KASHISH 2026 DOCUMENTARY FEATURES IN COMPETITION

A DEEPER LOVE: THE STORY OF MISS PEPPERMINT
Dir: Oriel Pe’er | 86 MIN | 2025 | USA, Germany | English

A Deeper Love is a decade-long raw and unguarded portrait of Peppermint – trailblazing performer, trans icon, and activist. Following her rise from a struggling Harlem queen to making history on RuPaul’s Drag Race and Broadway, the film pulls back the curtain on fame, transition, and the cost of living in the spotlight as a Black trans woman. With rare access and revealing footage that captures her humanity in all its color, the film tells a story of survival, joy, sisterhood, and the radical power of being fully seen.

Screening: Saturday June 6, 10.00 AM | Alliance Francaise

BARBARA FOREVER
Dir: Brydie O’Connor | 103 MIN | 2026 | USA | English

Queer cinema pioneer Barbara Hammer (1939–2019) started making films at the age of 27, coming out as a lesbian in her early 30s: “My life has been lived in film.” The sheer wealth of film material of her life also forms the basis for Barbara Forever, Brydie O’Connor’s debut feature which achieves the mammoth task of doing justice to her dazzling and charismatic personality: a pioneer of lesbian and queer self-representation “in a world where we are invisible”, a seductive lover – and a both experimental and daring filmmaker. Above all this: a lust for life.

Screening: Friday June 5, 11.45 AM | NGMA

NIÑXS
Dir: Kani Lapuerta | 83 MIN | 2025 | Germany, Mexico | Spanish

At the foot of Tepozteco, a sacred hill that governs the winds and fertility, lies the small town of Tepoztlán. Against this backdrop, fifteen-year-old Karla’s body and mind are undergoing a revolution. While Karla navigates her transition, Kani shapes eight years of footage into a joyful film, as they handle the vagaries of a rural trans adolescence together.

Screening: Sunday June 7, 10.00 AM | Alliance Francaise

OUT LAWS
Dirs: James Lewis, Lexi Powner | 79 MIN | 2025 | UK, Namibia | English

Friedel Dausab is at the heart of a battle centuries in the making. Challenging Namibia’s criminalisation of same-sex love, Friedel becomes a beacon of hope for countless queer Namibians longing for freedom and safety. Amid death threats, relentless public scrutiny, and the chilling spectre of a serial killer, Friedel takes his country to court. Prominent queer historians trace the origins of criminalisation as Friedel joins fellow activists Rosanna (Sri Lanka) and Raven (Barbados) in London, where they prepare to deliver a rousing speech at Pride and await Friedel’s judgment.

Screening: Saturday June 6, 10.45 AM | Liberty Cinema