By the end of our call, Michael Sheen is animatedly sharing stories of his family’s (potential) UFO sightings in south Wales.

He was 12 or 13 when he was walking home from school in Port Talbot. Coming around the side of a nearby mountain was what Sheen describes as “a formation of lights.” They went out toward the sea, hovered there, and vanished. “I was looking at this and I thought, ‘I need to go in and tell the rest of my family,’” the star recalls. “But then I thought that if I go in, I might miss it. So I just stood and watched. I couldn’t believe what I’d seen,” he continues, “I can’t explain it, and I’m not saying that they were UFOs, but I don’t know what the hell they were.”

Sheen, a prolific actor whose credits include Twilight, Masters of Sex and Good Omens, has hopped on Zoom to discuss his latest Welsh project, Out There, a sci-fi caper from debut filmmaker Simon Ryninks that tackles two seemingly disparate themes: grief and aliens. Backdropped by the nostalgia-packed optimism of 1999, it earns its world premiere in competition at Edinburgh Film Festival on Friday, with a star-studded ensemble that includes Aneurin Barnard (Dunkirk), Iwan Rheon (Game of Thrones) and newcomer Nerys Amber Stocks.

Stocks plays a young teen named Maz, an amateur astronomer still grieving the disappearance of her scientist father (Rheon). She is convinced she has spotted something suspicious floating above her sleepy Welsh hometown and recruits the support of her best mate Elis (Tom Moya), UFO-obsessed conspiracy theorist Bryn (Barnard), and local psychic Shifty Gruff (Sheen) to uncover the truth — one far more complex than they might have anticipated.

For Ryninks, this is as personal a story as you can get. “The idea came about from my mum’s passing and knowing that I wanted to write something about grief,” the British filmmaker, who grew up in both Aberystwyth and London, tells THR. “I was returning to west Wales a lot and I feel very connected to her being here. I knew I wanted to do it in a funny, gentle way. Then at a certain point, I discovered the Welsh history with UFO sightings.”

It turns out that Wales has a particularly rich history in the Unidentified Flying Objects department. In the 1970s, there was a spate of sightings and cover-up rumors from across the north of the country all the way to Broad Haven on the west coast. Happening upon this information, for first-time feature filmmaker Ryninks (who is also doing a master’s in folklore), felt like fate. “To use UFOs as this metaphor for searching for something — for closures or answers that are out of reach or elusive in some way,” he says, “I could really relate to that hunt for meaning.”

Sheen, meanwhile, is admittedly always very interested to hear about emerging Welsh voices. He has long been a champion of the arts in his native Wales, personally funding (and becoming artistic director of) the newly named Welsh National Theatre. As a super-fan of Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Ryninks and Out There were a no-brainer. “Reading this script and seeing [this] journey for Maz, a 16-year-old who starts to [use] the stars and spaceships to reconnect with her father… That journey through grief, but in a very feel-good, heart-warming, coming-of-age story, I thought the combination of those elements and the weird characters she comes across — including the one I play myself — I just love the quirkiness of that,” Sheen says. “[Using] the sci-fi elements as a way to explore things that are much closer to home.”

For Sheen, it was also an opportunity to honor his late father, a stalwart of the Port Talbot community, who died last year aged 85. “The town has a history with the steelworks and real challenges of deprivation,” he adds, “but to look to the skies and to believe there’s something up there is a very powerful metaphor for a lot of things.” Meyrick Sheen was photographed by Roo Lewis in 2023, who set out to capture the town as part of a project for the Port Talbot UFO Investigation Club. “I was very moved by seeing the portrait of my father in that,” says the younger Sheen, “so this script really pushed buttons for me.”

Ryninks was delighted to have enticed such a high calibre of Welsh talent aboard this small indie. He enlisted the help of a friend, English actor Johnny Flynn, who knew Rheon. Rheon was pulled toward the role of Maz’s father, Lew, “as an exciting opportunity to play something a bit different than he’d played before.” For the kooky, mischievous and not-often-sober Shifty Gruff, Sheen was always the number one choice. “He’s got this quality about him, which is both really lovable and funny,” begins the director, “but then you’ve seen him play characters where he’s a bit edgy as well, where you’re not sure if you can really trust this guy. I liked that contrast for Shifty. So I wrote it with Michael in mind, then basically just spent a year hoping and praying he would say yes, like a UFO believer. I just had faith that he was out there, waiting for contact.”

Sheen, an established star with the kind of career freedom you achieve only after decades of acclaim, was up for anything. “I love those shops you go into with all the crystals and the weird UFO-ology books,” he says about Shifty’s mystic store. “I could spend hours in there, knowing full well that it’s all nonsense. But he’s into all that, and also the local drug dealer — all organic, obviously — and I love the combination of him being really dodgy, but [there is] also something really hopeful in him as well. There’s an innocence and naivety to him. [But] you know you’d find him in your living room at a party and think, ‘What are you doing here?’ I’ve definitely met a few Shifty Gruffs in my time.”

These characters had already been living in Ryninks’ mind for five years — it’s been seven since he first decided to make Out There — but he’s still pinching himself that he was able to get such established Welsh talent to take them on. “And Nerys and Tom,” he adds, “who are brilliant up-and-coming, future stars.” He considers some of the other icons he would love to tempt back into Welsh indie cinema: Matthew Rhys, Alexandra Roach, Callum Scott Howells, Morfydd Clark, Taron Egerton and Luke Evans all come up.

Sheen tells THR that if there’s any way he can use his platform to promote and support Welsh directors and writers, he will: “Because they’re the ones who are leading the way for us.” Whether it’s through the Welsh National Theatre (WNT) or Sheen’s production company RedSeam, he is keen to reverse years of industry-wide neglect. “We’ve just got to keep pushing, because for a long time if you had a Welsh project, the people with power would say, ‘Does it have to be in Wales? Could it be set somewhere else?’”

The 57-year-old adds: “And if there was a Welsh leading part, then oftentimes it would go to someone not from Wales. And of course, I’ve played characters from outside of Wales, and that’s fair enough. But when it’s in the context and history of being overlooked, being marginalized, and not getting the chance, I think it’s important to be aware of that.”

Sheen is buoyed by the work done in recent years, with big Hollywood movies shooting in the region and production companies such as Bad Wolf setting up camp there. All the more reason, he thinks, to get Wales on the map. “We’ve got the infrastructure and the locations and the actors — a really rich wealth of stories and history that’s untapped… A lot of that depends on collaboration and people making those connections,” he says about putting his name to projects. “It’s Matthew Rhys going, ‘Yeah, I’ll come down and do a one-man show about Richard Burton to raise funds,’” Sheen beams about Rhys’ 2025 stint in Playing Burton at the WNT.

Out There is a testament to the work being done behind the scenes, from emerging and established voices united by a passion for Welsh storytelling. Ahead of its Edinburgh premiere, Ryninks is feeling very grateful — and reflective. “There’s something a bit bittersweet about releasing something that has been yours and yours alone,” he says. “Obviously, lots of people worked on it and did a great job, but it’s been your thing for so long, and then you’re not in control of any aspect of it anymore — how it’s received, how people experience it.” Even still, the filmmaker is excited to let Edinburgh audiences begin probing this surprisingly affecting piece on loss and extraterrestrial life. He and Sheen want viewers to know: They come in peace.

The 2026 Edinburgh International Film Festival runs Aug. 13-19.

EXCLUSIVE: The 38th annual Vancouver Queer Film Festival (VQFF) will feature new films starring Alan Cumming, Matthew Morrison, Dylan Mulvaney and exec-produced by Jane Schoenbrun, Lily Wachowski and Bob Odenkirk. Scroll down for the lineup in full.

Running September 10–20, before streaming September 21–27, the event will comprise 87 feature-length and short films by 2SLGBTQIA+ creators alongside parties, filmmaker Q&As, workshops, and community events.

Highlights in the program include Kiloran Bay, starring Alan Cumming; First Death, featuring Kimia Behpoornia, Dylan Mulvaney, and Vic Michaelis; Beba From 5 to 9, starring Emmy winner Michaela Jaé Rodriguez; Test, featuring Matthew Morrison and Brock Yurich; Again Again, starring House of the Dragon actor Abigail Thorn and executive-produced by Lilly Wachowski; and short She’s Nonbinary, directed, written and produced by rising actres Jess McLeod (Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma) and EP’d by Bob Odenkirk and Jane Schoenbrun.

According to organizers, the theme of this year’s festival “celebrates belonging, generosity, and the many ways queer communities gather to nourish one another. Across every screening and event, A Seat at Our Table asks audiences to imagine what becomes possible when everyone is welcomed to participate in shaping our collective future.”

“As Out On Screen enters this next chapter, we’re proud that this year’s Festival reflects not only the stories we want to share, but also the way we want to work together,” sAID Out On Screen’s shared leadership team: Eli Morris (Strategy & Programs), fanny kearse (Development & Communications), and Piper Fawkes (Operations & Finance). “Our shared leadership model is rooted in collaboration, care and accountability, and A Seat at Our Table embodies those same values. We believe queer storytelling flourishes when leadership is shared, when many perspectives shape the conversation, and when communities are invited not just to watch, but to belong.”

Full 2026 VQFF Programme (as provided by the festival): 

Opening Presentation: Ecosystems, Not Empires

LOSS OF ALTITUDE (SINKFLUG), International Premiere 

Hoàng Quỳnh Nguyễn | Germany | 2026 | 12 min | German with English subtitles

In a haunting near future where borders are redrawn, and belonging becomes a moral test, two women discover that love alone cannot shield them from the weight of collective complicity.

ABJAD ḤAWAZ (أبجد هوز ), Canadian Premiere 

Hadi Moussally | Lebanon | 2025 | 5 min | Arabic with English subtitles

A mesmerizing collision of dance, techno, and poetry, Abjad Ḥawaz (أبجد هوز ) transforms the Arabic alphabet into a fearless celebration of SWANA identity, language, and artistic liberation.

TAKE CARE, TILL SPRINGTIME, British Columbia Premiere 

Yi Shi | Canada | 2025 | 22 min | English, Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles

A slice of life portrait on Bill Xū, a local Chinese medicine practitioner and community organizer, through seasons of healing.

KILORAN BAY, Canadian Premiere 

Michael Bruce | United Kingdom | 2026 | 14 min | English with captions

When a gay man (Alan Cumming) returns to Scotland with his partner to attend a wedding cèilidh, memories of a difficult coming out process resurface.

MY NAME IS LILITH (MON NOM EST LILITH ), Canadian Premiere 

Leo Luna Robert-Tourneur | Belgium, France | 2025 | 14 min | French with English subtitles

An encounter with Adam shatters worlds in this striking animation. A sensorial exploration of healing from sexual trauma and radical joy.

ATA PŪAO, British Columbia Premiere 

Allie Howell | New Zealand | 2025 | 14 min | English and Maori with English subtitles

Hiwa reckons with outgrown friendships amid the glittery nightlife of Tamaki Makaurau. Deeply rooted in iawhiti (Māori trans) experiences.

FLY, British Columbia Premiere 

Carlton Daniel Jr. | United States | 2026 | 15 min | English with captions

Skylar, a disciplined dancer, auditions for a breakout opportunity with a prestigious ballet company. As the pressure mounts, their perfectionism is challenged by a fellow dancer.

Programme: Centerpiece Presentation:

BEBA FROM 5 TO 9, Canadian Premiere 

Dano Cerny | United States | 2026 | 14 min | Spanish and English with English subtitles

After her sister’s death, Beba (Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Pose) reckons with her own mortality, juggling her job as a hospice nurse and new single parenthood. A captivating portrait dedicated to immigrant communities in East L.A.

APOLO, British Columbia Premiere 

Tainá Müller, Ísis Broken | Brazil | 2025 | 83 min | Portuguese with English subtitles

An intimate, moving, and joyful documentary following Ísis Broken and Lourenzo Gabriel as they navigate an unexpected pregnancy as a trans couple in Brazil. 

Programme: Closing Presentation:

GUGU’S WORLD (FEITO PEIPA), British Columbia Premiere 

Allan Deberton | Brazil | 2026 | 90 min | Portuguese with English subtitles

Gugu lives with this strong willed grandmother in Northeastern Brazil and dreams of being a soccer player but their lives take a turn when his grandmother starts showing early signs of Alzheimer’s.

Programme: The Future Is Queer: Youth Programs

Shorts: Journey To You

MOON CYCLE (CHANDRAKAAL), British Columbia Premiere 

Ayilya Thampuran | Canada | 2026 | 5 min | English with captions

A rarely told queer love story from Indian mythology on Ila and Sudyumna, a being whose identity shifts with the phases of the moon.

SISTER OF MINE (SYSTER MIN), British Columbia Premiere 

André Vaara | Sweden | 2026 | 13 min | Swedish with English subtitles

Ten-year-old Noel wants to be more like his sister. When an unwanted haircut sparks unspoken jealousy, he takes matters into his own hands.

THE FRUIT MACHINE: A SPACE OPERA,  British Columbia Premiere 

Lorri Millan, Shawna Dempsey | Canada | 2025 | 7 min | English with captions

A young, queer alien lands on Earth in the 1960s when the Canadian government was running secret tests to try and weed out ‘the homosexuals’.

THE CROWN WITH A SHADOW & THE SEARCH FOR SELF!, Canadian Premiere 

Jasbir (JB) Singh Ghuman | United States | 2026 | 15 min | English with captions

A multi-dimensional storytelling experience about a gender-bending Pink Skunk fish who learns how to live and lead her community from the heart.

ARE YOU BEING THANKED ENDLESSLY?, British Columbia Premiere 

Gulzar G | Canada | 2026 | 15 min | English with captions

Filmmaker Gulzar invites us to a conversation with their two best friends, as they reflect on their relationships to hair, gender roles, and belonging.

SHAPING A DRESS, Vancouver Premiere 

Aaren Rackett | Canada | 2025 | 4 min | English with captions

A 19th-century tailor makes a dress for themselves to share their queer identity with their family.

NIÑXS, British Columbia Premiere 

Kani Lapuerta | Germany, Mexico | 2025 | 86 min | Spanish with English subtitles

Over eight years, Niñxs follows Karla, a young trans girl who lives in Tepoztlán, Mexico, and her quest for a harmonious gender-affirming life.

I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND, British Columbia Premiere 

Zachary Kornblum, Conor Larsen | Canada | 2026 | 3 min | English with captions

This heart-warming animated short explores a young boy’s anxiety and excitement as he sits in a movie theatre beside his crush.

Feature Films:

EPHEMERA (浮浮游游), Canadian Premiere

Shan Jiang | Singapore, United States | 2026 | 83 min | Mandarin Chinese, English with English subtitles

On the day before she flies away from Shanghai, a Chinese-American actor finally asks her crush out for a date.

MINESHAFT: THE CRUISING MURDERS, British Columbia Premiere 

Jeffrey Schwarz | United States | 2026 | 84 min | English with captions

Jeffrey Schwarz examines the complex history surrounding William Friedkin’s Cruising and the real-world events that shaped its enduring legacy.

BLOOD LINES (No Premiere)

Gail Maurice | Canada | 2025 | 89 min | English and Michif with English subtitles

Blood Lines is a lesbian romance and family drama that takes place in Wapamon Sipi,

a contemporary Métis village.

SAVING ETTING STREET, International Premiere

Dena Fisher, Amy Scott | United States | 2025 | 67 min | English with captions

Saving Etting Street opens a conversation about gender roles in trade work, redlining,

systemic racial inequalities and the barriers and benefits of home ownership.

BARBARA FOREVER, Vancouver Premiere

Brydie O’Connor | United States | 2026 | 108 min | English with captions

Narrated in her own voice, Barbara Forever embodies the energy and lyricism of the 90+ works she achieved in decades.

TEST, Canadian Premiere 

Sam McConnell | United States | 2026 | 108 min | English with captions

A bodybuilder in rural Ohio contends with the pressures of competition, family dysfunction, and his closeted sexuality. 

FOUR GIRLS (QUATRO MENINAS), North American Premiere

Set in 1880s Brazil, four Black women – Lena, Tita, Francisca, and Muanda – hatch a plan to escape their enslavement.

10s ACROSS THE BORDERS, Canadian Premiere

Sze-Wei Chan | Philippines, Singapore, Germany | 2025 | 100 min | English, Thai, Malay, Tagalog with English subtitles

Following Ballroom community leaders, director Sze-Wei Chan captures a movement sustained not by spectacle alone, but by the people who teach, organize, mentor, and show up for one another.

THEYDREAM, Canadian Premiere

William D. Caballero | United States | 2026 | 86 min | English with captions

20 years of the director’s archival family footage explores what it means to preserve connections across generations and how stories shape us.

BLACK BURNS FAST, Vancouver Premiere

Sandulela Asanda | South Africa | 2025 | 95 min | English, Xhosa with English subtitles

Class topper Luthando’s life changes when a new girl walks into class and awakens some feelings she never knew she had.

AGAIN AGAIN, International Premiere

Mia Moore Marchant | United States | 2026 | 99 min | English with captions

Agatha’s past 10 years have gone by in a blur, or rather, a loop, as she’s trapped living the same day again and again. Her bubbly and doting girlfriend Tess remains the only constant in the fog. 

UNDERSTANDING MYSELF AS AN AMPHIBIAN, North American Premiere

May Caroline Matchim | Canada | 2026 | 63 min | English with captions

Drawing on queer ecology across Turtle Island, May Matchim explores the diversity of gender and sexuality in nature while navigating her own gender transition.

NATURE GIRL, Vancouver Premiere (SHORT)

Trent Maynard, Candace Campo | Canada | 2026 | 27 min | English with captions

Candace Campo (xets’emits’a), a shíshálh knowledge keeper, artist, and cultural educator, collaborates with the filmmaker to reimagine documentary filmmaking as a meditational practice of listening and relation-making.

RIDE OR DIE, Canadian Premiere

Josalynn Smith | United States | 2025 | 85 min | English with captions

Sophisticated, seductive, and subversive, Ride or Die offers a compelling exploration of white fragility within interracial queer relationships,

SOUVENIR, Canadian Premiere  (SHORT)

Renée Marie Petropoulos | Australia | 2025 | 15 min | English and French

with English subtitles

A toxic power dynamic forms between two young lovers when Zoe crosses an

intimate boundary on Keira’s family vacation.

GAYS AGAINST GUNS, North American Premiere

Paul Rowley | Ireland, United States | 2026 | 86 min | English with captions

In the aftemath of the Pulse nightclub tragedy, Paul Rowley began documenting the work of Gays Against Guns, a direct action group committed to “nonviolently breaking the gun industry’s chain of death.”

WHAT WILL I BECOME, British Columbia Premiere

Lexie Bean, Logan Rozos | United States | 2026 | 88 min | English with captions

Transmasculine directors memorialize the lives of two trans boys(Blake Brockington and Kyler Prescott) gone too soon, sharing their legacies with tenderness.

WARLA, British Columbia Premiere

Kevin Zarate Alambra | Philippines | 2025 | 83 min | Tagalog, Japanese and English with English subtitles

Young KitKat joins an underground gang of trans women who hold foreign men for ransom to fund their gender-affirming surgeries.

ICE (YELO), North American Premiere   (SHORT)

Gab Rosique | Philippines | 2025 | 20 min | Cebuano and Tagalog with

English subtitles

Long days together in a sweltering thrift shop fuel Jessa’s desires for Candy.

OUR BODY IS AN EXPANDING STAR (NUESTRO CUERPO ES UNA ESTRELLA QUE SE EXPANDE) (No Premiere)

Semillites Hernández Velasco, Tania Hernández Velasco | Mexico | 2025 | 84 min | Spanish and English with English subtitles

Bareskin meets landscapes across Turtle Island as siblings and co-directors Semillites and Tania embrace their own bodies with a gaze rooted in love and

Curiosity.

LUNAR SWAY, British Columbia Premiere

Nick Butler | Canada | 2026 | 95 min | English with captions

Cliff is a young man searching for love in all the wrong places in the small desert town of Mooncrest. This, coupled with the entry of a birth mother, makes for a tender queer coming-of-age story of longing, family, and belonging.

Programme: RAINBOWS IN A DESERT (Shorts)

WOODPECKER, World Premiere

Tanju Ozdemir | United States | 2026 | 15 min | Kurdish, Turkish with English subtitles

Follows Cihan, a gay and Kurdish asylum seeker in the US, as he goes through a series of intense encounters on the same day as his immigration case hearing.

SAME TIME NEXT YEAR?, British Columbia Premiere

Anushay Sheikh | Canada | 2025 | 8 min | Arabic, English, Urdu with English subtitles

Brampton-based Safa’s annual family trip to the Jummah turns into an awkward confrontation with her ex-girlfriend Maha.

SHOWTIME (像这样的时刻),  Canadian Premiere

Tia, a lonely teen who lives in a rural Chinese mining town, seeks refuge in her online persona as Michael Jackson’s doppelgänger.

WHAT DO YOU SEEK IN THE DARK? (หาอะไร?), North American Premiere

Tossaphon Riantong | Thailand | 2026 | 20 min | Thai with English subtitles

An erotic thriller that captures the dying charm of Thailand’s stand-alone cinemas which also serve as cruising sites for closeted gay men.

UPON STARVATION (UPAASMAAR), North American Premiere

Saurav Mahin | India | 2026 | 16 min | Marathi with English subtitles

A jaded pett y thief in Pune, India, unexpectedly stumbles into profound intimacy with a college student, awakening a new hunger that rips open an unspeakable social chasm.

OUT OF SHADOWS, North American Premiere

Pradeep Mahadeshwar | Ireland | 2025 | 15 min | Spanish, English and Hindi with English subtitles

A short documentary with striking visuals of nature and folk imagery, performance art, and oral storytelling by three men living with HIV who, upon immigrating to Ireland, received free access to life-saving treatment.

Programme: INTO THE LIGHT (Shorts):

“GIRLFRIEND GIRLFRIEND”, British Columbia Premiere

Sara Werner | United States | 2025 | 5 min | English with captions

One simple question from a coworker leads a woman to the glittery depths of her mind.

WELCOME TO PARIS, International Premiere 

Al Oxborough Karr | France | 2026 | 14 min | English, French with English subtitles

Evie, an aspiring actress, lands her first gig in Paris as a foot model, but her

employers find a problem with her feet.

“IT IS NOT DIRTY” (« CE N’EST PAS SALE »), Vancouver  Premiere 

Ulysse Thevenot | France | 2025 | 5 min | French with English subtitles

As Didier remembers his life, animation shifts from colourless to colourful through a process of self-love.

THE BLAME SILENCE (ALÉM DA CULPA), Vancouver  Premiere 

Israel Cordova | Brazil | 2025 | 20 min | Portuguese with English subtitles

After his father’s death, strong and silent Mauro hires a farm hand to work alongside him. Long days in the sun together cause Mauro’s questions to grow heavier and heavier.

GRACE, Canadian Premiere 

Jana Park | United States | 2025 | 13 min | English with captions

In 1959 Honolulu, two women hide their forbidden love under heteronormative pressure to marry and the nation being admitted to the US.

RONITA RAMBO, British Columbia Premiere

Michael Doshier | United States | 2026 | 13 min | English with captions

On the night of Valentine’s in rural Missouri, Rambo’s sour mood is challenged by two gay teens on a date.

AS IT SHOULD BE (此刻剛好), Canadian Premiere 

Edwin Lai | Hong Kong | 2026 | 12 min | English, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese with English subtitles

Set during Lunar New Year in Hong Kong and surrounded by family, tradition, and love, Megan finally faces her fears and states her truth, but how will her family take it?

NANCY, World Premiere

Eva Grant | Canada | 2026 | 10 min | English with captions

After being born in 1893 in a human zoo, Nancy Columbia Palmer Eneutseak became the first Indigenous screenwriter, writing and starring in the long-lost fi lm The Way of the Eskimo.

Programme: Get Out (of the closet)! (Shorts)

DREAD, British Columbia Premiere

Loren Loubser, Gabe Gabriel | South Africa, United Kingdom | 2026 | 10 min | English with captions

Cape Town driver Toni becomes the unsolicited ear to a “crispy-fried German lady”, unraveling an ordinary day into a haunting encounter.

PURGATORY, Vancouver  Premiere 

Nikki Shaff eeullah | Canada | 2026 | 20 min | English with Captions

Zena returns home with her partner to grieve the loss of a family member and must keep a level head amongst relatives determined to disturb her peace.

THIS HOUSE THAT BEARS NO FRUIT, British Columbia Premiere 

Chantal Leong | Canada | 2026 | 6 min | English with captions

In a Chinese-Canadian home, Mother knows best. A teen girl learns forgotten offerings of fruit carry consequences better left unsaid.

SCISSORS, Vancouver Premiere 

Hannah Alline | United States | 2026 | 13 min | English with captions

Provoked and angered, Terry fixates on the first woman he sees. His plot for revenge leads to a getaway cabin set for a wild night.

FOUR ITCHY BOYS, Canadian Premiere

Andrew Hebert | United States | 2026 | 13 min | English with captions

Four boys are forced to defend their humanity in a terrifying dystopian world by Emmy-nominee Andrew Hebert.

KILLJOTE, British Columbia Premiere

Ángel Villahermosa | Spain | 2025 | 12 min | Spanish with English subtitles

Now that her husband is dead, Carmen is ready to leave her life behind and be with Mari, the woman she loves. But there’s one problem — Mari’s husband is still alive.

RUBINSTEIN’S, North American Premiere

Tommy Ross-Williams | United Kingdom | 2026 | 15 min | English with captions

Jade is drawn into an antique shop while searching for a gift for her partner. Buyers beware…

Programme: The Coast Is Queer (Shorts)

SUMMER FLING, Vancouver Premiere

Krit Komkrichwarakool | Canada | 2025 | 13 min | English with captions

Two men reunite once again for the annual summer festival, but the nature of their breezy hook-ups comes into question.

EGG YOLK CUSTARD BUN (奶黃包) (No Premiere)

Soya Wu | Canada | 2025 | 2 min | Cantonese with English subtitles

Sticky. Steamy. Sweet. Prepare for a generous helping of pleasures at the dim sum table.

MIRTH CONTROL AKA “FAKING IT”, World Premiere

Eva Grant, Yasmeen Grant | Canada | 2026 | 5 min | English with captions

A surreal feminist take on how patriarchy weaponizes laughter into a performance of pleasure.

MASCOTT, World Premiere

Marilyne Lamontagne, Shane Savage | Canada | 2026 | 14 min | English with

captions

A transmasculine actor finally gets his shot to be on live television, but only if he dons a bear costume.

SHE’S NONBINARY, Canadian Premiere

Jess McLeod | Canada | 2026 | 11 min | English with captions

Nonbinary Max finally gets off the top surgery waitlist, prompting an identity crisis from Jake, their cis straight boyfriend.

FADEAWAY, Vancouver Premiere 

Brendan Prost | Canada | 2025 | 14 min | English with captions

A closeted bisexual man grieves a lifeline connection after a fatal overdose. A performance-driven drama on loneliness starring Riley Davis and Matt Dejanovic.

GALATEA, Canadian Premiere 

Céline Ribard | Canada | 2025 | 8 min | No dialogue

A modern-day adaptation of a Greek myth in which the artist Pygmalion (Mya Lowe, Yellowjackets) falls in love with her beautiful statue.

I Do (願憶), World Premiere 

Kimberly Ho, Cynthia Zhou | Canada | 2026 | 14 min | English, Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles

Lifelong dreams manifest for Jacob, a queer Taiwanese man, on the day of his wedding. While every seat is filled, the presence of a family member points him to the space between them.

Programme: Drag Darlings (Shorts)

TETHER, British Columbia Premiere

Matt Prazak | Canada | 2025 | 5 min | No dialogue

In need of a quick mend to his work vest, a man returns to the space that fulfilled him the most.

GUIHUA (桂花), Canadian Premiere 

Yixuan Wang | China | 2026 | 11 min | English, Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles

GuiHua, a charismatic drag performer, navigates the collision of family obligation, state authority, and queer self-expression while challenging his survival within the system.

VICTORIA’S KING (VICTORIA KA RAJA), British Columbia Premiere

Ayilya Thampuran | Canada | 2026 | 24 min | English, Hindi with English subtitles

Ayilya Thampuran’s debut documentary follows Badshah, the first Bollywood

drag king in Canada.

THE DARLINGS – INTERLUDE, World Premiere

Jesse Ray McEachern | Canada | 2026 | 38 min | English with captions

Filmed over six years, Ray McEachern charts the rise of The Darlings, a Vancouver-based drag quartet composed of Continental Breakfast, Maiden China, PM (season finalist from Season 6 of Canada’s Drag Race), and Rose Butch.

Programme: AMOR (ES) CIEGO (Shorts)

SOFIA, British Columbia Premiere

Camila de Ilhéus | United States | 2025 | 10 min | English and Portuguese with English subtitles

A waxing appointment at a local spa goes wrong for Sofia, leaving her with far more (or less) than she bargained for.

MIÉNTEME, North American Premiere

Nico Blanco | United States | 2025 | 13 min | English and Spanish with English subtitles

Felipe and Catalina’s perfect wedding is turned upside down by an unexpected guest.

TODAY & TMRW, Canadian Premiere

Mariales Diaz Batista | United States | 2026 | 13 min | English, Spanish with English subtitles

Best friends Mariah and Kimberly are inseparable. Bonds are tested when Mariah fi nds Kimberly with a boy, stirring their usual rhythms together.

CRABS IN THE AIR (CANGREJOS EN EL AIRE), Canadian Premiere

Esteban Guerrero Carranco | Mexico | 2025 | 18 min | Spanish with English subtitles

Iván flees from his boyfriend seeking refuge and freedom with an old flame. The past returns to challenge them to face what was left behind.

MY GIRL (MI CHICA), Vancouver  Premiere 

Lariss de la Vega | Mexico | 2026 | 3 min | Spanish with English subtitles

Colourful, playful, and sexy, this music video by RUBIO—acclaimed Chilean singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist—offers a vibrant celebration of queer love and desire.

CHULO, International Premiere 

Joshua Hernández | Puerto Rico | 2026 |15 min | English, Spanish with English subtitles

As Gael reconnects with family and memory in Costa Rica, a chance encounter leaves a lasting impression.

FAR FAR AWAY FROM LA (DOS CONEJAS), North American Premiere

Rita Hostt , Maruja Bustamante | Argentina | 2025 | 17 min | English and Spanish with English subtitles

La Coneja learns that you can take the girl out of Argentina, but when your intense situationship is not willing to emigrate either… well…

Programme: Joy Ride (Shorts)

FIRST DEATH, Vancouver Premiere 

Alyssa Lerner | United States | 2026 | 25 min | English with captions

After a complicated first life, Soul #659 (Kimia Behpoornia) refuses to let go of the love they left behind. Their plan to reunite with Leah (Vic Michaelis) forces them to confront what it truly means to cherish a life, however brief.

FLIGHT RISK, Canadian Premiere

Mohammad Awad | Australia | 2025 | 16 min | English with captions

Muhammad’s fruity holiday plans hit turbulence when airport security accuses him of intending to join ISIS

ONE OR TWO, British Columbia Premiere

Lief Ramsaran | Canada | 2026 | 10 min | English with captions

Tobi’s visit to the optometrist captures the strange logic of moving on.

YOU AND ME MAKES THREE, Vancouver Premiere

Emmalie El Fadli | United Kingdom | 2026 | 19 min | English with captions

Welcome to the wild world of sperm donors, DIY insemination, and awkward conversations!

THEY, WITH AN AXE (ENTRÓ CON UN HACHA), British Columbia Premiere

Cande Lázaro | Spain | 2025 | 14 min | Spanish with English subtitles

Folklore, gossip, and gender collide in a witty interrogation of who gets to shape the stories we believe.

SOFIA, British Columbia Premiere

Camila de Ilhéus | United States | 2025 | 10 min | English and Portuguese with English subtitles

A waxing appointment at a local spa goes wrong for Sofia, leaving her with far more (or less) than she bargained for.