Frameline Distribution

This short pseudo-documentary offers a rare look at trans life and drag ball culture in mid-1960s New York." According to Jenni Olson, the LGBTQ historian and archivist who rediscovered the film in the 1990s, "Misty, Vicky, Sonja and Simone are four courageous trans women who candidly discuss their personal lives with a lurid, straight cis male interviewer who claims to have spoken to 'thousands of homosexuals' (and who clearly doesn’t understand the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity). While the interviewer’s creepy, inappropriate questioning is often hard to stomach, the women successfully transcend his tone and come across with an incredible sense of dignity and candor. They talk about their double-lives: going out as women at night but living as men during the day, and about how they take hormones and dream of 'going for a change.' One talks about avoiding the draft, another about her fiancé, and another about the torment of childhood as an effeminate youth. Their honesty and vulnerability are truly a gift.

The underpaid “radical pervert” staff of a seedy hotel rises up in revolt, and by the time head elevator girl Maxine starts spouting union songs – “dump the bosses off your back!” – and Marxist maxims, you’ll be ready to join the cause of Elevator Girls in Bondage. Starring members of legendary genderfuck drag troupe the Cockettes/Angels of Light including the great Rumi Missabu (who passed away in April 2024) as Maxine, who organizes the Pussy Protection Club to fight back against lurking predators in the hotel.

Rick Castro's outrageous Three Faces of Women looks at the fleeting relationships between today's lesbian drag queen, specifically the interracial one played by legends Bruce La Bruce and Vaginal Creme Davis. "Because you're drag queen lesbians you must be dealing with gender issues as well," observes the Freudian therapist who helps the couple put "the fear of rape" back into their relationship. "I feel the sense of danger immediately," Ms Davis says as La Bruce straps on a rubbery black dildo. "Your dildo is the biggest dildo. It's the blackest dildo. It's the strap onniest dildo," she cooes. In the end, the three are seen lounging in bed, sucking each other's toes as Davis incites them: "Dig it, dig it... dirty bitches." She means it in only the most empowering way.

Latino transvestites of the NYC streets support their daily lives through prostitution while living in garbage trucks.

Interviews with Two-Spirit indigenous people explore the "Berdache" tradition of many indigenous cultures. The tape examines the role played by colonial writing about indigenous peoples in obscuring and distorting this tradition, and touches on the work of Two-Spirit peoples to reclaim traditional gender and sexuality roles.

Stafford recounts a memorable encounter at a sex club.

A narrative and experimental film about a trans person, John, who deals with their relationships with their alcoholic mother and their girlfriend.

A landmark film of popular Indian cinema, lauded as a meeting of Bollywood with Satyajit Ray, The Square Circle ventures into rarely explored and controversial issues of sexual identity and gender stereotypes. As the popular musical cinema reaches the far corners of the country changing audiences tastes and expectations, the male performers who played the female role in traditional folk theatre are becoming obsolete. that is the fate of the main protagonist (actor Nirmal Pandey) who continues, however, to live as a woman and travels rural India as a troubadour. Due to a case of mistaken identity a young village woman, (played by Sonali Kulkarni), is abducted the night before her wedding by a brothel madam and her gang. Through she escapes, as a woman alone she is soon brutally raped before she is taken under the wing to the transvestite performer. His solution to the social constraints on women is to dress her as a man while they journey back to her home village. Disturbed by the new demands and reward of living in the role of the opposite sex, the girl is awakened by the freedom of action accorded her and grows into an expanded sense of identity and sexuality. A bond of affection develops between the odd couple in this hybrid road movie, but the story comes to a tragic, if dignified conclusion as society's power over the individual's quest to define themselves reasserts itself.

SexTV was an award-winning, internationally-syndicated Canadian documentary television series that explored all facets of human sexuality and gender in a thought-provoking and cutting-edge way. Founded by the Canadian media executive Moses Znaimer, the show premiered on national broadcast television in 1999 on Citytv and ran for ten seasons (1999-2008). Citytv was a trailblazing, local TV station in Toronto with independent origins and ground-breaking content. The station was home to other well-known shows at the time including Much (TV channel) (Much Music), FashionTelevision, the Space Channel (re-branded as CTV Sci-Fi Channel) and Bravo's 'Arts and Minds' (rebranded as CTV Drama Channel). CityTV was the first independent television station in Toronto and the producers of these shows (including SexTV) worked in the iconic and heritage building 299 Queen Street West in the city's downtown core. With the increasing popularity of the television show and the move to digital television, SexTV, the show developed into a documentary television channel called SexTV: The Channel in 2001. Airing in a late-night time slot, SexTV, the docu-series, covered a broad and complex array of topics relating to sex, sexuality and gender in an intelligent and non-sensationalistic way. The critically-acclaimed series ran for ten seasons and received eight Gemini Award nominations (now called Canadian Screen Awards over the course of its run, winning Best Lifestyle/General Interest Series at the 19th Gemini Awards in 2004. The series used the Canadian music legend Leonard Cohen's song, "Ain't No Cure for Love", as its theme music; Cohen and Znaimer were friends. Exploring a broad range of topics for the first time on public broadcast television including female masturbation, the show was feminist, ethnographic and part of the sex-positive movement.

Gender construction in the form of a journey thru space and time.

San Jose to L.A. lifestyles of a unique group of heterosexual cross-dressers.

A round the table discussion between Latina butches and Latina FtM’s

Julie Joyce is not a boy. She is more than an intense, fast talking New York city 16yr old. She’s Trans-gendered youth who wants what everybody else wants, to be heard and to have a positive space to live and grow.

Trans Neptune is a sci-fi story like you've never seen before.

Follow My Voice: With the Music of Hedwig documents the production and recording of Wig in a Box, a benefit album for the Hetrick-Martin Institute, the home of the Harvey Milk school. All the songs on the album, taken from the original Hedwig score, are recorded and reinterpreted by venerable indie rock musicians including Yoko Ono, Rufus Wainwright, Ben Kweller, The Breeders, Sleater-Kinney and Yo La Tengo. The film interweaves the compelling stories of four students at the school with a chronicle of the album's year-long creation. Each of the songs, which resonates with the student's own personal struggles is spliced together with video diaries detailing their struggles at home and their successes at the school. Follow My Voice offers and inspirational look at the intersection of youth, gender and rock and roll.

Chubby high school student Oh Dong-gu desperately wants to be a girl. Ridiculed in classes and stricken with a dysfunctional family, he takes solace in his rich fantasy life fueled by, of course, Madonna. Working a back-breaking part-time job, Oh Dong-gu is saving up the 5 million won it will take for his sex-change operation, with little success. When the hunky new wrestling teacher makes an appearance, he takes a brief interest in the sport and even more so when he hears there's a huge case prize awarded to the best Ssireum (tradition Korean wrestling) champion. He begins to train in earnest and despite some heavy obstacles - his violent, alcoholic father, his estranged mother and an unrequited love - he works toward achieving his dream (and teaches his fellow wrestlers some hot dance moves in the process). It ain't easy, but he's a boy with a mission: with Madonna in his heart and money on his mind, he wrestles his way towards girlhood. Funny, touching and smart, Like a Virgin is one of a growing number of South Korean films distinguished by strong queer characters (The King and the Clown and No Regret come to mind). Oh Dong-gu's character takes centre stage and (thanks to wonderful performance by lead actor Deok-Hwan Ryu) emerges as an unforgettable queer hero. It takes guts, talent and whole lot of something special to make it through the wilderness and the kid does it with style. Madge would be proud.

Crossing is an experimental short about crossing the lines of normality into Kink.

“Whatever Suits You” parallels the process of transforming a suit into a dress with all the physical, mental, and emotional processes of changing genders. The tattered fabric, stitched and sewn together, becomes a visual metaphor for the realization and creation of a newly formed gender identity. Part autobiography, part documentary, part testimonial, the film sheds light on what it means to be transgender.

The San Francisco Trans March is both a protest against the violence and discrimination faced by the trans community and a celebration of their strength and spirit. We asked everybody at the march "How do you define your gender?" You may be surprised at the variety of answers. In memory of Gwen Araujo, Ruby Ordenana, Tony "Delicious" Green, Michelle Eddie Lee, Tyra Hunter and all those whose lives are threatened by homophobia and transphobia.

At a party one night a brutal murder occurred when it was discovered that the cute young girl everyone was attracted too was anatomically male. This film tells the story of one families struggle and their never ending love that brought them all together to see justice done for Gwen, 17 years of age, who never had a chance, yet her spirit has touched the lives of people forever. Every year in November we have a day of rememberence so we don't forget the lives of so many trans people who have been lost tragically to transphobic crimes of violence. We close this festival in honour of Gwen Araujo and we thank Shelly Prevost for making such an important and brave film that will help dispel ignorance in this world.

A poetic reflection on the complexities and contradictions of transgender and a portrait of a pioneer.

A lonely woman is about to send a letter to her mom but then a new store, Make a Mate, magically appears. The storeowner ushers the woman inside and guides her to pick out the traits of a partner. The Mate Maker blends all the traits together and presents a wonderful creation.

This experimental historical narrative set in a mythologized version of revolutionary Russia reimagines the story of the 1921 uprising of the Kronstadt sailors and features the largest cast of trans actors in film history. A masterful homage to Sergei Eisenstein’s BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN, MAGGOTS AND MEN also deploys stylistic innovations reminiscent of Guy Maddin and Kenneth Anger. Agitprop theater group Blue Blouse guides the viewer through the story, which is narrated by fictionalized letters written by Stepan Petrichenko, the leader of the Provisional Revolutionary Committee.

Based on the 13th century ballad "Robin Hood and the Sodomites," this film reasserts this heroic icon's faggotry.

“Death of My Daughter” is a photographic series and video of FTMs. The idea began to materialize after my mother, upon learning of my transition, announced to my family that I was dead to her, that her daughter was gone. In fact, that daughter of her creation had never existed. In a meta-sense, “Death of My Daughter” is about the role of gender, and gender roles, in contemporary U.S. society. The project explores themes of gender, sexuality, performativity, subjectivity, transformation, expectations, fantasy, rebirth, and authenticity. One of the strongest influences on a person's gender role expectations is his or her parents. The intention of this series is to represent the burial, or putting to rest, of the gender roles our parents imposed upon us and to illustrate our metamorphoses into gender authenticity, into the men we have become. We FTMs are changelings in the eyes of our parents and society. We are deconstructing the great wall of conformity by choosing to live life and gender on our own terms. The series is comprised of two portraits of each trans-male subject. Portrait 1: Subject posed in a coffin; representing either a) the daughter/girl your parents saw him to be, wished he were, or believed he should have been or b) the daughter/girl he perceived himself to be prior to his reincarnation as the man he is today. Portrait 2: Subject posed as his authentic self; the man he is today. The video documents interviews with each model as he is being styled for the shoot. These interviews were conducted to allow the viewer to have a more personal connection with the men in the photographs - a better understanding of their communities, sexualities, histories, and journeys.

Alex and John, an interracial couple with widely divergent lines of work (she’s in tech; he’s a small press literary editor), have recently moved to San Francisco from Pittsburgh. They are engaged to be married, but the series starts with Alex coming out of the closet, and the first season chronicles their progression from lovers to best friends. Along the way, Alex learns that coming out is only a small part of finding your place in the queer community. While on the surface the community celebrates diversity, there is still ageism, classism, racism, and a whole other host of –isms, niches, heirarchies, and rules to navigate. John, meanwhile, must find a new living situation and, through a series of circumstances, lands in an apartment share in the Mission, hipster ground zero, with Hunter (a trans man) and Lindsay (his lesbian-identified girlfriend). John and Hunter develop an instant bromance while Lindsay, a militaristic vegan, eco-warrior, and champion of every possible LGBTIQ social justice cause, is less-than enthused with the introduction of a straight cis-male to her living space. Gates and Strays explores the depth and, often, the shallowness of our differences through humor, and will introduce the audience to a host of under-represented minorities without focusing on their otherness as the butt of the jokes. While John and Alex are “fish out of water” in many ways to the worlds they now live in, they will both serve as the gateway into that world for a larger audience. Both are respectful, intelligent, and likeable protagonists. Through this structure, we intend to tell an ongoing story that will be relatable and entertaining to both queer and straight viewers.

This experimental short film starring Egyptt LaBeija and Fatima Jamal explores how small every day acts of refusal, resistance, and existence—such as performance and self expression—have a tremendous impact on the world.

A NORMAL GIRL brings the widely unknown struggles of intersex people to light through the story of intersex activist Pidgeon Pagonis.

DISCLOSURE is an unprecedented, eye-opening look at transgender depictions in film and television, revealing how Hollywood simultaneously reflects and manufactures ourdeepest anxieties about gender. Leading trans thinkers and creatives, including Laverne Cox, Lilly Wachowski, Yance Ford, Mj Rodriguez, Jamie Clayton, and Chaz Bono, share their reactions and resistance to some of Hollywood's most beloved moments. Grappling with films like A Florida Enchantment (1914), Dog Day Afternoon, The Crying Game, and Boys Don't Cry, and with shows like The Jeffersons, The L-Word, and Pose, they trace a history that is at once dehumanizing, yet also evolving, complex, and sometimes humorous. What emerges is a fascinating story of dynamic interplay between trans representation on screen, society's beliefs, and the reality of trans lives. Reframing familiar scenes and iconic characters in a new light, director Sam Feder invites viewers to confront unexamined assumptions, and shows how what once captured the American imagination now elicit new feelings. Disclosure provokes a startling revolution in how we see and understand trans people.

Sinvergüenzilla, a music-loving blue alien deity, visits Earth to experience her first human kiss. But as she arrives in Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic, her search gets complicated.

A trans woman tries to keep it together at a party that she hasn't gotten rid of her body hair.

Feña, a young trans guy bustling through life in New York City, is afflicted with an incessantly challenging day that resurrects ghosts from his past. Laundromats, subway turnstiles, and airport transfers are the hectic background to this emotional drama that overlaps past, present, and future. Settling the disharmony of transitional upheaval in relationships familial, romantic, and platonic is Feña’s task at hand, and his resulting juggling act is equal parts skillful, fumbling, and honest. The poignant moments he finds between himself and others – as the distance between them closes – are warm, true, and touching. Vuk Lungulov-Klotz’s directorial debut is, at once, precise and wholly relatable in its grand humanity. A visceral lead performance by Lío Mehiel embodies inbetweenness. Mutt earns its most difficult discussions through its tenderness towards each character’s struggle with the complexity of trans life, Latinx life in America, and of human life at large.

A forgotten trial in 1960s Tokyo challenges the law, society, and the very right to live as oneself. Tokyo, 1965. The city is booming from the Olympic-driven economic surge. Amid growing internationalisation, the government introduces new measures to reinforce public morals — particularly public prostitution by women. As police intensify their crackdown, they are confounded by the presence of so-called “Blue Boys” : transgender women who, though still legally registered as male, live and work as women. Unable to charge them under the current Anti-Prostitution Law, which only applies to “female” prostitutes, authorities instead arrest Dr. AKAGI Masao (YAMANAKA Takashi), the surgeon who performed their gender-affirming operations, accusing him of violating the Eugenic Protection Law for rendering his patients infertile. Meanwhile, Sachi (NAKAGAWA Miyu), a café waitress quietly planning her future with her fiancé (MAEHARA Ko), hides a past she thought she had left behind — she too was one of Dr. AKAGI’s patients. When defence attorney KANO Taku (NISHIKIDO Ryo) asks her to testify in court, Sachi — alongside two other transgender women — is forced to confront her history and identity before a society unwilling to see her for who she really is. Based on the real-life “Blue Boy Incident,” Blue Boy Trial sheds light on a ground-breaking yet long-overlooked case that questioned the legality of gender-affirming surgery — and, more profoundly, what is means to find happiness by being your authentic self. With empathy and precision, director IIZUKA Kasho (himself a transgender man — Angry Son, JFTFP23) and newcomer NAKAGAWA Miyu (also transgender) bring to life a moment that reshaped Japan’s understanding LGBTQ+ issues and continues to resonate today.