R&A Shorts: Queer Joy & Jest

“Bury your gays” refers to the decades-old trope in film and TV where LGBTQIA+ characters are often given tragic fates. The comedic short films in this screening represent an effort to shift away from this clichéd narrative, steering the storytelling towards a lighter, more flourishing queer experience without concealing the deeper, more painful undertones. Times are tough, and the regressive developments are concerning—yet, now more than ever, let’s take a moment for playful joy to keep up the good fight.

In Bingo, the protagonist Fanny, who works at a bookstore, is hopelessly in love with her friend Louise. Struggling with her feelings, she ends up in a series of meaningless one-night stands.

The Robbers, which tells the story of a group of women preparing for a heist, plays with the theme of gender expression through clever twists. Writer-director Isa Schiehe also plays one of the lead roles.

They, With an Axe is a mystery built in mockumentary style. Villagers speak to the camera about what they saw the previous night at the bar: who appeared, carrying and doing what?

In the film Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites, the family gathers for the Qingming Festival, the tomb-sweeping day, and after hearing that her grandson, Meng, is being pushed towards an arranged marriage with the daughter of a wealthy family, the deceased grandmother Nai returns. With the well-meaning haunting of grandma Nai and her granny friend Muy, accompanied by the lively music of a karaoke bar, Meng comes to understand his own truth.

The screening concludes with the horror comedy Gender Reveal, which blows the cis-heteropatriarchy to smithereens. In it, non-binary Rhys sets off with their partners to attend their boss’ gender reveal party.

Annu Suvanto