Queerstreifen Münster

2025 films... 

Klandestin 

Gripping political thriller about migration and morality

The acclaimed lesbian director Angelina Maccarone combines four personal fates with current politics in KLANDESTIN: The conservative EU politician Mathilda (accustomed brilliantly: Fassbinder-Muse Barbara Sukowa) stands for a hard border policy. And yet the career woman is helping her best gay buddy Richard (“Matrix” star Lambert Wilson) host his illegally arrived friend Malik. The situation escalates when the young Moroccan is targeted by terror investigations. Can Mathilda's lesbian assistant Amina, who is from a Moroccan family, mediate?

Maccarone’s unusual film took a decade to realize – it was worth the effort: In 2017, the project received the Lola for the best unfilmed screenplay. In 2024, it was then the Filmkunstpreis in Ludwigshafen and the audience award at the Hamburg International Queer Film Festival. The critics also showed themselves to be impressed: “They are films like this, of which it absolutely needs more in Germany – to finally counter the stereotypes about migration artistically.”

Deutschland 2024 · R & Db: Angelina Maccarone · K: Florian Foest · Musik: Freya Arde • Mit: Barbara Sukowa, Lambert Wilson, Katharina Schüttler, Habib Adda, Banafshe Hourmazdi u.a. · ab 12 J. · 124‘

 

Newborn 

A young family between binary gender norms and the right to self-determination of one’s identity

A couple get ready to have their first child. But when the doctors find that the baby has both male and female sex characteristics, so is intersex, they are stunned. Under increasing medical pressure, parents should make a quick decision: operate or not? Nicolás (Andrés Delgado), the father, wants an operation to determine the sex, but María (Mayra Hermosillo), the mother, hesitates in this approach. She meets other intersex people and their families and is touched by their reports about it. And more and more she is also thinking about her own ideas of gender.

In the race against time, they both wrestle with doubts about which decision would really be the best for their child. NEWBORN impressively highlights the harsh dynamics faced by intersex people and their families in societies that still strongly adhere to binary norms.

Un mundo para mí · Mexico 2024 · R&Db: Alejandro Zuno · K: Ximena Amann • With: Mayra Hermosillo, Andrés Delgado, Silvia Navarro, Sonia Couoh, Gerardo Trejoluna and others · span. OmU · 104'

 

Cactus fruits 

A quietly told, atmospheric,
autobiographically influenced drama

After his father's death, 30-year-old call center employee Anand from Mumbai spends the traditional ten-day mourning period in his West Indian home village with his mother. Instead of being able to process the loss, he has to fight his way through a craving of formalities and rituals – always under the pressure not to disappoint the expectations of the extended family.

He is suspiciously eyed over whether he follows the mourning rituals and it excites offense that he is not married. He can only escape the narrowness of the village from his childhood friend Balya, with whom he finds some peace and tenderness in secret moments. But then the time of mourning ends, and Anand has to ask himself whether his relationship with Balya has a future.

CACTUS FRUIT is a movie drama and feature film debut by Rohan Parashuram Kanawade. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2025, where he was awarded the Grand Jury Prize for Best Foreign Feature Film.

SABAR BONDA · Ind. /GB/Canada 2025 · R&D: Rohan Parashuram Kanawade · K: Vikas Urs • With Bhushaan Manoj · Suraaj Suman · Jayshri Jagtap · Dhananjay Jambar · Sandhya Pawase and others · marathi.OmU · 113’

 

Dreamers 

Love, hope and struggle in one
Deportation centre in the UK

Isio lives without papers in the UK. When she is picked up, she ends up in a deportation center. Her roommate Farah helps her get used to it. In the midst of the prison life marked by constant fear, the two women fall in love and dream of a common future.

While Isio exhausts all legal options, Farah is making other plans with her friends Nana and Atefeh. Isio is also said to be there, but she is afraid of risking her chance of asylum. But then Farah's asylum application is rejected.

The film impressively shows the interior view of a deportation centre in the UK. The story is told in warm pictures and colorful colors, which contrast with the hard everyday life in the furnishings.

“It’s a story about two women who, despite an uncertain future, find love in the most unlikely of all places. It is a story about faith in love, even if it seems unattainable.” (Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor)

UK 2025 · R & Db: Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor · K: Anna Patarakina • With: Ronkẹ Adékọluẹ́jọ́, Ann Akinjirin, Diana Yekinni, Aiysha Hart and others · from 12 years · English · English ¢ 78• 78’

 

Who wants one Marrying astronauts? 

When the application bursts, the crazy search for a replacement bridegroom begins

David and Quique have lived together in Barcelona for 15 years. Despite the skepticism of mother and best friend, the plan to propose to Quique matures in David. He secretly books tickets to Las Vegas – including a trip on the legendary Route 66 – to celebrate a romantic wedding.

After thorough preparation comes the decisive day. David stops for the hand of his loved one – but he concedes complete incomprehension and a clear no from Quique in public.

Sad, but all the more determined, David doesn't give up. He is looking for any man who would marry him spontaneously. In a self-prescribed ten days, he sets everything in motion – and actually finds someone who engages in this adventure.

Light and easy, full of humor and romantic feeling.

¿QUIÉN QUIERE CASARSE CON UN ASTRONAUTA? · Span. /Uruguay/Argentina 2025 · R: David Matamoros · Db: Mónica Cambra, Ariadna Fortuny and others. · K: Mariano de Rosa • With: Raúl Tejón, Alejandro Nones, Raúl Fernández de Pablo ·u.a. span.OmU · 94'

 

Lesbian Space Princess 

A queer space adventure full of
Humor, heart and feminist power

Many tears flow when the shy Princess Saira of the lesbian-ruled planet Clitopolis is left completely unexpectedly by her friend Kiki. But shortly afterwards, Kiki is kidnapped – her release is only possible in exchange for the golden double axe “Labrys”. There is no time for Saira to cry: she takes all her courage and leaves her protected home planet for the first time. A race with time begins. Will Saira find the Labrys and be able to save Kiki?

Australians Leela Varghese and Emma Hough Hobbs, also privately a couple, have made their first lesbian animated film. Colorful and humorous, he tells of the most diverse people that Saira encounters on her adventure journey through the galaxies – and of the challenges she has to overcome.

Australia 2025 · R & Db: Emma Hough Hobbs & Leela Varghese · English OmU · 86'

 

The Wonderful Life of Margot Heuman 

Filmed play about a lesbian Holocaust survivor

Margot Heuman (1928-2022) survived several concentration camps. She was the first (and probably last) Holocaust survivor to report on her lesbian experiences during the persecution. The documentary theatre piece was created on the basis of interviews conducted by the historian Anna Hájková with contemporary witness Margot Heuman. It shows growing up as a lesbian Jewish woman in the Nazi concentration camps. Heuman's testimony is combined with archive images and projections.

Anna Hájková and Dr. Erika Hughes developed the play and chose the documentary theatre. Two people are on stage, Anna Hájková (Phoebe Rumsey), the researcher and Margot Heuman (Ayse Evans), who tells of her life before, during and after the deportation.

“The play offers a rare and important insight into a queer life during the Holocaust.” (Nils Steffen, University of Hamburg)

Afterwards there is a video conversation in German with Anna Hájková, moderated by Stefan Querl, head of the Villa ten Hompel.

UK 2021 · R: Erika E. Hughes Theater Production: Anna Hájková and Erika Hughes • With Ayse Evans, Phoebe Rumsey · engl.OmU · 45'

 

If I Die, It'll Be of Joy 

Documentary about passion and lust in old age

Micheline, 81, speaks openly about her longing for passion and cannot be slowed down in her wishes by age.
Francis, 70, pools his energy in activism and works with the activist group Grey Pride to improve the lives of queer older people in France.
Yves, 68, meanwhile, struggles with loneliness and longs for connectedness in a world that often makes him invisible. With their creative projects, they challenge society’s deep-rooted prejudices against aging bodies and forms of sexual expression.

An empathetic and powerful documentary about the right to love and intimacy beyond youthful ideals and social ideas that also poses uncomfortable questions: Why does sexuality become taboo in old age? ... Who determines when desire ends? A moving film about lust, love and the courage to stay true to yourself – at any age.”

SI JE MEURS, CE SERA DE JOIE · France 2024 · R & Db: Alexis Taillant • With: Micheline Boussaingault, Francis Carrier, Yves Vanhecke and others · franz.OmU · 80'

 

Shorts: Queer Voices 

BEYOND THE GOLDEN LINE
An injured Black transmasculine pole dancer is interrupted by mysterious calls during his preparations. Perhaps the magic of his dance holds a way to get back together with the people he loves.
Germany 2024 · R: Sj Rahatoka · OmeU · 19’

 

WE WANT TO BE WHO WE ARE
Aya and Boi are best friends – and decide to marry to escape social constraints. A poetic and urgent call to stand by yourself.
Sierra Leone 2024 · R: Priscillia Kounkou Hoveyda · English.OmeU · 16’

 

ALEYA
Shortly after her transition, Aleya moves from Cairo to Berlin. The portrait accompanies her through losses, family alienation as well as hormonal and psychological upheaval.
Egypt 2024 · R: Omar Abogabal · arab. /OmeU · 10’

 

F** KED
A married lesbian couple in an open relationship explores curiosity and freedom. But when suddenly everything is on the table – where do the boundaries go?
Great Britain 2024 · R: Sara Harrak · angelIC OF · 6’

 

HIS BODY
A tribute to blaxploitation: Two ex-lovers meet again supernaturally – in a night of soul music.
Brazil 2024 · R: Yuri Costa · port.OmU · 24’

 

SIS
A surrealist comedy: At a rooftop party in Brooklyn, a woman comes across her ex's new girlfriend. A cosmic meeting that complicates everything.
USA 2023 · R: Miranda Haymon · English · 13’

 

Plainclothes 

The enemy in my toilet – captivating psychological thriller with top stars

Syracuse, New York State, 1990s. The young Lucas works as an undercover policeman in plainclothes. His job is to attract and arrest gay men in public toilets. However, he struggles with his own homosexuality and also falls in love with Andrew, one of his targets... The British screen stars Tom Blyth (“Hunger Games”) and Russell Tovey (“Pride”) make the thrilling time drama an event.

Carmen Emmi's debut film picks up on an almost forgotten episode of the American queer story: the police's hunt for mating-willing gays in flaps. The most famous victim of this hatz was the British pop singer George Michael: he was arrested in a public toilet in Beverly Hills in 1998 after being caught by a police officer in “obscene acts.” But George Michael made the most of the scandal: he finally came out as gay and processed the affair in his hit song “Outside”.

USA 2025 · R & Db: Carmen Emmi · K: Ethan Palmer · Music: Emily Wells • With Tom Blyth, Russell Tovey, Maria Dizzia, Christian Cooke and others · English · 92’

 

The youngest daughter 

A sensitively told coming-of-age story

Fatima is 17 and the youngest of three daughters of a French-Algerian family in the Paris suburb. She loves football and her family, is a good student. When she moves to Paris to study, she discovers a new world, new freedoms, new friendships, her love for women and the lesbian-queer scene.

Torn between family, religion and sexuality, Fatima seeks answers to the question of how she remains true to herself when everything seems to be at odds with each other.

»Newcomer Nadia Melliti convinces with an extraordinary presence. It gives the role of a haunting naturalness and authenticity. Rarely has a film carried us away from the first minute. Great, award-winning French cinema with wit, approachable characters and universal history!

Nadia Melliti was named Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival for her outstanding performance. Director Hafsia Herzi celebrated her premiere in the Cannes competition – which won the Queer Palm.

LA PETITE DERNIERE · France/Germany 2025 · R & Db: Hafsia Herzi, based on the novel of the same name by Fatima Daas • With: Nadia Melliti, Park Ji-min, Amina Ben Mohamed and others · franz.OmU · 106’

 

Misericordia 

The Ardèche see and die – whimsical gay psychological thriller

There is quite a lot going on in the picturesque autumn forest, which shines in all the imaginable shades of red, orange and green. The men who run across the path here, away from the small village, in the southern French province, seem to be looking for something – but not for the mushrooms that grow in the damp underground ...

Alain Guiraudie, director of the cult film “Der Fremde am See” (2013) presents a new prank with MISERICORDIA: After ten years, Jérémie returns to his home village on the occasion of a funeral. Since the widow Martine is very hospitable, he can imagine staying in the Ardèche. But that doesn’t suit everyone and soon there will be a first dead person ... The Süddeutsche Zeitung was thrilled: “This great little thriller turns the rules of the genre upside down. Maybe even Hitchcock would have liked that!” The French film magazine “Cahiers du Cinéma” ranked MISERICORDIA at number 1 on the list of the best films of 2024.

MISÉRICORDE · France 2025 · R & Db: Alain Guiraudie · Camera: Claire Mathon · Music: Marc Verdaguer • With Félix Kysyl, Catherine Frot, Jean-Baptiste Durand, Jacques Develay and others · from 16 years · franz.OmU · 104’’

 

Peter Hujar's Day 

An everyday winter day becomes a portrait of 1970s queer New York

On the 18. In December 1974, photographer Peter Hujar followed the idea of his girlfriend and author Linda Rosenkrantz: he was to accurately log every action and conversation for a whole day. The result was the intimate portrait of a seemingly ordinary winter day in New York – a day full of small encounters that only draw a fascinating picture of his life in retrospect.

The phone rings uninterrupted: Susan Sontag calls, as does his artist friend Ed Baynard. An editor of Elle arrives at Hujar's loft to examine prints. Later, Hujar meets the poet Allen Ginsberg, whom he is to photograph for the New York Times. And in between: sleep and eat. Hujar tells his girlfriend all this.

From the never realized project of Linda Rosenkrantz, a film was made decades later: director Ira Sachs transforms the rediscovered transcript into a warm-hearted chamber play about Peter Hujar, his art and a long-ago New York – played by Ben Whishaw and Rebecca Hall.

USA 2025 · R: Ira Sachs · Db: Linda Rosenkrantz, Ira Sachs · K: Alex Ashe • With: Ben Whishaw & Rebecca Hall · from 12 years · English · 76'

 

Heightened Scrutiny 

A legal dispute over the right of trans* people to exist

The film follows the fight for the rights of trans* people in the U.S.: From a Tennessee law that prohibits gender-aligning medical care for youth, to the trial before the Supreme Court, which the discriminatory law under tightened review (=. Heightened Scrutiny) brings.

The focus is on attorney Chase Strangio, who is the first trans* person to file a lawsuit before the Supreme Court. For more than half a year, the film accompanies his preparations, personal moments with friends or political developments such as the Trump victory and the increasing homophobia and transphobia in the USA. Special insights are provided by trans* people such as the young Mila, whose school meeting shows how much their identity as a trans* teenager is threatened by this law. Media insiders make it clear that one-sided reporting and agenda setting stoke hatred and endanger democracy. A highly topical insight into the fight for LGBTIQ* rights, solidarity and the importance of community in difficult times.

USA 2025 · R: Sam Feder · K: Martin DiCiccio, Mariam Dwedarl • With: Chase Strangio, Gina Chua, Jelani Cobb, Tre’Vell Anderson, Laverne Cox and others · engl. OmU · 89'

 

Quir 

A small leather goods store as a safe space for the LGBTIQ* community in Palermo

Quir, the small shop in the Ballarò district, belongs to Gino and Massimo, who have been a couple for over 40 years. Your store is a place where fabric, leather and stories become a vibrant map of the LGBTIQ* community. They look out of the shop window into the bustling bustle of the street, but those who step through the door come across a world that offers more space: a safe oasis for souls who seek belonging or have to process their injuries.

Thus, the film describes a phenomenon that is more than selling bags, namely a community that strengthens each other. Massimos and Gino's relationship is the heart of the film. Massimo has lived through a transition, the course of which he does not force into a clear attribution, but carries with calm and dignity. Gino encounters this change with generosity and loyalty.

Her workshop is a laboratory of identities: here is discussed, argued, laughed and self-determination lived. In a city that is conservative and sometimes hostile, they defy the resistance they encounter with activism and alliances.

Switzerland 2024 · R & Db: Nicola Bellucci · K: Pierre Mennel • With: Gino Campanella, Massimo Milani, Charly Abbadessa, Vivian Bellina and others · ital. OmU · 105'

 

Short films

Best of URSULA 

ZARI
On a family trip to India, Neelu discovers an unexpected connection in a sari store – to a salesperson who has far more facets than it seems at first.
USA/India 2024 · R: Shruti Parekh · hind./OmeU · 20’

 

SIDE DOOR / NEXT DOOR
A newly in love gay couple is moving in together. But the new apartment holds a secret: a strange connecting door that puts its togetherness to the test.
Germany 2024 · R: Lukas March · OmeU · 20’

 

A BIRD HIT MY WINDOW AND NOW I AM A LESBIAN
An accidental bird, an unexpected meeting – and suddenly everything stands for Gray’s mind: her view of life, love and herself.
USA 2024 · R: AJ Dubler & Carmela Murphy · English.OmU · 8’

 

GENDER REVEAL
Rhys is with both partners of all people on the gender-reveal party of the hetero-boss. It soon becomes clear that there are bigger challenges than expected.
Canada 2024 · R: Mo Matton · English/franz.OmU · 12’

 

KISS KISS WOLF ( ̮̈) ̊
In the darkrooms of the ORWO film factory in Wolfen, not only films were made, but also queer stories: secret lesbian erotic sets in socialism as places of secret self-empowerment.
Germany 2024 · R: lynn t musiol · dt.OmeU · 18’

 

CAPITANES / CAPTAINS
In the football locker room, a player’s coming-out turns into a dangerous but also lustful fantasy – a homoerotic dream between risk and joy.
Spain 2024 · R: Kevin Castellano, Edu Hirschfeld · span.OmU · 15’

 

Odd Fish 

A film in which a trans* woman masters both male and female roles

The youth friends Hjalti and Björn, who run a fish restaurant in their hometown in the picturesque Westfjords in the summer, are completely opposite. Hjalti is a confident family man and an important man in the city who also runs the Maritime Museum. His chef Björn, on the other hand, is a reserved single who still lives in his parents' house. When the two get the opportunity to run their fish restaurant all year round, Björn (played by the Icelandic actress and fight/stunt coordinator Arna Magnea Danks, who herself transitioned) comes out as a trans* woman and will henceforth be called Birna.

These changes put their friendship to the test, and both must face life with a new perspective to preserve the most important thing.

ODD FISH is a sensitive dramedy full of warm-hearted humor about friendship, acceptance and the desire to lead a fulfilling life without compromise.

Iceland 2024 · R & Db: Snævar Sölvason· K: Birgit Guðjónsdóttir • With Björn Jörundur Friðbjörnsson, Arna Magnea Thanks and others · isländ.OmU · 104’ 

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