Good, Gay, & New in Town: Slamdance 2021 Edition
All the gay goodies you can watch at this year's Slamdance Film Festival
Hello my good friends and gay movie lovers! As promised, I’m scouting out accessible, new queer films for you to put your money toward, and there’s no better deal than $10 for 13 days worth of queer features and shorts.
Slamdance Film Festival has just started, and the lovely folks in their press office were happy to oblige when I asked if they could provide me with a list of the LGBTQ+ offerings. Their entire catalogue is on-demand through February 25th, and a $10 pass, or $5 if you’re a student with a .edu e-mail address, will get you access to all of it. They have over 100 programs, but below you’ll find most of their specifically queer goodies. Slamdance is known for showcasing hyper-independent, experimental, and otherwise offbeat new voices, which is a perfect environment for cultivating new queer gems.
Please let me know if you see anything you love, and happy watching! I’ve starred the films I’m particularly looking forward to.
Workhorse Queen (Documentary) – directed by Angela Washko*
This was a favorite from the programming team, and the only feature length queer that was recommended! I’ve already heard good things, and it looks like a perfect watch if you’re either a fan of Drag Race, and/or frustrated with the way RuPaul has commodified one way of doing drag.
“After an unlikely casting onto a reality television show, 47-year old suburban telemarketer Ed Popil leaves his job to pursue a full-time entertainment industry career as his drag queen alter ego, 1960’s era housewife Mrs. Kasha Davis.”
Inside the Storm (Narrative Short) - directed by Daniel Bloom
“In the middle of the night, after a tough breakup, Nadav goes to visit an old friend he hasn't seen for a long time.”
Instructions to Let Go (Narrative Short) - directed by Gustavo Gamero*
I really love this impressionist short! It’s beautifully shot and calls for a long stare out the window afterward, just watching the rain.
“Daphne and Mafer meet at a hotel, they quickly become friends and chemistry begins to emerge between them.”
Progressive Touch (Narrative Short) - directed by Michael Portnoy*
“Can you fuck to an irregular beat? Progressive Touch depicts three futuristic, absurdist love scenes in which the goal is to "improve" sex by complicating its rhythm and choreography.”
MADA (Mother) (Narrative Short) - directed by Joseph Douglas Elmhirst*
“In the postcolonial, matriarchal culture of rural Jamaica, a simmering conflict over Luther's nature surfaces and we are offered insight into two mothers, Faith and Ethel's conflicting notions about love and protection, meditating on it's impact on a child who deviates from the norm.”
In France Michelle is a Man's Name (Narrative Short) - directed by Em Weinstein
This is an Outfest award winner, and feels like the beginning of a very promising career both for its director and star.
“Michael, a young trans man, returns home to the rural American West after years of estrangement from his parents. In France Michelle is a Man’s Name explores trans identity, masculinity, and the prices we're willing to pay for acceptance.”
Faraway (Documentary Short) - directed by Aziz Zoromba
After being estranged from his family for his homosexuality, we observe a young Arab man over four seasons from far away as he navigates his solitude – all the while attempting to reconnect with his mother.
Unforgivable (Documentary Short) - directed by Marlén Viñayo
“A ruthless hitman for the18th Street gang serves his sentence in an isolation cell in El Salvador. But in prison, Geovanny is not just guilty of his crimes, but of an unforgivable sin under God and gang: being gay.”
Friend of a Friend (Animated Short) - directed by Zachary Zezima
“A young man is sexually assaulted and subdues, punishes, then befriends his own attacker while confronting his past and the ambiguities of sexuality.”
Passage (Experimental Short) - directed by Ann Oren*
“A foley artist creates sounds for a film featuring a dressage horse and dissolves into his own imitation. Shot on 16mm film, PASSAGE is contemporary and sensual homage to the origin of cinema, with a thrilling performance from queer artist and performer Simon(e) Jaikiriuma Paetau.”
Rumi and His Roses (Experimental Short) - directed by Navid Sinaki*
“Using love letters tucked in bootleg DVD menus, a gay Iranian recounts his first relationship and its end.”
Mountain Lodge (Experimental Short) - directed by Jordan Wong
“The candle, the myth, the legend. Mountain Lodge.”