QueerBee is a brand new platform for LGBTQI shorts, established to help queer filmmakers bring authentic queer stories directly to new audiences
At QueerBee we believe short film is a genre, short film makers are not only on a journey to another place. As a minority group – collectively LGBTIQ+ – the representation of ourselves in mainstream viewing is less than representative. In addition to this sorry state of affairs, our characters and storylines – where they exist at all – often perpetuate the mainstream stereotypes at the expense of more authentic voices. Queer shorts provide an excellent means of connecting with one another, validating our lived experiences, helping to change attitudes, improve confidence in individuals and our communities, and break down barriers.
Throughout our lives we discover there are special religious paradoxes reserved for LGBTIQ people with effects as varied as the individuals who carry their faith and those who encounter them.
QueerBee is an LGBTQI Community Interest Company registered with Social Enterprise UK (9851) and Cinema For All. A share of the profits is directed back into queer filmmaking and for hard-to-reach queer audiences.
Stormcloud
Director: Kate Johnston / Canada 2013 / 15 minutes
A young, lesbian artist, Vi, heartbroken after her lover
has left her, is met by two very happy Evangelicals who
arrive at her door selling Jesus.
Stormcloud explores the nature of ‘sin’ and love with
passion, pathos and very subversive humour.
Out Of Love
Director: Linda Mason / UK 2014 / 10 minutes
OUT OF LOVE focuses on the subjective experiences of
three young women, using a mix of personal recollections
and sensual imagery to convey the experiences of
reconciling their sexuality with their faith.
Lucky Fares
Director: Marco Fettolini/ Spain 2014 / 13 minutes
One of the Three Kings and Santa Claus spend Christmas
in jail, talking about what their future will be like in a
world like this.
Like Father Like Son
Director: Jonathan Rivera / USA 2017 / 31⁄2 minutes
A father and son pray to the heavenly father seeking
answers about each other.
Mark Bunyan: Very Nearly Almost Famous
Director: Jac Nunns & Angie West / UK 2012 / 15 minutes
In the words of a fan, he was ‘The First Gay Superstar’ but
was he too gay for his own good? Co-founder of the Pink
Singers and a driving force behind Gay’s The Word
bookshop, Mark Bunyan has been engaged in almost
every pivotal event in UK gay history including
fundraising for the defence of the famous blasphemy
case Whitehouse v Lemon involving Gay News and a high
court battle to prevent the religious funeral of a lover.
He Could’ve Gone Pro
Director: McGhee Monteith / USA 2016 /10 minutes
When Debbie comes home for Christmas, she and her
mother Gayle are forced to confront the truth about their
family’s past over a tense holiday lunch.
Get The Life
Director: Ozzy Villazòn / USA 2016 / 12 minutes
To Alex’s surprise, Jesse offers a strikingly opposing view
on how to deal with a pregnancy. Alex considers what he
is willing to lose in order to live honestly and
courageously.
Medulla Oblongata
Director: Roberto Nascimento / New Zealand 2017 / 71⁄2 minutes
Granted refugee status in New Zealand due to the
persecution he faced for being gay in the Maldives –
where the official religion is Islam – Medulla Oblongata
explores where he is now and the life he left behind.
More than God
Director: Kev Cahill / Ireland 2015 / 9 minutes
A short comedy set in modern Ireland that follows the
attempts of a religious doctor to uncover his wife’s
suspected affair, but instead is confronted by the rigidity
of his religion, the boundaries of his love for his daughter,
and his obligation to resuscitate her lover’s husband.