37th Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival

Max is a gay 25-year-old freelance writer and aspiring novelist who seems to be well on his way to achieving success in London’s cultural and social circles. But he’s struggling to find his voice and a solid storyline for his debut novel. To jump start the creative process, Max assumes a double identity as Sebastian, a gay sex worker, and uses each encounter to fuel his prose. Provocative, hot and intriguing, this drama is filled with some sweet surprises and tender moments, and lots of sex.

Opening short: Dream Burger.

Benjamin has been sexually assaulted and must find a way to pull together enough money to pay for post-exposure HIV prevention medicine that his health insurance won’t cover. He spends a frantic weekend racing around Toronto trying to raise $900 from family and friends within the 72-hour window when the treatment is most effective. At the same time he’s determined to avoid the sweet and earnest man he has just started dating. Life is very complicated in this anxious race against time.

Opening short: Realness with a Twist.

Mahmoud is a goofy, awkward, yet ultimately loveable 15-year-old Pakistani immigrant living in Norway. He has a wickedly offbeat sense of humor, a traditional Muslim family, and a younger brother Ali who wants to start living as a girl named Alia. While the film confronts integration, gender identity, class, and family dynamics, it does so in a funny, charming and endearing way. You can’t help but laugh along and enjoy the ride. Opening shorts: Scrapped Fabric & Red Panda Temptation.

Marie Theres has a seemingly perfect life. She’s a successful doctor, she’s been happily married to her husband for 20 years, she has a spirited teenage daughter, and lives in a beautiful home. Then it all falls apart. Her husband leaves, her daughter rebels, she gets suspended from the hospital, and her friends abandon her. That’s when she meets Fa, a confident, independent, free-spirited Iranian woman who runs her own carpentry business with her siblings and takes care of their elderly mother. They couldn’t be more different, yet they’re totally attracted to each other. Can they become a perfect couple?

Opening short: Little Mouse.

Helen has been living a mostly joyless life, stuck living in a house with the ex-husband she hates while caring for his ailing mother, whom she adores. But she has a gaggle of gal pals at the chicken processing plant where she works, so that’s something. One day, her humdrum daily routine takes a surprisingly interesting and possibly romantic turn when her charismatic childhood friend Joanne returns home to live next door. This delightful, quirky, yet moving tale of empowerment and liberation is the lesbian musical rom-com you never knew you needed to see.

Opening shorts: Get Free & Once and Again.

Elliot Page stars as Sam, a young man who moved to Toronto years ago to escape an abundance of complicated and dysfunctional family relationships. But now Sam has finally decided to return home to  can celebrate his father’s birthday. On the train, Sam runs into an old high school friend. This chance encounter sparks long-buried feelings that Sam is determined to resolve. There’s nothing like a trip home to rekindle and repair the past. And there’s nothing like the self-confidence you gain once you discover that you really are okay, and where you are really is just right.

Opening short: (In)convenience.

When stuntwoman Anna meets the magnetic and famous actor Eve, it unlocks a part of herself she’d always kept hidden. What starts as an innocent exchange of glances soon bursts into a turbulent, sensual love affair. Directed by a French feminist author and filmed with an 80% female crew, this five-episode series explores the queer female gaze and its transformative impact. It’s a daring, innovative and genre-bending unpacking of power and trauma projected through a feminist lens.

Opening short: Goodbye Tango.

Ambitious high school athlete Dakota Riley begins his senior year like most of his peers, with a steady routine of sports, classrooms, school halls and dinner tables. People have high expectations of Dakota, including Dakota himself. He lives within carefully drawn boundaries, and follows a detailed blueprint that is meant to define him and box him in. But it all begins to unravel when his queer identity competes against the carefully crafted idea of who he is supposed to be. Which version of Dakota Riley will be victorious? Trigger warning: Lots of eye candy and glistening bodies.

Opening short: (Un)Free Will.

What’s up with the boys this year? Grindr hookups, saunas, longtime relationships, sex toys, and dinner with Mom and Dad. And a bris.

What’s up with the girls this year? Complicated family relationships, jealousy, breakups, and a romantic excursion. And the funeral of a mob boss that’s very liberating.