Confronting a bankrupt, decaying city and the dashed hopes of the civil rights generation, African-American and Latino teenagers took over the streets of 1970s New York. The South Bronx became a war zone ruled by gangs like the Savage Skulls and the Ghetto Brothers. Hypnotic archival footage and present-day interviews with former gang members reveal how peace was brokered at the peak of the bloodshed in a most unlikely manner, laying the foundation for what ultimately became hip-hop culture.

Starring: Mark Polonia, Maria Davis, Todd Carpenter, Dustin Davis, Todd Michael Smith

“Feels like it was made by a stoned sixth-grader.” – Bleeding Skull 

When a routine construction blast shakes their sleepy town, a group of locals discover that the explosion has awakened two dinosaurs from a centuries-long slumber, who soon run amok in the local woods on a rampage of terror.

Mark Polonia’s grassroots Super 8 mini-epic serves as the ultimate blue-collar counterpoint to Steven Spielberg’s $63 million dinosaur blockbuster from the previous year. Brimming with wobbly effects, puppetry, and endearing stop-motion, it distills dinosaur fantasy cinema down to its most unpolished and heartfelt essence. Assembled with the help of family, friends, Saurians is a true homespun indie gem— ultimately radiating more guts and grit than any CGI-laden spectacle.

Starring: Nicole Arianna Fox, Sam Brittan, Clifford Morts

The lives of three residents of Redlands, California, intersect and ultimately collide in this claustrophobic exploration of radical creativity, sexuality and violence in America.

Vienna (Nicole Arianna Fox, America’s Next Top Model) is a young “alternative” nude model who lives with her musician boyfriend Zack (Sam Brittan) in Redlands, California – a bleak Inland Empire city sixty miles east of Los Angeles. Controlling and hypocritical, Zack uses Vienna’s earnings to further his own musical career as Vienna attempts to build a creative life of her own. Their lives are forever changed when Vienna meets Allan (Clifford Morts), a balding middle-aged amateur glamour photographer; unemployed and recently divorced, Allan’s unassuming behavior camouflages his feelings of inadequacy and his building resentment toward others.

An arthouse take on a film noir storyline with elements of black humor, Redlands breaks all the rules of traditional American indie filmmaking — a dark voyeuristic film that slowly builds to a savage denouement.

Starring: Isabel Sandoval, Publio Briones III, Dominic Milano Palomo, Gary Lim, Richard Manabat, Stella Palomo Monteño

To make an additional $10 donation to Advocates for Trans Equality, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen.

Wishing to start a new life, Donna, a transgender sex worker in Manila, relocates to the small town where her son (who believes she is his aunt) lives. There she is drawn into a grassroots campaign to oust a crooked mayor that becomes personal.

Starring: Holly Woodlawn, Tally Brown, Suzanne Skillen, David Margulies

To make an additional $10 donation to Advocates for Trans Equality, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen.

Eternal trans icon (and Warhol superstar) Holly Woodlawn is a riot in Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers—a long-lost comedy musical that has been lovingly restored by the Academy Film Archive. Holly stars as a small-town Kansas girl who tries to make it big—or at least find a roommate—in New York City. One of the first features with a trans lead, this joyous valentine to individuality features a supporting role from Warhol scenester Tally Brown and cameos from Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin.

With bonus extended pre-show material!

To make an additional $10 donation to Advocates for Trans Equality, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen.

A moving and timely documentary following the unsolved murder of Venus Xtravaganza, star of the legendary Paris Is Burning as Venus’ two families — biological and ballroom — come together to seek answers and celebrate her legacy.

Starring: Steve Zahn, Jillian Bell, Sasha Knight, Ann Dowd

To make an additional $10 donation to Advocates for Trans Equality, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen.

Steve Zahn stars as Troy, a troubled but well-intentioned father who has recently separated from his wife Sally (Jillian Bell). Aghast at Sally’s refusal to let their trans son Joe (Sasha Knight) live as his authentic self, Troy runs off with Joe into the Montana wilderness. Meanwhile, police detective (Ann Dowd) pursues them, but her resolve about the case is tested the more she learns about Joe’s family. Cowboys, a modern day western from director Anna Kerrigan, is a tale of rescue, family betrayal and a father and son on the run.

Starring: Anna Celestino Mota, Emmanuel Rosset, Thaís Schier, Surya Amitrano, Matheus Moura, Katia Horn

To make an additional $10 donation to Advocates for Trans Equality, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen.

Alice Júnior is a transgender Youtuber who is carefree and spoiled a lot. After moving with her father to a small town where her new high school seems stuck in time, the young lady has to survive her new environment with all its prejudice in order to achieve her greatest desire: having her first kiss.

Starring: Jessi Gaston, Marten Katze, Milo Talwani

To make an additional $10 donation to Advocates for Trans Equality, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen.

A passive-aggressive tenderqueer couple sends their household into a quiet tailspin when they adopt an elderly dog with the same name as the unemployed couch surfer they just can’t seem to confront. 56 min.

Preceded by:
If you know you know (IYKYK) (Bonita Rajpurohit, 2024, India)
We follow Kusum, a trans girl on a series of dates with boys; As they find themselves trying to straddle the line of respecting her boundaries and expressing themselves and failing at it most of the time. 18 min.

SYDNEY & KIM (Hazel Katz, 2024, USA)
After 25-year old Sydney is released from the hospital following a major facial surgery, her best friend Kim cares for her at a motel during her recovery. As Kim’s flirtation with the motel manager escalates, Sydney’s resentment begins to boil over. Through intimate moments in their motel room, Sydney and Kim navigate the implicit expectations of their friendship. Shot on Super 16mm film. 16 min.

Starring: Charmaine Lee Anderson, Gus Harvey, Clark Kent, Val Martin, Jim-Ed Thompson, Joe Yale

To make an additional $10 donation to Advocates for Trans Equality, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen.

Fred Halsted, in this sexually and politically-charged film, establishes visual dialogue between intense homosexual BDSM sequences (including some with his lover Joe Yale) and trans women and drag queens at an upscale party in Los Angeles.

Preceded by:
LINDA/LES AND ANNIE (Johnny Armstrong, Albert Jaccoma, Annie Sprinkle, 1989)
A fun, unique, sexy and informative video docudrama about Les Nichols, a trans man. It includes an intimate view of the night he and Annie Sprinkle tried out his new, surgically-constructed genitalia for the first time. 32 min.

This XXX film is an important part of LGBTQ film history, and should be celebrated and viewed as such. Any inappropriate behavior during this screening will not be tolerated and will result in permanent banishment from Nitehawk Cinema. Forever. Thank you!