SWIMMING IN THE DARK

Pin Ru Chen, 2022, Taiwan, 27 min.
In this beautifully shot short film by Pin Ru Chen, the middle school pool is the setting of a watery emotional landscape between Wen and Ann. As they prepare for a swim competition, life’s pressures take their toll on the girls individually and on their close relationship. Swimming in the Dark is a bittersweet portrayal of both the ephemerality and eternality of young love. (Karin Wolf)

JEWELLE: A JUST VISION

Madeline Lim, 2022, USA, 64 min.
Dorothy Allison (Bastard Out of Carolina,) says of Jewell Gomez’s The Gilda Stories, “Why hadn’t it occurred to anybody that the perfect vampire would be a Black Lesbian?” Why, indeed! After graduating from Columbia School of Journalism Jewelle started writing poetry and plays, finally finding her true voice through the Conditions Collective and with that voice, an activist was born. When Jewelle wrote a short story about a vampire, Audre Lorde told her the story should be a novel. The Gilda Stories opened up a whole new genre of Afrofuturism, earning multiple awards and notoriety for Jewelle. Jewelle has said that speculative fiction is activism because “you have to imagine a better world to get to a better world.” Produced by the Queer Women of Color Arts Project with a gorgeous soundtrack featuring Toshi Reagon, Melanie DeMore and Ferron, filmmaker Madeline Lim weaves a celebration of a Lesbian icon with a poignant overview of the history of LGBT rights and the power of art as an agent of social change. (Sunny Hall)