aGLIFF Reveals Film Lineup for Prism 36

aGLIFF, Austin’s oldest film festival and premiere LGBTQ+ film fest in the Southwest, has announced the official program selections for the 36th annual festival PRISM 36 taking place in-person August 23–27, 2023 in Austin, TX. Founded by Scott Dinger, the 36th annual festival will feature over fifty films including features, documentaries, and shorts over five days while additionally hosting exclusive festival events and screenings. More information on the festival can be found at agliff.org/prism.

This year’s Narrative Centerpiece “Our Son” starring Billy Porter and Luke Evans, has been called a modern-day gay version of Robert Benton's 1979 Kramer vs. Kramer because it portrays the heartbreaking reality that with marriage equality for LGBTQ+ couples also comes the heartbreaking realities of divorce.

“Billy Porter continues to impress with his range and Luke Evans is fast becoming one of the most sought after out actors working today," said aGLIFF Artistic Director Bears Rebecca Fonté. "However, what cannot be missed about Bill Oliver’s heart wrenching film, is that “Our Son” is a film that stars two queer actors, performing in queer roles, in a queer storyline, one that clearly draws from a long history of heteronormative film but arrives with an immediacy that is only possible in the shadow of the rights we have won over the last ten years. It feels like a milestone passed.”

Closing Feature “The Mattachine Family” will wrap-up this year's five-day festival with a touching story about parenthood, chosen family, and feeling lost in love. With performances by an all-star cast including Nico Tortorella, Juan Pablo Di Pace, and Emily Hampshire, the film explores the highs and lows of queer foster parenting.

“With a familiar cast that draws you in, including Nico from Younger and Walking Dead, Juan Pablo from Fuller House and Mamma Mia to Emily Hampshire from Schitt’s Creek, ‘The Mattachine Family’ sparked something in me in a way I haven’t felt before,” said aGLIFF President Todd Hogan. “What is most interesting is that we are getting to a time in a post marriage equality world where family issues are bubbling up. With ‘The Mattachine Family’ and ‘Our Son’, we are seeing more representation with regard to family dynamics from every aspect. These are real issues that affect everyone, including people in our community right now.”

PRISM 36 will also feature a special “sneak peek” of “The Judgement.” Directed and written by Marwan Mokebel, this new horror film set in Egypt will play the festival for a sneak peek special screening before it makes its world premiere later this year.

Previously announced Opening Night and Documentary Centerpiece films included the Southwest premiere of “Glitter & Doom,” (Opening Night) a jukebox musical love story set to the music of Grammy®-Award winning singer-songwriters the Indigo Girls; and “Truth Be Told” (Documentary Centerpiece) directed by Emmy®-Award winner and 2023 Queer Black Voices mentor Nneka Onuorah, examines the difficult relationship some queer Black individuals have when navigating their faith in the Black church.

For PRISM 36, aGLIFF will additionally offer a virtual component August 28 – September 4, 2023, after the in-person festival has concluded. The PRISM 36 virtual festival will not be a full line up but will include select titles playing in-person.  

Memberships and badges are available now with members given priority access to in-person screenings, online film streams, as well as entry to in-person and online artists conversations, Q&A’s, and other festival activities. Access to the festival can be purchased at agliff.org/badges.

Named the 2022 Nonprofit of the Year by the Austin LGBT Chamber of Commerce, aGLIFF cultivates the Texas LGBTQ+ community by enlightening, educating, and entertaining moviegoers through programs that enrich LGBTQ+ and ally communities while developing LGBTQ+ awareness. The nonprofit organization’s programs include Community Partnership Programs, “Queer Spectrum” Monthly Screening Series, and the Queer Black Voices Fund, all of which culminate around its annual film festival, PRISM.

The PRISM 36 festival schedule, events and late additions will be announced shortly. More information on PRISM can be found atagliff.org/prism.

OPENING NIGHT

Glitter & Doom | USA | 2023 | 115 minutes | English | Southwest Premiere

Director: Tom Gustafson | Writer: Cory Krueckberg | Cast: Alex Diaz, Alan Cammish, Ming-Na Wen, Missi Pyle, Tig Notaro, Peppermint, Beth Malone, Kate Pierson

Set to the tunes of queer icons the Indigo Girls (who make cameos as well), this whirlwind musical tale between a dour young emo singer-songwriter (Cammish) and the impulsive circus dreamer Glitter (Diaz) explodes from the streets of Mexico City like a big sparkly, rainbow firework. With both boys struggling to make it to stardom despite their meddling mothers and the distractions of a surreal Baz Luhrmann-like cityscape, there’s no need to ‘Get Out the Map’ to romance, at aGLIFF’s opening night, ‘Love Will Come to You.’

QUEER BLACK VOICES FUND 2023 MENTOR AND CENTERPIECE FILM:

TRUTH BE TOLD | USA | 2023 | 75 minutes | English | Southwest Premiere

Director: Nneka Onuorah | Cast: Billy Porter, Meagan Good, Cedric the Entertainer, David Mann, Tamela Mann, Kev on Stage

In the words of Emmy®-Award winning director Nneka Onuorah, "you've seen Mike Tyson versus Holyfield, but have you ever seen the LGBTQ+ community versus the Black church?" While an important cultural epicenter with a rich political history of antiracist organizing, the Black church has historically fallen short when it comes to supporting its queer members - including Onuorah, a lifelong lesbian church girl. Equal parts healing journey and incisive examination, this essential, extremely necessary portrait critiques the Black community lovingly, balancing the beauty of fellowship within the church against the damaging legacy it must work to undo. With talking head interviews from the likes of Billy Porter, Cedric the Entertainer, and frequent Tyler Perry collaborators David and Tamala Mann, Truth Be Told confronts mainstream Black media with humor and honesty.

NARRATIVE CENTERPIECE FILM

OUR SON | USA | 2023 | 103 minutes | English | Southwest Premiere

Director: Bill Oliver | Writer: Bill Oliver, Peter Nickowitz | Cast: Luke Evans, Billy Porter, Robin Weigert, Andrew Rannells, Kate Burton, Phylicia Rashad

When his husband Gabriel files for divorce, Nicky fights for custody of their eight-year-old son Owen, as he struggles to come to terms with what it means to love someone and what it means to be a father.

CLOSING NIGHT FILM

THE MATTACHINE FAMILY | USA | 2023 | 100 minutes | English | Texas Premiere

Director: Andy Vallentine | Writers: Danny Vallentine | Cast: Nico Tortorella, Juan Pablo Di Pace, Emily Hampshire

After their first foster child returns to his birth mother, Thomas and Oscar find their marriage threatened by the discovery of their very different ideas about what making a family actually means.

SNEAK PREVIEW

THE JUDGEMENT | Egypt | 2023 | 111 minutes | English | Sneak Preview

Director and Writer: Marwan Mokbel | Cast: Joseph Abboud, Layla Amari, Ali Mokdad

A gay Egyptian couple return from America for a family emergency. In this homophobic environment, their secret threatens to unravel under anxiety, unease, and suspicion that someone is using witchcraft to send them back. 

This film is playing for the first time on screen, prior to its World Premiere in October.

10TH ANNIVERSARY SCREENING

G.B.F | USA | 2013 | 93 minutes | English | 10th Anniversary Screening

Director: Darren Stein | Writer: George Northy | Cast: Michael J. Willett, Sasha Pieterse, Paul Iacono, Xosha Roqeumore

The fight for supremacy between a trio of the school’s most popular girls takes an unexpected turn when Tanner (Michael J. Willett) becomes its first openly gay student. As they race to bag the big trend in fashion accessories – the Gay Best Friend – Tanner must choose between his skyrocketing popularity and the friends he is leaving behind. Darren Stein (whose seminal queer cult classic JAWBREAKER shows he knows a thing or two about lunchroom politics) delivers another biting satire of high school clique culture, featuring Sasha Pieterse (Pretty Little Liars), Paul Iacono (The Hard Times of RJ Berger), Evanna Lynch (the Harry Potter franchise) and Xosha Roquemore (The Mindy Project).

Scheduled to attend: Writer George Northy, and cast members, pending availability along with Darren Stein who will receive this year's Legacy Honoree Award.

ADDITIONAL Darren Stein SCREENINGS

Sparkler | USA | 1997 | 96 minutes | English

Director: Darren Stein | Screenwriters: Darren Stein, Catherine Eads | Featuring: Park Overall, Veronica Cartwright, Freddie Prinze, Jr., Jamie Kennedy, Steven Petrarca

After her husband cheats on her and a phone psychic tells her to look for ‘three kings,’ Melba (Park Overall) meets three guys on their way to Las Vegas to gamble for their rent money. Following along, the down-on-her-luck trailer-park Californian girl finds herself facing new stakes after she reconnects with high school pal Dottie (Veronica Cartwright), a bisexual stripper who works at a bar called the ‘The Crack” and lives with its butch owner. When Melba’s ex finds a sweepstakes check for $1 million in Melba’s name, he too makes his way to the gambling capital of the world to try his luck at conning her out of the money.

Sparker on 35mm. Scheduled to attend: Darren Stein.

Jawbreaker | USA | 1999 | 86 minutes | English

Director and Writer: Darren Stein | Featuring: Rose McGowan, Rebecca Gayheart, Julie Benz, Judy Greer

In a birthday prank, three of Reagan High School’s most popular girls kidnap their friend, and their Satan-in-heels leader (Rose McGowan) shoves a jawbreaker into her to mouth to keep her from screaming. When she chokes to death, this teen queen clique will do anything to keep the accident a secret. This includes inviting the only witness, a schoolmarm closeted lesbian named Fern Mayo, into their circle and giving her the mean-girl-makeover. But when the second-in-command (Rebecca Gayheart) gets cold feet about the cover up and Fern becomes more popular than her Svengali leader, the plans begin to unravel.

Jawbreaker on 35mm. Scheduled to attend: Darren Stein and cast members, pending availability.

NARRATIVE FEATURES

All My Best Friends Are Racist | Australia | 2021 | 60 min | English | North American Premiere

Director: Bjorn Stewart | Writers: Kodie Bedford, Enoch Mailangi | Cast: Davey Thompson, Tuuli Narkle, Elizabeth Cullen

Casey and Belle, Aboriginal social media stars who live together in the big smoke (Brisbane), are the most desired duo in town until someone outs their 'burn book' wall, where they've listed all their friends as racists, and they are suddenly ousted from the friend group. The entire first season.

Big Easy Queens | USA | 2023 | 75 min | English | Southwest Premiere

Director: Eryyn Dalton | Writer: Robert Leleux | Cast: Eric Swanson, Benjamin Shaevitz, Alexander Zenoz

After Minnie Bouvèé, Mob Queen of the Quarter, has her arch-nemesis Poodles Makenzie’s crew brutally slaughtered, she braces for the blowback; what she doesn’t expect, however, is to be stalked by a creepy masked figure who leaves behind bouquets of gardenias and terrifying notes. Is this Poodles’ revenge, or the work of Minnie’s estranged sister who stole her man years ago and has suddenly reappeared? As silly as it sounds.

Captain Faggotron Saves the Universe | Germany | 2023 | 75 minutes | English | Southwest Premiere

Director and Writer: Harvey Rabbit | Cast: Tchivett, Rodrigo Garcia Alves, Pina Brutal

A young priest intent on denying his homosexuality aims to stop his alien ex-lover's plot to turn the Earth into a gay paradise planet with the only true hero he knows, Captain Faggotron. Clashing ideologies culminate in an orgy of gay demons. Or something. You will never forget this film.

Clashing Differences | Germany | 2023 | 73 minutes | German | Southwest Premiere

Director and Writer: Merle Grimme | Cast: Lisa Hrdina, Jane Chirwa, Thelma Buabeng

In order to avoid being “canceled,” the “House of Womxn” association changes up their proposed panel to satisfy a diversity checklist. The resulting summit of personalities, brought together to prepare for the international women’s conference, threatens to tear down their house entirely.

The Egoist | Japan | 2022 | 120 min | Japanese | Southwest Premiere

Director: Daishi Matsunaga | Writers: Makoto Takayama, Daishi Matsunaga, Kyôko Inukai | Cast: Ryohei Suzuki, Hio Miyazawa, Yuko Nakamura

Kôsuke, who lost his mother at a young age, falls for his much younger personal trainer. When their relationship also brings the well-to-do fashion magazine editor into the life of his trainer's mother, Kôsuke fills a whole his life has long left open. That is until the unexpected threatens to end it all.

In Bed | Israel | 2022 | 85 minutes | Hebrew, Russian, English | Southwest Premiere

Director and Writer: Nitzan Gilady| Cast: Israel Ogalbo, Dean Miroshnikov, Moran Rosenblatt

The gay pride parade abruptly cut short by a deadly shooting, Guy and his gal pal Joy take shelter at home, with a fellow pride parader, Dan, who seems in shock. With the shooter still on the run, they enter a night full of sex, drugs and paranoia. 

Jezabel | Venezuela | 2022 | 108 min | Spanish | Southwest Premiere

Director: Hernán Jabes | Writers: Hernán Jabes, Eduardo Sánchez Rugeles | Cast: Gabriel Agüero, Johanna Juliethe, Eliane Chipia

Four upper-class high school students live carefree between drugs, games and love until the brutal murder of one of them.  Sixteen years later, the memory of the crime torments Alain, revealing the crime may not have been as simple as once believed.

Lie With Me | France | 2022 | 98 minutes | French | Southwest Premiere

Director: Oliver Peyon | Writers: Philippe Besson, Arthur Cahn, Olivier Peyon | Cast: Guillaume de Tonquédec, Victor Belmondo,Guilaine Londez

Based on the novel by Philippe Besson, this coming-of-age drama whisks a queer author back to the memories of his first love when he returns for the first time to picturesque Cognac, France, the setting of all his books.

My Sole Desire | France | 2022 | 119 minutes | French | Southwest Premiere

Director: Lucie Borleteau | Writers: Lucie Borleteau, Clara Bourreau, Laure Giappiconi | Cast: Zita Hanrot, Louise Chevillotte, Laure Giappiconi

When aimless Manon begins work at a strip club that offers high concept performances, she finds herself falling for Mia, an aspiring actress with a boyfriend and child. As she learns the work is “not easy money, but fast money,” and she explores her newfound erotic life, she has difficulty balancing her priorities.

A Night in Four Parts | Turkey | 2022 | 60 min | Turkish | North American Premiere

Writer & Director: Ali Kemal Güven | Cast: Ahmet Rifat Şungar, Bariş Gönenen, Adnan Devran

Two former high school buddies meet for a drink in Beyoğlu after 17 years, the conversation dances around the possibility of another life in a land where toxic masculinity does not exist.

On Marriage: Book of Bayes | Taiwan | 2022 | 95 min | Mandarin | Southwest Premiere

Director: Herb HSU | Writer: Chien-tai MA, Kung-yii FEI | Cast: Allison LIN, Chen-ling WEN, Rima Zeiden

After love-at-first-sight draws Jie away from her lifelong-sworn same-sex partner she questions for the first time the almighty algorithms that matched her into her marriage.

Silver Haze | UK | 2023 | 103 minutes | English | Southwest Premiere

Director and Writer: Sacha Polak | Cast: Vicky Knight, Esme Creed-Miles, Charlotte Knight

Obsessed with a thirst for revenge for a traumatic event that happened 15 years before, Franky, a 23-year-old nurse, avoids meaningful relationship until she falls for her suicidal patient – Florence. They escape to the coast where Florence lives with her more open-minded patchwork family and there, Franky finds the emotional shelter to deal with the grudges of the past.

Two Lives in Pittsburgh | USA | 2023 | 95 minutes | English | Southwest Premiere

Director and Writer: Brian Silverman | Cast: Mark McClain Wilson, Brian Silverman, Sky Elobar

Confronted by his child’s exploration of gender, an old-school blue-collar guy stumbles between who he has always been and who his child needs him to be. An uplifting film about imperfect people in an imperfect world.

The Venus Effect | Denmark | 2021 | 105 min | Danish | Southwest Premiere

Director and Writer: Anna Emma Haudal | Cast: Johanne Milland, Josephine Park, Anne Sofie Wanstrup

Against all expectations, Liv, daughter to a blue-collar greengrocer family, falls for free spirit Andrea, who lives in a caravan at her uncle’s apple plantation. Their relationship becomes the catalyst for a divorce, the loss of a friendship and an identity crisis that ultimately shatters their love.

When Time Got Louder | Canada | 2022 | 114 minutes | English | Texas Premiere

Director and Writer: Connie Cocchia | Cast: Willow Sheilds, Elizabeth Mitchell, Lochlyn Munro

After departing for college and leaving behind her autistic brother, Abbie discovers her sexuality and the difficulty of balancing her two lives.

You Can’t Stay Here | USA | 2023 | 105 min | English | Southwest Premiere

Director: Tom Verow | Writers: Tom Verow, Jim Dwyer | Cast: Guillermo Díaz, Justin Ivan Brown, Becca Blackwell

A photographer witnesses the brutal murder of a gay man in Central Park. With the cops taking little interest in the crime, a dangerous and sexy game of cat and mouse ensues between the spectator and the killer. 

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES

1946: A Mistranslation that Changed Culture | USA | 2022 | 92 minutes | English | Southwest Premiere

Director: Sharon “Rocky” Roggio | Screenwriters: Jena Serbu, Jill Woodword | Featuring: Cheryl Anderson, Kathy Baldock, Steve Greenberg

A conservative Christian woman who cannot reconcile the church’s teachings and her new lesbian friend who doesn’t seem at all like a filthy evil sinner, searches for reasons behind the homophobia in the modern church. Deep in the archives of the translation team of the Revised Standard Edition of the bible, she finds her answer, and even more mystery.

Chasing Chasing Amy | USA | 2023 | 95 minutes | English | Southwest Premiere

Director and Writer: Sav Rodgers | Featuring: Kevin Smith, Joey Lauren Adams, Guinevere Turner, Andrew Ahn

Trans filmmaker Sav Rodgers delves into the film that first introduced him to the LGBTQ world – Chasing Amy – despite its problematic place in the queer cannon and its very cis-het creator, Comic Book Bro Kevin Smith. Making a pilgrimage to the locations of the 1997 film with his girlfriend, Rodgers searches to understand and express why this film has meant so much to him on his journey.

The Empress of Vancouver | Canada | 2023 | 90 min | English | Southwest Premiere

Director: Dave Rodden-Shortt | Featuring: Oliv Howe

As Canadian trans icon and political activist Oliv Howe prepares for the 40th anniversary of her coronation, she guides her subjects (us all) across a cinematic and intimate collision of drag, queer history, and performance art.

Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn | USA | 2023 | 94 minutes | English | Southwest Premiere

Director: Timothy Harris | Executive Producer: Al Roker | Featuring: Malcolm Kenyatta, Matthew Jordan-Miller Kenyatta

The most important senate race in 2022, Pennsylvania, began with a primary that cut ‘straight’ to the core of what it means to be electable in America. Malcolm Kenyatta, a self-described “poor, Black, and gay kid from North Philly,” runs into the wall of two hundred plus years of Pennsylvanian history of only sending white (and straight) men to the US Senate.

Prejudice & Pride – Swedish Film Queer | Sweden | 2022 | 100 min | Swedish | Southwest Premiere

Director: Eva Elisabeth Beling

A rainbow-colored rollercoaster ride through a stunning collection of films from Mauritz Stiller's filming of the world's first gay romance in 1916 to Sweden's exciting new wave of Scandinavian transgender films, with plenty Ingmar Bergman rumors, 70s sexploitation camp and Greta Garbo glamour, along with all the highs and lows of the century-long struggle for queer liberation.

SHORTS PROGRAMS

SHORTS PROGRAM 1: “It’s Me, I’m the Problem, It’s Me”

Films about self-discovery and self-understanding

Afterparty | Director: Alex Matraxi | UK | 9 min 

One evening, Charlie’s bath time routine breaks as old friends crash Charlie's house, bringing back bitter old history as Charlie floats seamlessly between the past and the present.

GORDITX | Director: Malik Ever | USA | 15 min

As summer comes to a close, kung-fu obsessed Ursula discovers she’s not the only outcast at an exclusive country club summer camp.

Mikey’s Arm | Director: Andrew Keenan-Bolger | USA | 11 min

16-year-old Mikey Alvarez -- at a pivotal moment when he must decide whether or not to be open and honest about his sexuality -- unwittingly conjures courage from the heroes on his wall in an explosion of glitter and glitz.

Soft Sign | Director: Victoria Uchitel | Israel | 24 min

As a Russian immigrant and her Palestinian director friend Amir work on a TV report about the upcoming '96 elections, two young Russians offer new insight.

The Golden Boys | Director: Jett Garrison | USA | 13 min 

Two best friends get ready to go to a 'twin night' party. While JJ hurriedly tries to put matching outfits together for the two of them, Casey silently deals with the aftermath of his recent breakup and the difficulties of dating while being trans.

Welcome to the Celibacy Club | Director: Campbell Moore | USA | 16 min

Unlike seemingly everyone around her, Emmy has no desire to stick her tongue down anyone’s throat and seeks a community she can better relate to. Little does Emmy know; Celibacy Club isn’t full of asexual-spectrum teens. It’s full of the horniest of the horny: Sexually repressed ones.

SHORTS PROGRAM 2: “Meet Me at Midnight”

Sex, Kink, and Terror, but not all in the same film

Big Sur Gay | Director: Ryan A White | USA | 12 min

Cult filmmaker Tom DeSimone revisits the production of a lost gay film and resurrects youthful adventures on the California coast, but nostalgia isn't always 20/20 vision.

Celestial Bodies | Director: Ryan Suits | USA | 5 min

Two astronauts struggle to resist the intoxicating temptations of an alien spaceship.

Come Correct | Director: Molly Coffee | USA | 14 min

Recently divorced from her husband, a woman with an unhealthy relationship with perfection explores her newfound queerness by hiring a female sex worker to teach her how to eat fruit.

Daddy Issues | Director: Matt Campanella, Stephanie Chloé | USA | 4 min

A young pro dominant encounters an unexpected client.

More Than A Feeling | Director: Dave Quantic | USA | 5 min

A diverse cross-section of queer people describe discovering self-pleasure for the first time.

No One Knows I’m A Dog On The Internet | Director: Nate King | USA | 4 min

Exploring digital taboos, kink subculture, and ideas of privacy in an age of Twitter porn and OnlyFans, a poster, an online profile highlights if we are able to share ourselves online while still retaining a sense of privacy.

Reflections | Director: Kane Kwik | Mexico | 11 min

Just like an LP, coming out of the closet for a gay lad has both an A side and a B side, a life between guilt and pleasure.

The Haunted Baby Carriage From Hell | Director: JT Seaton | USA | 9 min

Spencer and Cameron move into a new house that just so happens to be haunted by an old baby carriage.

You Can Stay Over (If You Want) | Director: Zach Siegel | USA | 11 min

If Alex sleeps over, he will have to tell his hookup something about himself that’s usually a dealbreaker.

SHORTS PROGRAM 3: “This Slope is Treacherous, This Path is Reckless”

Hook-ups, kiss-offs, and morning-afters

Buzz Kill | Director: Jessie B. Evans | USA | 15 minutes

When romance, job, and family difficulties meet, a charming and obese black queer millennial finds his life upended.

Dilating For Maximum Results | Director: Nyala Moon | USA | 14 min

A black trans woman tries to dilate, after four years of not dilating, to hook-up IRL with her online boyfriend.

Give | Director: Kenya Gillespie | USA | 16 min

A composer attempts to unravel the memories of his relationship with his classical singer ex-boyfriend.

Interface: Crusin’ | Director: Nathan King | USA | 1 min

Queering the narrative of the video games of the 90s, "As the race started a woman wearing the tiniest of bikinis would wave a racing flag. My father demanded that I had to close my eyes every time she was on screen. I wonder if he lies awake at night now wishing he’d let me keep my eyes open. Maybe I would have been straight.”

Mal de Amores (Lovesick) | Director: Fiorella Vescovi Garcia | USA | 15 min

When “Nat” discovers her ex-girlfriend Tara is engaged to a douchey, rich, European playboy, her friends have had enough of her pity party.

Turner Loses His Pants | Director: Jess James | USA | 10 min

One beautiful morning as the sun shines brightly and the birds sing peacefully, Turner awakens half-naked in a strange woman’s bed with no recollection of who she is, how he got there or where the hell his lucky pants have gone.

Worst Date, Best Date | Director: Cameron Thrower | USA | 17 min

Set up on a blind date by their grandmothers, both Amy and Charlie struggle to escape dinner.

SHORTS PROGRAM 4: “Anywhere I Want, Just Not Home”

Emerging from the shadows of a birth family

Brother | Director: Aleskei Borovikov | USA | 17 min 

With his wedding to Carlos approaching, Tony, a young immigrant to the US, invites his conservative elder sister to the ceremony — a fateful decision that forces Tony to choose between his family and his happiness.

EITR | Director: Fateema Al-Hamaydeh Miller | Canada | 15 min

Grinding away at the inherited family business, Mohamed works tirelessly making sales of knock-off perfume, while living as a knock-off version of his true self until the monotony comes to a screeching halt, and an unexpected, charming customer enters his shop.

Happy BirthGay | Director: Niv Manzur | Israel | 16 min

Mom throws her son a grandiose surprise BirthGay party, celebrating a year of his coming out of the closet.

Nana Dara is Gay | Director: Andrea Maxwell | USA | 8 min

No amount of sweet tea and vodka will ease the tension when Nana Dara makes the big announcement to her stepchildren: the flamboyant, Bible thumping Miss Debbie and her sister Edna.

Our Males and Females | Director: Ahmad Alyasser | Jordan | 11 min

A father and mother are faced with the painful task of washing and shrouding their deceased transgender daughter.

Rabbit Hole | Director: Aaron Schoonover | USA | 25 min

Entering cautiously into adulthood, a shy eighteen-year-old attempts to balance “coming out” of his shell with an erratic home life and an unhinged QAnon mother.

SHORTS PROGRAM 5: “I’d Never Walk Cornelia Street Again”

Facing the unknown, forever changed

AIKĀNE| Director: Daniel Sousa | USA |14 min

A valiant island warrior, wounded in battle and falling deep into a mysterious underwater world, discovers the octopus who rescued him is actually a handsome young man.

Black Box | Director: Alana Mango | USA | 4 min

An astronaut encounters an unexpected emergency while on a routine mission and finds himself jettisoned into space.

Carly Dolls | Director: Maudie Schmidt, Jaxson Power | USA | 20 min 

When Carly, a naive, homeschooled fourteen-year-old, is forced to face the treacherous waters of public high school, she turns to her beloved dolls, Lily and Mermia, for comfort and advice.

Do Digital Curanderas Use Eggs In Their Limpias? | Director: Roberto Fatal | USA | 14 min

A struggling Latinx healer considers abandoning the physical world for promises of a digital utopia.

Future Flowers | Director: Hao Zhou | China | 10 min 

A sham-married queer woman and queer man live together but have entirely separate lives, yet find their schedules forever linked by a propagandistic program that nudges them toward a single goal.

Make Over My Own Fun | Director: Kris Khunach | USA | 5 min 

A prince, living in a gilded cage, escaped to find out what it meant to be real.

Not Walter Jenkins! | Director: AP Hello | USA | 13 min

Two men in crisis rendezvous in the john. One's The President.

Separate | Director: Kestrin Pantera | USA | 6 min

When the Supreme Court rolls back marriage equality and orders couples’ lawful children to be taken and placed with “traditional” families, a daughter and dad flee their home, dodging citizen bounty-hunters, to find refuge in a gay-ballroom safe-house across the border.

SHORTS PROGRAM 6: “Green Was the Color of The Grass”

The best and most fresh short films of Ireland

in partnership with Gaze and the Irish Consulate

Lambing | Director: Katie McNeice | Ireland | 18 min

A young dad in rural Ireland must face his anxiety around gender and bullying when his baby is born intersex.  In modern-day rural Ireland, David meditates on his own childhood the day before his son is born.

Panic Attack | Director: Anthony Assad | Ireland | 14 min 

Alex is in the throes of his transition from female to male when his best friend abandons a joint venture to assert their burgeoning identities.

The Talk | Director: Johnathan Hughes | Ireland | 10 min

A life changing conversation takes place between father and son when staunchly unionist father Dennis walks in on his son Barry in bed with a man. However, Barry isn’t the only one hiding a secret from the family.

BEFORE THE EMPRESS OF VANCOUVER

Magic in Plain Sight | Director: Paige Gratland | Canada | 12 min

Trans activist and self-taught seamstress Brenna Bezanson, a change-maker in her own right, challenges capitalist and patriarchal ideals in her creation of custom women's clothing.

BEFORE IN BED

Together/Apart | Director: David Amberg | USA | 7 min

Two years after a gay bashing, Michael and Alex are still feeling the aftershocks in their relationship.

BEFORE CLASHING DIFFERENCES

Izzy Aman: The Joy of Drag | Director: Isabella Kaya Wilson | UK | 13 min

Isabel Adomakoh Young (Izzy Aman in the drag world) delivers a genderbending revolutionary performance as Bob Ross, and through the art of thrusting, painting and mimicry creates a candid and powerful conversation about how we can create social change with drag.

TICKETS: aGLIFF encourages fans to consider membership to get the best access and support aGLIFF’s year-round programming. Members and badge holders have priority access to reserving tickets for individual films and events upon purchase.

PRISM 36: Festival badges are available now at $125. Memberships get the best access, support aGLIFF’s year-round programming, and include festival badges and an array of other perks depending on the level. Memberships are available now; Festival badges are on sale now at agliff.org/badges. A limited number of single tickets for the opening night film are available now for $25 and include the opening night screening, live Q&A, the opening night reception with lights bites and a complimentary drink ticket. Single tickets start at $15, plus applicable service fees. aGLIFF members and badge holders receive priority access to seating at the theatres and venues.

QBV DINNER & SCREENING: Executive Producer Level Memberships and above receive 2 complimentary tickets with additional tickets at a discounted rate. All other member levels and badge holders can purchase tickets at a discounted rate of $85. General admission tickets are $100; Tables start at $1,000. Tickets are on sale now at agliff.org/qbv and agliff.org/prism. All proceeds from the evening will benefit the QBV Fund and BIPOC initiatives.

aGLIFF MEMBERSHIP: Memberships start for as low as $25 a month and are available for purchase now. Memberships can be paid upfront or in monthly installments. Memberships include festival badges and an array of other perks depending on the level and range in price from $300 to $2500 and above. Memberships are available now at agliff.org/members.

PRESS:  For press needs including access to events, interviews, reviews, or film screeners please contactnicole.shiro@motleycrewmedia.com

SPONSORS: aGLIFF is made possible by the generous support of our annual partners Tito's Handmade Vodka, KIND Clinic, Crunch Consulting, and EDGE Media Network with additional support from the Texas Commission on the Arts, Midtown Title, The Iron Bear, Milam & Greene Whiskey, Estes Audiology, AFS Cinema, Galaxy Theatres Austin, Label Collective, The Austin Eagle, Pink Media, and STILL Austin.

CONNECT WITH aGLIFF:

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About aGLIFF:

Founded in 1987 aGLIFF is Austin’s oldest film festival and became a 501(c)3 in 1995. The festival began as a four-day event with just four films primarily focused on coming out and the AIDS epidemic. It has grown into a multifaceted nonprofit organization with year-round community programs and events culminating each year in the annual film festival. Originally named the Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival (1987) the organization changed its name in 2018 to All Genders, Lifestyles, and Identities Film Festival to reflect the changing landscape of how queer people identify, and as of 2020 now goes by simply aGLIFF. In 2019, the Board of Directors selected PRISM as the festival theme to highlight the way the festival can refract a single beam of art into multiple viewpoints, showcasing all the voices in the spectrum of our LGBTQIA+ community through film.

The organization’s mission is to create positive and visible film programs relevant to the lives of LGBTQIA+ identified people, to educate the community about LGBTQIA+ issues, to produce and promote the best in LGBTQIA+ community building events, and to support and partner with other organizations to enlighten the public. 

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