Watch the Winning LGBTQ+ Feature Festival Today: FRANCHESKA: PRAIRIE QUEEN, 64min., Canada, Documentary
Directed by Laura Lynn O’Grady

It’s hard to be a superstar when you have a midnight frontline shift to show up for. Francheska: Prairie Queen follows the journey of Filipino care worker Francis (Kiko) Yutrago, as he tries to achieve drag star superstardom while still financially supporting his family back in the Philippines. Adding complexity to his quest is where Kiko and his fiancé Cody choose live: a tiny bible belt town in southern Alberta, population 956.

There are two ways to watch:

#1) Watch for FREE by singing up for the 7 day free trial. You will also be able to watch both festivals (Horror Shorts & Thriller Shorts), plus upcoming daily film festivals too in that span. You can watch via ITunes, Fire Stick, or your web browser.

Simply go to http://www.wildsound.ca and sign up…

Watch the Winning LGBTQ+ Feature Festival Today: FRANCHESKA: PRAIRIE QUEEN, 64min., Canada, Documentary
Directed by Laura Lynn O’Grady

It’s hard to be a superstar when you have a midnight frontline shift to show up for. Francheska: Prairie Queen follows the journey of Filipino care worker Francis (Kiko) Yutrago, as he tries to achieve drag star superstardom while still financially supporting his family back in the Philippines. Adding complexity to his quest is where Kiko and his fiancé Cody choose live: a tiny bible belt town in southern Alberta, population 956.

There are two ways to watch:

#1) Watch for FREE by singing up for the 7 day free trial. You will also be able to watch both festivals (Horror Shorts & Thriller Shorts), plus upcoming daily film festivals too in that span. You can watch via ITunes, Fire Stick, or your web browser.

Simply go to http://www.wildsound.ca and sign up…

Tony Tranero is a Disco dancer at the end of an era, competing in a contest that could change the trajectory of his life. While preparing for this moment, he meets other dancers that are fighting their own battles that force him to confront the real politics of dancing – who gets to stand in the spotlight. Tony uses his privilege to even the playing field and invites all the dancers to a Battle Royale for a winner-take-all dance off that sets Queens ablaze.

CAST LIST:

Narrator: Hannah Ehman
DJ 12 Inches: Allan Michael

Writer Statement
I wrote ’79 to honor the last year before the world went to shit. Everything that happened after 1979 was a lie and it’s time to correct the history books once and for all. Dancing is not a white thing, or a straight thing, or a CIS thing. It never has been. It never…

Tony Tranero is a Disco dancer at the end of an era, competing in a contest that could change the trajectory of his life. While preparing for this moment, he meets other dancers that are fighting their own battles that force him to confront the real politics of dancing – who gets to stand in the spotlight. Tony uses his privilege to even the playing field and invites all the dancers to a Battle Royale for a winner-take-all dance off that sets Queens ablaze.

CAST LIST:

Narrator: Hannah Ehman
DJ 12 Inches: Allan Michael

Writer Statement
I wrote ’79 to honor the last year before the world went to shit. Everything that happened after 1979 was a lie and it’s time to correct the history books once and for all. Dancing is not a white thing, or a straight thing, or a CIS thing. It never has been. It never…

A classic noir with a twist. A self-loathing cop can’t protect his new lover without betraying himself to his fellow officers who determined to destroy his kind.

https://facebook.com/PatABrown
https://instagram.com/patrica_anne213

CAST LIST:

Narrator: Hannah Ehman
Ben: Steve Rizzo
Temple: Allan Michael

Showcase of the best FILMS in the world today.

Audience Award Winners:
Best Short Film: HOW TO EAT KIWI
Best Direction: THE LADIES
Best Cinematography: VAL (-e-ree)
Best Performances: USED FURNITURE
Best Sound & Music: FOUND YOU

Watch the Audience Feedback Video for each film:

VAL (-e-ree), 11min., USA, Drama

Directed by Samantha Levin
A firefighter suffering from agoraphobia must walk through the flames of a past trauma to step into a new life.

WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!

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HOW TO EAT A KIWI, 18min., USA, Drama

Directed by Chowoo Lee
Soo-Ah and Jae-Hee decide to eat kiwi together.

WATCH HERE – The audience feedback video of the film!

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USED FURNITURE, 10min., Canada, Drama

Directed by Conor Forrest
On an idyllic afternoon at the beach Philly faces his unrequited love for his roommate Jamie while trying to distance himself from their trio friendship.

WATCH HERE

Showcase of the best FILMS in the world today.

Audience Award Winners:
Best Feature FIlm: FRANCHESKA: PRAIRIE QUEEN
Best LGBTQ+ Film: PUZZLE IN THE PALM
Best Long Form Short Film: A BETTER PLACE
Best Short Form Short Film: METAMORPHOSIS
Best Performances: NO FATS. NO FEMMES. NO ASIANS.
Best Sound & Music: MONOCHROME
Best Cinematography: LIE NEXT TO ME
Best Direction: CARTER
Best Experimental: EXIST
Best Documentary: ONE & ONLY

Watch the Audience Feedback Video for each film:

FRANCHESKA: PRAIRIE QUEEN, 64min., Canada, Documentary

Directed by Laura Lynn O’Grady
It’s hard to be a superstar when you have a midnight frontline shift to show up for. Francheska: Prairie Queen follows the journey of Filipino care worker Francis (Kiko) Yutrago, as he tries to achieve drag star superstardom while still financially supporting his family back in the Philippines. Adding complexity to his quest is where Kiko and his fiancé Cody choose live:…

Watch the winning feature film from the Toronto LGBTQ+ Film Festival.

VALLEY OF A THOUSAND HILLS, 97min., South Africa, Drama
Directed by Bonie Sithebe
A young woman is in love with a woman, but they’re soon separated when she is forced into an arranged marriage with her lover’s brother.

Watch the Audience Feedback Video:

Project Links

• Website

Director Biography – Bonie Sithebe

Award-winning director and producer. Bonie Sithebe founded Durban Motion Pictures 15 years ago and has produced many large scale films that have been screened on several national broadcasters. She also created more than 30 highly successful television films. She holds an international production certificate. Bonie also worked as a storyliner and writer on a popular drama series. In 2019, she served as board member and treasurer for Sister’s Working in Film and Television. Bonie is an enthusiastic collaborator who has built strong relationships with industry leaders. By mentoring, she…

ONE ON ONE, 5min., USA, Drama
Directed by Jack Wolf Perry
A fierce acting coach uses intense techniques to get a performance out of his shy new student.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

Over the summer I attended Berridge Programs which includes a filmmaking course in Normandy France. One On One was my class project.

The script the characters read in One On One is actually from another short film I made a few months before. I knew that if I was going to have a script within a script, it’d be impossible to write the lines they’d be rehearsing without thinking about where I’d be breaking it apart and inserting other lines so I decided to use something already finished that I was familiar with.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to…

HOUSE AFTER, 16min,. Canada, Drama/Historical
Directed by Dustin McGladrey
House After is an Indigenous story that takes place in the 1940s in the middle of the second world war in a cabin on the west coast of Canada. We follow a grieving widow and her child as they experience the duality of living an Indigenous life and the pressures of conformity from the church.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

The film is my way of conceptualizing and dealing with my intergenerational trauma. I concluded that while at film school, I’d like to tackle my childhood and family trauma so that when I”m dealing with bigger budgets, I can deal with them in a good way. For instance, this film taught me that I must take care of myself in all aspects of pre, prod, and post. There were times on set when…