Schedule of the Event:

June 20, 2025

Opening short: Die Bully Die

OPENING NIGHT PARTY FOLLOWS THE FILM PROGRAM

Die Bully Die - 7:30pm

Seventeen years after parting ways, Max and Adam catch up over dinner in a fancy restaurant. Adam was Max’s high school bully, and Max still holds a grudge, which begins to manifest itself in horrific ways. Don’t worry, it’s a comedy!

Four Mothers - 7:30pm

Edward is a novelist who is caring for his elderly mother. He’s finally on the verge of literary success, and pressure is mounting for him to go on a U.S. book tour. Out of the blue, his friends decide to jet off to Spain for a Pride holiday and leave their mothers in his charge. Over a chaotic weekend, Edward faces a massive case of work/life balance as he juggles the demands of his career with the demands of four eccentric, combative, and wildly different mothers.

June 21, 2025

Opening short: Taper

Taper - 7:00pm

A queer Black kid who attends a predominantly White college needs a haircut. He finds a suitable Black barbershop but then feels the need to tone it down to blend in. 

Duino - 7:00pm

Matias met his first love, a Swedish boy named Alexander, when they were in boarding school in 1997. Their relationship was tender and intense, but was it truly romantic love? With the elusive Alexander, it was hard to tell. When Alexander is suddenly expelled, Matias is left with a lot of unanswered questions and unresolved feelings. Twenty-five years later, Matias is now making a film that’s loosely based on his life, and he’s looking for a new ending to the story.

Opening short: Pietra

Pietra - 9:30pm

Pierre is unhappy in his own body and can’t wait until the end of the day when he can return home from work to transform into Pietra. One evening, an elderly neighbor pays Pietra an unexpected visit. 

Sauna - 9:30pm

Johan works as a receptionist at Adonis, Copenhagen's only gay sauna, where he also spends much of his free time. For Johan, the city is a boundless paradise of bars and parties, and an endless string of one-night stands with the latest Mr. Right-for-Right-Now. Then he meets William, a transgender man, and his life is profoundly changed. As their relationship deepens, it’s strained by society’s rigid ideas about gender, love, and identity.

June 22, 2025

Opening short: You Will Find Love

FREE RECEPTION FOLLOWING THE PROGRAM

You Will Find Love - 4:00pm

Simon and Gabriel are two high school friends who reunite after many years apart and discover they have something surprising in common. 

A Culinary Uprising: The Story of Bloodroot - 4:00pm

Meet Selma Miriam and Noel Furie, two indomitable and pioneering women who founded Bloodroot, a feminist, queer, vegan restaurant and bookstore in Bridgeport. In the 1970s and 80s, there were more than 230 such spaces throughout the country. Bloodroot is now the oldest and longest lasting of them, in continuous operation for over 46 years. This remarkable documentary examines Bloodroot’s history, its place in American feminist thought, its impact on the local community, and why Bloodroot is more than just a restaurant.

Opening short: Hearts of Stone

Hearts of Stone - 7:30pm

Paula is a lonely street artist who performs every day in the park as a living statue. She yearns with an impossible love for Agatha, a stone sculpture she always stands next to. One day, Paula discovers that her beloved Agatha has been replaced by a very unromantic, abstract, modern sculpture.  

Row of Life - 7:30pm

Angela Madsen is a renowned ocean rower, Marine Corps veteran, three-time Paralympian, and fourteen-time Guinness World Record holder. This is the story of her harrowing attempt to row solo and unassisted for 2,400 miles across the Pacific Ocean, from Los Angeles to Hawaii. It’s also a poetic story of bravery, resilience, and the love between Angela and her wife, Deb, as they support each other’s dreams while separated by a vast ocean. 

June 23, 2025

Mancrush Monday: Gay Shorts

Awkward dates, hopeless crushes, and of course, hot bodies and longing looks. I'm in.

I Hope He Doesn't Kill Me - 7:30pm

Buzz waits outside the apartment building of his anonymous Grindr hookup, imagining all the awful and depraved ways this night could end. Horrified, but *****, Buzz buzzes the buzzer. And then ... 

Stimulants & Empathogens - 7:30pm

Antek, a closeted gay teen, is hopelessly in love with Kuba, his handsome young drug dealer. But Antek doesn’t know that Kuba is out to get him, and not necessarily in a romantic way. 

Revived - 7:30pm

At the end of a night out at a Jerusalem gay bar, Aaron can’t find his bag. Without it, he can’t return home. Sefi, the bartender, tries to help him. Tonight, their fates will be linked.

The Second First Kiss - 7:30pm

Emmett is new to dating men. Theo is not. After their first date ends awkwardly, can the two reconcile? 

High Diver - 7:30pm

Since early childhood, Tuan and Felix have been inseparable. However, as they train to become Olympic high divers, their budding love suffers under the weight of the competition.  

Chickenshit - 7:30pm

At the height of summer, two rowdy boys spend the afternoon tearing through the countryside when they come upon an electric fence. There they discover nature, electricity and themselves.

Arriba Beach - 7:30pm

Sam and Adele are enjoying a summer beach holiday in Portugal. But when Sam locks eyes with Miguel, there’s an instant attraction. The woods, the sea; what a perfect setting for a night of secrets and revelations. 

Your Scissors Near My Ear - 7:30pm

Desperate for a last-minute haircut the night before his wedding, a fancy client enters a cheap barbershop. But he´ll get more than he bargained for when the barber recognizes him as someone from his past.

June 24, 2025

I’ll Have What She’s Having: Lesbian Shorts

Get ready to laugh with this year's selection of hilarious lesbian shorts. Don't worry, though, there's enough heart here to prompt a few tears too.

Sunday Lunch - 7:30pm

Grace is a young lesbian from a devout Catholic family. She finally summons the courage to come out to her parents on the most sacred of family battlegrounds: Sunday lunch. What could go wrong? Everything can and does, in this hilariously over-the-top yet heartwarming farce. 

What Are We? - 7:30pm

Jess and Kayley are two platonic queer BFFs with benefits, and both are bottoms. When they have a threesome with the top of their dreams, it forces them to define their unorthodox relationship. 

Biology - 7:30pm

As Liz and Jess debate using Jess's brother as a sperm donor, Liz's true feelings about Jess's family begin to surface, sending their once-solid relationship into a nosedive. 

Take Note - 7:30pm

Ms. Amado is a middle school science teacher who finds herself caught in a delicate situation when she discovers that two teen girls in her class have a crush on each other. 

The History of the Carabiner - 7:30pm

Ah, the versatile carabiner. So many uses. So many ways to wear it. This easy, breezy documentary takes you on a quick journey through queer history as the carabiner rises from humble origins to become the “it” lesbian symbol and ultimate fashion statement.

Forza, Rea! - 7:30pm

Rea wants to deliver a love letter to her girl crush. With her roller skates on, she glides swiftly downhill toward the girl’s house, but the letter falls from her grasp and blows away. It’s a race against time and the wind as Rea dodges obstacles and attempts to retrieve the flyaway letter. 

Match Dot Mom - 7:30pm

Cass is a queer teen who has not yet come out to her parents. One night, she stumbles on her supposedly straight (and married) mother's supposedly secret TindHER profile. To make matters worse, Cass accidentally swipes right! Awkward! 

Best Before - 7:30pm

As Helena and Lainie head into their final round of IVF treatment, the stress of the unknown puts pressure on their idyllic farm life. With their chicken, Shakira, laying eggs every day, Helena decides to make it a competition. (Insert your favorite chicken joke here.) 

Sister Wives - 7:30pm

Two young women living in a strict, fundamentalist, polygamous society are bound to one another, married to the same man. In this harsh and watchful community, they develop scary, new, and exciting feelings for each other, and together they find the courage to dream of a world beyond the walls.

June 25, 2025

Opening shorts: Sorority & American Mamas

FREE RECEPTION AT 6:30PM PRIOR TO THE PROGRAM

Sorority - 7:30pm

A trans woman of color who is in the early stages of transitioning learns to accept herself when welcomed into the sorority of sisterhood in the most sacred of places, the women's restroom. 

American Mamas - 7:30pm

In the aftermath of the 2024 U.S. presidential election, three Connecticut mothers discuss their fears and share their outlook for the future with trans-activist Tony Ferraiolo. For anyone feeling helpless or scared right now, this discussion is meant to inspire hope. 

Heightened Scrutiny - 7:30pm

Chase Strangio is a formidable ACLU attorney and the first out trans person to argue before the Supreme Court. With anti-trans legislation popping up in Whack-a-Mole fashion all over the country, this timely documentary follows Strangio’s high-stakes legal battle to overturn Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. It also exposes the dangerous role of mainstream media in fueling anti-trans legislation, uncovering how biased coverage drives hate, endangers lives, and threatens democracy itself.

June 26, 2025

Opening short: ILY, BYE

ILY, BYE - 7:30pm

Unemployed and down on her luck, Siobhan is presented with a life-changing job opportunity. Unfortunately, she can't get her foot out of her mouth long enough to get her foot in the door. Starring the hysterical Megan Stalter (Hacks). 

Baby - 7:30pm

After being released from a juvenile detention center when he turns 18, Wellington finds himself alone and adrift on the streets of São Paulo. Without any contact or support from his parents, he struggles to get his life on track. Things take a turn when he meets Ronaldo, an older man, at a **** theater. At first Ronaldo serves as a substitute father and mentor for Wellington, but then the relationship becomes more complicated and turbulent. 

June 27, 2025

Opening short: Don't Go

Don't Go - 7:00pm

Imagine you’re sitting alone in a cafe, enjoying a cup of coffee while you listen to music on your earbuds. A stranger walks in, sits down at your table, greets you by name and says they’re from the future where the two of you are a couple. What do you say? 

Lesbian Space Princess - 7:00pm

Space princess Saira is devastated when her girlfriend Kiki unexpectedly dumps her. But then Kiki desperately calls for help when she’s kidnapped by a band of incels known as the Straight White Maliens. These villains are holding Kiki ransom for the one thing Saira doesn't have, her royal Labrys. With the 24-hour countdown clock ticking, Saira sets out to save her ex and win her back, despite her fears and overwhelming self-doubt.

Opening short: MAN>CODE

MAN>CODE - 9:30pm

Lucas decides to try something new when he invites Theo over for what he thought would be a no-strings-attached sexcapade. But it takes an awkward turn when his ex-girlfriend comes home early. 

Rains Over Babel - 9:30pm

In a tropical-punk twist on Dante’s Inferno, a group of misfits converges at Babel, a mythical club that doubles as Purgatory. It’s where La Flaca—the city’s Grim Reaper—presides, and where souls gamble their lives, daring to outwit Death Herself. Filled to the brim with lively music and queer joy, it’s a mesmerizing, fantastical world where life and death collide, and fates depend on a roll of the dice. Sundance called it “daring, ambitious, and stylish.”

June 28, 2025

Opening Short: The Exchange

CLOSING NIGHT PARTY FOLLOWS THE FILM PROGRAM

The Exchange - 7:00pm

Antonio and Inés are two complete strangers who arrange to meet through an app for second-hand purchases. Inés wants to sell something she no longer tolerates; Antonio wants to try it. When they meet, an odd sense of mutual understanding emerges between them.  

Perfect Endings - 7:00pm

At some point, many of us have a moment when we’re forced to rewrite our own story. In this entertaining exploration of love, freedom and self-discovery, it’s João’s turn. He’s at a crossroads. His decade-long relationship has ended so he decides to make some big changes, personally and professionally. As a wannabe filmmaker, he tries to break into the industry but ends up directing amateur erotic films instead. And he goes on an intense dating journey, where he navigates modern romance and finds inspiration for his art.

Date: June 20-28, 2025

Location:

Cinestudio - Trinity College, 300 Summit Street, Hartford, CT
Primary theater for the film festival - all in-person screenings EXCEPT Closing Saturday 6/28

Connecticut Science Center, 250 Columbus Blvd Hartford, CT
June 28 at 7:00PM - Closing Night Film (PERFECT ENDINGS) - followed by the Closing Night Party

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