SHORT FILMS
A series of short films using ethnofiction, feminist, oral history, and queer methodologies
TRANSNATIONAL QUEER MEDIAMAKING
Run Time 10:58
Through their music Kendall ! navigates their dreams of love, freedom, and joy. If gender were a performance, they would have two left feet, but sometimes, you just gotta jump.
WORLDING SEX & GENDER
BLACK ICE: In an exchange between brother and sister we explore a young black man’s perspective on black masculinity in America. Through discussions about childhood, experiences of otherness in predominantly white communities, and his current career path with law enforcement, the siblings unveil deeper emotions that come from the exploration of divergent paths during a time where social unrest incites questions about black identity and allegiance.
BROOKLYN BRIDGES: You don’t have to be in New York City to experience the energy and passion of Brooklyn Bridges, the drag persona of a junior at Cornell University who uses drag as a tool to give power to her political voice while at the same time expressing a fearlessly vulnerable display of brazen femininity and candor. What does drag culture look like, how has it changed, and what work still needs to be done within drag culture, especially regarding gender, race, misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia? Brooklyn Bridges shares her story.
LEAVING GIANTS BEHIND: Nicole has been studying opera since she was thirteen. Though she loves the music, she is disenchanted with this industry that refuses change. Watch this short video to hear her spirited criticism of industry leaders and her ideas for reform.
WHERE WOULD YOU GO? The director’s 84 year old grandmother shares her experience with marriage, domestic abuse, and motherhood. Cut off from all support networks, she struggles to gain independence and find happiness on her own.
GEND(H)ER: A 38-year-old femme lesbian reflects on her experiences with gender and sexuality throughout her life, starting from her hometown in rural Southwest New Mexico. In describing her struggles reconciling her hyperfeminine gender expression with her lesbian sexuality, she illuminates the invisible ties between gender and sexuality and demonstrates how even queer frameworks of gender can be restrictive.
ACCEPTANCE: A college-aged woman explores the intersection of religion and sexuality and the role that plays in her family. Her story resists traditional religious norms, instead offering a narrative of reclamation and sexual freedom through the act of gaining independence.
COMING TO TERMS: A short film about standing out in a small town by challenging societal norms both in and out of the gay community.
RUDE AND BOLD WOMEN: An LGBTQ+ pastor explores some of the most meaningful things in her life, uncovering how gender and sexuality impact her church as well as her love of art and Scripture. Her stories expose some of the toxic ways women have been controlled by society.
FROM CAPES TO COUTURE: Emily Brown gives us an insight into how the world of fashion allowed her to discover her sexuality and express her individuality in a bold and unique way.
BUBBLEGUM: Sky Cole, a current Freshman majoring in film and animation at NYU, details her frustrations with both depicting reality in film and receiving critique about the reality she portrays. She talks in depth about how filmmaking has constructed her identity while it simultaneously alienated herself from her values.
CLOSURE: A Young bisexual man speaks on his journey to finding himself in a country where masculinity is king amongst men.
PIERCING MY PUNK QUEERNESS: tells the story of a non-binary and queer who lives in China who finds a strong connection between her identity and her passion for body piercing and punk music.
MY LIPS: A Jamaican woman’s journey for self and cultural awareness in a world that puts down black women.
IN TERMS OF THAT: Andrea discusses her identity as a questioning person and third culture kid. She explores her own identity, family dynamic, friendships, and future.
ONLY TEMPORARY: A reflection on the experience of growing up in Abu Dhabi as a queer individual ridden by multi-layered fears of government surveillance and deportation.
Finn reflects on their experience of being non-binary in a pervasively gendered environment.
NORMALISING RACISM: An 85-year-old middle-class Black Woman from the South recalls her history with racism. Her experiences differ from the history textbooks.
A BEAUTIFUL WORDS: A lesbian from small-town New England reclaims her own place in the world.
JOHARI: Utilising her artwork as inspiration for her story, Johari creates her own definition of identity.
NO YOU'RE NOT: Mel reflects on queerness, gendered foods, catholic dogma, and familial expectations, a young person goes through a self-discovery journey .
DATING IN COVID
INVISIBLE: A girl guides us through her struggles of self acceptance when it comes to her sexuality. Although she may have been ready to be herself, the world around her was not forgiving.
THIS IS WHAT I KNOW: A teacher to young students in New York City, WZ finds himself drawing his own lines between public and private, isolation and community, authenticity and self-preservation.
ZIPPER SHOES
NO WAY SHE'S A GIRL: A division one woman athlete shares her experiences with the pressure that society places on women to maintain a specific body image. She gets into detail about who her and her teammates have struggled to deal with this pressure, and how they work together to overcome it.
A CONSTANT QUESTION: Out, loud, and proud, yet what happens when you’re forced to come out again? Oh, how the nagging thoughts and doubts rise and recircle after years of assuredness. The disconnect between who we choose to be and who we are seen as. A self-discovery of what queerness and coming out means to a twenty-something.
FOUND IN CHRIST: Affectionately known as Grandma Barbara, B. Keen tells her story of finding her voice in a household where children were seen, not heard. Through the lens of Grandma Barbara, we see how people born in the Silent Generation (1928-1945) came to find who they are in a time where parents strictly enforced tradition.
Emiliano explores his gender as he travels throughout his life, beginning with society’s influence on his thoughts and expression, following his childhood environment’s impact on questioning his gender, and illuminating how even the smallest things can be truly monumental to self discovery.