Starred Up

Collection of six short films from director Ohm Phanphiroj. Includes his acclaimed "Desire" trilogy (The Deaf Boy's Disease, The Space Between Us, and The Last Kiss) as well as three self-starring documentary films (Journey, The Meaning Of It All, and The First Conversation Between Frank And I).

"An Affirmative Act" is pro-gay marriage film, starring Charles Durning, Eric Etebari, Costas Mandylor, Rachael Robbins, and Blanche Baker, about a lesbian couple where one pretends to be a man in order for the two to get married and equal benefits. A slice of life of a young, professional married couple with their darling baby turns a sharp, dark corner when the pair are arrested and charged with several counts of fraud. The reason: Terry and Samantha Succi aren't the man and woman that they purported to be... Terry and Samantha married under false pretenses, ignoring state law that discriminates against homosexual partners and prohibits them from receiving the same rights and benefits as their straight counterparts.

OPEN is a hallucinogenic journey through gender, identity, the body, love and how those can be shared by two people. The film consists of interlocking stories lines- the first about two trans women in a pandrogynous relationship in which they simultaneously receive plastic surgery treatments to mirror each other's features to ideally form into a single person. The second story follows a trans man and his new (cisgender) boyfriend as they run away from home and push against their own personal boundaries while dealing with his unexpected pregnancy.

After decades behind bars, three men set out to prove success can lie on the other side of tragedy. Follows the stories of Harrison, Noel, and Chris as they return home from San Quentin State Prison. After spending most of their lives incarcerated, they are forced to reconcile their perception of themselves with a reality they are unprepared for. Each struggles to overcome personal demons and reconstruct their fractured lives. Grappling with day-to-day challenges and striving for success, they work to reconnect with family and provide for themselves for the first time in their adult lives. Told in an unadorned vérité style, we experience the truth of their heartaches and triumphs. As their stories unfold over weeks, months and years, the precarious nature of freedom after incarceration in America is revealed.

The Male Gaze is a new series of releases from New Queer Visions that showcases short LGBTQ films from across the world. The first instalment, First Kiss, brings together five shorts that are based around men experiencing romantic and/or sexual interaction with other men for the first time. It takes in films from Sweden, Indonesia, USA, Australia and France giving a rounded look at how similar experiences are depicted across the world. The films are: Naked [Naken] (2013); Pria (2017); Walk With Me (2018), One Night Only (2018); Michel's Mouse [Tapette] (2016).

In this thoughtful Scandinavian drama, a teenage boy wrestles with his sexuality and learns that most of his deepest fears were unfounded. Sebastian is almost 17 when he figures out that he is a homosexual. Though he lives with wonderful, stable parents and has a good-hearted sister, he finds himself wracked with turmoil and suddenly withdraws from them all. The more they try to understand why, the more distant Sebastian becomes. Things get worse when he falls in love with the handsome Ulf, who comes from an unstable, tempestuous home. Sebastian realizes he is lucky, but still can't help but become irritated when he brings Ulf home for dinner. His parents are too nice and this quietly infuriates their son. Eventually they leave the two boys alone in the house. Sebastian have great fun doing teenage guy stuff, but then they take a bath together and it is then that Sebastian tries to kiss Ulf.

17-year-old Jakob wants nothing more than to feel alive. Uncontrollable anxiety attacks prevent him from doing so and force him to escape into virtual worlds. One night, he meets 26-year-old Kristjan in a cam chat. Their encounter marks the beginning of a transpersonal journey to the wounds of their souls.

When a young hiker encounters a sexy stranger deep in the woods, suddenly, nothing is what it seems. A novice hiker exploring a lush forest with the help of a smart phone application, is closely watched by a host of wild animals. Choosing a path less traveled he encounters a mysterious and sexy stranger. As their paths cross, the game changes and an innocent exploration of the forest becomes a much more dangerous and exciting experience.

A young gay man grows increasingly entangled in the marriage of an older couple.

Lars, a male nurse from Saarbrücken, moves to Berlin with his lover, Roland. They begin to renovate an apartment and their happiness seems almost complete. What Roland doesn’t know is that, while secretly checking out Berlin’s night life, Lars is also experimenting with a deadly poison.

Chile, 1970. During a night of heavy drinking, Jaime, a lonely 20-year-old young man, is sentenced to prison. There, he meets “The Stallion”, an older and respected man in whom he finds protection, and from whom he learns about love and loyalty. But as their relationship grows stronger, “The Stallion” faces the violent power struggles within the prison.