Someone Like Me

Inspired by an exclusive interview and performance footage of Chavela Vargas shot in 1991 and guided by her unique voice, the film weaves an arresting portrait of a woman who dared to dress, speak, sing, and dream her unique life into being.

Welcome to a different kind of drag race! As NYC emerges from the chaos of 2020, Marti Cummings (they/them), an audacious and big-hearted drag queen, goes all out in a historic bid to become a City Councilperson. It’s one of the most hotly contested Council races in years, and Marti’s strongest competitor is Shaun Abreu, a tenants’ lawyer with deep roots in the district’s Latinx community. As these first-timers race to do the most good for their Upper Manhattan neighbors, they offer very different visions for Democratic politics – one in a suit and tie, the other in combat boots and floral print. As this immersive documentary reveals, Marti’s passion inspires queer activists and allies to change the political system. Their campaign becomes a community of its own, especially for Marti’s non-binary peers who have never before seen themselves represented.

The film follows the story of Jamie, a struggling butch lesbian actress who gets cast as a man in a film. The main plot is a romantic comedy between Jamie's male alter-ego, "Male Jamie," and Jill, a heterosexual woman on set. The film's subplots include Jamie's bisexual roommate Lola and her cat actor Howard, Lola's abrasive butch German girlfriend Andi, and Jamie's gay Asian friend David.

A Palestinian grain miller in a Jordanian refugee camp safeguards her culture and shares her people’s history through food prepared with love, longing, and sumud—the Palestinian spirit of steadfastness.

Letter Beyond the Walls reconstructs the trajectory of HIV and AIDS with a focus on Brazil, through interviews with doctors, activists, patients and other actors, in addition to extensive archival material. From the initial panic to awareness campaigns, passing through the stigma imposed on people living with HIV, the documentary shows how society faced this epidemic in its deadliest phase over more than two decades. With this historical approach as its base, the film looks at the way HIV is viewed in today's society, revealing a picture of persistent misinformation and prejudice, which especially affects Brazil’s most historically vulnerable populations.

Record-breaking gamer Narcissa Wright grapples with her toxic obsession for attention and her space in the streaming community after coming out as transgender, all while attempting to set a new world record for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

THE PERFUMED GARDEN is an exploration of the myths and realities of sensuality and sexuality in Arab society, a world of taboos and of erotic literature. Through interviews with men and women of all ages, classes, and sexual orientation, the film lifts a corner of the veil that usually shrouds discussion of this subject in the Arab world. Made by an Algerian-French woman director, the film begins by looking at the record of a more permissive history, and ends with the experiences of contemporary lovers from mixed backgrounds. It examines the personal issues raised by the desire for pleasure, amidst societal pressures for chastity and virginity. The film discusses pre-marital sex, courtship and marriage, familial pressures, private vs. public spaces, social taboos (and the desire to break them), and issues of language.

One record producer, the creators of "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" and top indie rock artists come together to create a tribute album benefiting the Hetrick-Martin Institute, home of the Harvey Milk School- the first accredited high school in the country for LGBTQ youth. "Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig" weaves the compelling, courageous stories of four students at this controversial school with a unique chronicle of the yearlong creation of "Wig in a Box," the album whose songs poignantly echo these teens' struggles and aspirations. Through a dramatic and vibrant combination of verite documentation, student video diaries and rare in-studio scenes of artists recording tracks, "Follow My Voice" offers a powerful and poignant look at this unlikely intersection of youth, gender and rock. Includes studio sessions from Yoko Ono, Rufus Wainwright, The Bens, The Breeders, Yo La Tengo, John Cameron Mitchell, They Might Be Giants and more.

Why are men two or even three times less likely than women to be diagnosed with depression? Why are the figures reversed between the sexes in suicide statistics—some 47,000 people in Europe each year, more than three-quarters of whom are men? In men, the signs may differ from those generally identified with depression: anger rather than sadness, hyperactivity (at work or in sports) rather than asthenia, antisocial or addictive behavior, greater difficulty in asking for help due to modesty or shame, etc. But whatever form it takes, mental suffering is still often overlooked by those affected, misdiagnosed by many practitioners, and therefore generally underestimated.

A love letter that unites Brazil and Cuba. In the film Travessias, the director goes on a long journey seeking to understand the feelings and transformations of a person who is close to her. On this path of doubts and concerns, she meets Justin, a trans man who will help her on this journey. With a poetic and self-referential look, the director invites us to rethink our own prejudices and limits in relation to the others.

Documentary footage from various sources, set to music. Showing the whole of human life, from birth to death and beyond.

CHASING CHASING AMY explores the transformational impact of a ‘90s rom-com on a 12 year old kid from Kansas, coming of age and contending with queer identity. For young Sav Rodgers, the Kevin Smith cult classic, CHASING AMY, became a life raft. As Rodgers examines the film and its making as a cornerstone of LGBTQ+ cinema, he finds himself at a complicated crossroads.

A look at sex in Japan, that covers underground gay life, transvestites, sex change operations, tattoos, and S&M. What does it mean to live an individualistic life in the modern age? By capturing the seemingly bizarre customs of men in drag and women in men's clothing seen on the streets, and examining the world of sexual perversion in an attempt to unravel the mysteries of our homogenized modern society, we explore whether it represents the pinnacle of pleasure, or a world of endless hell.

“I Beg You To Like Me”, serves as a testimony of individuals who felt oppressed about their body image for not meeting the standard beauty criteria, and demonstrates how a reckless language based on others’ physical appearance could turn violent. It aims to achieve much more than simply stating the obvious, which is that we are not obligated to submit to the ideal beauty standards dictated by the media, consumerism and the beauty industry. The intimate stories about one’s own body image as told by women, men, disabled people and LGBT individuals make it apparent that any one of us could end up being a victim and a perpetrator at the same time. What if, this iconic body image is nothing but an unobtainable fallacy? “Is it not yet the time to openly discuss the conventional perception of beauty, and step up onto the catwalk in our actual likeness?

The life of internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin is told through her slideshows, intimate interviews, ground-breaking photography, and rare footage of her personal fight to hold the Sackler family accountable for the overdose crisis.

In an intimate and provocative journey, Vibrations is a documentary-essay that explores the filmmaker’s complex relationship with explicit imagery and his own sexuality. Born into a Catholic family and struggling to put his homosexuality into words, the director finds in pornography a space for self-exploration and acceptance. The film dives into the nuances of alternative pornography, challenging stigmas and revealing how desire, identity, and the politics of the body intertwine both on screen and in life. A work that pulses between the personal and the universal, Vibrations challenges perceptions and invites a rediscovery of pleasure and freedom through the image.

María, an activist and drag queen, stands strong against a society that invalidates her. Through her discourse and performance, she confronts the insecurities that once brought her down, transforming her identity into a tool for resistance.

A heady, energised mash-up of animation, unseen archive footage and interviews, Rebel Dykes provides an intimate insight into the politically charged, artistically radical anarchist subculture in 1980s London, and the individuals who helped shape and change their world. Bringing together BDSM nightclubs, inclusive, sex-positive feminism, DIY zine culture, post-punk musicians and artists, squatters, activists and sex workers, these rebel dykes went out onto the streets to make their voices heard. [Feature length version of 2016 short of the same name.]

Paper Dolls follows the lives of transgender migrant workers from the Philippines who work as health care providers for elderly Orthodox Jewish men and perform as drag queens during their spare time. It also delves into the lives of societal outcasts who search for freedom and acceptance.

Juan Méndez Bernal leaves his house on the 9th of april of 1936 to fight in the imminent Spanish Civil War. 83 years later, his body is still one of the Grass Dwellers. The only thing that he leaves from those years on the front is a collection of 28 letters in his own writing.