Starring: Tim Kinsella, Spencer Jording, Caleb Cabrera

A maladjusted father, his non-binary child Tavi, and a stranger out on parole are all seeking connection in director Brielle Brilliant’s feature debut. When Tavi and the older man begin to form a sweet yet unconventional friendship, they raise concern and suspicion from everyone around them.

Winner of the U.S. Narrative Jury Award at Outfest LA, Firstness delivers a singular, fantastical world with a dreamy rhythm that is not to be missed.

Preceded by the following short film:
Joychild
Dir. Aurora Brachman, USA, 6 mins
A young child tells their mother “I’m not a girl” for the first time

Starring: Will Krisanda, Tracy Kowalski, Denise Turkan, Leontine White Foster, Faith Eileen Bryan, D”Lo

Struggling actor X’s lesbian bowling league Lavender League Bowling Club is the only thing keeping his head in the right lane as he faces the daily struggles of demanding auditions, demeaning roles, and shady characters. But when the team’s matriarch and captain unexpectedly passes away and an intriguing stranger arrives, X finds himself on a new journey toward introspection, acceptance, and love.

Made by a predominantly trans cast and crew, Lyle Kash’s confident directorial debut announces the arrival of an authentic, idiosyncratic new voice in contemporary LGBTQ+ cinema. Death and Bowling shows off Kash’s thoughtful and boundary-breaking approach to storytelling — a real game-changer.

Preceded by the following short film:
The Young King
Dir. Larin Sullivan, USA, 6 mins
A drag king gets ready to meet daddy

Starring: La Prohibida, Marc Ferrer, Marga Sardà, Maria Sola, Saya Solana, Alvaro Lucas Estada, Gregorio Sanz, Paco Serrano, Samantha Hudson

Marcos is a struggling director desperate to produce his low-budget queer take on Italian Giallo thrillers. But when the cast and crew begin to die gruesome deaths, he becomes both a prime suspect for investigators and the killer’s potential next target.

Marc Ferrer’s vibrant horror-comedy melds mystery and unabashed pastiche with an early Almodóvarian sense of humor. Featuring Spanish icons including Samantha Hudson and La Prohibida, CUT! is a rollicking meta slasher showcasing the weird, wonderful world of queer artists in Spain and Catalonia.

Starring: St. Vincent, Carrie Brownstein, Dakota Johnson, Ezra Buzzington

From real-life friends Annie Clark (a.k.a. Grammy award-winning recording and touring artist St. Vincent) and Carrie Brownstein (Portlandia, Sleater-Kinney) comes the metafictional account of two creative forces banding together to make a documentary about St. Vincent’s music, touring life, and on-stage persona. But they quickly discover unpredictable forces lurking within subject and filmmaker that threaten to derail the friendship, the project, and the duo’s creative lives.

Starring: Cecilia Milocco, Albin Grenholm, Alexander Salzberger, Krister Kern

The Future of Film is Female presents a preview screening of Frida Kempff’s debut feature film, Knocking. To make an additional $10 donation to The Future of Film is Female, select the “Event + Donation” ticket on the checkout screen.

After suffering a traumatic incident, Molly (Cecilia Milocco) moves into a new apartment to begin her path to recovery, but it’s not long after her arrival that a series of persistent knocks and screams begin to wake her up at night. Molly’s new life begins to unravel as the screams intensify and no one else in the building believes or is willing to help her.

Knocking will be in cinemas on October 8, VOD October 19.

Starring: Mark Duplass, Natalie Morales, Desean Terry, Christine Quesada

When Adam’s (Mark Duplass) husband surprises him with weekly Spanish lessons, he’s unsure about where or how this new element will fit into his already structured life. But when tragedy strikes, his Spanish teacher, Cariño (Natalie Morales), becomes a lifeline he didn’t know he needed. Adam develops an unexpected and complicated emotional bond with Cariño–but do you really know someone just because you’ve experienced a traumatic moment with them? Bittersweet, honest, and at times darkly funny, Language Lessons is a disarmingly moving exploration of platonic love.

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Sofia Boutella, Nick Cassavetes, Bill Moseley, Tak Sakaguchi, Yuzuka Nakaya

In the treacherous frontier city of Samurai Town, a ruthless bank robber (Nicolas Cage) is sprung from jail by wealthy warlord The Governor (Bill Moseley), whose adopted granddaughter Bernice (Sofia Boutella) has gone missing. The Governor offers the prisoner his freedom in exchange for retrieving the runaway. Strapped into a leather suit that will self-destruct within five days, the bandit sets off on a journey to find the young woman–and his own path to redemption.

Starring: Mercedes Morán, Graciela Borges, Leonora Balcarce

This Argentinean tale, which revolves around a group of families passing summer vacation in a rural country house, does not rely on a concrete plot line, but rather roves, rambles, and stumbles upon each new event. No event, no action, no exchange of words, no scene of the movie is more or less important than another. Instead, the film continues nonsequentially in what feels like a prolonged wait.

Starring: György Cserhalmi, Vera Pap, Gyula Szabo, Mari Szemes

Restoration from the original 35mm camera negative!

One of the great psychedelic masterpieces of world animation, Son of the White Mare is a swirling, color-mad maelstrom of mythic monsters and Scythian heroes, part-Nibelungenlied, part-Yellow Submarine, lit by jagged bolts of lightning and drenched in rivers of blue, red, gold and green. A massive cosmic oak stands at the gates of the Underworld, holding seventy-seven dragons in its roots; to combat these monsters, a dazzling white mare goddess gives birth to three heroes – Treeshaker and his brothers – who embark on an epic journey to save the universe.

Starring: Nita-Josee Hanna, Owen Myre, Adam Brooks, Alexis Kara Hancey, Matthew Ninaber, Rick Amsbury

Siblings Mimi and Luke unwittingly resurrect an ancient alien overlord who was entombed on Earth millions of years ago after a failed attempt to destroy the universe. They nickname the evil creature Psycho Goreman (or PG for short) and use the magical amulet they discovered to force him to obey their childish whims. It isn’t long before PG’s reappearance draws the attention of intergalactic friends and foes from across the cosmos and a rogues’ gallery of alien combatants converges in small-town suburbia to battle for the fate of the galaxy.