Shorts

Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) Shorts

April 1, 12:00 AM – April 30, 11:59 PM

Xerb.tv

$10.00

This is a virtual event. All shorts programs will be available between April 1-30, 2021 and all feature films will be available for ten days between April 8-18, 2021.

“There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another; nothing more. [Those] who [have] felt the deepest grief [are] best able to experience supreme happiness.” –– Alexandre Dumas

2021 marks the centennial year of the Tulsa race massacre. I have felt a plethora of emotions processing this; no doubt, mirroring the sentiments of the rest of the BIPOC community. The most powerful of those emotions has been an existential and spiritual connection to my ancestors. We have experienced so many atrocities up until this very day.Yet, we continue to alchemize all of that pain into a fierce ball of eternal fire. An inferno that we metamorphose into love, laughter and life in countless mediums. Then, we pass the strength of that magical fire along to our community, our descendants and finally, the world. While I celebrate us all year long, once a year, I am honored to use the medium of cinema to shine a light on our stories. I give visibility and a platform to the artists celebrating our lives, our sorrows, our magic—in front of the lens and behind it. This year, through Afro-futurism, contemporary dance, animation, documentary, and many more, I present to you: Wicked Queer 2021’s BIPOC short film program.

Thank you to all of my BIPOC’s, past, present and future.

Love, Kimya Monteiro (Seventh-year BIPOC programmer for Wicked Queer)

Taffy

A young photographer hears the story of an older man.

Directed by Jon Crawford, 2020, 5 min, USA, English, G

Directed by Jon Crawford 5 m English USA

Shéár Avory: To Be Continued

Shéár Avory: To Be Continued is the coming of age story of Shéár Avory (pronouns: they/them/theirs), a 17-year-old aspiring social justice advocate in Los Angeles who navigates housing instability and familial dependency on their journey to adulthood. Shéár depends closely on their mother Amber for continued access to their medical transition, though struggling in her recovery from addiction, she is unable to always offer Shéár the support they need. An observational piece, the film aims to ask, what does coming into adulthood actually look like, for a young Black trans* femme in today’s America?

Directed by Abram Cerda, 2020, 26 min, USA, English, T,Q

Directed by Abram Cerda 26 m English USA

Friend of Sophia

Inspired by the queer experience of the 1950s and 60s, a woman attempts a discreet encounter in a not-too-distant future where attraction to androids is considered a sickness and punished as a crime.

Directed by Alden Peters, 2021, 6 min, USA, English, L

Directed by Alden Peters 6 m English USA

Of Hearts and Castles

A man struggling emotionally after a breakup meets another man for one night; a few hours together ease their emotions and create a momentum that will stay with them forever.

Directed by Ruben Navarro, 2020, 15 min, USA, English, G

Directed by Ruben Navarro 15 m English USA

Tender

After an unexpected one night stand, two women at very different stages of their lives, share an even more intimate morning after.

Directed by Felicia Prude, 2019, 15 min, USA, English, L

Directed by Felicia Prude 15 m English USA

AJE IJO SERIES: IMMORTAL

AJE IJO’ Short Dance Film Series centers the humanity, resiliency, vulnerability of black & African diasporic people [of all genders], interrogating the western gender binary and interrupting accompanying notions of masculinity and femininity. Our individual and collective complexity, survival, thriving, and ultimately our healing as a people are at stake, and compel the elaboration of this narrative. To this end, the ﬁlm elicits elements of spiritual cosmologies of the african diaspora, particularly those that emerge from the Yoruba divine consciousness, Ifa, and the Orisa (deities) that comprise it.

Directed by Kiana Harris, 2020, 14 min, USA, English, Q

Directed by Kiana Harris 14 m English USA

One Last Deal

On the outside looking in no one can explain why their relationship works. Bill a charming fuck-up who hustles and Sara, a black transwoman, being wound too tight. However, those differences have always been what made their relationship work. On the most imitate level their relationships have been anchored by a deep understanding and acceptance of each other’s true selves. Sara has almost reached her dream to match her body to her soul but first, she and Bill, have to make one last sell.

Directed by Nyala Moon, 2020, 15 min, USA, English, T

Directed by Nyala Moon 15 m English USA

KapaeMahu

Kapaemahu reveals the healing power of four mysterious stones on Waikiki Beach – and the legendary transgender spirits within them. Long ago, four extraordinary individuals of both male and female spirit brought the healing arts from Tahiti to Hawaii. Beloved by the people for their gentle ways and miraculous cures, they imbued four giant boulders with their powers. The stones still stand on what is now Waikiki Beach, but the true story behind them has been hidden – until now. Narrated in an ancient Hawaiian dialect, Kapaemahu brings this powerful legend back to life in vivid animation, seen through the eyes of a curious child.

Directed by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu & Dean Hamer & Joe WIlson, 2020, 9 min, USA, Olelo Niihau with English subtitles, T/Q

Directed by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu & Dean Hamer & Joe WIlson 9 m Olelo Niihau with English subtitles USA