Cinema Systers Film Festival
This is the ONLY All Lesbian film festival in the USA!
The mission of this festival is to uplift the visions and voices of women filmmakers and provide a public outlet for their art.
Cinema Systers intend to strengthen and connect this diverse community of women/womyn and build bridges among audiences, filmmakers and the community at large through the exhibition of lesbian produced films and other events planned throughout the weekend.
JURIED:
"Lily Tomlin Award" (Best of Fest)
"Best Short Film"
"Best Feature"
"Best Documentary"
"Best Experimental Film"
"Best Music Video"
"Audience Choice" Awards!
2024 films...
Fishy
Fresh off a recent break up, Erica is a scientist that believes in hard data and cold facts. All bets are off when warm hearted Marina, a mermaid from the wrong side of the cove swims into her pool and summons a tidal wave of emotions Erica isn't ready for.
Director Nicole de Meneses
20:00 USA
Not Quite That
Might a genetic mutation be the very thing that allows this nice Jewish butch lesbian to be fully seen at last? Meet Sarah, 57. Lesbian? For sure. Jewish? Yes and no. Mother? In all but one sense. Trans? No, just often mistaken as such. Breast cancer survivor? Well, that’s the plan, the survival bit, but without the cancer or the breasts. Not Quite That is an intimate and insightful exploration of how we are seen, how we see ourselves, and why it matters.
Director Ali Grant
47:02 Canada
LATE PYAR
The army tortured and killed many people after an arbitrary coup. Many people are separated from their loved ones and are fighting for the truth. Jit is a fighter for the truth. Nyomi looks forward to the day her long-distance girlfriend returns. When will Jit and Nyomi meet again?
Director Yit
13:42 Myanmar
RAIZES
The lesbo-trans-activist batucada Raízes Arrechas is preparing for one of the most important moments of their year: the feminist and radical night march in Paris. [English subtitles]
Director Celine RUFFIN-BAYARDIN
1:39:44 France
ALL THE FLOWERS
In the center of Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, a country torn by decades of violent armed conflict, is an oasis for people desperately fleeing war who arrive completely alone, unprotected and traumatized by armed conflict.
“All The Flowers” builds an intimate and complex portrait of a neighborhood and its inhabitants' fierce will to flourish.
Director Carmen Oquendo-Villar
01:17:08 Colombia
Lactasia
Jen is a bratty but strong funeral parlour employee. Her job is to make the dead seem less dead by pilling on tones of make up on their faces and bodies. It all goes downhill when her boss and bargain enthusiast, Michelle, hands her a batch of suspiciously cheap liquid foundation to use.
Director Val Phoenix
46:08 United Kingdom
ELECTRA WASP
ELECTRA WASP is an experimental animated psychobiography about the death and life of trailblazing pilot Amelia Earhart. It is a retrospective of her emotional world and an exploration of what drove her to pursue her passion for flying.
Director Wasan Hayajneh
6:10 USA
Red Yellow Blue
A girl gets haunted by her own demons as we follow her through her colorful, surreal, bizarre descent into insanity.
Director Julia E. Cooke
18:32 USA
Blue Hour
Two personal journeys intersect when a struggling young photographer is hired for a cheap last minute portrait gig. The unfolding photo session, while transient, leaves an indelible mark on both women.
Director J.D Shields
15:00 USA
Carrie Lives Alone
After a breakup, Carrie spends her first weekend alone. She isn't sure what to do with herself, but she is sure that she doesn't want to lose her dog, Dax, who her ex also wants to keep. It happens to be one of the worst days of her life. She's lonely and fumbling until finally, she finds the courage to be honest with herself about her fears.
Director Kali Veach
5:00 USA
Carpet Companion
"Carpet Companion" is an indie comedy that explores the journey of Jean, a lesbian in Oakland who is navigating the challenges of finding her place in the world. After struggling to find a job, she unexpectedly lands a job as a lesbian escort. "Carpet Companion" is a heartfelt and thought provoking film that explores themes of identity, sexuality, and self discovery."
Director Jen Ro
40:00 USA
Flag Act
Free-spirited Simone gets a surprise knock at her door one evening. Turns out she has run afoul of the F.L.A.G. Act, a new (fictional … really) law that prohibits the flying of “provocative” flags. Simone coolly defends her right to free speech, including the flying of a rainbow flag. The porch-side conflict escalates beyond annoyance to absurdity, with Simone’s sass remaining intact to the end.
Director Susana Darwin
9:55 USA
Lesbophilia
When free-as-a-bird bisexual Eliana questions giving up the "D" at her ex-boyfriend's funeral, her girlfriend Chase must decide how far she’s willing to go for love.
Director Michelle West
15:05 USA
Screamer
Amid suspicions of spousal abuse, a shocking discovery is revealed.
Director Debra Fuller
6:16 USA
Her Curve
Queer and quirky, Jordan’s falling - for her art model
Director Stacy Jill Calvert & Jaclyn Chessen
5:59 USA
Jewelle: A Just Vision by Madeleine Lim (2022)
From Black Power in late-60s Boston, to AIDS activism in mid-80s New York, to Marriage Equality in early-10s San Francisco, Jewelle: A Just Vision (64 mins, 2022) from award-winning filmmaker Madeleine Lim, focuses a joyful and hope-filled spotlight on novelist, playwright, essayist, poet, and journalist Jewelle Gomez.
An Ioway and Wampanoag, African American and Cape Verdean, femme lesbian, Jewelle co-founded decades-old social justice organizations that are more relevant than ever. Expansive in her creative imagination, inclusive in her philanthropic leadership, and passionate in her lesbian of color feminist ethics, she is an unrelenting torchbearer for the transformative power of the artist as activist.
Director Madeleine Lim
01:03:36 USA
What we have done What we have left undone
Examining the racial history of All Saints in Indianapolis and exploring how racist policies and actions continue to impact the congregation in uneven ways, this film combines stories from community members historicized with archival footage documenting neighborhood changes that impacted the racial make-up of the congregation and the internal dynamics of the church.
Director Catherine Crouch
01:15:00 USA
And They Named Her Love
The love of God comes at no cost to those who seek …and they named her LOVE is a movie about a hopeless romantic painter named Love who has set out on a cross country journey to find herself in the artist world. When a near death experience brings Atlanta based songstress Nasada into her life, she goes on a journey to find out that love and business do not always mix.
By Onyx Keesha and B. Danielle Watkins
1:47:00 USA
THE LESBIAN LOBSTER SONG
The rural lesbians of the north shore of Nova Scotia gather each spring to celebrate lobster season, and their voracious appetites, with feast and song.
Director Liss Platt
4:05 Canada
UNDEFINED SPACES
Spazi Indeterminabili explores spatial and social orientation within national borders, and social structures. Through a personal navigation of space and memories, it pursues a grounding concept of home.
Directed by Michelle Trujillo
10:45 USA