Born survivor and openly trans Shawna Virago has been a San Francisco resident since the 1990s. This country punk singer-songwriter has created a body of work that evokes the tunes of Townes Van Zandt and Lucinda Williams. But fans of Virago’s music may not know that she wears another creative hat, that of artistic director for the San Francisco Transgender Film Festival.

Founded in 1997 by Christopher Lee and Alex Austin, this film event is North America’s first and longest-running film festival dedicated to presenting authentic representation of trans lives. Once a biennial event catering to filmmakers with extremely limited venue access, the event formerly known as Tranny Fest started happening every year from 2005 onwards.

This year’s program once again has both an in-person component and an online component. The in-person events happen from November 12-14, 2026 at the Roxie Theater. For those who can’t make it in person to the Roxie, the online shows run from November 15-22, 2026 via VOD and are repeats of the programs shown at the Roxie.

San Francisco Transgender Film Festival: 2026 Trailer

Virago was kind enough to talk to this writer about her ties to the festival and answer a politically oriented question or two. The text of the interview has been lightly edited for readability.

BrokeAssStuart.com (BAS): I know the founders of the San Francisco Transgender Film Festival happened to be friends of yours when they asked you to be the festival’s Artistic Director. Could you talk about what the role requires from you?

Shawna Virago (SV): Over the years, my role as Artistic Director has remained consistent in its vision - and I think this is because so many of the same struggles we face have also been consistent. My overriding concerns have to do with the visual direction of each year’s festival, showcasing innovative films that are aligned with our values, and creating an intergenerational community that keeps alive San Francisco’s queer cutting-edge spirit. To do this, we remain social justice focused, defiant, artist-led, access-forward, and justice-centered.

Shawna Virago

BAS: You’re a renowned queer folk punk rock performer, as well as a member of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club’s E-board once upon a time. What experiences made you a great fit for Artistic Director?

SV: I’ve been a working artist for most of my life: writing songs and touring as an out-trans woman since the early 1990s, plus I’ve created and directed more than a dozen short films and am an inveterate cinephile. These passions, plus years of police accountability activism and community advocacy work, have given me the requisite passions, skills, and community trust and relationships to do my job.

BAS: The Transgender Film Festival has annually made its offerings available online since the COVID lockdowns. Outside of San Francisco, what can you tell me about the festival’s online reach?

SV: When COVID hit, we were able to pivot immediately into offering the festival via online (and closed-captioned) streaming. This expanded our reach and impact significantly. Since then, we’ve kept this online/on-demand component as part of the festival. The on-demand programming gives people in other parts of the country a chance to enjoy the festival and is also a way for immune-compromised folks, disabled folks, and other parts of our communities to safely watch the films.

BAS: The Republican Party has spent tons of money and public attention campaigning on the idea of “hate trans people 24/7/365 and your gas prices will magically stay cheap.” What sort of response to this environment of fear and scapegoating have you seen in the festival’s selections in recent years beyond “Fuck you, we’re still here?”

SV: Anyone who cares about the state of this country and the world should be concerned with the violence against trans people happening right now. The same people attacking trans people are also taking a sledgehammer to all of our rights, destroying the environment and attacking freedom of expression and a free press.

The forces of ignorance have targeted trans and gender-expansive people forever. What they fail to accept is [that] trans people are a resilient bunch, and we have always been part of human experience…and we will always continue to be [a] part of human experience.

Hustleween

This year however, I’ve decided to not let the anti-trans agenda become the main protagonist to react against or to let these haters suck all the oxygen out of the room, but instead I continue to focus on TGNC communities and our allies.

My message to the TGNC people who are coming to this year’s festival is to affirm them for saying “Yes! To human-made TGNC films you will not find in mainstream and commercial theaters.” And for saying “Yes! To the power of our art and our community gatherings.” I also affirm our audiences and communities for saying “No! To the expanding reach of digitized and vanilla culture fueled by AI and anti-humanist tech billionaires.”

BAS: Related to that previous question, what sorts of general themes or connections do you see among the films the festival is presenting this year?

SV: The true unifying theme is the spirit of the films we’re screening, many of them made with low or no budgets. Many of the films are DIY by intention but not cavalier in execution. This year’s films are political without becoming impersonal and personal rather than institutional. TGNC filmmakers have lots of stories to tell: our communities are full of life and future-focused.

Also, all the films we screen are captioned and we feature ASL interpretation at all in-person screenings. In support of community safety, KN95 masks will be provided and required. The Roxie’s entrance, lobby, bathrooms, and audience seating are wheelchair accessible. The Roxie [also] has all-gender bathrooms. While SFTFF is not a scent-free event, we encourage in-person audiences to be mindful of avoiding perfumes and scented products. Access is love!

BAS: What particular “don’t miss” titles at this year’s festival would you like to mention, and why did you choose these titles?

SV: Here are four titles I particularly recommend and align with the festival’s visual and political identity:

Hustleween is a magical, unapologetic, Black, Trans, Queer event that raises funds for trans masculine people. This film from Puerto Rico displays unrepentant trans euphoria. Directed by Samara Perez Santiago.

Dread

Mascott is a Canadian horror film that does a deep dive into the complexities of identity, societal expectations, and authenticity. Filled with lots of humor, the main character’s job is wearing a bear costume, and [the film] shows the pressures of fame and hyper-masculinity. Directed by Marilyne Lamontagne & Shane Savage.

Las Cosas Que Brillan is magic realism at its finest. A curious trans mermaid ventures above the sea and is a witness to the impacts of environmental destruction, and [to] the danger of being desired in a post-colonial world. It also shows how powerful femininity can be. Directed by Kristal Sotomayor.

Dread, a film from South Africa, centers on a soft-spoken transmasculine driver navigating an array of colorful passengers through the economically divided streets of Cape Town. But when Claudia (a digital nomad with blonde dreadlocks) unloads a traumatic story on a short ride across town, something unseen takes root in the backseat and refuses to leave. Is the car possessed or not? A film exploring [how] karmic justice has a driver of its own. Directed by Gabe Gabriel and Loren Loubser.

BAS: In terms of local [film] festivals, Frameline is clearly the older sibling compared to the Transgender Film Festival. Could you describe the relationship and differences between the two festivals? I suspect, for example, that your festival would have given huge side-eye to Frameline’s decision to make a festival closer out of the Felicity Huffman film “Transamerica.”

SV: We respect Frameline for championing queer film for 50 years! We’re lucky in San Francisco and the Bay Area there are many other local festivals who also uplift underrepresented filmic voices, such as our wonderful friends at QWOCMAP: Queer Women Of Color Media Arts Project, Superfest Disability Film Festival, and the San Francisco IndieFest.

Unlike mainstream LGBTQI+ film festivals, SFTFF only screens films made by and starring TGNC people: we prioritize lived TGNC experiences and don’t engage with the non-trans people telling their versions of what constitutes transgender lives. This means that unlike cis-run film festivals (even LGBTQI+ festivals), we will not screen any film that has cisgender actors “playing” trans roles.

If people are seeking trans and queer culture, independent film, and alternatives to commercial media, then I hope they come out to this year’s San Francisco Transgender Film Festival.