Comedy
Events
FREAK SHOW
Billy Bloom is a transplanted gay teen whose fabulousness doesn't play so well in the red state South until he takes a stand by running for homecoming queen.
LIKE FOAM (Como la espuma)
A message circulates from mobile phone to mobile phone. A bunch of strangers meet in a mansion. They come searching for sex, but never has an orgy been so full of love. (Or feelings?)
SIGNATURE MOVE
Zaynab, a thirty-something Pakistani, Muslim, lesbian in Chicago takes care of her sweet and TV-obsessed mother. As Zaynab falls for Alma, a bold and very bright Mexican woman, she searches for her identity in life, love and wrestling.
SENSITIVITY TRAINING
Serena crosses a line with a colleague and is forced into sensitivity training with Caroline, a bubbly woman assigned to be her coach. While Serena does her best to get rid of Caroline, she may have finally met her match.
UNCLE GLORIA: ONE HELLUVA RIDE!
Uncle Gloria is a darkly funny film full of drama and family fireworks about the macho owner of an auto wrecking company in Florida who goes into hiding from the law as a woman setting off a bizarre journey of self discovery.
THE CONSTITUTION (Ustav Republike Hrvatske)
The story follows four people who live in the same building, but avoid each other because of the differences in their assets, sexual habits, nationality and religion.
THE FEELS
Andi and Lu are excited to celebrate their upcoming wedding with a joint bachelorette weekend in wine country. On the first night, things get off to a rocky start when one of the brides admits that she's never had an orgasm.
4 DAYS IN FRANCE (Jours de France)
Pierre leaves the Parisian home that he shares with his lover Paul and leaves on a seemingly endless road-trip, guided only by Grindr hook-ups and bathroom stall phone numbers.
SOME LIKE IT HOT
SOME LIKE IT HOT bucked convention and broke boundaries when it was released in the late 1950’s. Starring Marilyn Monroe and featuring Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in drag throughout the entire film, it was unlike anything cinema had seen before – and it remains a favorite to this day.
SCREWED (Pihalla)
Screwed (orig. Pihalla) is a Finnish drama film, where seventeen year old’s Miku and Elias find themselves and each other during a summer in the Finnish countryside. Love is not as easy as it seems.
DATING MY MOTHER
In this festival favorite, the complex relationship between widowed mother and single gay son is explored with comedy and sincerity. Danny is an unemployed screenwriter and has recently moved from LA to stay with his mother Joan.
A DATE FOR MAD MARY
"Mad" Mary McArdle is released from prison and tries to reconnect with friends in Drogheda. Her best friend Charlene is getting married and Mary seeks a date to bring to her wedding.
A Little Happiness Shorts (Shorts Program)
Some great comedy shorts.
Kiss Me (Embrasse-Moi!)
Kiss Me! is an ordinary rom-com with a typical rom-com story … except it is about lesbians. Brava! It is about time lesbians were featured in a feel-good romcom, and we can thank French comedian and director, Océane Rose Marie for the good time. The story centers around Océanerosemarie (yep, that’s her name), a chiropractor with a big heart and a very active sex life.
Kill the Monsters
Three hunky men in a polyamorous relationship - Frankie (the young one), Patrick (the practical one), and Sutton (the hot, impulsive one) - travel across the country to start a new life. One of the most unique films of the festival, the story is about the “democracy” of a triad and the men’s belief that, no matter what, this is the best and only way to have a successful relationship.
Freelancers Anonymous
Billie is in a dead-end job that she hates, is engaged to Gayle whom she adores and is wound up tighter than a top. When she has a chemically induced epiphany, she quits her job and makes a dramatic exit, only to realize she has no job, a wedding to plan, and a fiancé who is going to be super pissed.
Lez Bomb
Thanksgiving is a blessed time of celebrating the ties that bind and the love of family, the perfect time to make memories and share precious moments, together. Thus, the perfect time to drop the “lez bomb.” If only Lauren’s family wasn’t completely nuts!
White Rabbit
Recently single, Korean-born LA artist Sophia Lee devotes herself to her public performance art, whether it’s a provocative Korean perspective on the LA Riots at a park or supermarket, or quirky digital art on social media. Meanwhile, when a stranger makes Sophia late for a TaskRabbit gig, she loses her temper, only to run into her repeatedly and discover a strong connection.
Fun In Your Shorts
Lighten your mood with this quirky collection of seven short films.
Sell By – {Opening Night}
A charming ensemble comedy with a great cast and lots of fun! Adam and his insta-gay boyfriend Marklin have been together for five years. They love each other, but … their relationship is so bored and aimless, they consider marriage just because “it’s time.” The women in their lives are their best friends. They are caring and devoted and have their own love issues.
Trick
Let’s revisit aspiring Broadway songwriter Gabriel and hot go-go dancer Mark on their quest through the streets of New York, looking for places to seal the deal. Trick made Miss Coco Peru a household name with her infamous bathroom warning… “It burns!”
Same But Different: A True New Zealand Love Story
Single mom Rachel is fresh, funny and ready to “get back out there” after several years of chaste devotion to her job and her family. She gets the surprise of her life when she attends a Māori film festival and lays eyes on filmmaker Nikki Si’ulepa.
The Shiny Shrimps (Les Crevettes pailletées)
Not since Priscilla, Queen of the Desert have queer men had so much fun on a bus. And that’s just part of this hilarious film about a flamboyant amateur water polo team on its way to the Gay Games. Add in a straight Olympic swimmer ordered to coach them as penance for a televised homophobic remark.
Six Characters in Search of a Play – w/ Del Shores
Del Shores is a consummate storyteller. In this cinematic version of his staged performance, Del opens the secret vault of his memory and shares six characters whom we have not met, but whom those of us from the south certainly know.
Straight Up
A highly entertaining romantic comedy with a twist: a love story without the thrill of copulation. Hyper-articulate, obsessive compulsive gay twenty-something Todd (Sweeney) wants to try being straight. Not because he thinks being gay is bad. He just thinks he is bad at being gay.
Benjamin
In this charming romance, Benjamin is a young filmmaker in London, boyishly handsome, awkwardly brilliant, full of self-doubt. He must navigate the pretentious local arts scene to build his career, and his love life sucks. He bogs himself and others down in obscure philosophical banter.
An Almost Ordinary Summer (Croce e delizia)
When two grandfathers from different backgrounds fall in love, telling their families is the last hurdle before their wedding. What better way to get it over with than to bring them all, unsuspecting, to neighboring beach houses, drop the bomb and watch the fireworks begin?
Suzanne Westenhoefer in Tampa
Suzanne never does the same show twice. She can’t. She doesn’t write anything down. She charges boldly onto the stage and what happens is always a mystery and a delight. So if you have seen her before, never fear, she has new and fun stories and observations every day! Be prepared for 90 minutes of laughter and fun!
TIGLFF: Next Scene – FREE!
A new initiative to offer viewing and filmmaking experiences to our younger audience members who live their lives online and stream On Demand. We are offering opportunities for these young filmmakers, activists, and audience members.
Tickle In Your Shorts
Lighten your mood with this quirky collection of eleven short films.
SHORTS PROGRAM #3: MIXED SIGNALS
These sly and sardonic shorts prove that technology can’t improve our relationships when it comes to the confusion spawned by human flaws in communication
SHORTS PROGRAM #2: WILDEST DREAMS
Oh the places you’ll go… with these sexy, sensual, surreal, and silly journeys into the subconscious.
SHORTS PROGRAM #1: RITES OF PASSAGE
From birthdays and bat mitzvahs to prom dates and expiration dates, this bittersweet program celebrates those special occasions that leave indelible impressions on a life’s journey from adolescence to adulthood
A SKELETON IN THE CLOSET (TODOS TENEMOS UN MUERTO EN EL PLACARD O UN HIJO EN EL CLOSET)
Peak inside a playfully loving family and their coming out, coming-of-age, and coming around discoveries as they unravel their long-held layers of prejudice and pride.
ELLIE & ABBIE (& ELLIE’S DEAD AUNT)
Move over Cinderella… this modern queer fairytale belongs to Ellie who has her very own fairy godmother in the form of her reincarnated Aunt Tara appearing just in the nick of time to give advice to Ellie who is coming out to her mother and trying to pursue Abbie, the girl of her dreams at school.
BREAKING FAST
Cocooned in strict Muslim beliefs about family, faith, and food, Mo – an adorably shy gay doctor in postbreak-up mode – cautiously expands his comfort zone during Ramadan to connect with Kal, an All-American gay actor who happens to speak Arabic and make great mloukieh (jute stew).
DRAMARAMA
In this bittersweetly nostalgic drama-rama-com set in 1994, pop-culture references and witty wordplay are as plentiful as clues in a mystery novel when five high school theater friends dress up in costumes for one final murder mystery party before they leave for college.
STAGE MOTHER
Stage Mother delivers the ultimate wish-fulfillment fantasy for any misfit who longs for their parent’s unconditional approval. This feel-good, laugh-out-loud, sing-along comedy proves that it is never too late to change your mind, change your views, and change your life.
SHORTS PROGRAM #5: IDENTITY CRISIS
It’s not me…it’s YOU. These perceptive shorts show that sometimes the only identity crisis that’s going on is the one that’s happening in someone else’s judgmental mind.
SHORTS PROGRAM #4: DESPERATE MEASURES
When up against formidable odds, these truth-seekers discover that the ultimate battle is waged within their own minds and, to win a sense of peace, they must out-maneuver themselves.
ALICE JÚNIOR
In this uber hip, pop culture film laced with electrifying emojis, the stunningly gorgeous Anna Celestino Mota stars as Alice Junior - a high octane social influencer and Teen Top Model trans girl – who panics when she finds she must move to the Brazilian hinterlands to attend a Catholic school.
GIVE OR TAKE
When a disillusioned New Yorker’s father dies, he goes home to Cape Cod and prepares the house for sale while sharing it with his father’s temperamental live-in boyfriend. Grieving, they circle each other, butt heads, and are forced to negotiate how to remember the man they both loved.
FIRST BLUSH
When a young married couple becomes involved with another woman, they learn to navigate the emotional intricacies of a polyamorous relationship in this tenderly told, relatable story about the pursuit of love.
Language Lessons – Opening Night Film
Natalie Morales directs this charming feature film that she stars in alongside Mark Duplass, her co-writer, to tell a story that is extremely timely and and underscores the importance of human connection in this technologically isolating time.
Mascarpone
Antonio is a 30-year-old family man, whose life finds an unexpected twist when he's suddenly dumped by his husband, whom he depends both psychologically and economically.
Nimby
Mervi and Kata, a lesbian couple living in Helsinki, are considering coming out of the closet but when they visit Mervi’s hometown and family, all hell breaks loose.
Nora Highland
Based on out-actor Ryan Spahn's play of the same name and shot entirely on computers during the Covid-19 Pandemic, Nora Highland, follows the casting process of a notable gay character in an upcoming Broadway revival.
Between Them (Toutes les deux)
This tongue-in-cheek homage to spy thrillers and screwball comedies follows a lesbian private eye who is hired by a desperately jealous Russian professor to follow his wife who he is convinced is cheating on him. Having to travel to Montreal for the stakeout, she must sleep in her car since most hotels in Montreal were closed during lockdown.
Kiss Me Kosher
When two generations of Israeli women fall for a German and a Palestinian, chaos follows in this romantic misadventure crossing all borders.
Dreams and Nightmares – Shorts Program
A series of shorts in the Fantasy/Horror/Comedy genre.
It’s A Queer World After All…Shorts Program
A series of international shorts.
Potato Dreams of America
Wes Hurley’s autobiographical dark comedy about growing up gay in the Soviet Union and emigrating to America with his mail-order bride mother is divided into two strikingly different halves featuring two different pairs of actors playing the nick-named Potato and his mother.
Glob Lessons – Closing Night Film
Move over Felix and Oscar, the latest odd couple is Alan and Jesse, two mismatched strangers who are paired together by a children’s theater company to perform low-budget productions of Robin Hood and A Christmas Carol in elementary schools.