TWISTED GAZE, 19min., Mexico
Directed by David Sanchez V
Diego travels to Turkey, makes a layover in Dubai. There he suffers a series of abuses by authority, sexual and homophobic by the police and military. This leads to a ceaseless search of identity and an obscure social questioning — psychological about masculinity, diversity and the “Who am I”.

https://instagram.com/diegoavilamx

Get to know the filmmaker;

The fact that in 2023 we can still be sexually abused for being homosexual. It took us 8 months from kicking off the project to wrapping it up. It all kicked off when we were working on another short film with Diego. He shared his experience in Dubai, and it stuck with me for a few days. When we caught up again, we decided to do something about it. Diego wrote everything down in great detail. After that, we recorded the “interview” (the voiceover you hear in the film). It was a two-hour-long recording… After that, we spent 2 months in post-production.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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DADDY, 20min., USA
Directed by Jay Beckett
Rodrigo is an unstable, and materialistic queer man who falls madly in love with his sugar daddy. Rodrigo’s best friend finds out that he is married to a woman and has a new born son. His world collapses along with his mind. Heartbroken and mentally disturbed, he goes on a quest to seek revenge.

https://www.2ndactfilms.com/daddy
https://www.instagram.com/daddy_theshortfilm/

Get to know the filmmaker:
Well, this was my thesis film at LA Film School. I’ve done dramas and documentaries in the past, but never a thriller. So it was a perfect time to explore the horror/thriller genre specially about queer people.

You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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THINGS WE SHOULDN’T TALK ABOUT, 11min,. USA, Documentary
Directed by Robbie Kruithoff
The mental health impact of religion on the LGBTQIA+ community is unchecked and misunderstood. Alone and largely ignored, queer individuals from conservative, religious communities commit suicide at alarming rates. How many must die before we start talking about it?

https://thingsweshouldnttalkabout.com/

From Robbie Kruithoff:

This film first started when I was doing research for my memoir. Growing up the gay son of two Pentecostal Pastors from a small town in Australia, I know first hand the mental health struggles that religious trauma and suicide survivors face in the religious world. What I didn’t know was how prevalent suicide among religious queer individuals is in today’s society. This spurred me to find other survivors to understand the issues a little better.

Interview conducted by Matthew Toffolo

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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QUEER MONGOL, 16min., USA, Documentary
Directed by Brandt Miller
Queer Mongol follows four characters over the course of Mongolia’s LGBTQ+ Pride Festival, who embody a diversity of gender and sexual identities. The film is a meditation on queerness in the non-west and a nuanced glimpse into a nascent movement on the Central Asian Steppe.

From Brandt Miller:

I’ve been working with the queer community in Mongolia for 16 years, first as a study abroad student doing research. I then returned to Mongolia on a Fulbright Fellowship in 2009 and created a multimedia exhibition about the very underground community back then—the first of its kind in the nation. Back then, the exhibition had to be faceless because it was too dangerous for individuals to reveal their identities to the public. I helped co-found the Mongolian LGBT Center and returned in 2019 to film Queer Mongol. I feel a deep connection with the place. The story of the Mongolian LGBT movement is a story I will be documenting my whole life.

Playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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THE JESSICA CABIN was the winner of BEST FEATURE FILM at the LA LGBTQ+ Film Festival.

https://www.instagram.com/marykateandashtray

Director Biography - Daniel Montgomery

Daniel Montgomery is an LA-based director/writer/actor known for his work in the worlds of comedy and horror. A USC School of Dramatic Arts, NC School of the Arts and UCB alum, Daniel is the artistic director and writer of LA’s premier immersive theatre company JFI Productions (Creep LA, The Willows). He is also the co-founder of sketch comedy duo turned production company Mary-Kate and Ashtray. Recent work includes award-winning short film Tall Betsy and onscreen in HBO’s Barry.

Director Statement

I wrote and directed The Jessica Cabin in the heart of the pandemic. My time stuck inside was measured by a listlessness and unsettlingly deep introspection that permeated my days: these are the bones of this film. I felt like a ghost. So I wrote about being one.

Inspiration also came from outside of myself. Shortly into the pandemic, two of my best friends, both in their early 30s, came out: one as gay, the other as non-binary. I was moved to create this film as an opportunity for them to be authentically represented onscreen for the first time. (They star in the film)

So, if those elements are the bones, the heart of this film is the universal desire to intimately connect with others. To be seen. And find reciprocated love. Everyone in the film is looking for a connection, and somehow the wires have gotten crossed. At times, to the extreme. I was inspired to portray this theme in every color: dark and light, grounded and fantastical.

Most importantly, I wanted to make a (slightly) spooky film that's decidedly queer: where the "fear" and drama doesn't come from the horror being queer; rather it's just an aspect of the characters' lives. Or, in this case, after-lives.

I hope you chuckle a few times, I hope you get the tingles, and I hope you disappear for a little while.
But not forever.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service later this month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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HORNBEAM was the winner of BEST DIRECTION at the Toronto LGBTQ+ Film Festival.

Under cover of darkness, two strangers bond over a shared secret. But how well do they really know each other?

Director Biography - Mark Pluck

Mark is a London-based writer, director and producer. In 2017 he wrote voyeuristic thriller ‘The Photographer’ starring Sophia di Martino (Marvel's Loki) which screened at the East End Film Festival, Danny Boyle’s festival ‘Shuffle’ and the British Independent Film Festival. In 2019 he produced the comedy-horror short 'Meat is Murder' - in collaboration with London advertising agency VCCP, which was described by the British Comedy Guide as “Really funny, then genuinely unsettling”. In 2020 Mark made his directorial debut with horror short ‘Platform’ which received its world premiere at Grimmfest and later screened at Lund Fantastic Festival and the British Horror Film Festival, where Mark was awarded the Rising Star Award.

Director Statement

I’ve always been drawn to stories that explore the lives we live behind closed doors, beyond the carefully curated façade we project out to the world. I’m interested in the lengths we go to in order to conceal these truths and, more importantly, how these actions affect those we care for the most. HORNBEAM is a film that aims to explore some of this rich and rather murky territory through the lens of a tender love story. Set almost entirely within the confines of a van over several nights, it follows two men who are both living a lie and seeking a safe space to come clean. But unfortunately, as is so often the case in life, the truth can be hard to bear.

Film playing on the Film Festival Streaming service today. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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A TREE FELL TODAY was the winner of BEST PERFORMANCES at the May 2022 LGBTQ+ Film Festival.

Project Links

• Website

• Instagram

“Elise revisits the traumatic memories of her lover Jessica committing suicide due to the catastrophic death of their child, struggling to escape the eternal circle of anguish and misery she tries to move forward, but is she just stuck in an endless loop?”

Interview with the talented filmmaker Oliver Crawford on the making of the film from concept to distribution.

Film also showing on the WILDsound TV app next month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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SAM was the winner of BEST ROMANCE FILM at the Feb. 2022 LGBTQ+ Film Festival.

”Sam is a newly divorced man who decides to question and explore his sexual identity. He goes out all out to impress his dinner date and it goes well until a revelation turns the situation awry. The dinner date unexpectedly falls apart and Sam is forced to come to terms with his perceptions and possibly misguided notions about people with HIV.”

Conversation with Singapore filmmaker Yiqin Ng on the making of the film.

Film also showing on the WILDsound TV app. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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LOOK IN MY EYES is a LGBTQ+ feature film that played at the March 2022 WILDsound Festival.

“A sober gay man meets a NYC taxi driver from Crimea. Romance, Self deception. Pursuit of truth and oneself. Intrigue.”

Conversation with writer/co-director Eddie Baca on the making of the film and where he wants it to go from here.

Film also playing at the WILDsound TV app all day on Sunday March 27th. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

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F’G was the winner of Best Performances at the February 2022 LGBTQ+ Film Festival.

“Seventeen-year-old Thomas is attracted to Esteban, a fellow student. After a drunken kiss at a party, the rumor about Thomas' homosexuality quickly spreads around school, and the young boy soon faces judgement and discrimination...”

Film also playing at the WILDsound TV app next month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Conversation with French director Olivier Lallart on the making of the film.

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EXPECTING was the winner of BEST DIRECTION at the January 2022 LGBTQ+ Film Festival.

Film also playing at the WILDsound TV app next month. You can sign up for the 7 day free trial at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform. Then it’s only $3.99 per month.

Conversation with writer/director Jared Milrad, and his two leads Jack Settipane & Kiana Madani on the making of the film.

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THE OUT-FIT was the winner of Best Direction at the January 2022 Film Festival.

Film also playing at the WILDsound TV app next month. You can watch for free and sign up at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform.

“When coming out of the thrift store isn't all you do. A new coming-of-age queer film follows Emily, a costume-wearing 25-year-old, on her journey through change, love, and discovering one's self.”

Conversation with creator Jessica Rookeward on the making of the film.

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TUULLIK was the winner of BEST FILM at the January 2022 LGBTQ+ Short Film Festival.

Also playing at the WILDsound TV app next month. You can watch for free and sign up at www.wildsound.ca (available on your streaming services and APPS). There is a DAILY film festival to watch, plus a selection of award winning films on the platform.

”Tukummeq and Luna are facing a turning point in their relationship. An opportunity arises for them to finally present themselves as a couple to Luna’s mother, but Luna hesitates.”

Conversation with the Filmmakers about the making of the film in Greenland.

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“Intergalactic Io” was the winning feature screenplay for 2021 at the LGBTQ+ Film & Screenplay Festival. Conversation with writer Seth Nesenholtz on the process of writing this screenplay and the art of writing “camp” movies.

Watch the Screenplay Reading:

Space thief Io finds herself caught in a galactic war while attempting to sell a stolen crystal. Now the most wanted person in the galaxy, she races against the clock to save her alien dog and face responsibility for the war she inadvertently started.

CAST LIST:

Narrator: Allan Michael Brunet
DOMINATRIA: Val Cole
NIRYAT: Julie Sheppard

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MEDIAN was the winner of Best Cinematography at the December 2021 LGBTQ+ Film Festival.

“A gay activist rallies the queer community after he and a trans activist are assaulted by a group of religious extremists.”

Conversation with Bay area filmmaker Matthew Riutta on the process making this award winning short film. We also dive into Matthew’s “day job” career as a Location Manager and working on films like “Fruitville Station”, “The Master”, and “Moneyball”.

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WE ALL DIE ALONE was the winner of BEST PERFORMANCES at the December 2021 LGBTQ+ Film Festival.

“An 8-way standoff leads to absurdist scenarios, a conversation about Mexican food and a little romance.”

Conversation with filmmakers Jonathan Hammond on the making of the unique film. It started with an idea from a 48-hour film challenge. Then they remade the film a few years later using a lot of the same cast.

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MAR I ANA was the winner of BEST FILM at the November 2021 LGBTQ+ Film Festival. You can watch the film and festival for FREE today HERE.

https://www.instagram.com/mar.i.ana.film/

“Mar and Ana, best friends since childhood, look for the perfect place where Ana will get married; not before reviving their love and repressed desire for years.”

Conversation with filmmaker Mar Novo on the making of the award winning “MAR I ANA” film. Plus, she talks about currently directing her film feature film , “SISTERS”, starring Valeria Maldonado, Marta Cross, & Virginia Novello

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FOR ALL THE KINGS is a short animation film that played at the November 2021 LGBTQ+ Short Film Festival. You can watch the film and festival for FREE today HERE.

“Follow a potato’s journey to self-fulfillment.”

Conversation with Rosabel Su on the making of the film.

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STOCKHOLM was the winner of BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY at the November 2021 LGBTQ+ Film Festival.

Interview with Writer/Director Tom Wright & Darius Shu Cinematographer/Producer on the making of the film.

Produced by Silverprince Pictures

https://www.silverprincepictures.com/stockholm

“A young gay man embarks on an unusual first date in a conquest to take control of his past.”

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YES I AM: THE RIC WEILAND STORY is the 2021 WINNING Feature Film from the LGBTQ+ Film Festival. Conversation with the talented documentary filmmaker Aaron Bear on the making of this film and it’s amazing editing style and story concept.

https://www.ricweiland.com/

https://www.facebook.com/YesIAm2021

https://twitter.com/YesIAmFilm

“Ric Weiland was a brilliant programmer, queer pioneer, & one of the earliest employees of Microsoft. He dedicated his life and fortune to philanthropy and activism, but personal struggles eventually became too much to bear. This film is the story of his life and legacy. Narrated by Zachary Quinto.”

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