The PrideArts Spring Film Fest runs from March 14 to May 1, with 32 international LGBT short films grouped into four programs, followed by three feature-length documentaries. See how filmmakers around the world are enriching lives.
Week 3’s films explore prejudice and discrimination against people with queer identities, among other themes. One film considers the challenges of sexual relations during the quarantine. Week 3 streams March 28 to April 3 at the Broadway Theater at Pride Arts Center (4139 N Broadway Ave) in Uptown and virtually.
Spring Shorts Week 3 – March 28 – April 4, 2022
GETTING CLOSER (USA, 6:16). Written and directed by Ethan Roberts.
Two stoned boyfriends navigate unexpected vulnerability (as well as the giggles) while attempting to get off. A micro-budget chamber piece, GETTING CLOSER utilizes the immediacy of iPhone cinematography to explore modern intimacy and what it takes to get there.
IDENTIBYE (Islamic Republic of Iran, 15:00). Written and Directed by Sajjad Shahhatami.
The protagonist of the story faces a dilemma of choosing between sense and sensibility regarding one’s innermost feelings. He has been judged from the very beginning by the ones closest to him. The fear of these never-ending judgments fills him with doubt and he has to work against the clock to achieve his goal as he knows that one’s true identity is what matters most to them.
REFLECT (Finland, 15:44). Written and directed by Lotte Laitinen
Mirva and Salla, each other’s first loves, meet for the first time in twenty years. The feelings they tried to hide from each other as teenagers seem to still spark, so Mirva decides to confess her love to Salla hoping that the feeling is mutual. But has adulthood made things any easier than they were twenty years ago?
SEXUAL DISTANCING (Greece, 16:35). Written and directed by Dimitris Asproloupos.
Two guys, one deadly virus, a city in quarantine and a lot of sexual desperation.
TAREK (Spain, 9:16). Directed by Anatael Pérez. Written by Anatel Pérez, Cris Marín, Ágata Bentancort, Altair Jorge Leiros, Miguel Cruz, and Eduardo Zerolo.
Four teenagers of different sexual orientation tell their experience at a party where they met a boy named Tarek. The four testimonies reveal a very deep connection between the characters, who despite their differences have experienced similar situations. “Tarek” talks about how people belonging to the LGTBI collective suffer discrimination and rejection due to their sexual condition.
THE BODIES OF SIEGFRIED (Chile,12:00). Written and directed by Emilio Rodríguez.
Siegfried is an artist who is in the midst of a gender transition. The documentary ponders about the relationship between his sexuality and his work, through a visual exploration of it, questioning the limits between art and pornography.
TRASHED (Canada, 13:12). Directed by Kate Johnston, Written by Joanne Vannicola.
With nowhere to go after a vicious homophobic attack, Jay finds their way to an abandoned house they once lived in as a teenager.
Spring Shorts Week 4 – Streaming April 4-11, 2022
Featured in the fourth and closing week of the festival are films concerned with identity and self-image as a queer person, challenges of romantic relationships, and a shocking film about a hate crime.
ELECTRICITY (USA, 17:44). Written and directed by Aaron Schoonover. Two friends reunite after a year apart, only to be caught in the middle of a summer blackout. The power is out but the electricity between them is undeniable.
MIDNIGHT RHYTHMS (USA, 15:50). Written and directed by Quincy Woo. In this conceptual, poetic narrative, a young gay man struggles with his sexual identity and spirals into the world of drunken facades and midnight afterthoughts, questioning who he is and if he’s willing to take the risk to be his truest self where others can see.
PRIVATE LIFE (USA, 22:10). Written and directed by Aleksei Borovikov. When Eric, a young reclusive photographer, secretly follows his boyfriend Chris into the mountains, he hopes to find answers about Chris’s fidelity. Instead, Eric finds a deeper connection to himself and to Chris just as they fall prey to a stranger who targets them, a tragedy that changes Eric forever. Private Life is inspired by an actual hate crime.
THE WASHING MACHINE (Spain, 6:30). Written and directed by Diane Malherbe. To start a washing machine is not so easy for everyone. You still have to choose the right program…
TRUTHLESS (China, 27:14). Written and directed by Badou Zhao. Transgender stand-up comedian Lady Lin has been using her identity as the punchline in performances to acquire attention, yet she is discontented with her approach. One day, her estranged older brother shows up, informing her of their mother’s recent death. His appearance brings back the pain she suffered when she was disowned by their parents seven years ago. Her loneliness pierces through her glamorous facade. Touched, she decides to visit her hometown, only to learn the truth – her parents lied to everyone that she had died years ago to conceal her identity. Disillusioned, she turns around and leaves resolutely. Lin’s only hope of reconciliation with her family is through the self-deceptive fantasies she performs onstage.
UNTIL TOMORROW (USA, 10:13). Written and directed by Ian Graham. While stuck in a time loop at a party, a college student repeatedly falls in love with a boy that can never remember him.
Tickets for each program are $10, or a pass for the seven-week fest can be purchased for $25.
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