Frameline 49 Honors Classic and Fresh LGBTQ+ Cinema
Thanks to the American right wing fear industrialization complex’s attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, the 49th San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival (hereafter “Frameline 49”) arrives in a more politicized than usual environment. Frameline 49’s slogan “The World Is Watching” thus seems appropriate for this year’s festival. Running from June 18-28, 2025 at such venues old (e.g. the Roxie Theater) and new (e.g. the Toni Rembe Theatre), attendees can potentially catch in person nearly 150 LGBTQ+-themed films from over 40 countries. For those who can’t make it to the in-person venues for one reason or another, a portion of the festival will be available for streaming anywhere in the U.S. from June 23-30, 2025.
Here’s a preview of some of what viewers can expect to see this year.
Opening Night kicks things off with Sophie Hyde’s semi-autobiographical comedy “Jimpa.” The title is the name of John Lithgow’s character, an Australian HIV-positive academic who’s finishing up his tenure in the Netherlands. He’s about to get an unexpected family reunion in Amsterdam thanks to a visit by his filmmaker daughter (Olivia Colman) and her non-binary teenage child. The latter is both adjusting to their sexuality and contemplating moving to Europe.
A far different sort of family reunion takes place in Jota Mun’s documentary “Between Goodbyes.” Mieke’s visiting Seoul to celebrate her marriage to another woman with her birth mother Okgyun. However, this joyous visit is shadowed by Mieke and Okgyun’s troubled relationship to South Korea’s international adoption program. Thanks to South Korea’s strict one-child policy, poverty, and cultural sexism, Okgyun was forced to give up Mieke for adoption to a family in the Netherlands. What seemed like a practical decision at the time has led to decades of separation and pain.
Another troubled mother-daughter relationship happens to be the impetus for Laurie Townshend’s painful documentary “A Mother Apart,” When acclaimed spoken word artist and queer activist Staceyann Chin was nine years old, her mother abandoned her in Jamaica. Now that she’s become a mother herself, Chin wants to understand why her mother would leave her. How much did being Black, female, and poor affect the hard decision made by Chin’s mother?
Compared to Chin’s painful maternal relationship, 12-year-old Anna has it easier. She’s starting high school in Vienna. But she and her deaf single mother Isolde come from a definitely lower class than Anna’s well-off peers. The girl’s shame at her economic background isn’t helped by her increasingly complicated life struggles and new relationship challenges. Can Anna find her own voice? Find out in Marie Luise Lehner’s Teddy Award-winning coming-of-age drama “If You Are Afraid You Put Your Heart Into Your Mouth And Smile.”
Gay gospel singer Carl Bean definitely found his voice when he sang “I’m happy, I’m carefree, and I’m gay. I was born this way” in the 1970s. Bean’s song was resurrected back into today’s pop culture thanks to Lady Gaga. For Juneteenth, see Bean himself take center stage in Daniel Junge and Sam Pollard’s biographical documentary “I Was Born This Way.” It recounts Bean’s life from childhood hardship to such lasting accomplishments as founding the Minority AIDS Project and creating the Unity Fellowship Church. Features appearances by Lady Gaga, Dionne Warwick, Rep. Maxine Waters, and Billy Porter.
Another example of Black artistic excellence can be found in Rashaad Newsome & Johnny Symons’ “Assembly.” Start with the idea of using naturally occurring and unbreakable fractals as a metaphor for the Black queer experience. Put up Newsome’s autobiographical structure of a rural Louisiana upbringing, his recently passed father’s influence, and his Ghanian ancestry. Add in personal tributes, odes to ballroom culture, and Afro-futurist AI. Then stage the results at a NYC armory and film it.
Unconventional in a far different way is Sasha Wortzel’s poetic documentary “River Of Grass.” It pays tribute to the need to preserve the Florida Everglades in the face of the climate crisis by mixing archival footage with the writings of Marjory Stoneman Douglas.
Poet and activist Andrea Gibson struggles to preserve an enjoyment of life in Ryan White’s documentary “Come See Me In The Good Light.” Gibson’s diagnosis of terminal cancer leads them and partner poet Megan Falley to find resilience in small everyday joys. Winner of a Sundance Festival Favorite Award, and executive produced by Sara Bareilles and Brandi Carlile.
Lisa Immordino Vreeland’s biography “Jean Cocteau” charts the life of the titular iconic gay poet. But this protean creative also excelled in novels, art, the stage (e.g. Cocteau’s unforgettable “The Human Voice”), and even the cinema (“Beauty And The Beast,” “Orpheus”) Cocteau lived through two world wars, the Great Depression, and cultural changes. His work still remains timeless and inspirational to new generations.
The Croatian Oscar submission, Ivona Juka’s historical drama “Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day,” follows the lives of a quartet of Yugoslavian gay filmmakers over the decades, starting in the post-World War II era. The filmmakers wind up being forced to make propaganda for the Communist regime. But state surveillance and political suspicion threaten their lives and careers, particularly when party loyalist Emir is assigned to sabotage these filmmakers.
Sam Feder takes the Centerpiece film slot with the timely documentary “Heightened Scrutiny.” It follows ACLU attorney Chase Strangio as he leads a battle against Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. But can the first out trans person to argue before the U.S. Supreme Court somehow win the still-undecided (as of this writing) case of U.S. v. Skrimetti? He’s arguing before the conservative-dominated Roberts court, which has generally shown itself willing to support the Orange Tyrant’s fascist initiatives and which may decide to deliver another Pride Month legal kick to the teeth.
Freaked out by the Rethuglican campaign to remove from America’s libraries books centering race and queerness? Then you need to meet the FReadom Fighters, the subjects of Kim A. Snyder’s documentary “The Librarians.” Such librarians as Suzette Baker and Carolyn Foote fight book bans in such states as Texas and Florida to keep the stories of all identities and communities on their establishments’ shelves.
One such book author who’d probably be targeted by Rethuglican censors is James Baldwin. Yashaddai Owens’ drama “Jimmy” follows future writer James Baldwin during his creatively formative years living in Paris, France. There, he explores his sexual identity and also finds community with Left Bank habitues. Even the broke-ass viewer can partake of this screening as Hayes Valley’s PROXY will be showing it for free. Just remember to dress warmly.
Dorothy Gale, the protagonist of The Wizard Of Oz, made her mark on queer culture in different ways over the decades. How and why this happened is the subject of Jeffrey McHale’s documentary “It’s Dorothy!” The film goes from a look at the character’s origins to examining young Gale’s various screen portrayals (not all of them straight, ha ha) to interviews with such pop culture figures as Lena Waithe, Amber Ruffin, and Rufus Wainwright. Would today’s censors ban the L. Frank Baum original despite its being over a hundred years old?
More likely to be banned from some of today’s libraries by censor-minded homophobes is Kani Lapuerta’s documentary “Ninxs.” It may sound like a typical “coming of age as a queer teen today” film. But this video diary of teen Karla Banuelos’ efforts to legally transition treats Banuelos as a co-author rather than a cinematic bug under a microscope. Even though the teen’s friends and her ex-punk parents have Banuelos’ back, she still has to deal with conservative prejudices in her small isolated town. But “Ninxs” aims to find moments for laughter rather than wallowing in pain.
A restored nearly 50-year-old documentary shows that mothers who buck conservative prejudices can also be the subject of social condemnation. Back in 1977, it was treated as common wisdom that lesbians were supposedly unfit to mother children lest their presence somehow damage developing minds. Frances Reid, Elizabeth Stevens, and Cathy Zeutlin’s award-winning film “In The Best Interests Of The Children” showed why this idea was homophobic garbage. It follows eight San Francisco Bay Area families headed by lesbian mothers who are dealing with custody battles, legal scrutiny, and open bias. Despite these challenges, these mothers’ love for their children help the youngsters thrive.
Definitely turning 50 this year is the film adaptation of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Frameline 49 celebrates the occasion with Linus O’Brien’s documentary “Strange Journey: The Story Of Rocky Horror.” The original midnight movie became a haven for outcasts and a touchstone for queer and underground cultures. Reminiscences about the film and its long-term impact comes from such folks as creator Richard O’Brien, Tim Curry, and Trixie Mattel.
Another anniversary being celebrated this year is the 25th anniversary of Michelle Tea’s Valencia. The book was Tea’s memoir of 1990s San Francisco’s queer subculture. Thirteen years later, Frameline would host sold-out screenings of an unusual cinematic adaptation of Tea’s book. Instead of having Tea direct the adaptation solo, she was joined by twenty other directors including Cheryl Dunye, Joey Soloway, and Silas Howard to direct individual vignettes from the book in their own unique style and with their own individually cast Tea. “(Return To) Valencia” is much more than Frameline 49’s rescreening this unique film adaptation. It also includes a Mission walking tour led by Tea herself, where she will be reading excerpts from the book.
For those who missed their screenings at the recent SFFILM Festival, Frameline 49 offers another chance to see two acclaimed films. One is Elena Oxman’s “Outerlands,” a drama about a nonbinary newbie to San Francisco suddenly stuck with caring for the 11-year-old daughter of a one-night stand who’s pulled a vanishing act. The other is Cristina Constantini’s exhilarating documentary “Sally,” a biography of America’s first woman in space which opens to the public her closeted existence with life partner Tam O’Shaughnessy.
It’s a romance, it’s an animated musical, it’s a science fiction adventure, it’s a comedy packed with lesbian in-jokes! It’s Emma Hough Hobbs & Leela Varghese’s wild Teddy Award-winning film “Lesbian Space Princess!” Saira, the titular character, may be the heir to Clitopolis’ throne. However, her life is far from rosy. Dynamic bounty hunter Kiki has just broken up with her. Her incredible sense of self-doubt and lack of confidence has given her a reputation of being a boring singleton. Most damningly, despite repeated attempts, she’s unable to summon the Royal Labrys. When the evil Straight White Maliens kidnap Kiki and demand the royal weapon for her safe return, will Saira have an opportunity to win the bounty hunter back?
Angela Kramer follows up her wild musical “Please Baby Please” with her fantasy “By Design.” Drab Camille (Juliette Lewis) envies a beautiful chair’s ability to gather admirers…so she swaps bodies with it. What happens next gets narrated with deadpan seriousness by Melanie Griffith. Expect a surrealistic mix of such elements as modern dance and body horror.
Angelo Madsen’s documentary “A Body To Live In” is a biographical portrait of Modern Primitives pioneer Fakir Musafar. Piercing, branding, and suspension may sound painful to the vanilla sex crowd. But to Musafar and those who followed his lead in deliberately modifying their bodies, these were acts of authenticity and defiance. Generations of queer BDSM practitioners and performance artists would be influenced by the work of Musafar and others.
From the film title onwards, Annapurna Sriram’s writing/directing/starring debut “Fucktoys” (not sorry) doesn’t fuck around. AP (Sriram), a part-time sex-worker and full-time chaos magnet, is not crazy when she thinks the universe has it in for her. A Tarot reading (performed by NOLA bounce icon Big Freedia) reveals she’s under a curse. What she doesn’t have to lift the curse is $1,000 and a lamb sacrifice. So, accompanied by bestie Danni, the duo hope to find what AP needs in Trashtown, USA, a place filled with oddballs, bondage cops, and strip clubs. Rude and crude and proud of it, call it a wild middle finger to every loathsome thing MAGA stands for.
It’s probable that literal fucktoys will be found in the subject of Jeremy van Stilb’s documentary short “AutoErotica: We Buy Gay Stuff.” It’s an unassuming Castro District store which turns out to be a treasure trove of queer history.
One recent development in San Francisco, its gentrification by the tech boom, is something to be hated not celebrated. The three young trans Black women of Nana Duffuor’s short “Rainbow Girls” plan to do more than just grumble about it. They’re staging a heist of exclusive luxury brands. Executive produced by Cheryl Dunye and Nava Mau.
Another film staple, the road trip movie, gets a Black queer take in “Test Pattern” director Shatara Michelle Ford’s “Dreams In Nightmares.” Z would describe her life as ranking high on the suck scale. Getting laid off multiple times and being hit with puzzling dream messages from the ancestors will do that to a person. So it’s time to set off on a much-needed New York vacation with two of her oldest friends. But plans change when the trio learns the missing fourth member of their party, Kel, hasn’t been seen in months. It’s time to go from vacation mode to rescue mission!
A different sort of rescue mission, uncovering a buried past, is the subject of this year’s Out In The Silence Award-winner. Grace Hughes-Hallett’s documentary “The Secret Of Me” follows Jim Ambrose as he learns how he was personally harmed by a bigoted medical study from the 1960s. Thanks to that faulty study, thousands of intersex children such as Ambrose had gender designations forced on them by unnecessary surgical procedures.
Certain viewers of the classic Jennie Livingston documentary “Paris Is Burning” would classify interview subject Venus Xtravaganza as their personal touchstone. However, before Livingston’s film was completed, Venus was murdered and the crime remains unsolved to this day. Kimberly Reed’s touching documentary “I’m Your Venus” follows the joint efforts of both Venus’ birth and house families to find answers or even a sense of closure regarding the slain woman’s death. But it’s also a look at the members of one straight cisgender family trying to reconcile the past and their own missteps.
Director James Bidgood may have disowned his film “Pink Narcissus” after it was taken out of his hands by the film’s financiers and finished without his input. Yet even without Bidgood’s blessing, this tale of a young hustler lounging in a series of fantastic dream worlds as he awaits his next client is still an influential part of gay culture.
The plot of Mike Thomas’ gay softcore film “The Meatrack” may be retro in nature (bisexual hustler in late 1960s San Francisco sells his body to men until he finds possible happiness with a woman). But there are still reasons to see this restoration. It’s the first feature-length gay movie shot in San Francisco. Images of long-gone gay hangouts are preserved in the film’s frames. And such famous queens as Charles Pierce, Pat Montclair, and Vicki Marlane make cameo appearances.
What do you get after mixing the Leos Carax classic “Holy Motors” with a gay hustler drama? The answer is Jun Li’s “Queerpanorama.” The film follows an unnamed gay hustler who works the international gay tourists visiting Hong Kong. After each sexual encounter, the gay man assumes the personality of his most recent client.
Petersen Vargas’ drama “Some Nights I Feel Like Walking” follows a group attempting to honor the dying wish of one of their members. Uno and his gang of Manila street hustlers, accompanied by newcomer Zion, walk the roads of the Philippines to return to his rural home village the body of a member who died of a drug overdose. Yet the journey also turns into a bonding opportunity.
Wes Hurley’s documentary short “Shelly’s Leg” tells the strange but true story of stripper Shelly Baumann. When the stripper loses a leg in a 1970 freak accident, she uses the settlement money to open the titular disco. That place would become one of America’s first openly gay spaces. Narration by Kathleen Turner.
Closing out Frameline 49 is James Sweeney’s Sundance-winning dramedy “Twinless.” At a support group for people who have lost their twin, straight Roman (Dennis O’Brien) and gay Dennis (also O’Brien) meet and soon become fast friends. When their relationship goes beyond friendship but nowhere near romance and sex, how exactly does one describe their pairing?
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