Queer Asian Shorts Program

As painful as some chapters are to close, another inevitably waits to unfold. In the fragile space before and during an ending, one can feel suspended or stuck, unsure of what comes next. Even in the ashes, these films suggest that within every ending lies the possibility of a new beginning.

Brattle Passes Not Accepted

Program:

Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites
Chheangkea • 19 min • Cambodia, France, United States • Central Khmer w/English subtitles
During her chaotic family’s Qingming visit, dead Grandma Nai sneaks away from her peaceful afterlife after overhearing that her queer grandson is about to get engaged to a woman.

Last Day of Us
Shiao-ya (Maggie) Huang • 8 min • South Korea, Republic of China (Taiwan), Singapore • Korean, Spanish w/English subtitles
Returning to sell her old family home, a Korean Guatemalan immigrant confronts buried memories and lingering emotions, ultimately finding closure within its familiar walls

Derya
Jingjing Huang • 21 min • USA • Mandarin Chinese, Uyghur w/English subtitles
On a hot summer day, 16-year-old Uyghur girl Derya learns that her former dance teacher and lover, Janan, has returned to their hometown of Kashgar. Separated by silence and time, they are reunited—only for Derya to discover that Janan has come back with a huge secret…

The Left Behind
Tiankuo Men • 13 min • China • Mandarin Chinese w/English subtitles
Two boys who stay behind at school during the holidays are forced into silence by violence. Amid this oppressive quiet, a moment of intimacy sparked by a simple haircut quietly tears open the hidden and restrained emotions between them.

The Witch of Vihar Lake
Joey Kaushik • 17 min • India • Marathi w/English subtitles
Mitthu, a timid young boy and his teenage sister Ishita live in a village close to Vihar Lake, where stories of a terrifying witch prevail. The village locals don’t dare go close to the forest or the haunted lake. Mystery and magic surround the siblings as they grapple with their parents’ ignorance and anger. We follow a bewitched Ishita and Mitthu in their coming-of-age journey as the threat of the witch looms over their lives.

baby fat
Iris Kim • 14 min • Canada • English/Korean
Kitty, a disillusioned twenty-something searching for meaning amidst societal pressures and personal insecurities, must navigate an existential crisis after her best friend reveals she’s skipping town to chase her dreams.