Cinema Systers Film Festival

2025 films...

Cowboy Dinner 

Alice is a lonely bookshop owner who decides to bring a community of movie lovers together for friendship and companionship. Her successful weekly movie nights gather more and more diverse attendees enjoying films and potlucks called “Cowboy Dinners.” Along the way, the community finds healing and love, along with a surprise visitor, Alice’s long separated sister. 

Directed by Bethany Canchola & Isabel Nixon Klein

Washington, USA 6 min

 

Safety State 

In the dystopian near future, a gay and a lesbian couple form an unlikely friendship as they flee the midwest for safety in New England.

As rights are being rolled back and travel bans are going into effect, Shay and Quincy decide to leave their home in Ohio and travel East to a safety state where it is safe and legal to be queer. They meet up with another couple, Jacob and Michael, so together they can pose as straight married couples. Quincy takes an instant dislike to her new "husband", Jacob, as she resents depending on the men and pretending to be straight. As they face different threats on their journey, they form an unlikely friendship. 

Directed by Jeanette L. Buck

Muncie, Indiana, USA 15:37

 

Outliers and Outlaws 

The hundreds of lesbians who migrated to Eugene, Oregon from the 1960’s-80’s agreed on one thing: everything was going to be different. 

Directed by Courtney Hermann

Oregon, USA 1:05:00

 

Metrodrama 

What if you meet the love of your life on the underground? What would you do to make her notice you? 

Directed by Tiziana Cristiano

Italy      12:00

 

The Cat Sitter 

In search of quick cash, a young professional takes on a cat-sitting job for quirky ladies in Slabtown. Little does she know, these seemingly innocent feline companions harbor a sinister secret. 

Directed by Edie Eberhardt

Paducah, Kentucky, USA     20:01

 

Last Bite 

A young woman hires an escort for the evening to satisfy her unusual tastes. 

Directed by Nicole de Meneses

California, USA       9:00

 

We Will Not Go Away 

Women's March 2017: a marcher's view of DC's pinkest day. 

By Gloria A. Downey

Miami Gardens, Florida, USA         9:49

 

Bulletproof A lesbian's guide to surviving the plot 

Filmmaker Regan Latimer takes an insightful, funny and personal look at queer representation on television and media’s power to shape how we see ourselves. Witty, fast-paced and laced with pop culture references, Regan journeys across North America and beyond in her quest to understand the forces that influence the stories we see on our screens. Original animation and personal anecdotes are interwoven with wide ranging conversations with television insiders, LGBTQ+ community advocates and people who just love to watch TV. As Latimer navigates an ever-evolving media landscape, the filmmaker learns first hand that representation done well has the power to transform. 

Directed by Regan Latimer

Toronto, Ontario, Canada      1:45:00

 

Greer Ralston Giving it all to Art 

An intimate portrait of figurative artist Greer Ralston as she astonishes us with her exceptional talent and tells of her plans to devote herself solely to art. 

Directed by Rachel Dax

United Kingdom         60:53

 

Old Lesbians 

For the last quarter century, retired schoolteacher Arden Eversmeyer journeyed from Houston across the country to record hundreds of oral "herstories" with a mostly invisible population that is rapidly disappearing. Old Lesbians honors Arden's legacy by animating the resilient, joyful voices she preserved in the Old Lesbian Oral Herstory Project, from first crush to first love, from the closet to coming out, and finally from loss to connection. 

Directed by Meghan McDonough

Brooklyn, New York, USA        29:00

 

Gillyfish 

When GILLIAN takes on her partner’s identity to confront their father, she finds a connection she didn't expect in the strange exchange she has with him. A short about healing by proxy, and stepping into new identities. 

Directed by Sarah Sellman

Los Angeles, California, USA        10:51

 

PARAMITA 

Part poetry, part memoir-style reflection and part prayer, PARAMITA bears witness to Prajna Paramita Choudhury’s 25-year coming out process with her traditional Bangladeshi mother. Told with intimacy, tenderness and a quiet power, PARAMITA invites us into a meditative spiritual experience as Prajna connects with Buddhist practices and nature as gateways for intergenerational healing. 

Directed by Kirthi Nath

Oakland, California          23:45

 

Lessons in Love 

Birds find mates in a heartbeat. Can Katharine, our charming lesbian lead, do the same? "Lessons in Love" is a silent film, a whirlwind rom-com where she hilariously tests every love cliché in the book. 

Directed by Katharine Holland

Laguna Woods, California, USA        4:09

 

Keepsake 

A young woman attempts to unravel the mysterious circumstances that surround the death of her sister ten years ago. 

Directed by Tiffany Albright

Wilmington, North Carolina, USA         8:20

 

A Mother Apart 

An emotionally sweeping tale of healing and forgiveness, A Mother Apart accompanies powerhouse Jamaican-American poet and LGBTQ+ activist Staceyann Chin as she re-imagines the essential art of mothering—having been abandoned by her own mother. 

Directed by Laurie Townshend

Canada                  1:28:00

 

Sally 

Sally Gearhart was a lesbian-feminist firebrand, professor, and fantasy author who helped transform the world for gay people—but too few folks know of this “hidden figure.” Our film celebrates Sally’s dynamism and complexity, as well as the collective (if chaotic) nature of revolutionary movements and their icons. 

Directed by Deborah Alice Craig

Berkeley, California, USA        1:30:00

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