Welcome to the USA (Feature Film): Approved for a Green Card to emigrate to the U.S., Aliya navigates her life in Kazakhstan as an independent, lesbian woman for the last time.

Body So Fluorescent (Short Film): Two friends have a falling out after a night of dancing.

About the Pairing:

Welcome to the USA and Body So Fluorescent tell very different, almost opposing stories about modern experiences of LGBTQ identities, highlighting aspects that are rarely seen on screen.

Through Aliya, Welcome to the USA explores the complexities of “home” and the conflicting feelings that arise from leaving behind everything, and everyone, you’ve ever known, even when it’s the only way to live your truth.

Body So Fluorescent, by contrast, shines a light on the toxic, and all too common, power structures that exist even within oppressed communities, and forces a conversation that is as difficult as it is necessary. The film directly confronts the elements of racism and the appropriation of black female identities within the white gay community, and underscores that remaining silent only allows these harmful dynamics to fester, both in friendships and in society.

- Devin Hartley