2021 Damn These Heels Queer Festival

SHORTS PROGRAM 1: THROUGH THE CRACKS

Expired July 19, 2021 5:59 AM
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10 films in package
ALL THOSE SENSATIONS IN MY BELLY
While transitioning from male to female gender, Matia struggles with finding a genuine intimate relationship with a heterosexual man.
PERSONALS
An unexpected connection during an anonymous encounter pushes two socially anxious loners to risk vulnerability and find the intimacy they both yearn for.
THE BEAUTY PRESIDENT
"If a bad actor can be president, why not a good drag queen?" In 1992, Joan Jett Blakk made a historic bid for the White House as one of the first openly queer write-in candidates. Today, Terence Smith, the man behind the persona, reflects back on his place in gay rights history at the height of the AIDS crisis.
Closed captions available
HEAVEN REACHES DOWN TO EARTH
After Tau comes to a realization about their sexuality, it sets in motion a cascade of thoughts and emotions in Tumelo - nothing will ever be the same between them.
THE LETTER
The Letter is a film about letters: individual letters, epistolary letters, letters addressed to friends, to fathers, to neighbors, to lovers, and to passengers on that airplane, the one currently flying above your head.
Closed captions available
TORCH SONG
An XXY adolescent is rejected by his father at a suburban burning man ceremony.
Closed captions available
UNFOLD
Fragments of a lost relationship come alive after a glance.
THE NIGHT TRAIN
Oskar is on the night train, heading home after an interview in Stockholm. With a long night ahead of him, he makes eye contact with Ahmad.
DREAMER
For Fran, Los Angeles is where dreams come true. In his mind, it is where he will be allowed to pursue his passion for makeup and fashion. As he saves enough money for the move, he documents his journey through YouTube. However, Fran learns that following one's dream is a privilege not everyone has.
THROUGH THE CRACK - Post-Film Q&A
Director of Programming Ash Hoyles discusses with filmmakers from The Letter, Dreamer, The Night Train, and All Those Sensations In My Bell
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The short films in Through The Cracks are waiting for you somewhere in between. In vibrant, distinct shades of grey these stories exist in liminal space, where queerness feels most ripe and most right. Stories of those people, places, and experiences that are by definition undefinable constitute this program, defying categorization and proving the true value and energy in bursting out of binaries.

A soft and sensual exploration of queer desire and becoming, this film immerses the viewer into the dream-like liminal space of a night train. Oskar (Erik Nilsson) boards the train following an interview and locks eyes with another young man, Ahmad (Khalil Ben Gharbia). The pair of far-away-lovers submerge in this epicurean reality and even the smallest gestures begin to inspire intense attraction and wonder. As the train continues along its course and Oskar and Ahmed find most other passengers asleep, their desires are laid bare.


Tender and wistful, The Night Train is a queer transformation of the meet-cute, in which the velvet night and the movement of the train make a home for two young people to discover each other and themselves. What occurs on the sleepy Swedish train car is beautiful and transformative, and as the powerful imagery and stripped-down narrative cover us in the same longing night as the young men, we are left to reminisce on the power of a single glance.


Inspired by Swedish writer and director Jerry Carlsson's memories of youth and desire, Nattåget (The Night Train), premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, was a selection at the Valladolid International Film Festival, and most recently was a selection of BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival.


– Cameron Asharian, Damn These Heels programming committee member

  • Year
    2020
  • Runtime
    15 minutes
  • Language
    Swedish
  • Country
    Sweden
  • Premiere
    Utah Premiere
  • Rating
    Not Rated
  • Director
    Jerry Carlsson
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