GenreQueer Program – MFF26
Spotlighting the best in documentary and fiction filmmaking that explores LGBTQ+ voices and experiences, GenreQueer celebrates the past, present, and future of cinema’s rich queer tradition.
Sponsored by: Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Richard M. Kaul LGBT Arts Endowment Fund
The Films
A Useful Ghost
Cult
Comedy
March is mourning his wife Nat who has recently passed away due to dust pollution. He discovers her spirit has…
March is mourning his wife Nat who has recently passed away due to dust pollution. He discovers her spirit has returned by possessing a vacuum cleaner. Winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes Critics' Week, this film smartly plays with tones and social comments while revisiting classism and oppression throughout Thailand's history. From ambitious and creative newcomer Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke comes a genre-smashing amalgamation of fantasy, horror, romance, comedy, art house and everything in between.
Adam's Apple
Documentary
Guests in Attendance
Closed Captions Available
Centered on the life of Adam, a transgender teen, as seen through the lens of his mother, filmmaker Amy Jenkins,…
Centered on the life of Adam, a transgender teen, as seen through the lens of his mother, filmmaker Amy Jenkins, ADAM'S APPLE chronicles two decades of adolescence, transition, and parenthood. Adam’s journey balances the milestones of gender transition with the rhythms of adolescence. Every coming-of-age milestone (first love, an emerging personality, teenage rebellion) unfolds with intimacy and grace. It’s a celebration of courage, love, allyship, and the thrill of becoming who you are meant to be.
Barbara Forever
Documentary
Closed Captions Available
An intimate, dream-like, and masterfully crafted look at the iconic life, work, and legacy of the pioneering feminist experimental filmmaker…
An intimate, dream-like, and masterfully crafted look at the iconic life, work, and legacy of the pioneering feminist experimental filmmaker responsible for some of the most prominent early works in lesbian cinema. Expanded from her 2022 award-winning short LOVE, BARBARA, Brydie O'Connor traces Hammer's prolific canon alongside never-before-seen documentations of her life, revealing her unconventional attempts to live on forever—especially through extensive archival efforts. Fans and newcomers alike: immerse yourselves fully in Hammer's legacy of Dyketactics.Community Partner: One-Off Exhibitions
Bouchra
Drama
Animation
Nine years removed from coming out as queer, Bouchra (who, yes, is a coyote) navigates the concrete jungle of New…
Nine years removed from coming out as queer, Bouchra (who, yes, is a coyote) navigates the concrete jungle of New York City in search of inspiration, while also navigating a long distance relationship with her mother. Using vivid 3D animation and adapted from real phone calls made by the filmmaker's families, this singular, autobiographical debut blends documentary techniques with inventive narrative play. As Morocco’s first animated feature, BOUCHRA turns personal history into bold cinematic storytelling.
F*cktoys
Comedy
Cult
Closed Captions Available
Part-time sex worker, full-time chaos magnet, AP is convinced the universe has it out for her… and she might be…
Part-time sex worker, full-time chaos magnet, AP is convinced the universe has it out for her… and she might be right. In F*CKTOYS — the wild, unfiltered debut from writer/director/star Annapurna Sriram — AP seeks a cosmic reset after a swampy tarot reading (courtesy of NOLA bounce icon Big Freedia) tells her she needs $1,000 and a lamb sacrifice to lift her curse. Armed with neither, she sets off on a bizarre quest with her ex-turned-bestie Danni (SPOILER ALERTS’s Sadie Scott) through Trashtown, USA — a dystopian, neon-drenched sprawl of assorted oddballs, bondage cops, and strip clubs galore.
GenreQueer Shorts
Shorts Program
Guests in Attendance
From tender (BAFTA Award-winning!) animation to laugh out loud comedies, GENREQUEER SHORTS continues Milwaukee Film's year-round celebration of queer cinema.…
From tender (BAFTA Award-winning!) animation to laugh out loud comedies, GENREQUEER SHORTS continues Milwaukee Film's year-round celebration of queer cinema. Join us for an evening that showcases the unique histories, complexities, and joys of the LGBTQ+ experience.This program includes the following short films:AutoErotica: We Buy Gay Stuff | Jeremy von StilbBetty St. Clair | Kyle Casey Chu, Syra McCarthyButt/Stuff | Ricki RomanoIn the Flesh | Emily Frances KaplanPoreless Harris DoranRainbow Girls | Nana DuffuorThe Motive | Jorge MolinaTwo Black Boys in Paradise | Baz SellsCommunity Partner: Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project
Jaripeo
Documentary
In a hypermasculine terrain, one artist takes audiences to the queer communities that embrace jaripeos, a Mexican style of rodeo.…
In a hypermasculine terrain, one artist takes audiences to the queer communities that embrace jaripeos, a Mexican style of rodeo. Through co-director Efraín Mojica's narrations, this poetic and personal debut documentary unpacks what it means to be queer in Michoacán’s jaripeo spaces, and asks what lies beneath the performance of machismo. Mojica reckons with the wounds and beauty of the homelands he has left behind, and what desire looks like against the mountainous landscape.
Love Letters
Drama
Romance
Paris, 2014. Céline is expecting her firstborn. But she’s not the one who’s pregnant. In three months, her wife, Nadia,…
Paris, 2014. Céline is expecting her firstborn. But she’s not the one who’s pregnant. In three months, her wife, Nadia, will give birth to their daughter. Under French law, Céline must secure testimonies from her friends, her mother, and others from her past to adopt the child carried by her wife. This stunning feature debut frames love as radiant armor against life’s thorniest trials.Community Partners: Alliance Française de Milwaukee
Maddie's Secret
Comedy
Cult
MADDIE'S SECRET is the year's smartest comedy-melodrama featuring your favorite alternative millennial comedians, John Early, Kate Berlant, Vanessa Bayer, and…
MADDIE'S SECRET is the year's smartest comedy-melodrama featuring your favorite alternative millennial comedians, John Early, Kate Berlant, Vanessa Bayer, and Conner O'Malley. Early stars as Maddie, a charming food influencer whose online rise collides with a hidden struggle with bulimia. Blending sharp satire of social media culture with genuine emotional depth, this festival gem is a heartfelt combination of the filmmaking energies of John Waters and Todd Haynes.Preceded by ROACH TRIP | Dir. Clare McNulty
My Brother's Killer
Documentary
Crime
Guests in Attendance
The unsolved WeHo murder of Billy London, a gay adult film performer who grew up in rural Wisconsin, lingered as…
The unsolved WeHo murder of Billy London, a gay adult film performer who grew up in rural Wisconsin, lingered as an urban legend for 33 years. What begins as a documentary tribute to Billy's life evolves into a gripping investigation as community members uncover overlooked clues and pursue long-delayed justice. Drawing from a trove of personal footage, MY BROTHER'S KILLER exposes eerie connections between Billy and several suspects filmed in the narrow window surrounding his death.Community Partner: Wisconsin LGBTQ History Project
Public Access
Documentary
An unprecedented look inside one of the greatest media experiments to hijack American screens. Rare archives from New York's underground…
An unprecedented look inside one of the greatest media experiments to hijack American screens. Rare archives from New York's underground capture a world of creators who transformed our TVs into groundbreaking spaces for self-expression that continue to shape debates around platforms, power, and free speech. PUBLIC ACCESS is the untold story of the channels that shattered norms, subverted media, defied censors, and provoked battles over free speech fortelling our world today.
Saccharine
Horror
Guests in Attendance
Closed Captions Available
Lovelorn medical student Hana joins an obscure weight-loss craze (eating human ashes), but her desperate pursuit of control unleashes a…
Lovelorn medical student Hana joins an obscure weight-loss craze (eating human ashes), but her desperate pursuit of control unleashes a haunting force tied to the dead she devours. As physical transformation dances with supernatural terror, this eerie Australian horror interrogates body image, compulsion, and the dark cost of getting what you want fast.Preceded by A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING AND EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE | Dir. Sophia StezalaA Q&A with Sophia will follow the prefeature short at all screenings.
She's The He
Comedy
Before high school graduation, Ethan and Alex pose as trans women in a last ditch effort to squash gay rumors.…
Before high school graduation, Ethan and Alex pose as trans women in a last ditch effort to squash gay rumors. It's all a joke and a cringy dance of lies until Ethan (Misha Osherovich, in an Independent Spirit Award nominated performance) realizes a deeper truth: She really is trans. The two must reckon with their changing friendship, coming out, and coming-of-age in this over-the-top comedy destined to become a queer classic.
The Dads
Documentary
Closed Captions Available
Expanded from MFF alum Luchina Fisher's award winning short documentary of the same name, THE DADS follows fathers of trans…
Expanded from MFF alum Luchina Fisher's award winning short documentary of the same name, THE DADS follows fathers of trans and nonbinary children as they confront attacks from a newly empowered right-wing administration and conservative Supreme Court. Fathers from across the county (including Wisconsin!) gather together for a retreat, gain healing and respite in nature, and reveal fatherhood as an act of profound, radical resistance.Community Partners: The Recombobulation Area, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Milwaukee
TheyDream
Documentary
Animation
Guests in Attendance
Closed Captions Available
After twenty years of chronicling his Puerto Rican family's life and devastating losses, MFF alum William David Caballero and his…
After twenty years of chronicling his Puerto Rican family's life and devastating losses, MFF alum William David Caballero and his mother craft animations that mirror scenes from their lives, expanding on the multiple shorts he has created about his family, through laughter and tears. Winner of the NEXT Special Jury Award for Creative Expression at Sundance Film Festival, this autobiographical documentary is proof that every act of creation is also an act of letting go.
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