colors are accidentally revealed by a mischievous child and who suddenly finds himself in a hostile environment where everyone is outraged by his transgressive behavior. Will he hide or will he fight back? Fantasy is the safe space where the restrictive arm of oppression cannot reach. This short takes you there - where anything is possible. 

MORE HERE

QUEER SHORTS WATCH @GlobalQueerCinema is a FREE curated virtual short film showcase amplifying the visibility of genre- and geography-diverse queer cinema. 

🌍🏳️‍🌈🎥