
Here is a 95-minute collection of LGBTQIA+ shorts from around the world.
JESSE JAMES: "Jesse James" traces the moments between a neighbor's phone call and the arrival of the police, when Jesse and his lover test the boundaries of their relationship and come face to face not just with what they are losing but with what they have already lost -- when Jesse can no longer save his relationship but only himself.
COCOON LOVE: A teenager is sent back to stay with her grandparents in her hometown village. As she begins a budding friendship with a classmate, she is forced to confront her past and imagine a much different future.
ANOTHER XMAS DINNER: An Afro-Latino family is challenged with seeing the youngest son for the first time in four years since his sexual transition, and meeting her new husband for the first time on the evening of their family’s annual Christmas dinner.
LAS REINAS DE LOS CUENTOS: A Latinx drag queen activist couple in San Diego uses storytelling to educate and empower children, foster community, and spread a universal message of understanding and self-acceptance. Barbie Q and Raquel Ita inspire a love of reading while teaching deeper lessons of building an equally diverse and inclusive society. We learn of the queen's backgrounds, watch their performance, hear their aspirations for using the art of drag to enrich children's lives with reading, and enter into an imaginative world of story-time via an animated sequence.
ROADKILL: Tillie's lonely life as a roadkill removal worker is destabilized when Wanda, a lively stranger, comes to town.
THE UNSURE MASSEUR: A young man considering a career as a masseur learns the sacrifices required from an experienced massage therapist.
NORTH CAROLINA PREMIERE!
A Latinx drag queen activist couple in San Diego uses storytelling to educate and empower children, foster community, and spread a universal message of understanding and self-acceptance. Barbie Q and Raquel Ita inspire a love of reading while teaching deeper lessons of building an equally diverse and inclusive society. We learn of the queen's backgrounds, watch their performance, hear their aspirations for using the art of drag to enrich children's lives with reading, and enter into an imaginative world of story-time via an animated sequence.
Director Biography - Paul Detwiler
Paul Detwiler is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker and science educator based in San Diego who is interested in new media and documentaries, and in developing creative filmic collaborations between artists, academics, and deep thinkers. His films reflect fluid, metaphorical spaces exploring the intersections of memory, lyricism, and desire in queer subcultures. His films have screened at over 90 festivals on 5 continents, winning 8 awards. His mission is to create artistic and socially relevant film projects that entertain, educate, inspire, and challenge audiences to develop new understandings of our shared humanity.
- Year2021
- Runtime13 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited States
- PremiereNorth Carolina Premiere
- DirectorPaul Detwiler
- ScreenwriterPaul Detwiler
- ProducerPaul Detwiler
- CastJaime Aceves-Equihua, Francisco Soto
- EditorFernando Garcia
- AnimatorYoon Su Lee






Here is a 95-minute collection of LGBTQIA+ shorts from around the world.
JESSE JAMES: "Jesse James" traces the moments between a neighbor's phone call and the arrival of the police, when Jesse and his lover test the boundaries of their relationship and come face to face not just with what they are losing but with what they have already lost -- when Jesse can no longer save his relationship but only himself.
COCOON LOVE: A teenager is sent back to stay with her grandparents in her hometown village. As she begins a budding friendship with a classmate, she is forced to confront her past and imagine a much different future.
ANOTHER XMAS DINNER: An Afro-Latino family is challenged with seeing the youngest son for the first time in four years since his sexual transition, and meeting her new husband for the first time on the evening of their family’s annual Christmas dinner.
LAS REINAS DE LOS CUENTOS: A Latinx drag queen activist couple in San Diego uses storytelling to educate and empower children, foster community, and spread a universal message of understanding and self-acceptance. Barbie Q and Raquel Ita inspire a love of reading while teaching deeper lessons of building an equally diverse and inclusive society. We learn of the queen's backgrounds, watch their performance, hear their aspirations for using the art of drag to enrich children's lives with reading, and enter into an imaginative world of story-time via an animated sequence.
ROADKILL: Tillie's lonely life as a roadkill removal worker is destabilized when Wanda, a lively stranger, comes to town.
THE UNSURE MASSEUR: A young man considering a career as a masseur learns the sacrifices required from an experienced massage therapist.
NORTH CAROLINA PREMIERE!
A Latinx drag queen activist couple in San Diego uses storytelling to educate and empower children, foster community, and spread a universal message of understanding and self-acceptance. Barbie Q and Raquel Ita inspire a love of reading while teaching deeper lessons of building an equally diverse and inclusive society. We learn of the queen's backgrounds, watch their performance, hear their aspirations for using the art of drag to enrich children's lives with reading, and enter into an imaginative world of story-time via an animated sequence.
Director Biography - Paul Detwiler
Paul Detwiler is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker and science educator based in San Diego who is interested in new media and documentaries, and in developing creative filmic collaborations between artists, academics, and deep thinkers. His films reflect fluid, metaphorical spaces exploring the intersections of memory, lyricism, and desire in queer subcultures. His films have screened at over 90 festivals on 5 continents, winning 8 awards. His mission is to create artistic and socially relevant film projects that entertain, educate, inspire, and challenge audiences to develop new understandings of our shared humanity.
- Year2021
- Runtime13 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited States
- PremiereNorth Carolina Premiere
- DirectorPaul Detwiler
- ScreenwriterPaul Detwiler
- ProducerPaul Detwiler
- CastJaime Aceves-Equihua, Francisco Soto
- EditorFernando Garcia
- AnimatorYoon Su Lee