By Gary M. Kramer–
The 27th San Francisco Independent Film Festival will take place February 6–18, 2025, in person at the Roxie and Vogue theaters as well as online. This year’s program has 80 features, documentaries, and shorts, including the drama, Bound, by Isaac Hirotsu Woofter, who grew up in the Bay Area. It features queer actors Jaye Alexander and Pooya Mohseni in supporting roles.
Here is a rundown of the handful of queer entries that will be screening at this year’s festival.
One of the highlights is Silent Notes, (streaming and at the Roxie on February 9 at 8:45 pm). Bruce (Daniel Durant) is a Deaf man who needs $120,000 to get a cochlear implant. To earn money, he starts working as a delivery man for some gangsters. Bruce also, unexpectedly, finds himself attracted to Ethan (Matt Riker), a motormouth who happens to run in the same circles he does. The relationship that develops between Bruce and Ethan is sweet, and a scene of them drinking and smoking before a kiss is charming. But their happiness is jeopardized when Gene (Roland Sands), a cop, starts investigating things. Silent Notes showcases Bruce’s disability well, employing muted dialogue to capture his impression of the people he interacts with, without it ever feeling gimmicky or contrived. The way Bruce conspires to win out as his personal and professional lives converge is clever and satisfying. Director Toni Comas’ modest film is a nifty little sleeper.
The stylish French import, Scarlet Blue, (streaming and at the Roxie February 12 at 8:30 pm) features plenty of deep reds and blues (hence the title) as well as mesmerizing camerawork and copious Dutch angle shots. This surreal and atmospheric drama addresses mental illness as Alter (Anne-Sophia Charron) is trying to work through what may be a childhood trauma. There are many imaginative sequences, including a series of sexy lesbian encounters with the blue-haired Chris (Aurélia Mengin), and dreamy moments featuring a symbolic scarlet blue fish. The visuals will keep viewers intrigued as they and Alter puzzle out the reasons for her trauma, but Scarlet Blue can also choke on its own pretentions.
Maxxie LaWow: Drag Super-shero (streaming and at the Roxie February 8 at 9 pm) is a fitfully amusing animated comedy thriller about a 21-year-old barista, Simon (Grant Hedges), who is excited to go to his first gay bar with his bestie Jae (Erika Ishii). After receiving a prophesy and having a strange encounter, Simon becomes Maxxie LaWow, a sassy, super drag queen with her own theme song. While her nightclub act is a highlight, most of the film’s action depicts her efforts to defeat the evil drag queen Dyna Bolic (Terren Wooten Clarke), whose nefarious plan involves trying to capture tears for their age-defying properties. The queens’ fashions are fabulous, and the colorful animation is wonderfully exaggerated, but the comedy is hit-or-miss. For all the dumb, silly bits involving Simon’s ineptitude, there are a few clever touches, such as a Beaches-like film-within-a-film. With drag queen clichés, a lip-synching battle, and plenty of groan-inducing puns, Maxxie LaWow is ultimately, a mixed bag.
Among the handful of LGBTQ shorts that will be screening at the festival, Maud et Luna (streaming and at the Roxie February 8 at 2:15 pm) is arguably the best. Shot in real time, and on 16 mm, and set almost entirely in the apartment shared by the title characters, this intense drama has Luna (Lary Muller) and her girlfriend Maud (Chloé Groussard) reevaluating their relationship after Luna reveals the painting she has been working on for weeks. Director Alec Huggins lets viewers absorb what is said by each woman and how their attitudes are recalibrated. This marvelously written and acted film cuts to the bone in just ten minutes.
The poignant drama, Bara (streaming), has two Japanese men—one closeted, the other a drag queen—meeting in a gay cinema “where men seek out beauty.” They head out to talk, not have sex, and their conversation, about doing drag and finding happiness, is sweet. The second half of the film shows the impact their encounter has on both men, and it is quite affecting. This is a lovely, heartfelt short.
Nico (streaming) is a sparse, melancholic film featuring the title character (Rene Leech) seeking community as a trans man. When he heads out to a nightclub to go dancing, he experiences a rejection in that space. Unexpectedly, he finds acceptance from his elderly neighbor, Helen (Lorinne Vozoff), who sees Nico as a man, and asks him to dance with her. This moody short, written and directed by Max Olson, makes a case for the importance of finding safe spaces where one can be their authentic self.
The Sun Is in My Eyes (streaming) is an arty memory piece about Marco (Britney Grasso) recalling his lover Lucas (Cameron Lee Phan) through snippets of images of him on the streets of New York, dancing in a nightclub, canoodling in a hotel room, or frolicking on the beach. The voiceover narration tends to be overly lyrical, and the imagery is edited like a cologne advertisement, which make director Pablo Tapia-Plá’s stylish short more beautiful than meaningful.
For tickets, showtimes, and more information, visit the festival website at
https://sfindie.com/
© 2025 Gary M. Kramer
Gary M. Kramer is the author of “Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews,” and the co-editor of “Directory of World Cinema: Argentina.” He teaches Short Attention Span Cinema at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute and is the moderator for Cinema Salon, a weekly film discussion group. Follow him on Twitter @garymkramer
Film
Published January 30, 2025
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