TRANS SHORTS
SPECIAL
GUEST CURATOR
MICKEY MAHONEY
Mickey R Mahoney is a Professor, Adj., in the Dept. of Film, Video, New Media, and Animation; and the Dept. of Art History, Theory, and Criticism, at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He developed and teaches, Queer Pictures and Trans Pictures, cinema classes offered in Art History, Theory, and Criticism. Mahoney’s short films, Midwestern Hospitality, Acrobats and Sword-Swallowers, The Undergrad, and Traverse City continue to screen worldwide.
Photo by Christa Holka.
SPECIAL
GUEST CURATOR
LILLY WACHOWSKI
Lilly Wachowski is a trans woman and lifelong Chicago resident. She holds a half-finished BA as well as an almost completed Post Baccalaureate certificate from SAIC. Lilly has worked as a Building Maintenance Technician’s Assistant, self-employed carpenter, and Writer/Producer/Director. Some of her credits include The Matrix, Sense8, V for Vendetta, Bound, and Work in Progress. She also paints; sometimes she paints ducks.
Photo by Christa Holka.
FEATURED SHORTS
COMING OUT
CRESSA MAEVE ÁINE | 2023 | 3 MIN
A tender stop-motion animation about identity, love, and giant monsters. Endorsed officially by Toho, the studio responsible for the iconic creature, this short brings awareness Read More→
A tender stop-motion animation about identity, love, and giant monsters. Endorsed officially by Toho, the studio responsible for the iconic creature, this short brings awareness and support for LGBTQ stories into the Godzilla canon.
Director: Cressa Maeve Áine
2023 | 3 Min | USA
ALL THE WORDS BUT THE ONE
NAVA MAU | 2024 | 19 MIN
A dinner with her partner’s new boss becomes precarious when Maya realizes she’s also dining with someone from her past. World Premiere Director: Nava Mau Read More→
A dinner with her partner’s new boss becomes precarious when Maya realizes she’s also dining with someone from her past.
World Premiere
Director: Nava Mau
2024 | 19 Min | USA
DILATING FOR MAXIMUM RESULTS
NYALA MOON | 2023 | 14 MIN
A whacky, irrelevant comedy about a black trans woman who tries to dilate, after four years of not dilating, to hook-up IRL with her online Read More→
A whacky, irrelevant comedy about a black trans woman who tries to dilate, after four years of not dilating, to hook-up IRL with her online boyfriend.
Director: Nyala Moon
2023 | 14 Min | USA
ARE YOU SURE?
PERETTE BARELLA | 2023 | 10 MIN
Transgender woman Sarah struggles to jump the same transition hurdle, again and again. Director: Perette Barella 2023 | 10 Min | USA
I'M IN LOVE WITH EDGAR ALLAN POE
ANDREA WALTER | 2023 | 13 MIN
Two goth teens face an ingredient supply issue as they prepare to resurrect the soul of Edgar Allan Poe. World Premiere Director: Andrea Walter 2023 Read More→
Two goth teens face an ingredient supply issue as they prepare to resurrect the soul of Edgar Allan Poe.
World Premiere
Director: Andrea Walter
2023 | 13 Min | USA
SPOOKABLE
JONATHAN ANDRE CULLITON | 2023 | 15 MIN
“Spookable” is the story of two trans best friends, Sean and Tahmina, who go to vacation in the woods only to end up a part Read More→
“Spookable” is the story of two trans best friends, Sean and Tahmina, who go to vacation in the woods only to end up a part of the supernatural world.
World Premiere
Director: Jonathan Andre Culliton
2023 | 15 Min | USA
BURTON BEFORE AND AFTER
COURTNEY HERMANN | 2017 | 15 MIN
Fifteen years after Burton began his gender-affirming transition, his longtime friend Courtney calls him up with news that she has uncovered a cache of home Read More→
Fifteen years after Burton began his gender-affirming transition, his longtime friend Courtney calls him up with news that she has uncovered a cache of home video footage from that time period. Courtney proposes that they go on-camera to revisit the old footage together. Burton Before and After is an intimate portrait of transition, memory, and friendship.
Director: Courtney Hermann
2017 | 15 Min | USA
HERE WITH YOU
NOAH SHAMUS | 2017 | 7 MIN
When Imani goes to her friend's housewarming party, she meets a boy who piques her interest. She invites him over to hang out while she Read More→
When Imani goes to her friend's housewarming party, she meets a boy who piques her interest. She invites him over to hang out while she gets ready for another party, only to realize that they have more in common than she thought.
Director: Noah Shamus
2017 | 7 Min | USA