PEM Pride
Panorama Queer and Trans International Film Festival
Saturday, December 28 from 1—4:45 pm
Sunday, December 29 from 10:30 am—3 pm
Know before you go
In-person event
Location: Main Atrium and Morse Auditorium
Friday: Free
Saturday and Sunday: Included with admission; free for NAGLY (The Northshore Alliance of GLBTQ Youth) members
Preregistration is encouraged for Friday’s screenings and performances. For Saturday and Sunday, no advance tickets are required. Reserve same-day tickets at the Admissions or Information desks.
Some films use flashing lights and strobe effects.
These films are not MPAA-rated; provided ratings are suggestions from Queer Videography. Please enjoy at your own discretion, and note that some films may not be suitable for children.
During the festival, PEM will be accepting donations for NAGLY via a box in the Main Atrium. NAGLY is seeking personal care items for local LGBTQIA+ youth on the North Shore, including: new or gently used binders, menstrual products, nonperishable snacks and Trans Tape.
QR codes will be available at the event for those interested in donating online or purchasing items directly from NAGLY’s wishlist.
The Panorama Queer and Trans International Film Festival returns to the Peabody Essex Museum this December! This festival celebrates young filmmakers in the trans and queer community, both in front of and behind the camera. This year's theme is “Legacy in Motion: We have always been here and will always be here.” Panorama welcomes members of the trans and queer community, allies and fans of new cinema from around the world!
Kick off the festival with us on Friday night with a special evening of programming Enjoy a photobooth, drag performances, opening party and select film screenings, hosted by Miz Diamond Wigfall and Muscles Monty.
On Saturday and Sunday, enjoy film screenings and respond to what you see with a hands-on zine project. NAGLY staff members will be sharing educational resources at a table in the Main Atrium.
On Sunday afternoon, join us in Morse Auditorium for a queer filmmaking talkback with filmmakers Raymond Rea, Alicia Arwgar, Benja Thompson and P. Chann and Panorama Queer Trans Film Festival Creative Director Mac Allen.
Friday, December 27
7–10:30 pm
Opening Party
7–8:15 pm | Main Atrium
Music, cash bar, selfie station, meet and Greet photo op with hosts and drag performers. Drag performances by Miz Diamond Wigfall and Muscles Monty.
“(Re)Call” (Dir. Sam Atmane, Pierre-André Blanc, Faustine Guisse, Camille Le Boucher and Léo Resende. 6 minutes. France.)
A young man gets thrown into his own mind while memories of his mother resurface. Content warning: Parental abuse.
“Love at first sighting” (Dir. William Manning. 5 minutes. Canada.)
A nice weekend at a cottage turns horrific after something falls from the sky.
“A la Carte” (Dir. Iván Vigara. 8 minutes. Spain.)
Iván debates opening up to his date, Monica, after returning from dinner. Content warning: Discussion of transphobia.
“Dam$els of Luxury” (Dir. Jennifer Cella. 5 minutes. USA.)
Amanda's stoner slumber party is put to a halt when one of the guests is nowhere to be found. Content warnings: Explicit language, smoking.
“Moonrise” (Dir. Beowulf Lerman. 11 minutes. USA.)
Raquel, a werewolf, goes to a house party on the night of the full moon to woo the girl of her dreams.
Intermission
“Call me brown” (Dir. Rafael Castro Lopes. 4 minutes. Brazil.)
A slam poem about being brown in Brazil. Content warnings: Explicit language, smoking, discussion of racism, gun violence, police brutality.
“The Unwanted” (Dir. Jordin Amoah. 3 minutes. USA.)
A teenage girl discovers an alien has been residing under her bed.
“Becoming Queer Joy” (Dir. Ronnie Cheng and Leo Litke. 6 minutes. Canada.)
Trans man Tien shares his trailblazing coming-out story as an immigrant in early 2000s Vancouver and describes his journey to discovering his true purpose in life: cultivating joy. Content warnings: Discussion of transphobia, suicide and racism.
“A brush story” (Dir. P. Chann. 3 minutes. USA.)
A journey in electric toothbrush repair.
“Anatomy of a fir” (Dir. Pierre Gauchard. 6 minutes. France.)
Someone meets a fir tree.
“Juan Carlos” (Dir. Enrique García-Vázquez. 10 minutes. Spain.)
Four drag queens take a man hostage. Content warning: Explicit language.
“Forza, Rea!” (Dir. Isabel Pahud. 3 minutes. Switzerland.)
In a hillside village in Ticino, Rea is on her way to deliver a love letter to her crush. But, before she has the chance to deliver it, it flies away. In a panic, Rea embarks on a breakneck tumble through the village to catch the letter.
After-party
9:45–10:30 pm | Main Atrium
Saturday, December 28
1–4:45 pm
Film Screenings
“Cover Up” (Dir. Abigail Espinal. 7 minutes. USA.)
Synopsis: After a disheartening encounter, a young trans woman regains confidence with the help of her kind-hearted crush. Content warnings: Transphobia, bullying, self-directed written slurs.
“Love and let love” (Dir. Shailaja Padindala. 8 minutes. India.)
A tribute “to all closeted queer members, struggling to seek a dignified life,” this film follows a silent story of finding solidarity amid the taboos of India’s patriarchal society.
“Happily Ever After” (Dir. Merle Zurawski. 13 minutes. Germany.)
Cinderella and her prince are now at the point where things get serious: Life decisions are coming up, buying a house is within reach, but something seems to be missing. By chance, Cindy meets three nonbinary fairies who help her discover queer utopia.
Sensory warning: This film uses flashing lights.
“Wet Girls” (Dir. Jia Lin. 8 minutes. USA.)
Two friends navigate the delicate balance between friendship and love in the confines of an all-girls Catholic high school Content warning: Bullying.
“Contaminated” (Dir. Adedeji Daniel Olowu. 8 minutes. Nigeria.)
An argument between a queer couple shows the struggles in compatibility, issues and emotions all couples face, no matter their similarities or differences in gender.
“Evolution” (Dir. Nina Chatterjee. 2 minutes. USA.)
An adolescent experiments with style, before ultimately making a decision about their presentation. Content warning: Transphobia.
“Arlo” (Dir. Logan Thomason. 13 minutes. USA.)
Arlo, a trans teenager living on his own, comes face to face with a “Missing” poster of himself. Content warnings: Religious symbols, homelessness, slurs, talk of emotional neglect.
“(I.Self-protrait. Manifesto)” (Dir. Ekaterina Nikolaevna Guseva. 6 minutes. Russia.)
Everyone hears a lot of evaluation, criticism, praise and beliefs from birth. How does a person’s attitude toward life contribute to their own success? Content warnings: Talk of weight loss and body dysmorphia.
“leafmold” (Dir. Benja Thompson. 7 minutes. USA.)
Spun from chambered secrets and texts read under the full moon, this experimental film essay about gender explores contradictions within masculinity and femininity.
“Daisy: Prophet of the Apocalypse” (Dir. Venus Patel. 20 minutes. Ireland.)
This mockumentary follows radical trans preacher Daisy after she encounters a queer goddess atop a mountain and embarks on a journey to prophesy the end of the world. Content warnings: Reclaimed slurs, religious cult parody, comedic possession.
“Worms” (Dir. Zoe Purcell and Raymond Reed. 2 minutes. USA.)
“Where the birds cry” (Dir. Jakub Andrzej Wenda. 16 minutes. Poland.)
A seemingly ordinary meeting on a cliff turns into lonely 14-year-old Szymon’s first summer romance. Content warnings: Nudity, alcohol use, explicit language.
“No one falls in love in a porn cinema” (Dir. Varinia Perusin Failla. 9 minutes. Argentina.)
After a revealing experience, a regular at Mar del Plata's porn cinemas reevaluates his way of engaging with society. Content warnings: Partial nudity, simulated sex.
“HOT” (Dir. Franck Hourliac. 15 minutes. France. )
Adam’s chat with an anonymous stranger on Grindr leads to an unexpectedly gentle encounter between two boys. Content warnings: Partial nudity, language, alcohol use, smoking.
“Stay” (Dir. King Louie Palomo. 22 minutes. Canada.)
On their last night in town, Kaleb, stage name Ivy Diamonds, meets Ryan. The few hours they spend together bring Kaleb an unexpected sense of clarity. Starring Canada's Drag Race legend Kendall Gender. Content warnings: Alcohol use, smoking, explicit language, discussion of death, simulated sex, partial nudity.
“Lovely” (Dir. Félicie Alessia Diaz. 5 minutes. Canada.)
This story follows a person on a journey to self-acceptance through queer BIPOC spaces. Content warnings: Blurry and brief clips of pornography.
Sensory warning: This film uses flashing lights.
“Melk” (Dir. Niek de Leeuw. 4 minutes. Netherlands.)
Coming out can come with a lot of expectations. One gay filmmaker examines his own search for a cozier, less sexual path. Content warnings: Animated nudity and sex.
“Querent” (Dir. Robert Tiemstra. 13 minutes. USA. )
Following an identity crisis, Sam Kinsey goes to a special kind of fortune teller to find themselves. This leads them to a nightmare made of their own dysphoria. Content warnings: Graphic blood, self harm, loss of an eye.
“Escape from Eden” (Dir. Lampros Kordolaimis. 9 minutes. Greece.)
A scientist sets up another garden of Eden where he imprisons his creations and unleashes his dark fantasies on them. Content warnings: Surreal claymation gore, torture, dismemberment, nudity, animal death, death, birth, gunfire.
Sunday, December 29
10:30 am–3 pm
Film Screenings
“Blue Lunches” (Dir. Yeng Madayag. 2 minutes. USA.)
In a world where creatures are divided by color, friendly blue, red and yellow characters must navigate their world and relationships.
“In the middle of nowhere” (Dir. Sam Marques. 3 minutes. Portugal.)
Three people in conversation try to deconstruct the idea of gender as we know it and confront the ideals imposed on each of us. Content warning: Animated genitalia.
“Paroxysme” (Dir. Jeanne Lemay. 1 minute. Canada.)
This animated short film gives a raw and abstract representation of the anxious mind. Content warning: Animated nudity.
“Streetlight People” (Dir. Emily Pink Dwyer. 2 minutes. Australia.)
A couple's peaceful drive across a seemingly endless bridge is shattered when the streetlights give chase. Content warning: Animated blood.
“Make LOVE not War” (Dir. Shacham Rubin. 1 minute. Israel.)
Follow a surreal dance of alien creatures in a colorful landscape. Content warning: Suggestive content.
“Cathode Ray Twilight” (Dir. Linda Ye, Jolynne Sourn. 1 minute. Australia.)
Two women — a knight wielding a holy sword and a mighty sorceress — engage in a deadly struggle for a priceless relic, battling inside the realm of an old-school role-playing video game. Content warning: Mild animated violence.
“Virtual GIRL” (Dir. Connie Ellen Glachan. 4 minutes. Canada.)
Aqua Venus provides a personalized fever dream to help YOU discover what being a woman means! Content warnings: Animated nudity, animated knives and needles.
“(Re)Call” (Dir. Sam Atmane, Pierre-André Blanc, Faustine Guisse, Camille Le Boucher and Léo Resende. 6 minutes. France.)
A young man gets thrown into his own mind while memories of his mother resurface. Content warning: Parental abuse.
“Synethesia” (Dir. José Lauro Nunes Marques. 3 minutes. Brazil.)
Follow a visual trip through a mental unraveling and into a state of belonging and acceptance.
Sensory warning: This film uses strobe effects.
“RAVE” (Dir. S4RA. 9 minutes. Portugal.)
Enter an artificial safe space to explore the diversity of bodies and pleasure. Content warning: Explicit language.
“On the Other Side Of” (Dir. Mia Felić. 7 minutes. Estonia.)
This work explores gender transition through the 19th-century photographic process of mordançage: gradually altering silver gelatine prints to reveal new forms.
“Exodus 4” (Dir. Keyur Maharaj. 9 minutes. South Africa.)
Hildegard pursues an existential journey of love and loss. Content warnings: Blood, simulated death.
“Trans*Performativity” (Dir. Aura Fonseca. 6 minutes. Portugal.)
Fusing audiovisuals, dance and performance, this immersive film explores the nature of transformation and metamorphosis.
“Trace on my body” (Dir. Yue Hua. 3 minutes. China.)
Director Yue Hua examines the female gaze and self-acceptance after the effects of an illness. Shot on 16mm film. Content warnings: Nudity.
Sensory warning: This film uses strobe effects.
“My pretty woman is a real handsome man” (Dir. Wes Weisbaum and Parker Wanamaker. 2 minutes. USA.) Content warning: Smoking.
“Simply a bone” (Dir. Daniel Oliver Lee. 3 minutes. USA.)
This personal documentary reflects on mortality within a transgender body. Content warnings: Discussions of death and transphobia.
“A Tight, Warm Hug” (Dir. Lucy Rose Shaftain-Fenner. 6 minutes. United Kingdom.)
One filmmaker uses animation and archival VHS footage to share her journey of self-love and empowerment since starting hormone replacement therapy.
“Love Tastes Pink” (Dir. Pilar Alexandra Rüger Alonso. 9 minutes. China.)
Stone, a barista in Beijing, designs drinks based on the plays in the theater next to her café and observes the myriad ways love manifests itself.
“Queer New Orleans: A Journey Beyond Bourbon Street” (Dir. Zoe Ariella Lang. 12 minutes. USA.)
This film celebrates the people and spaces of NOLA’s queer community through three locations: Alma Café, Grrl Spot and the Allways Lounge and Cabaret.
“Yigayo Yuwuerane” (Dir. Ross Dayana López. 8 minutes. Colombia.)
The experience of being transgender can be one of resistance and rejection, but many trans people are also deeply woven into the fabric of their own culture and country.
Queer Filmmakers’ Screening, Talkback and Meet and Greet
12:45–1:45 pm
Join featured filmmakers for a special screening and an interactive discussion, followed by a meet and greet opportunity. Come prepared with questions or simply enjoy the conversation!
“Analog Z Love” (Dir. Alicia Arwgar. 3 minutes 22 seconds; Spain.)
How does a person go from being a stranger to being your center of attention? Filmed using Super 8 film.
“leafmold” (Dir. Benja Thompson. 7 minutes 21 seconds; USA.)
Spun from chambered secrets and texts read under the full moon, this experimental film essay about gender explores contradictions within masculinity and femininity.
“A brush story” (Dir.. 2 minutes 52 seconds; USA.)
A journey in electric toothbrush repair.
“Straightboy Lessons” (Directed by Raymond Rea. 8 minutes 22 seconds.)
This 1999 16 mm film is a reenactment of a conversation had in a truck in 1997. It is also an homage to an articulate friend and a lasting friendship. Content warnings: Explicit language; talk of smoking, misgendering and transphobia.
Queer Filmmakers’ Talkback
1–1:45 pm | Morse Auditorium
Enjoy an audience Q&A with featured filmmakers Raymond Rea, Alicia Arwgar, Benja Thompson and P. Chann and Panorama’s Creative Director Mac Allen. Moderated by Lil Santiago, PEM’s Public Programming Coordinator.
Meet and Greet
1:45 pm | Morse Alcove
Film Screening
“Ay! Cordero” (Dir. Agustina Akman, Cielo Iturralde Carrera, Mercedes Maudet. 4 minutes. Argentina.)
A young butcher explores her own femininity surrounded by blood, death and violence. Content warnings: Smoking.
“Yikes!” (Dir. Sammy Bush, Rocco Mannott, Sophie Ackerman. 6 minutes. USA.)
A group of movie-loving teens fall victim to the menacing Discombobulater in this campy suspense adventure.
“La Petite Mort” (Dir. Federica Avagliano. 15 minutes. USA.)
After surviving a vicious attack, the body of an undead ballerina still hungers. Content warnings: Attempted rape, eating disorders, graphic blood and gore, cannibalism, skin picking, murder, discussion of religious trauma.
“Luperca” (Dir. Rainn Mowris. 16 minutes. USA.)
A young trans woman risks her life to escape an abusive past and finds new family in her former enemies: a tight-knit pack of queer werewolves. Content warnings: Mild gore and violence, parental physical abuse, explicit language, drinking.
“The Unwanted” (Dir. Jordin Amoah. 3 minutes. USA.)
A teenage girl discovers an alien has been residing under her bed.
“Carmen” (Dir. Vitoria Ribeiro Dos Santos and Juliana Gomes Carneiro de Jesus. 6 minutes. Brazil.)
A young woman spends an afternoon preparing a romantic, out-of-this-world gastronomic experience. Content warnings: Gore.
“Anemone” (Dir. Mila Lignel. 11 minutes. Belgium.)
A modern mermaid sings to men, seduces them and systematically kills them. Content warnings: Misogyny, offscreen murder.
Sensory warning: This film uses strobe effects.
About the collaborators
Mac Allen
Miz Diamond Wigfall
Muscles Monty
Raymond Rea
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