Anyone who cares about the state of this country and the world should be concerned with the violence and attacks against trans people happening right now. The Republicans are spending millions of dollars to vilify transgender people and turn them into a never-ending divide and conquer wedge issue. These same people, however, are also taking a sledgehammer to everyone but the most wealthy’s rights, while destroying the environment and attacking freedom of expression and a free press.
What the forces of ignorance targeting trans and gender-expansive people fail to accept is that trans people are incredibly resilient, powerful, and wise—trans people have always been part of human experience, and will always continue to be part of human experience.
Proof of this can be found at the 29th San Francisco Transgender Film Festival (SFTFF). Founded in 1997, SFTFF is North America’s first and longest-running TGNC (transgender and gender-nonconforming) film festival. The 2026 festival remains defiant as ever, being artist-led, justice-centered, and deeply committed to creating opportunities to highlight powerful TGNC cinema.
Since SFTFF started, they have screened more than 800 films, while remaining committed to championing emerging, neophyte, and established trans and gender-nonconforming filmmakers, while building an intergenerational community and keeping San Francisco’s queer cutting-edge spirit alive.
This year’s SFTFF features an incredible collection of TGNC films that stand up for freedom of expression, beauty, community, and a future not driven by corporate AI; each film is human-made, adventurous, and offers proof, not only that TGNC folks create wholly original and gorgeous work, but also that TGNC people will not be silenced.
Says Artistic Director Shawna Virago, “My message to the TGNC people and allies who are coming to this year’s festival is to affirm them for saying yes to human-made TGNC films you will not find in mainstream and commercial theaters. And for saying yes to the power of our art and our community gatherings. I also affirm our audiences and communities for saying no to the expanding reach of digitized and vanilla culture fueled by AI and anti-humanist tech billionaires.”
SFTFF 2026 will offer both in person and online programs from November 16–22, with a rich offering of six programs, featuring a range of films across genres from documentaries and politics to animation, dance, music, romance, horror, and experimental films.
Programs 1–6 will be held at the historic Roxie Theater November 12–14. These same 6 programs will be offered online, on demand for free, November 16–22.
All films will be captioned, and ASL interpretation will be provided at all in-person screenings. In support of community safety, KN95 masks will be provided and required. The Roxie’s entrance, lobby, bathrooms, and audience seating are wheelchair accessible; the Roxie has all-gender bathrooms. While SFTFF is not a scent-free event, we encourage in-person audiences to be mindful of avoiding perfumes and scented products.
Virago adds, “Unlike mainstream LGBTQI+ film festivals, SFTFF only screens films made by and starring TGNC people: we prioritize lived TGNC experiences and we don’t engage with non-trans people telling their versions of what constitutes transgender lives.” This means that, unlike many cisgender-run film festivals (even LGBTQI+ festivals), SFTFF does not screen any film that has cisgender actors “playing” trans roles. It is a powerful stance in these troubled times.
If people are seeking trans and queer culture, independent beautiful films, community, voices of defiance, and alternatives to commercial media, then be sure to check out this year’s San Francisco Transgender Film Festival.
2026 SFTFF Highlights
Hustleween isa magical, unapologetic, Black, trans, queer film that raises funds for trans masculine people. This work, from Puerto Rico, displays unrepentant trans euphoria and is directed by Samara Perez Santiago.
Mascott is a Canadian horror film thatdoes a deep dive into the complexities of identity, societal expectations, and authenticity. Filled with lots of humor, the film has a main character whose job is wearing a bear costume, and it shows the pressures of fame and hyper-masculinity. Mascott is directed by Marilyne Lamontagne and Shane Savage.
Las Cosas Que Brillan is magic realism at its finest. A curious trans mermaid ventures above the sea and is a witness to the impacts of environmental destruction, and the danger of being desired in a postcolonial world. It also shows how powerful femininity can be. The film is directed by Kristal Sotomayor.
Dread, a film from South Africa, centers ona soft-spoken transmasculine driver navigating an array of colorful passengers through the economically divided streets of Cape Town. When Claudia, a digital nomad with blonde dreadlocks, unloads a traumatic story on a short ride across town, something unseen takes root in the backseat and refuses to leave. Is the car possessed or not? This is a film that explores karmic justice and has a driver of its own. It is directed by Gabe Gabriel and Loren Loubser.
Cockroach is a bold, genre-blending short film exploring themes of sex, survival, connection, and identity through an unflinching darkly funny lens. The film stars John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig & The Angry Inch, Shortbus) and is written and directed by Justice Singleton, who is also featured in the film.
2026 San Francisco Transgender Film Festival (SFTFF)
November 12–22, 2026
Tickets: Sliding scale
For tickets and more information: https://sftff.org/
Arts & Entertainment
Published on November 5, 2026
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