By Gary M. Kramer–
CAAM Fest, May 8–11, 2025, at various Bay Area theaters, celebrates Asian American life and cinema. This year’s program showcases three features and six shorts that depict LGBTQ+ stories. Here is a rundown of what is screening.
Because of You: A History of the Kilawin Kolektibo (May 10, 2:30 pm, Roxie) is a vibrant 40-minute documentary that celebrates the lesbian Filipinxs group, Kilawin Kolektibo, which first formed in 1994 in New York. During candid interviews, several members describe their feelings about creating a community and developing a sense of belonging as well as their experiences of shame and racism. Archival footage from Dyke Marches, Pride, and Filipina Parades, along with a group camping trip, are enjoyable and convey the camaraderie. Codirectors Barbara Malaran and Desireena Almoradie admirably extend Kilawin Kolektibo’s mission, which is to give voice to and validate these often-marginalized queer Filipinx women who are actively looking for positive representation.
F—toys (May 10, Roxie, 9 pm) is writer/director/star Annapurna Sriram’s scrappy debut about AP (Sriram), a sex worker in Trashtown, who needs to raise $1,000 (and sacrifice a lamb) so tarot reader (the fabulous Big Freedia) can lift a “curse” placed on her. AP embarks on a series of encounters with various clients including Robert (Damian Young), who claims he may be gay, and a sexy character known as “The Mechanic” (François Arnaud), who is under house arrest. But her heart lies with Danni (Sadie Scott), a friend she reconnects with, who shares her adventures. This accomplished film, which was shot on 16mm, has style to burn, but it is wildly uneven. The ensemble cast give uniformly strong performances, yet several vulgar moments are likely to test viewers’ patience. But the last sequence with The Mechanic is fantastic. This picaresque is very “at your own risk,” as mileage will vary.
Mongrels (May 11, Kabuki, 6 pm), is a sensitively made triptych about an immigrant Korean family in Canada. Sonny (Jae-Hyun Kim) is hoping to start anew after the loss of his wife. He is hired by Scott (Morgan Derera) to rid the community of wild dogs that pose a threat to everyone’s safety—cue allegory to xenophobia. His ideas about strength and manhood make him mentally and physically abusive towards his teenage son, Hajoon (Da-Nu Nam), who may or may not be attracted to Scott’s son, Noah (Jedd Sharp). Meanwhile, Sonny has kept his wife’s death from his young daughter, Hana (Sein Jin), who longs for her mother. Mongrels features rituals and symbolic acts as the characters try to develop a sense of self following loss, but the meanings can be ambiguous. Writer/director Jerome Yoo’s debut is subtle and beautifully lensed, but the queer content is minimal.
After What Happened at the Library in the Let It Out shorts program (May 9, Kabuki, 9 pm) is a compelling film that stems from a real-life experience writer and star Kyle Casey Chu had while participating in a Drag Queen Story Hour at a local library. As the performer (Chu) processes social media responses as well as the actual event—seen in flashbacks—they are interviewed by a news reporter (Drew Benjamin), whose approach prompts both trauma and possible healing. Well-performed and edited, this is a powerful short about why drag matters and the emotional impact of homophobia.
There are three terrific queer shorts in the Coming of Age program (May 10, Kabuki, 5 pm). Clementine opens with Ly (Yên Sen), a transwoman, walking down the streets of New York catching glances. Arriving at her friend Noah’s (Joey Rose) apartment, she starts to eat a clementine and ponders female genitalia and pleasure. Noah provides a fun lesson in sex ed via a trip through a giant vagina. But Clementine gets serious and heartfelt as Ly explains to Noah and their friend Ave (Niala) that she is considering bottom surgery. Sen delivers a great speech about “if I had a vagina,” but it is the final scene where she reflects on her feelings that makes this thoughtful short resonate.
Zari is a winning short about Neelu (Aesha Soni), who does not want to wear a sari at her sister Rita’s (Richa Kalra) wedding. When shopping for her sister, Zeyb (Kamal Batra) models a sari, and when Neelu returns to the store a few days later to pick up a blouse, she catches Zeyb dressed as “Zari” in a sari making videos. Director Shruti Parekh scores points for the bonding between these queer youths, as well as for balancing themes of tradition and acceptance.
Paramita is a sincere and illuminating documentary featuring Parjna Paramita Choudhury, a queer South Asian woman who recounts in voiceover her coming out to her mother, how they each process that—sometimes with pain—and how Paramita was able to inspire her mother as a result. Taking a meditative approach, director Kirthi Nash’s moving short lets Paramita’s measured reflections sink in as they lead to not just a mutual understanding, but to a deeper, more meaningful mother/daughter relationship.
Two excellent shorts are part of the Centerpiece shorts program (May 11, Roxie, 12 pm). Correct Me If I’m Wrong is director Hao Zhou’s sensitive documentary about his family’s efforts to “cure” him of his homosexuality. The filmmaker’s grandmother tries exorcising the “she-boy,” hoping to extract female energy through a series of rituals, prayers, and practices including a “corn cure,” cupping, and qigong treatments. Zhou’s participation is largely passive; he endures these various sessions to appease his mother and grandmother who want him to get married and have children, but it is clear he will not and cannot change—especially when he expresses to his grandmother, “A fag will remain a fag.” Correct Me If I’m Wrong is a fascinating short about a cultural kind of conversion therapy. Moreover, it suggests Zhou’s family have to be the ones who need to modify their thinking, not Zhou.
Spring Will Come immerses viewers in Vietnam, where a narrator (Tôn Tôn Bo) describes her life and her relationship with Ly, whom she says she “had to convince I was better than all the boys.” But as they kiss passionately, a woman Ly owes money to disrupts them. Then another disruption occurs; Linda (Amy Le), an American woman, enters the house hoping to release the spirit of her father who used to live in the apartment, and forgive him. The sense of place is strong as the film takes viewers into the streets and stalls and buildings, but it is the poignant vibe of loss that makes Spring Will Come so tender.
© 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 X @garymkramer
Film
Published on May 8, 2025
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