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Fresno Reel Pride Film Festival
Friday, 19 September 2025 until Sunday, 21 September 2025
From humble beginnings in a Fresno State classroom, Fresno Reel Pride has evolved into the sixth oldest, and one of the largest, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) film festivals in the United States.
Fresno Reel Pride is a celebration of LGBTQ cinema and is a premier cultural event in Central California attracting thousands of attendees, filmmakers and stars to its five day festival of international feature films, documentaries, and shorts.
2025 films...
Sane Inside Insanity: The Phenomenon of Rocky Horror
The Rocky Horror Phenomenon is a comprehensive documentary about the show, movie, music, stars, creators, and fans worldwide. It covers the history from its humble 1970s premiere to today’s massive fan base. Featuring interviews with cast, crew, and fans, the documentary explores its cultural impact, from influencing pop culture to its role in the LGBTQIA+ movement. Set for release in 2025, it celebrates Rocky Horror’s 50th film anniversary.
Beyond the Binary Shorts
Boxes are for checking, not living in. These unapologetic shorts break boundaries and celebrate gender in all its complexity, centering voices that live beyond the binary.
Shape Notes
Director: Bryan McHenry
2025 • USA • 12 min. • English
A middle-aged church organist seeks help caring for his aging mother and finds the courage to start exploring his identity.
Period
Director: Kat Olson
2025 • USA • 10 min. • English
Trapped in a nightclub, a trans man must brave the women’s bathroom after an invasive visit from that time of the month.
Tucking
Director: Toni Blando
2025 • USA • 7 min. • English
Tucking is based on an awkward true story that highlights just one of the many unspoken growing pains of transwomen: tucking. The mission with Tucking is to shine light on the bold journey transwomen take, and surprise audiences with how much they themselves have in common with a transwoman.
This is Jan
Director: Robert Larriviere
2024 • USA • 22 min. • English
Set in the conservative world of the 1950s, Jan checks into a hotel seeking to escape the outside world. Once alone, they are free to shed the identity society has imposed upon them. Jan embraces the chance to explore who they truly believe they are. As they relish this new identity, a surge of confidence emerges, but they soon realize that not everything is as it seems. Faced with a choice between internal pressures and embracing their authentic self, Jan takes a bold step forward.
Dragfox
Director: Lisa Ott
2024 • Switzerland, UK • 9 min. • English
Sam’s search for identity gets interrupted by a mysterious neighborhood fox. Together they embark on a magical journey to the attic to discover the surprising things they might have in common, and how to celebrate the ways in which they differ.
Reel Resistance Shorts
A bold lineup of shorts that celebrate queer activism, challenge the status quo, and ignite the spirit of resistance through powerful storytelling.
Dancing in Tomorrow Land
Director: Jakob Roston
2024 • USA • 16 min. • English
In this fantasia of a 1980s gay rights theme park documentary an unsung teen activist fights to overturn Disneyland’s ban on same-sex dancing.
Plenum
Director: Charlene A. Carruthers
2025 • USA • 26 min. • English
An experimental reconstruction of the 1995 Black Nations?/Queer Nations? Conference, PLENUM follows the experience of siblings Ajani and Tracy, as they make their way from Chicago to New York City. While Tracy is worried that Ajani’s recent HIV positive diagnosis will drive him into isolation, Ajani fears the consequences of telling their father as he enters a new community and phase of life.
Silence=death
Director: Trace Pope
2025 • USA • 16 min. • English
On May 21, 1990, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) storms the DC campus of the National Institutes of Health to protest the lack of available drugs to treat AIDS. From his office, Dr. Anthony Fauci watches as the activists march around his building, chanting and shouting for his resignation. Meanwhile, a young gay filmmaker captures the events of the protest while attempting to deliver an important package to Fauci. As tensions rise and the demonstrations threaten to upend the scientists’ work, Dr. Fauci is forced to reckon with his power and privilege.
The Last Story on Earth
Director: Aaron Immediato
2024 • USA • 18 min. • English
Facing angry protesters, a determined drag queen does her best to finish a fairy tale reading at the local library. But when an alien invasion upends Earth’s existence, the queen encounters new challenges that carry terrifying outcomes for humanity. Trapped within the library, her storytelling skills are suddenly put to extraordinary tests, jeopardizing the lives of the last humans on Earth — the families who’ve cherished her stories and the protesters who’ve scorned them. Ultimately, it is the supreme power of imagination that holds the key to both the queen’s survival and the invaders’ domination.
A Second Life
July 2024, the Olympic Games are approaching. Elisabeth is a hearing-impaired American living in Paris. As her visa is about to expire she accepts a job as an Airbnb concierge to stay in France. She then meets Elijah, a laid-back Californian. Against her will, she has to cross Paris with him, right in the middle of the Olympic opening ceremony.
Speak
Five top-ranked high school oratory students spend a year crafting spellbinding spoken word performances with the dream of winning one of the world’s largest and most intense public speaking competitions.
A Shell of Herself
A Shell of Herself is a short documentary exploring the silent crisis of domestic violence in lesbian relationships, a subject often obscured by societal and community pressures. The film closely follows three women who bravely recount their experiences of abuse, including the complex issue of parental alienation. These personal narratives reveal the unique challenges faced by victims who hesitate to report violence, fearing they might betray their already marginalized community.
Sisters
Sisters is a comedy about chosen family. It follows best friends Lou and Esther, who often bond about wishing they grew up with a sister. But when Lou’s father unexpectedly dies and she learns she has a very real, very chic half sister, her and Esther’s co-dependent bliss is rudely interrupted. Starring real-life best friends Susie Yankou and Sarah Khasrovi, this film is equal parts daddy issues and fart jokes, as the girls learn the true meaning of that loaded F word — family.
Heightened Scrutiny
Heightened Scrutiny follows Chase Strangio, ACLU attorney and the first out trans person to argue before the Supreme Court, as he fights a high-stakes legal battle to overturn Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth (United States v. Skrmetti). The film exposes the dangerous role of mainstream media in fueling anti-trans legislation, uncovering how biased coverage drives hate, endangers lives, and threatens democracy itself. With insights from journalists like Jelani Cobb, Lydia Polgreen, and Gina Chua, and activists like Laverne Cox, the story dismantles anti-trans disinformation and highlights its devastating real-world impact. As SCOTUS prepares to rule on the case, Heightened Scrutiny reveals the fight for bodily autonomy as a fight for the soul of democracy, offering a powerful call to action against bigotry and injustice.
The Secret of Me
When 19-year-old Kristi discovers a secret her doctor and parents have kept from her all her life, her search for truth uncovers a radical psychological experiment, a global media scandal, and a legacy of harm towards intersex people.
Reel Scary Shorts
Chilling, bold, and unapologetically queer — this collection of short horror films explores fear, identity, obsession, and the supernatural through a thrilling LGBTQ+ lens.
Deep Dish Dimples
Director: Manuel Villarreal
2024 • USA • 9 min. • English
When Gio, a Black trans man, calls his best friend Lazette for help burying a body, the two are pulled into an unexpected confrontation with the past. As whispers of family wounds and unresolved trauma echo through the night, Gio must face a surreal encounter with his pre-transitioned self. What begins as a desperate mission transforms into a journey of acceptance, love, and self-forgiveness, reminding us that healing comes from embracing every part of who we are.
The Cave
Director: Matias Breuer
2025 • USA • 15 min. • English
An 1850s explorer wanders the California countryside, searching for a cave rumored to have mystical powers. However, Landon had concealed an intimate and profound love with a vampire, who now refuses to accept his loss and seeks revenge against his tormentor.
The Last Sleep
Director: Federica Bertelloti
2024 • Italy • 15 min. • Italian with English Subtitles
Landon, a young nobleman, fails to meet his father’s expectations due to his homosexuality. The man cruelly torments him in an attempt to change him, ultimately driving him to suicide. However, Landon had concealed an intimate and profound love with a vampire, who now refuses to accept his loss and seeks revenge against his tormentor.
Smells Like Soap
Director: Indica Marley DeRose
2025 • USA • 6 min. • English
A newly wed couple move in together for the first time. As they sway to music together in the living room, Vela expresses her love for Charlie. Vela becomes increasingly intense with her proclamations of love and Charlie begins to suspect that Vela is not the person that she thought she married.
The Nature of Invisible Things
In a stunning feature debut, director Rafaela Camelo has created an intimate, lyrical, and often-humorous story of the bonds of friendship, matriarchy, and chosen sisterhood with The Nature of Invisible Things.
Middleground
From director Alex Herz and Oscar-winning producer Doug Blush, MIDDLEGROUND is a short documentary project that explores the complexities of our country’s disability support system. Griffin Herz - who has Down syndrome — recently completed a program for adults with developmental disabilities at Fresno State, and is weeks away from moving into his new apartment and starting his independent life. But due to a gap in residential support, Griffin and three classmates are unexpectedly forced to move into temporary housing for two weeks under the supervision of his mother, Karen. The film documents the group’s collective experiences during this time, following them as they settle into living together, as well as begin their new job training internship. In capturing this unique interim period, MIDDLEGROUND sheds light on the complications of disability support, and how people of all abilities and socioeconomic backgrounds inevitably face gaps in the system at large. Stay after the screening for a special Q&A with Nicole Rodriguez of Best Buddies International. Hear firsthand about her experiences with the program and how you can get involved. Best Buddies programs help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) form meaningful friendships with their peers, secure successful jobs, live independently, and develop self-advocacy and communication skills. Support people with IDD today by visiting bestbuddies.org/donate.
A Body to Live In
The queer art of Body modification took center stage in 1989 when Fakir Musafar’s “Modern Primitives” movement hit alternative cultures around the globe via the punk subcultural magazine Re/Search. A photographer, performance artist, and ritualist, Musafar’s work mobilized an entire generation of artists, thinkers, and seekers. A Body To Live In introduces this riveting “Gender Flex” icon to uncover the rich history of western body modification and its complex intersection with sexuality and spiritual practices.
Fun in Women’s Shorts
Lush, thoughtful, and occasionally irreverent, this collection of visually rich films by and about queer women blends artistry, humor, and quiet truths into layered, unforgettable stories.
Clam Diving for Beginners
Director: Clara Marshall
2025 • Germany • 19 min. • English
Carmen seeks the low down on going down, so her clueless friends take her to a lesbian coach, just in time for her big date with Julia.
The Eating of an Orange
Director: May Kindred-Boothby
2025 • United Kingdom • 8 min. • English
In a large manor house identical figures eat the same, move the same, look the same. But everything will change for one woman when she gets given an orange by an unknown figure. She has never seen an orange. In the exploration of this new and exciting discovery, she gets transported into another realm of lichens, slugs and sensuous fluidity. But how can she balance this with the world she knows? She must make a choice: abandon her discovery, or step forwards into a new way of being.
A Bird Hit My Window and Now I’m a Lesbian
Director: Carmela Murphy & AJ Dubler
2025 • USA • 8 min. • English
After a mysterious girl shows up at Gray’s doorstep holding the corpse of a bird that had just cracked her window, an impromptu bird funeral changes the way Gray views herself and her lesbian identity.
Binge
Director: J.C. Heings
2025 • USA • 18 min. • English
A woman struggling with a binge eating disorder attends her ex-girlfriend’s bachelorette party in an attempt to reconnect. But the social pressures and her body anxiety build up until she panics and binges on the party’s hilarious vulva-themed cake.
Fun in Men’s Shorts
Tender shorts about men who love men explore healing through love, friendship, self-acceptance, and the passage of time.
Arthur Ave
Director: Joey Medina
2025 • USA • 9 min. • English
In a Bronx bar, a clash between traditional Italian-American “wiseguys” and the LGBTQ+ community leads to a confrontation that challenges the characters’ preconceptions and the dynamics of power.
A Year Without Shadow
Director: Luis Fernando Midence
2025 • Guatemala • 16 min. • Spanish with English Subtitles
After the end of a ten-year relationship, Matías navigates the stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and, finally, acceptance. Through visual metaphors and encounters with key characters, he will discover that losing his shadow wasn’t the end, but rather the beginning of a new light. An intimate story about how the love that passes away leaves room for the one to come.
Scattered Pictures
Director: Ibai Vigil-Escalera & Jose Andre Sibaja
2025 • USA • 8 min. • English
Through the grainy nostalgia of 8mm film and the intimacy of voice-over narration, Gabriel takes us on a deeply personal journey of self-discovery.
Stateside
Director: Dennis Shinners
2025 • USA • 12 min. • English
A shy American teenager and an outgoing French exchange student form an unexpected intimate connection on Halloween night.
Parallel Lines
Director: Danny Wascou
2025 • USA • 16 min. • English
Over the course of one night, two strangers meet in line at a bar and embark on a journey of discovery — exploring missed opportunities, fate, and the strange twists of destiny.
Plainclothes
Lucas (Tom Blyth), a closeted undercover cop, falls for a married man (Russell Tovey) he’s assigned to entrap in Carmen Emmi’s ’90s-set erotic drama Plainclothes. Initially focused on his duty to arrest men cruising in shopping mall bathrooms, his mission takes an unexpected turn after a charged encounter with one of his marks. What begins as a sting operation becomes intimate and volatile, blurring the lines between secrecy and desire, watcher and watched. Raised in the shadow of his grandfather’s badge and working in a homophobic department, Lucas starts to crack under the weight of his messy feelings. Editor Erik Vogt-Nilsen’s jagged, VHS-warped style, threaded with haunting flashbacks, mirrors Lucas’s fraying mind, each grain pulsing with anxiety and self-doubt. Plainclothes simmers with urgency, its story of repression and control striking a nerve in a time when queer visibility and freedom are once again under threat.
Sauna
Johan, a gay man in Copenhagen, revels in nightlife until meeting William, a transgender man. Their profound love challenges societal norms surrounding gender, identity, and relationships.
O Melhor Amigo (The Best Friend)
Two great friends are reunited after five years. Among so many things that have changed, the resumption of connection awakens an old feeling for which they remain unprepared.
The Serpent's Skin
After escaping her transphobic hometown, Anna meets goth tattoo artist Gen. They bond over shared supernatural abilities, but Gen's tattoo work accidentally conjures a demon before their romance can bloom.
Lucky, Apartment
In a quiet apartment on the edge of Seoul, love strains under the weight of silence, secrets, and survival. As one woman unravels the mystery of a forgotten neighbor, and the other hides her truth from the world, their bond begins to fracture —haunted by what lingers above and below.
Just Kids
A powerful documentary following three trans teens and their families as they navigate relentless political attacks on gender-affirming care, revealing resilience in the face of historic civil rights challenges.
The Librarians
As an unprecedented wave of book banning is sparked in Texas, Florida, and beyond, librarians under siege join forces as unlikely defenders fighting for intellectual freedom on the front lines of democracy.