Opening Night Film

Daresha Kyi, 2022, USA, 90 mins

Spread across the country but connected through private Facebook groups, they call themselves “mama bears’’ because while their love is warm and fuzzy, they fight ferociously to make the world kinder and safer for all LGBTQ+ people. Although some may have grown up as fundamentalist, evangelical Christians, mama bears are willing to risk losing friends, family, and faith communities to keep their offspring safe—even if it challenges their belief systems and rips their worlds apart. MAMA BEARS is an intimate, thought-provoking exploration of the journeys taken by Sara Cunningham and Kimberly Shappley, two “mama bears” —whose profound love for their LGBTQ+ children has turned them into fierce advocates for the entire queer community — and Tammi Terrell Morris, a young African American lesbian whose struggle for self-acceptance perfectly exemplifies why the mama bears are so vitally important.

PETE is an animated short film based on a true story about gender identity.
Lorena Gordon, Animated, 2022, USA, 6 min.

PETE is an animated short film based on a true story about gender identity.