queer shorts watch / OCT-NOV 2024

QUEER SHORTS WATCH

FEATURED FILMMAKER: WAPAH EZEIGWE

📸© Wapah Ezeigwe

Wapah Ezeigwe is an Igbo filmmaker from Nigeria. They are part of the Sundance Collab global filmmaking community and were selected among the 20 West African filmmakers to be trained in the Multichoice Talent Factory film academy. Country Love is their debut short film and it has screened in festivals, including the Oscar-qualifying Out On Film Festival, Atlanta and the Canadian Screen Award-qualifying Vancouver Queer Film Festival. Wapah Ezeigwe’s works explore queer identity and the queer experience within the African context.

CINELOGUE INTERVIEW 

with Wapah  Ezeigwe

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

QUEER SHORTS WATCH @GlobalQueerCinema 

25 NOVEMBER, 2024

COUNTRY LOVE (2022)

dir. Wapah Kelechi Ezeigwe

A compelling debut from Nigerian filmmaker Wapah Kelechi Ezeigwe, Country Love is an evocative exploration of queer hopes and realities farmed by love, memories and unforgiving social realities. The story follows Kambili (Kelechi Michaels) who returns to the village he ran away from after fifteen years hoping to reconcile with his sister and rekindle a flame he left behind. Confronted by the bittersweet memories of his childhood, his feelings for his best friend Ifediora (Divine Ahiwe) and his estranged relationship with his family, Kambili must face the impossible realities of his past and present. Memories, illusions and realities collide in this soulful tale of love, family, queer identity and sobering queer realities.

🌍🏳️‍🌈🎥

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

QUEER SHORTS WATCH

FEATURED FILMMAKER: NYALA MOON

📸© Iris Prize / Nyala Moon

Nyala Moon is a director, writer, and actress of trans experience living and working in New York City. Nyala Moon’s sophomore short How Not To Date While Trans (2022) won audience and best short film awards at Inside Out Toronto’s LBGT Film Festival, Wicked Queer Boston’s LGBT Film Festival, Translation Seattle’s 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival, and NewFest. In 2023, Nyala Moon’s short film Dilating For Maximum Results won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Film at the NewFest New York LGBTQ+ film festival. She was a 2022 recipient of the Newfest’s New Voices Filmmaker grant in partnership with Netflix supporting emerging LGBTQ+ filmmakers. Filmmaker Magazine named Nyala one of the 25 New Faces of Independent Film 2023. In 2024, Nyala Moon was selected as one of the 71 artists of the 2024 Whitney Biennial. 

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

QUEER SHORTS WATCH @GlobalQueerCinema 

18 NOVEMBER, 2024

HOW NOT TO DATE WHILE TRANS (2022)

dir. Nyala Moon

A witty, sarcastic and honest take on dating as a Black trans woman in New York. Andie is a romantic, but also very pragmatic about the realities of the dating world, so in her quest to find romance she has rules like the three-date rule to weed out incompatible candidates. In the process, she explores the various possibilities of dating while trans: do you share, do you not? If you do, when? Will that affect anything or not? A personal experiment in romancing while trans inspired by real dates, Nyala Moon’s short is a brilliant mastery of comedy and irony while addressing important issues about trans women. 

WATCH FULL FILM HERE

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

QUEER SHORTS WATCH

FEATURED FILMMAKER: ARUN FULARA

Arun Fulara is a writer and filmmaker based in Mumbai, India. His debut short film Sunday (2020) has traveled widely to festivals around the world including at Tampere Film Festival, London India Film Festival, Shorts Mexico, Inside Out Toronto and BISFF Bengaluru. Arun Fulara won the prestigious Riyad Wadia Award for Best Emerging Filmmaker for Sunday at Kashish MIQFF in 2020. His sophomore short film My Mother’s Girlfriend (2021) explores a day in the life of two women in love while his 2023 short Shera tells a story of migration, friendship and an elusive white leopard in a remote Himalayan village. Arun Fulara is currently working on his debut feature film. 

🌏🏳️‍🌈🎥

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

QUEER SHORTS WATCH @GlobalQueerCinema 

11 NOVEMBER, 2024

SUNDAY (2020)

directed by Arun Fulara

The weekly highlight of a middle-aged man’s life is going to the barber shop on Sundays to get a shave and some tender care from the handsome barber he has a secret crush on. Surrounded by an unforgiving  heteronormative world, his desire allows for no more than platonic queer longing and a moment of daring fantasy: imagining himself without a mustache because someone he likes told him that it would look amazing. This beautifully shot short with a soulful performance by Shrikant Yadav as Kamble, captures the sensuous intimacy of a barber shop encounter and closeted queer longing. 

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. 

QUEER SHORTS WATCH

FEATURED FILMMAKER: ELIF GÖNEN

 Elif Gönen - also known under the creative alias Forluck - is a Turkish director/photographer based in London.

“As a queer woman growing up in Turkey, I have developed a strong interest in topics such as womanhood, queerness and anti-establishment lifestyles. The repression I’ve experienced has turned into an obsession to portray more complex dynamics that I feel are more aligned with my experiences. In my documentary work, I attempt to capture my subjects with a fly-on-the-wall approach, framing my films in the utmost intimate and honest environment. I combine naturalistic footage with my fast-paced editing style for a specific surreal feeling that I want my visuals to exude. Looking for everyday moments we forget to cherish and create a storyline that will enable the viewer to feel empathetic towards its subjects, even though they may have nothing in common with them.“

 Elif Gönen

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QUEER SHORTS WATCH @GlobalQueerCinema is a curated virtual short film showcase amplifying the visibility of queer cinema. 

QUEER SHORTS WATCH @GlobalQueerCinema

4 NOVEMBER, 2024

 PLEASE BE HAPPY (2024) 

directed by Elif Gönen

Queering the concept of family, this kaleidoscopic experimental short explores what family can mean and be in queer contexts. Intimate conversations with parents and children in diverse queer family setups reveal complex relationships, challenging yet inspiring family dynamics, love and care. Nominated for Best Documentary at the BFI Future Film Festival, Please Be Happy is a vibrant visual exploration of the rich tapestry of queer families. 

@GlobalQueerCinema would like to thank Elif Gönen for sharing this powerful story with us. 

Thank you for joining QUEER SHORTS WATCH @GlobalQueerCinema! 

🌏🏳️‍🌈🎥

QUEER SHORTS WATCH @GlobalQueerCinema is a curated virtual short film showcase amplifying the visibility of queer cinema. 

QUEER SHORTS WATCH

FEATURED FILMMAKER: CHEN LI

A graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Chen Li has several years of advertising, documentary, and filmmaking experience in China, Japan, the United States, and Singapore. His short film Lily's Pain Shop was selected for the Academy Award-qualifying Zinebi International Film Festival and IN THE PALACE International Film Festival. Something Blue premiered at the New York Asian Film Festival. As commercial director, he has collaborated with brands including BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Cadillac, Buick, SK-II, Beats headphones, etc. He is currently working on his first feature.

🌏🏳️‍🌈🎥

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

QUEER SHORTS WATCH @GlobalQueerCinema 

28 OCTOBER, 2024

SOMETHING BLUE (2024) 

directed by Chen Li

On the eve of her wedding, a young woman's old flame takes her on a last freezing hike into the wild where the two head towards the China-North Korea border on a seemingly absurd adventure. Sometimes crossing the border to North Korea seems more bearable than letting go of someone you love. With terrific performances by Ma Ximan and Chen Yusha, Chen Li's moving short is an absolute must see!

@GlobalQueerCinema would like to thank filmmaker Chen Li for sharing this powerful story with us. 

Thank you for joining QUEER SHORTS WATCH @GlobalQueerCinema! 

🌏🏳️‍🌈🎥

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

QUEER SHORTS WATCH

FEATURED FILMMAKER: DIMA HAMDAN

Dima Hamdan is a Palestinian journalist and filmmaker based in Berlin. Her latest short film, BLOOD LIKE WATER (2023) was shot with support from the Palestine Film Lab and has been selected by 40 festivals so far, winning the Iris Film Prize this year (the largest LGBTQ+ short film award worldwide), and Best short film awards at the Brooklyn Film Festival and the Oslo Fusion Film Festival. It had its World Premiere at the BAFTA-qualifying Galway Film Festival, and its Australian Premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival. A self-taught filmmaker, she directed several short films in the UK, Jordan, Germany and Palestine. She is currently working on her debut feature film.

🌍🏳️‍🌈🎥

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

QUEER SHORTS WATCH @GlobalQueerCinema 

21 OCTOBER, 2024

BLOOD LIKE WATER (2023)

directed by Dima Hamdan 

The film follows the turmoil of a Palestinian family as the closeted son’s secret affair drags them into a trap where they face impossible choices. A powerful short about blackmail, politics, family and queer realities in Palestine. 

Dima Hamdan was awarded the prestigious IRIS PRIZE for this film, the largest LGBTQ+ short film prize in the world.

@GlobalQueerCinema would like to thank filmmaker Dima Hamdan for sharing this powerful story with us. 

Thank you for joining QUEER SHORTS WATCH @GlobalQueerCinema! 

🌍🏳️‍🌈🎥

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