
Viewer's Guide: "Butch Please" contains nudity. Please be informed before watching or purchasing.
Here is a 115-min collection of five long-form documentaries from around the world.
BUTCH PLEASE: An exploration of gay masculinity at the 2019 International Mr. Leather convention. Butch Please challenges the media’s gay stereotypes, which represent only a part of the larger LGBTQ community - one where masculine gay men have gone too long without a voice. Interviewees include celebrated gay leathermen, POC, trans leathermen and judges for the International Mr. Leather contest.
ELEVEN WEEKS: Carla Jean Johnson accepts her fast and aggressive cancer diagnosis with clarity and grace while photographer Anna Kuperberg, her long time wife, documents their final days and weeks together. With mesmerizing footage and intimate recordings of the couple’s final conversations, Eleven Weeks is a story more about love than death.
STAND UP, STAND OUT: This is the story of a unique brand of activism belonging only to San Francisco--where three gay teachers’ fight for equal rights during the burgeoning Gay Liberation Movement of the 1970s, led to the blossoming of the Valencia Rose Cabaret, Café, and Restaurant, believed to be the first and only gay-owned and operated comedy club in the USA. At a dark historical moment, it was a locus of resistance through laughter. Stand Up, Stand Out features Tom Ammiano, Karen Ripley, Monica Palcacios, Danny Williams, Dirk Alphin, Paul Boneberg, and the song stylings of Romanovsky & Phillips.
A JOB LIKE ANY OTHER: Pierre is an ordinary 55 years old man, solitary and very shy. He lives in his tidy and quiet apartment surrounded by his favorite figurine collections. However, his job is far from his low profile type. He’s been a Drag Queen Barmaid for the past 30 years, a hard and restrictive work he never really chose. But for him, it’s a job like any other. Pierre passed away suddenly on June 2020. This film now pays tribute to his life and his Drag Queen character Aunt Gaby.
MAN UP IN LOCKDOWN: Exploring non-binary identity, Man Up in Lockdown is a short documentary that follows Richard Energy, a provocative digital drag king born at the start of the pandemic, who manages to get their job back on stage just as the second lockdown threatens. This timely and moving film examines what it means to be an artist, driven by creativity and a desperate need to perform, at a time when live venues across the UK are on the brink.
NORTH CAROLINA PREMIERE!
Exploring non-binary identity, Man Up in Lockdown is a short documentary that follows Richard Energy, a provocative digital drag king born at the start of the pandemic, who manages to get their job back on stage just as the second lockdown threatens. This timely and moving film examines what it means to be an artist, driven by creativity and a desperate need to perform, at a time when live venues across the UK are on the brink.
OFFICIAL SELECTION!
San Diego International ShortsFest
Director Biography - Ruicheng Liang
Ruicheng is a passionate Chinese documentary filmmaker based in London. Comfortable making docs of any genre, over the past few years, he's developed a strong observational style in making character-driven films and have expertise in photography and journalism. Aiming to question the neglected issues in society and celebrate love and passion, his films discuss social injustice, family and migration, arts and crafts, and LGBTQ+. His work has won Quarantine Award at San Diego International ShortsFest, and has been selected into Architecture & Design Film Festival, TweetFest and Walthamstow International Film Festival.
- Year2021
- Runtime20 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited Kingdom
- PremiereNorth Carolina Premiere
- DirectorRuicheng Liang
- ScreenwriterRuicheng Liang
- ProducerRuicheng Liang





Viewer's Guide: "Butch Please" contains nudity. Please be informed before watching or purchasing.
Here is a 115-min collection of five long-form documentaries from around the world.
BUTCH PLEASE: An exploration of gay masculinity at the 2019 International Mr. Leather convention. Butch Please challenges the media’s gay stereotypes, which represent only a part of the larger LGBTQ community - one where masculine gay men have gone too long without a voice. Interviewees include celebrated gay leathermen, POC, trans leathermen and judges for the International Mr. Leather contest.
ELEVEN WEEKS: Carla Jean Johnson accepts her fast and aggressive cancer diagnosis with clarity and grace while photographer Anna Kuperberg, her long time wife, documents their final days and weeks together. With mesmerizing footage and intimate recordings of the couple’s final conversations, Eleven Weeks is a story more about love than death.
STAND UP, STAND OUT: This is the story of a unique brand of activism belonging only to San Francisco--where three gay teachers’ fight for equal rights during the burgeoning Gay Liberation Movement of the 1970s, led to the blossoming of the Valencia Rose Cabaret, Café, and Restaurant, believed to be the first and only gay-owned and operated comedy club in the USA. At a dark historical moment, it was a locus of resistance through laughter. Stand Up, Stand Out features Tom Ammiano, Karen Ripley, Monica Palcacios, Danny Williams, Dirk Alphin, Paul Boneberg, and the song stylings of Romanovsky & Phillips.
A JOB LIKE ANY OTHER: Pierre is an ordinary 55 years old man, solitary and very shy. He lives in his tidy and quiet apartment surrounded by his favorite figurine collections. However, his job is far from his low profile type. He’s been a Drag Queen Barmaid for the past 30 years, a hard and restrictive work he never really chose. But for him, it’s a job like any other. Pierre passed away suddenly on June 2020. This film now pays tribute to his life and his Drag Queen character Aunt Gaby.
MAN UP IN LOCKDOWN: Exploring non-binary identity, Man Up in Lockdown is a short documentary that follows Richard Energy, a provocative digital drag king born at the start of the pandemic, who manages to get their job back on stage just as the second lockdown threatens. This timely and moving film examines what it means to be an artist, driven by creativity and a desperate need to perform, at a time when live venues across the UK are on the brink.
NORTH CAROLINA PREMIERE!
Exploring non-binary identity, Man Up in Lockdown is a short documentary that follows Richard Energy, a provocative digital drag king born at the start of the pandemic, who manages to get their job back on stage just as the second lockdown threatens. This timely and moving film examines what it means to be an artist, driven by creativity and a desperate need to perform, at a time when live venues across the UK are on the brink.
OFFICIAL SELECTION!
San Diego International ShortsFest
Director Biography - Ruicheng Liang
Ruicheng is a passionate Chinese documentary filmmaker based in London. Comfortable making docs of any genre, over the past few years, he's developed a strong observational style in making character-driven films and have expertise in photography and journalism. Aiming to question the neglected issues in society and celebrate love and passion, his films discuss social injustice, family and migration, arts and crafts, and LGBTQ+. His work has won Quarantine Award at San Diego International ShortsFest, and has been selected into Architecture & Design Film Festival, TweetFest and Walthamstow International Film Festival.
- Year2021
- Runtime20 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited Kingdom
- PremiereNorth Carolina Premiere
- DirectorRuicheng Liang
- ScreenwriterRuicheng Liang
- ProducerRuicheng Liang