Feature Films (Non-Competition)

Sat Jun 7, 5.45 PM | Cinepolis Screen 3

A STREET PLAY (Nukkad Naatak)
Director: Tanmaya Shekhar
107 min / 2024 / India / Hindi

Molshri and Shivang are best friends and members of a college street-theater group. While Molshri is a social justice warrior, always on the lookout to ‘fix society’, Shivang is secretly gay and struggles with his sexuality. The story begins when they are expelled from college for robbing the canteen. They beg, plead, and cry to get a second chance. Moved by their tears, the Dean offers them another chance. They need to do a community service project and help 5 children from an impoverished slum get educated. Thus begins a journey that changes their lives for ever.

Fri Jun 6, 2.30 PM | Cinepolis Screen 4

A LIFE INSIDE ME
Director: Jackie R. Bala
102 min | 2024 | India | Hindi

A Life Inside Me is a compelling and heartfelt drama that traverses the emotional landscapes of Sitaram and his daughter Mira, set against the backdrop of a society enmeshed in rigid norms and expectations. At the heart of the story is Sitaram, an elder grappling with a profound inner truth: a lifetime of silence surrounding his gender identity. As he confronts the twilight of his life, Sitaram embarks on a journey of self-acceptance, revealing his hidden struggles to his family and challenging the societal norms that have long dictated his existence. Mira faces her own challenges within a strained marriage and the transformative revelation of her pregnancy. Their stories and struggles reflect a heartfelt exploration of identity, acceptance, and the pursuit of authenticity against the backdrop of cultural conformity.

Sat Jun 7, 2.30 PM | Cinepolis Screen 4

AUM PENJOR
Director: Karma Jerry
140 min / 2024 / Bhutan / Bhutanese

Aum Penjor is a deeply moving film that traces the emotional and transformative journey of a transgender woman, Aum Penjor, as she courageously embraces her true identity in the face of pervasive societal prejudice. Set against the backdrop of a community steeped in tradition and conservative values, the film delves into the complexities of Aum Penjor’s personal struggles and triumphs.

Sun Jun 8, 10.45 AM | Cinepolis Screen 4
Fri Jun 6, 12.00 Noon | Alliance Française

CALL ME AGNES
Dir: Daniel Donato
94 min / 2024 / Netherlands / Dutch, English, Indonesian, Portuguese

Agnes’ life revolves around playing badminton with her queer friends and working at a restaurant she set up inside her house with her best friend Rini. One day her younger brother Indra arrives, looking for his brother Hans. Agnes faces a dilemma, keep the lie or tell the truth about who she is. The truth could give her a chance to reconcile with her brother but it seems more difficult to reach than she thought. Agnes relives and re-acts her memories and life experiences in a mix between fiction, musical and real life.

Sat Jun 7, 12.30 PM | Cinepolis Screen 4

EAT THE NIGHT
Dirs: Caroline Poggi & Jonathan Vinel
107 min / 2024 / France / French

Pablo, a small-time dealer, and his teenage sister Apolline have forged an unbreakable bond through their shared obsession with the online video game Darknoon. When Pablo falls for the mysterious Night, he gets swept up in their liaison, abandoning his sister to deal with the impending shutdown of their digital haven alone. As Pablo’s reckless choices provoke the wrath of a dangerous rival gang, the end of their virtual life draws near, upending their reality…

Sun Jun 8, 6.30 PM | Cinepolis Screen 4
Thu Jun 5, 5.30 PM | Alliance Française

HIGH TIDE
Director: Marco Calvani
101 min | 2024 | USA | English, Portuguese

Heartbroken and adrift, undocumented Brazilian immigrant Lourenço searches for purpose in the queer mecca of Provincetown. As the summer season comes to a fade, he sparks an intense and unexpected romance with Maurice. Together, the two reconcile the pasts they’ve left behind and their uncertain futures.

Sun Jun 8, 2.30 PM | Cinepolis Screen 4

SEBASTIAN
Dir: Mikko Mäkelä
111 min / 2024 / UK, Finland, Belgium / English, French

In this queer drama, we follow Max, a 25-year-old freelance writer and aspiring novelist who seems well on his way to success in London’s cultural spheres. Yet by night, he finds a different kind of exhilaration as a sex worker with the pseudonym Seb…

Sun Jun 8, 12.30 PM | Cinepolis Screen 4
Sun Jun 8, 5.30 PM | Alliance Française

SOME NIGHTS I FEEL LIKE WALKING
Director: Petersen Vargas
103 / 2024 / Philippines / Filipino

A band of street hustlers brave the dark corners of the Manila night time and into the outskirts of a forlorn country to fulfill their friend’s dying wish: to take his body home.

Sun Jun 8, 2.45 PM | Cinepolis Screen 3

THE BEST FRIEND (O Melhor Amigo)
Director: Allan Deberton
90 min / 2024 / Brazil / Portuguese

In Canoa Quebrada, Lucas re-encounters Felipe, awakening old desires. In the musical paradise, he surrenders to the pursuit of liberating intimacy, while Felipe loses himself in colorful nights. A burning and uncertain passion under the Brazilian sun.

Sat Jun 7, 8.30 PM | Cinepolis Screen 4
Thu Jun 5, 1.45 PM | Alliance Française

#TWOMOMS
Director: Satoko Nagamura
89 min / 2025 / Japan / Japanese

This documentary follows four female same-sex couples in Japan as they build their families through assisted reproductive technology. Each couple faces discrimination and legal challenges, and the film portrays the common joys and struggles of becoming parents, as well as the additional trials of being an LGBTQ+ family in modern Japan. Uniquely, this film is shot by a lesbian mother who is also navigating her own journey through parenthood. It invites viewers to reflect on the hidden diversity of families within Japanese society.

Thu Jun 5, 6.30 PM | Cinepolis Screen 4

BULLETPROOF: A LESBIAN’S GUIDE TO SURVIVING THE PLOT
Director: Regan Latimer
105 min / 2024 / Canada / English

In ‘Bulletproof: A Lesbian’s Guide to Surviving the Plot,’ filmmaker Regan Latimer takes an insightful, funny and personal look at queer representation on television and media’s power to shape how we see ourselves. Witty, fast-paced and laced with pop culture references, Regan journeys across North America and beyond in her quest to understand the forces that influence the stories we see on our screens. Original animation and personal anecdotes are interwoven with wide ranging conversations with television insiders, LGBTQ+ community advocates and people who just love to watch TV. As Latimer navigates an ever-evolving media landscape, the filmmaker learns first hand that representation done well has the power to transform.

Fri Jun 6, 9.30 AM | Cinepolis Screen 3
Sat Jun 7, 10.30 AM | Alliance Française

PRIDE & PRAYER
Director: Panta Mosleh
62 min / 2024 / Canada, USA / English, Persian

In Pride & Prayer, filmmaker Panta Mosleh turns the camera inward, navigating the complexities of her dual identity as a queer Muslim. Through candid interviews, intimate self-reflection, and encounters with others who share her struggle, Panta seeks to reconcile her identity with her efforts to reconnect with her faith. The journey becomes a powerful exploration of love, acceptance, and the evolving boundaries of tradition, as she confronts the question: Can one truly belong to both worlds?

Fri Jun 6, 3.45 PM | Alliance Française

QUEER, BROKE & AMAZING!
Directors: C. A. Griffith, H. L. T. Quan
89 min / 2024 / USA / English

Queer, Broke & Amazing! is an inspiring exploration of the struggles and triumphs of low-income LGBTQ+ people and their communities in the queer coastal meccas of the U.S. and points in-between—from the Deep South, Midwest, Navajo Nation, and Southwest to the Borderlands. Distilled from interviews with over 200 queer people and their fierce allies, the documentary refreshingly challenges the myth of gay affluence to reveal an extraordinary world of resilient LGBTQ+ people trying to survive, thrive, and get everyone free amidst plenty, and in an era of unprecedented hatred and legislative attacks against them.