LOLO was born out of an idea and a collective need to tell stories about gender diversity in contexts where they are usually not visible. With the idea of decentralizing culture, identities, the economy, and different ways of living, in other words, speaking about the periphery from the periphery.With this short film, we propose to talk about gender perspective from a non-binary viewpoint, from those who do not identify as male or female and who also need to be included in conversations about gender equality or parity, by recognizing them not only in the legal sphere but also within society, as gender is a spectrum of multiple possibilities.For me, LOLO is a declaration of the urgency to reflect individually and collectively on gender, where thinking collectively will propel us individually.Ana Gabriela Gutiérrez Salgado is "(CDMX, 1987) Documentarian, writer, and director. Ex-participant of DocuLab.5 in Guadalajara and Buenos Aires DocLab. Ana works with collectives like Candela Cine and La Sandía Digital. She’s directed documentaries such as "Y ES ASÍ (…)" and "LISTA DE ESPERA" -3rd prize, PROCINE 19S contest-. Her short film "PERSONARE" won the Audience Award at Reto DocsMx 2015. LOLO is her first fiction short film.

English

LOLO

LOLO lives alone in Xochimilco and strives to maintain the harvest of a chinampa farm that belonged to their grandfather. Despite the calmness among the crops, LOLO doesn't feel free to cultivate their true self. One afternoon at the street market, LOLO reunites with an old friend, KAT. In her company, LOLO discovers an open space where they can feel free to be who they are.

A dreamy boy, a seamstress aunt and the power of imagination intertwine in a magical journey of self-discovery and boundless creativity.

Imagine

Gabriela and Julia are going through a moment of transformation in their relationship: the friendship is becoming something more. However, all the romantic atmosphere is destroyed when Gabriela goes into a trance. Julia, not knowing what to do, needs to call the neighbor to help with her crush's crisis. Rastricinha and Caim are two trans individuals who connected through the association of trans professionals in the audiovisual field - APTA. Rastricinha is a screenwriter and filmmaker who made her first film in 2023, Erê: Child in Axé. She invited Caim, director and photographer of 'Workshop of the Devil' (2020), to join this production, focused on trans and dissident creativity, rethinking imaginaries through screens. Bringing a vibrant and underrepresented Brazilian essence to the screens.

Parla Italiano

Gabriela and Julia are going through a moment of transformation in their relationship: the friendship is becoming something more.

Roland Barthes in his seminal book 'La Chambre Claire' finds the essence of photography in its puncture of time. The past comes alive and confronts us like a sensuous being. The photograph serves as an index of intractable reality, an authenticating evidence of time, a testimony of truth. But whose sense of time and truth does a photograph index? In my project, ‘Queer Childhoods’, conversations with queer individuals about their childhood photographs makes clear that imbricated in the ‘record’ of photographs are embedded silences and ghostly spectres of uncaptured subjectivities. Imaginaries that you cannot see but can only listen to.In the frontispiece of Barthes’ book is a photograph by Daniel Boudinet, simply titled 'Polaroïd, 1979'. In the image, through the diaphaneity of the curtain, appears the soft edges of a bed and a cushion in a barely visible room. In this work, I draw these curtains as the symbolic surface for the photograph. Behind the facade of Boudinet’s curtain lies domesticity with its soft-edged clarity mired in darkness. How do we enter this domestic space of photography? Does the image lie beyond the photograph and can a voice enter an image? Is it possible to listen to a photograph? Mayank Agarwal, I am an artist-researcher whose interest lies in the domain of photography, video and image-making practices. My explorations into media practice emanates from a critical scholarly lens but also aligns and attunes itself with experiences of marginalisation. In both my research methodology and media practice, I have been developing a participatory approach that prioritises an ethics of listening in studying visuality. For the past year, I have been a fellow at Sarai-CSDS, Delhi; part of a months-long artist workshop with Studio CAMP and a grantee for the 2024 Gender-Bender Festival, a joint project between Sandbox Collective and Goethe-Institut, Bangalore.

Boudinet's Curtain

In Queer Childhoods, conversations about childhood photographs reveal how images hold silence and unseen subjectivities. Inspired by Roland Barthes’s La Chambre Claire and Daniel Boudinet’s Polaroïd, 1979, this work treats the curtain as a symbolic photographic surface. Behind its softness lies domestic darkness. Can one enter this space? Can a voice inhabit an image? Can we listen to a photograph?

Closet Monster is an experimental horror-fantasy film that reimagines the “monster in the closet” through the LGBTQIA+ idea of “coming out.” Inspired by the director’s own journey of discovering sexuality and gender, and their love of horror cinema, the film explores how the figure of the monster becomes both mirror and companion in self-acceptance. Bruny Derotzi is a non-binary person with a background in theater and currently a film student. They have been working in audiovisual since 2018 when they started making independent and experimental productions in various roles on the team, such as the experimental documentary Morada das Ixtranhas, where they were the Assistant Director. Closet Monster is their directorial debut.

Closet Monster / Monstra do Armário

The Youth must confront the anxieties created by something hiding inside their closet.

This poetic film takes us on an emotional journey of a girl contemplating death. Her jump from the edge allows her to fly around and meet different people. These encounters challenge her perspective on her narrative in life, death and transformation.

On the edge of life, I saw a film

This poetic film takes us on an emotional journey of a girl contemplating death.

Phoenix Rising

Virtual Admission

Donation to {{name}}

Donate

Gift Cards

None available

Memberships

These are all the memberships tied to your account. Now, use our online schedule to reserve tickets. You can access your tickets via {{my_tickets_link|"My Tickets"}} or via the PDFs attached to each ticket order confirmation email. {{buy_membership_link|Looking to buy more memberships?}}

These are all the passes tied to your account. Now, use our online schedule to reserve tickets. You can access your tickets via {{my_tickets_link|"My Tickets"}} or via the PDFs attached to each ticket order confirmation email. {{buy_pass_link|Looking to buy more passes?}}

By purchasing a pass you receive tickets to view all seven film categories. 

Passes

Global South Trans, Intersex, and Nonbinary Stories Unleashed

JAHA Film Festival celebrates trans, intersex & nonbinary filmmakers from the Global South. We reclaim our stories & amplify our voices through cinema, centering Palestinian liberation as intrinsic to collective freedom. A radical, joyful act of resistance.

Here's what's coming up soon. Can't make it? No sweat. Many live streams will be available for on-demand viewing as well.