Program 5: Mélange of Shorts

“one | another” follows an evening in Los Angeles where Violet, a musician, and Frankie, a model, meet for the first time at a house show. With both of them struggling to balance their non-binary identities with the expectations of their friends, families, and careers, the two find comfort in their shared experiences as the night goes on.

In a series of vignettes, a young transmasculine adult named Remy goes about their daily life while recovering from top surgery. Afraid of judgement from others, they often have a hard time opening up about themself and being honest as to why they are really “injured”. This leads to Remy feeling isolated around various people in their life, be it their mom, Lynn, or a random person at the skatepark. However, the one person Remy can always count on is their roommate Will, who supports Remy on their journey without judgement. Throughout the film, Remy goes through many ups and downs, as they slowly begin feeling more confident in their body. This is only just the beginning of Remy’s journey.

A woman who—like everyone else at her gym—walks on the same treadmill every day is fascinated by a person with a unique workout routine. When that person switches treadmills and runs directly next to the woman, she begins questioning their destiny in her life and the monotony of her own routine.

Maya and Santiago haven’t seen each other since their explosive relationship ended years ago, so neither is expecting to be seated across from each other at a professional dinner with their new partners. Maya teeters through a minefield of delicate dynamics as she relives her most painful and electric memories. Fighting dissociation and embodied trauma, she must stay focused on showing up for her partner, Jio. As both couples contend with their realities, the past and present collide and Maya faces Santiago at last.

This is a film that dives into the depths of darkness. I created this during a time where I felt imprisoned in both my body and mind. Unknowing of how to navigate a long journey of addiction recovery and just beginning my transition. It was a darkness I had not known before. No light at the the end of the tunnel.

In a poetic mix of dance, visual narrative, and documentary, Saturn Risin9 follows queer performance artist Saturn on their return home to the Bay Area. We follow their journey of perseverance centering self discovery, affirmation, healing and creative expansion poetically told through fantastical imagery. Using diary style interviews and talk-alongs intercut with high fantasy staged performance, the film portrays Saturn’s creative transformation through their dreams, trials, career and progression.

Transgender darkwave and industrial artist, A.S. Valentino’s music video “Butch Dyke” hits hard with a dark and sexy swagger. The music video, shot and edited by videographer/creative producer Cai Indermaur, features a kaleidoscopic carousel of shots of various butch and masculine-of-center people. The track was recorded, produced, and mixed by Valentino and mastered by Jessica Thompson (Bay Area-based, GRAMMY-nominated mastering engineer).

A visual dance interpretation of the song, “Falling” by Nenci.