This cartoon blocK begins and ends with sweet, gentle stories of discovering identities, takes on absurd constructions of gender, finds acceptance in unexpected places, and mixes in sneaky bursts of emotion alongside lightness, humor, sugar, and sunshine. Roll out of bed, rock your loudest PJs if you feel like it, and join us for a collective sense of nostalgia through a bright rainbow lens.
OCT 22| 12:30 PM | MOPOP
AVAILABLE VIRTUALLY OCT 13-23
HORSE
Diana Yue Gong; 2022; USA; 4 min.
What happens when Gumby meets Walker, Texas Ranger to go on a psychedelic road trip across the desert? We're not sure, but it probably looks something like this.
TOGETHER/APART
David Amberg; 2022; USA; 7 min.
Getting over it isn't easy when rogue body parts refuse to play along. Processing trauma isn't fun, but this sweet film manifests healing in a new light.
CONTENT WARNINGS: IMPLIED VIOLENCE, GRAPHIC VIOLENCE, DISCUSSION OF HOMOPHOBIC/TRANSPHOBIC VIOLENCE, DEPICTION OF HOMOPHOBIC/TRANSPHOBIC VIOLENCE
SQUID SEASON
Ariel Mahler & Grace Hanna; 2022; USA; 5 min.
Using a novel style of animation, Squid Season looks to the murky sea to find clarity on gender. A slow, contemplative meditation on escaping into and away from familiar depths.
EMBRACE
Latesha Merkel; 2022; USA; 5 min.
Something’s broken here … right? Overwhelmed with messaging that happiness requires romance and sexual connectivity, our asexual protagonist discovers wholeness, beauty, and community beyond the idea of an “other half.”
BEYOND MASKS (Além das Máscaras)
Letícia Lopez Rangueri, Lucas Brassanini Flores, Carolina Bonformagio da Silva; 2022; Brazil; 11min.; Portuguese, with English subtitles
How much rejection can one person take, even in jest? Beyond Masks explores love between two actors: one determined to live authentically beyond the masks and stage makeup, and one determined to hide behind them.
THE GIRL BEHIND THE MIRROR (A Menina Atrás do Espelho)
Iuri Moreno; 2021; Brazil; 12min.; Portuguese
Hiding from the monsters outside her bedroom door, a trans girl discovers a new reality behind her mirror where she is free to be herself.
SHALL WE TALK?
Katya Mikheeva; 2020; Russia; 5min.; Russian
Polina feels a world away from her family as they react to her coming out as bisexual.
THIS IS KATHARINE (Hvem Er Katharina)
Ida H. Eldøen; 2022; Norway; 15 min.
Hang onto your Discman! Katharine’s journey of self-discovery plays with stereotypes, confronts fears and ill-advised haircuts alike, and leans heavily into ‘90s film nostalgia, all while determining whether or not her fondness for Sandra Bullock is “just a phase.”
BLACK BOX
Alana Mango; 2022; USA; 4 min.
An astronaut encounters an unexpected emergency while on a routine mission, and finds himself jettisoned into space.
A HANDBAG (Una Cartera)
Daniela Miranda; 2022; Chile; 6 min.; Spanish with English subtitles
A deep dive into the absurdity of gender policing and identity suppression in Latin American as told through the handbag.
CONTENT WARNINGS: DISCUSSION OF HOMOPHOBIC/TRANSPHOBIC VIOLENCE
TO THE FUTURE, WITH LOVE
Shaleece Haas; 2021; USA; 7 min.
An animated self-portrait of 19-year-old Hunter “Pixel” Jimenez, a nonbinary trans boy caught between the expectations of his Guatemalan immigrant family and his dreams of living happily ever after with his long-distance boyfriend Damienne.
CONTENT WARNINGS: VULGAR LANGUAGE