The Tribeca Film Festival, celebrating its 20^th year since it was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in 2002 in the wake of 9/11, is again featuring LGBTQ+ themed features, documentaries, and shorts this year.

Tribeca is one of the country’s top film festivals that uplifts marginalized voices. This year, 61% of the fest’s lineup is by LGBTQ+, female, or BIPOC directors.

Below are some of the LGBTQ+ selections at the 2022 festival, as culled from Tribeca’s official listing:

 

Features

 

Attachment (Denmark) (Horror, Comedy, Romance, Mystery)

Directed and written by Gabriel Bier Gislason

Cast: Josephine Park, Ellie Kendrick, Sofie Grabol, David Dencik

The horror romance is about love at first sight. A Danish has-been actress, Maja, falls in love with Leah, a young Jewish academic from London. Their new relationship is interrupted when mysterious things start happening in their London flat because Leah’s disapproving mother is using Jewish folklore to come between them.

 

Blessed Boys (Italy) (Drama)

Directed by Silvia Brunelli

Screenwriters: Silvia Brunelli, Francesca Scanu

Cast: Francesco Pellegrino, Vincenzo Antonucci, Sophia Guastaferro, Pina Di Gennaro, Gianfelice Imparato

Mario (Vincenzo Antounucci) and Lino (Francesco Pellegrino) are two 18-year-old friends who were born and raised in the Sanita quarter of Naples, Italy. Their friendship is put to the test when Lino’s little sister convinces the locals that she has performed a miracle and starts being worshipped as a living saint. Lino’s fate abruptly changes.

 

Breaking the Ice (Austria) (Drama, Romance, Sports)

Directed and written by Clara Stern

Cast: Alina Schaller, Judith Altenberger, Tobias Resch

The film explores what happens when someone with a very rigid approach to life meets her freewheeling opposite. Mira (Alina Schaller), the heir to an Austrian vineyard, escapes from the pressure and stress of running her family’s vineyard by playing ice hockey. Then a new player arrives to challenge her rigid worldview, leading to a life-changing night on the streets of Vienna.

 

God Save the Queens (United States) (Comedy)

Directed and written by: Jordan Danger

Cast: Justin Andrew Honard AKA Alaska Thunderfuck, Jay Jackson AKA Laganja Estranja, Kelly Mantle

The feature directorial debut of actress Jordan Danger (Eureka) blends the humor of being a drag queen with the hardships that mold these artists. A group of drag queens – Gigi (Jordan Michael Green), Marmalade (Kelly Mantle), Rita (Laganja Estranja), and Stevie (Alaska Thunderfuck) – meet in a group therapy retreat that will change their lives forever.

It also features appearances by Luenell, Peter Facinelli, Michelle Visage, and RuPaul’s Drag Race alums Manila Luzon and Honey Davenport.

 

Mars One (Brazil) (Drama)

Directed and written by Gabriel Martins

Cast: Rejane Faria, Carlos Francisco, Camilla Damiao, Cicero Lucas

The drama, from Brazilian filmmaker and co-founder of Filmes de Plastico, Gabriel Martins, is a classic story of a family in crisis while a far-right politician takes power in Brazil. Their love and optimism help them get through the turbulent times while they face their own personal challenges – the young woman realizes she’s queer and falls in love for the first time, her little brother who loves science is forced to play soccer by his father, and her mother is going through her own private struggle.

 

Petit Mal (Colombia) (Drama)

Directed and written by Ruth Caudeli

Cast: Ruth Caudeli, Ana María Otálora, Silvia Varón

The film portrays three charismatic women – Martina (Silvia Varon), Laia (Ruth Caudeli), and Anto (Ana Maria Otalora) – living in an intimate, passionate relationship or throuple, until one of them is called away on a long-term project. The semi-autobiographical story displays their evolving romance and their deep affection to co-exist without judgment.

 

Three Headed Beast (United States) (Drama, Romance)

Co-Directors and Co-Writers: Fernando Andres and Tyler Rugh

Cast: Cody Shook, Jacob Schatz, Dani Hurtado, Daniel Abramson, Paul Grant, Sarah J. Bartholomew

The film follows Peter (Jacob Schatz) and Nina’s (Dani Hurtado) bisexual open relationship that starts to show its cracks. This is co-directors Fernando Andres and Tyler Rugh’s directorial debut feature which highlights what and whom we take for granted. The filmmaking duo from Austin, Texas, both 24, have been making films together since they met in middle school.

 

You Can Live Forever (Canada) (Drama)

Co-Director and Co-Writer: Sarah Watts and Mark Slutsky

Cast: Anwen O’Driscoll, June Laporte, Liane Balaban, Deragh Campbell, Tim Campbell, Antoine Yared, Hasani Freeman

Two queer teenagers – Jaime and Marike – fall in love and keep their relationship a secret to their strict Jehovah’s Witness family and relatives until the community discovers it and forces them to separate.

Montreal filmmakers Sarah Watts and Mark Slutsky join forces in their debut feature on forbidden romance and the intensity of first love.

 

Documentary Features

 

All Man: The International Male Story (United States) (Fashion)

Directors: Bryan Darling, Jesse Finley Reed

Screenwriter: Peter Jones

Cast: Carson Kressley, Matt Bomer

Narrator: Matt Bomer

The film is a peek behind the pages and personalities of the International Male catalog, narrated by Matt Bomer and featuring an all-star cast of celebrity stylists, fashion influencers, and comedic actors. It takes you down memory lane of the ’80s and ’90s when the male underwear catalog’s popularity was at its peak.

 

Lucky (Australia)

Directed and written by Loren Denis, Anthony Vibert

Cast: Luc Bruyère

A portrait of a model, musician, dancer, and drag queen, Lucky follows Luc Bruyère as he travels from Paris to Berlin.

 

Short Films

 

Sex, Love, and Rock & Roll

 

Fraud (United States) (Drama, Romance)

Director: Zen Pace

Screenwriter: Dana Aliya Levinson

Cast: Dana Aliya Levinson, Babak Tafti, Mike Meth

A trans rocker girl who gets by with petty credit card fraud is left to question who she wants to be when her latest victim surprises her with an unforeseen proposition. Michigan director Zen Pace is a multi-hyphenate nonbinary creator from Flint.

 

The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone (Australia) (Documentary)

Directed by Maya Newell

Cast: Georgie Stone, Rebekah Robertson, Greg Stone, Harry Stone

The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone reveals the memories of Georgie, an Australian transgender teen, as she helps change laws, affirms her gender, finds her voice, and enters adulthood. It spans 19 years of her life.

 

The House of Labeija (United States) (Short documentary, dance, art)

Directed by Fredgy Noel

Cast: Vivian LaBeija, Samil LaBeija, Krystal LaBeija, Jasmine Rice LaBeija, Bougie LaBeija, Jeffrey Bryant, Diovanna LaBeija

This short documentary film pays homage to the House of LaBeija, a prominent drag family, through a series of letters from its members.

 

LGBTQIA+ Shorts Program: See Me, Feel Me

 

These seven short films span the queer experience with humor, heart, and hope, showing characters navigating emotionally intense terrain in their search for connection and compassion.

Playing in this program are My Dear Boy, Work, DogFriend, Valentine, Coming Out with the Help of a Time Machine, Inner Wound Real, and F^¢K ‘€M R!GHT B@¢K.

 

My Dear Boy (United States) (Experimental, Romance)

Directed and written by Leaf Lieber

Cast: Juan Cortes, Tyler Givens

Within the first few seconds of meeting each other, two men experience the rise and collapse of their destined relationship through a surreal journey.

 

Work (United States) (Drama, Romance)

Directed and written by April Maxey

Cast: Marisela Zumbado, Elaine Whae

Unable to move on from a breakup, Gabriela impulsively drops into an old job, where she unexpectedly runs into a friend from her past.

 

DogFriend (Germany) (Short Narrative)

Directed by Maissa Lihedheb

Written by Lamin Leroy Gibba

Cast: Lamin Leroy Gibba, Til Schindler

A date takes an unexpected turn in this meditation on race, politics, and history in Germany.

 

Valentine (United States) (Drama, Romance)

Directed and written by Beck Kitsis, Chris McNabb

Cast: Jacob Tobia, Sadie Scott

With gender and identity in flux, Corey and Mia struggle to redefine their relationship.

 

Coming Out with the Help of a Time Machine (United States) (Drama, Comedy, Science Fiction)

Directed and written by Naman Gupta

Cast: Karan Soni, Sangeeta Agrawal, Raghuram Shetty

When coming out to his traditional Indian parents, Sid uses his time machine to reset the day in an attempt to make sure everything goes perfectly.

 

Inner Wound Real (United States) (Animation, Experimental, Doc)

Directed and written by Carrie Hawks

Inner Wound Real relays the story of three BIPOC folks who self-injure, then find new ways to cope.

 

F^¢K ‘€M R!GHT B@¢K (United States) (Comedy, Music)

Directed by Harris Doran

Written by Harris Doran, Emmanuel ‘DDm’ Williams

Cast: Emmanuel ‘DDm’ Williams, Kara Young, Catherine Curtin

To avoid being fired after having accidentally taken drugs, a queer Black rapper must outwit his boss in his day job.