Slamdance Film Festival
Slamdance blasts into Los Angeles, February 20-26, with an absolutely packed seven days of new movies. Seriously, they're starting at 9am a couple days, it's REALLY a lot of movies. Most screenings are at Quixote studios in West Hollywood, but check listings to be sure.
Individual tickets are $21 each, but a full festival pass to all film screenings is just $50--or $75 with access to the virtual festival, with all 100+ films streaming from Feb 24-March 7.
Queer Features at Slamdance
The Big Johnson
Feb 21, 9:45 PM @ Quixote West Hollywood
World Premiere Screening
Dean Johnson, drag queen, rock star, LGBTQI activist, junkie, genius, escort then John Doe. How does someone so famous in New York die as an unknown in DC? This documentary explores the incredible highs and the crushing lows of Dean Johnson’s life and untimely death. Was it murder? Was it an accident? We may never know, but what is certain is that Dean and “the Big Johnson” changed New York City and all who knew him forever.
Tickets from Slamdance Film Festival ↗
LARRY (they/them)
Feb 21, 5:00 PM @ Quixote West Hollywood
A young non-binary trans photographer, Laurence Philomène asserts themselves as one of the most original and inspiring voices of their generation and an icon of the LGBTQ+ community. Revealing both Laurence’s intimate world and creative process, “LARRY (they/them)” paints a luminous and committed portrait of the complex and often misunderstood multiplicity of trans and non-binary identities and experiences.
Tickets from Slamdance Film Festival ↗
Confessions Chin-Chin
Feb 22, 11:45 AM @ Quixote West Hollywood
North America Premiere
Vicente and Lolo, two queer actors in search of better times, meet Sofía, Roberto, and a host of enigmatic characters on a Saturday night at Cazador, a bar in Madrid. Between drinks, jazz, and tobacco, the diners discuss the artistic world, sex, discrimination, non-traditional relationships, harassment, and many other controversial topics including their most intimate and dark secrets.
Tickets from Slamdance Film Festival ↗
American Theater
Feb 23, 9:15 AM @ Quixote West Hollywood
World Premiere Screening
A "canceled" gay theater director summons a troupe of conservatives to an abandoned cabin in rural Georgia to plot revenge on the Atlanta theater community with a musical retelling of the 1692 Salem witch trials.
Tickets from Slamdance Film Festival ↗
Other Films from Queer Filmmakers
Stolen Kingdom
Dir. Joshua Bailey
Stolen Kingdom is a documentary that delves into the history of mischief, scandal, and theft at Walt Disney World, ultimately leading to the theft of an animatronic valued at nearly half a million dollars.
The Secret Lives Of Bill Bartell
Dir. Dave Markey
Bill was a musician, band manager, record label owner, police officer, rodeo bull rider, an attention-seeking recluse, and the ultimate fan-boy. He led an exceedingly compartmentalized life, keeping a tight lid on his background, his occupations, relationships and sexuality, hiding the jarring conflicts.
Disposable Humanity
Dir. Cameron S. Mitchell
The Mitchell family, a family of Disability Studies scholars and filmmakers, has researched The Nazi Aktion T4 program since the 1990s. Disabled people were the first victims to be killed under the Third Reich and in this investigative documentary, the Mitchells reveal how this history has been covered over and erased from international public memory.
Complicated
Dir. Andrew Abrahams
Kids with rare and complex diseases whose care is too complicated for mainstream medicine are being tossed around from specialist to specialist, abandoned and even accused of psychological disorders or of faking their illness.
Queer Shorts at Slamdance
The following short films are Queer stories or made by Queer filmmakers, and play in various short programs or before feature films. See the interactive Slamdance film guide for more info on each film and scheduling:
Narrative Shorts:
- Bita Joon Dir. Sara Boutorabi
- Deuce Dir. Margot Budzyna
- Holy Water Dir. Claire Barnett
- how i see me Dir. Alec Scholzen
- Joey Earns Rewards Using the McDonald's Mobile App & Megh and Clev Discuss Their Future Together Dir. Brad Roelandt
- One Day This Kid Dir. Alexander Farah
- Stellacast Transmission: PT.1 Subconscious Eyes Dir. Uel Renteria
- The Sea Inside Her Dir. Alyx Duncan
Documentary Shorts:
- Christmas, Every Day Dir. Faye Tsakas
- The Wash Dir. Mike Feswick
- Untitled (Concussion) Dir. Jane Claxton
Animated Shorts:
- 'Never Fall In Love.' Dir. Lucy Sao Wa Iao, Angela En-Yu Lao
- And A Little For Me Dir. Kathryn Roake
- Birth Controlled Dir. Isabela Fraga-Abaza
- breadvideo Dir. benana sonjira
- Gemini Dir. Jamie Griffiths
- Les Bêtes Dir. Michael Granberry
- mnemonic Dir. Raffaele Gans-Pifster
- Mousse Crust Dr. Badminton Plus
Unstoppable Shorts:
- Disabled AF Dir. Cashmere Jasmine, RJ Dawson
- Forward Thinking Dir. Antonio Harper, Abby Burton
- Ignore Your True Feelings At Your Own Peril Dir. Miranda Siegel
- Mo<4Kyra Dir. Debbie Hannan
- Noggin Dir. Case Jernigan
- POSSUM Dir. Daisy Rosato
- Promise To Stronger Days Dir. Jessica Senquiz
- Witness Dir. Radha Mehta, Saif Jaan
Experimental Shorts:
- Stroad Movie Dir. Pablo Garcia
DIG (Digital, Interactive, Gaming)
The following digital and interactive programs are from directors who have identified as Queer:
East Beijing Road
Dir. Haoran Chang
East Beijing Road is an asymmetric VR installation that reimagines the stories of a building with a history spanning over 100 years in Shanghai, China, whose residents were compelled to move out due to an ongoing gentrification policy.
kino lau: many bodies
Dir. Rachel Nakawatase, Melissa Ferrari, Ryan Betschart
Traditionally told through dance (hula) and chant (oli), kino lau: many bodies is a visual retelling of native Hawaiian lore through ambient drone music and magic lantern slides.
Phantom Pain
Dir. Xiner Lan
Phantom Pain is a two-channel interactive dialogue between the audience and a magician’s assistant who has been split in two after the magic trick “sawing a woman in half” comes to an abrupt halt.
