GRRL HAUS CINEMA
Best of 2023 Virtual Showcase
Join us from December 16th to 20th for our 'Best of 2023' year-end screenings, featuring all 39
short films and video art online for 4 days. No GEO restrictions; international viewing available.
Purchase tickets on our Xerb Channel platform starting the third week of December
short films and video art online for 4 days. No GEO restrictions; international viewing available.
Purchase tickets on our Xerb Channel platform starting the third week of December
Attendees of live events at Loophole or Brattle will receive a complimentary pass! Experience
the connection of two global locations, showcasing local talent and extraordinary international
works. Celebrating the amplification of diverse voices in short films and embracing DIY artistry
worldwide.
the connection of two global locations, showcasing local talent and extraordinary international
works. Celebrating the amplification of diverse voices in short films and embracing DIY artistry
worldwide.
Sun Rubber Plexus - Ariel Hulfachor
Animation, 5 minutes 18 seconds, United States
Language : English
Don’t eat fruit you find in caves. You didn’t know this, but you’ll always be safe in my mind. I’ll give you everything you need with everything that dwells inside me. Lovely, glittering earworm, you bring such vibrancy to my thoughts.
Ariel Hulfachor is a fabricator and first time filmmaker from Chicago, Illinois. She is currently a student at the California Institute of the Arts, and set to graduate in 2024.
Animation, 5 minutes 18 seconds, United States
Language : English
Don’t eat fruit you find in caves. You didn’t know this, but you’ll always be safe in my mind. I’ll give you everything you need with everything that dwells inside me. Lovely, glittering earworm, you bring such vibrancy to my thoughts.
Ariel Hulfachor is a fabricator and first time filmmaker from Chicago, Illinois. She is currently a student at the California Institute of the Arts, and set to graduate in 2024.
Shedding - Tziara Reyes
Documentary, 5 minutes, Canada
Langauge : English
This short documentary follows an individual's journey of shaving their head for the first time; exploring the complex relationship between hair and identity.
Tziara Reyes-Herrera is a queer latinx writer/director born and raised in Toronto. While taking inspiration from relationships, their direct environment and various art forms, they have found a voice through audiovisual media arts. Upon noticing a lack of positive or authentic BIPOC and queer representation in film and media, Tziara has made it their mission to uplift and bring voice to those often sidelined identities. Their recent short documentary "SHEDDING" is the first of many works to come.
Documentary, 5 minutes, Canada
Langauge : English
This short documentary follows an individual's journey of shaving their head for the first time; exploring the complex relationship between hair and identity.
Tziara Reyes-Herrera is a queer latinx writer/director born and raised in Toronto. While taking inspiration from relationships, their direct environment and various art forms, they have found a voice through audiovisual media arts. Upon noticing a lack of positive or authentic BIPOC and queer representation in film and media, Tziara has made it their mission to uplift and bring voice to those often sidelined identities. Their recent short documentary "SHEDDING" is the first of many works to come.
Leija - Elsa Kallio
Comedy, 21 minutes 10 seconds, Finland
Language : Finnish
Shy and desperate Juno lives her day and tries to balance between her obsessiveness, internalized male gaze and heartache.
I was born in Finland and graduated from the Helsinki Upper Secondary School of Visual Arts and later studied at the Art-On-The-Run films school in Berlin. I am currently enrolled in the Berlin film school FilmArche as a directing student.
I have been a jury member at the independent sidebar of the Venice Film Festival ’Giornate Degli Autori’ and acted as an ambassador for the Lux Audience Awards organized by the European Parliament
I have participated in local youth- and queer-oriented film contests and screenings in Finland and now have premiered my first official short film "Leija" in Helsinki.
Comedy, 21 minutes 10 seconds, Finland
Language : Finnish
Shy and desperate Juno lives her day and tries to balance between her obsessiveness, internalized male gaze and heartache.
I was born in Finland and graduated from the Helsinki Upper Secondary School of Visual Arts and later studied at the Art-On-The-Run films school in Berlin. I am currently enrolled in the Berlin film school FilmArche as a directing student.
I have been a jury member at the independent sidebar of the Venice Film Festival ’Giornate Degli Autori’ and acted as an ambassador for the Lux Audience Awards organized by the European Parliament
I have participated in local youth- and queer-oriented film contests and screenings in Finland and now have premiered my first official short film "Leija" in Helsinki.
Quality Control - Jasmine De Silva
Experimental, 1 minute 54 seconds, United Kingdom
Language : English
Quality Control is about the construction of the human body. The characters wear a uniform of green to match their sterile surrounding of an ambiguous canteen setting. One by one they collect their dinner trays and, in unison start to create the human face. With each one looking the same, this aims to portray the sense of a simulated and controlled world.
Combining retrofuturism, hyperreal aesthetics, pop-art style colours and diamond studded female bodies, Jasmine De Silva playfully satirises the desire for physical perfection, holding up a mirror to our own dehumanising obsession with appearances, aiming to expose society’s unrealistic standards of beauty. Jasmine studied at the London College of Fashion, completing a BA and MA in Fashion Photography. Upon graduating in 2019, Jasmine has won awards for emerging talent in both Photography and Directing. Jasmine was selected as a winner of 2022 British Journal of Photography Female in Focus Awards. She works in London as a freelance photographer and director for music videos, commercials and narrative, whilst developing her debut feature film.
Experimental, 1 minute 54 seconds, United Kingdom
Language : English
Quality Control is about the construction of the human body. The characters wear a uniform of green to match their sterile surrounding of an ambiguous canteen setting. One by one they collect their dinner trays and, in unison start to create the human face. With each one looking the same, this aims to portray the sense of a simulated and controlled world.
Combining retrofuturism, hyperreal aesthetics, pop-art style colours and diamond studded female bodies, Jasmine De Silva playfully satirises the desire for physical perfection, holding up a mirror to our own dehumanising obsession with appearances, aiming to expose society’s unrealistic standards of beauty. Jasmine studied at the London College of Fashion, completing a BA and MA in Fashion Photography. Upon graduating in 2019, Jasmine has won awards for emerging talent in both Photography and Directing. Jasmine was selected as a winner of 2022 British Journal of Photography Female in Focus Awards. She works in London as a freelance photographer and director for music videos, commercials and narrative, whilst developing her debut feature film.
I Spoon - Eleri
I Spoon 2023, single channel video 7'55
I Spoon is a discovery of the history of the spoon in Korea through its various meanings, such as its connections to praying for fertility. The design of the spoon has continuously transformed, from an ancient symbol of abundance to connubial bliss related to sex in the sense of productivity. Referring to the spoons from the past, the project narrates how personal memories of the spoon and its contemporary daily use relate to this evolution.
Eleri explores the possibility of mass culture, reflecting on traditions from history. Her projects are on the edge between fictional film and documentary, puzzling the contemporary and the past, which leads to consolidating relation between her womanhood and preconceptions in a humorous way. She was born and raised in South Korea and studied at the dept. of fine arts at Seoul National University and at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. She focused on figurative painting at her first bachelor and worked as an actor for independent films in Korea. With her theatrical background, she narrates with the images of herself implying the present and the past coincidently.
I Spoon 2023, single channel video 7'55
I Spoon is a discovery of the history of the spoon in Korea through its various meanings, such as its connections to praying for fertility. The design of the spoon has continuously transformed, from an ancient symbol of abundance to connubial bliss related to sex in the sense of productivity. Referring to the spoons from the past, the project narrates how personal memories of the spoon and its contemporary daily use relate to this evolution.
Eleri explores the possibility of mass culture, reflecting on traditions from history. Her projects are on the edge between fictional film and documentary, puzzling the contemporary and the past, which leads to consolidating relation between her womanhood and preconceptions in a humorous way. She was born and raised in South Korea and studied at the dept. of fine arts at Seoul National University and at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. She focused on figurative painting at her first bachelor and worked as an actor for independent films in Korea. With her theatrical background, she narrates with the images of herself implying the present and the past coincidently.
SOAK - Desdemona Dallas
Documentary, 10 minutes 49 seconds, United States
Language : English
In a series of interviews 'Soak' uses moving and still images to explore masculinity through a queer lens.
Desdemona Dallas is a non-binary photographer and filmmaker based in New York City. Their photography work has been exhibited in galleries across America. During the pandemic their photographic studies were replaced with explorations into the film world. 'Soak' is their first short film project and directorial debut. Currently they are in pre-production on their second short film 'No Justice, Find Peace' a reflexive documentary on the NYPD's mishandling of sexual assault cases. Their films explore the humanistic desire for community alongside the individual investigation of identity.
Documentary, 10 minutes 49 seconds, United States
Language : English
In a series of interviews 'Soak' uses moving and still images to explore masculinity through a queer lens.
Desdemona Dallas is a non-binary photographer and filmmaker based in New York City. Their photography work has been exhibited in galleries across America. During the pandemic their photographic studies were replaced with explorations into the film world. 'Soak' is their first short film project and directorial debut. Currently they are in pre-production on their second short film 'No Justice, Find Peace' a reflexive documentary on the NYPD's mishandling of sexual assault cases. Their films explore the humanistic desire for community alongside the individual investigation of identity.
EITR - Fateema Al-Hama
Comedy, 14 minutes 40 seconds, Canada
Language : Arabic, English
Grinding away at the inherited family business, Mohamed works tirelessly making sales of knock-off perfume, while living as a knock-off version of his true self. His doting mother Marwa brings him lunch everyday and sets up chay dates with potential romantic interests (and their families) what seems like every night. Inside of this monotony Mohamed is lying to himself about his sexuality and leaning into the mask of masculinity in order to maintain the expectations of those around him, but in reality the biggest expectations of how he should be are set by himself. We follow Mohamed on a day where the monotony comes to a screeching halt, when an unexpected charming customer enters his shop. Mohamed shares a connection with this beautiful stranger who lives in self-acceptance and who truly sees him underneath the many layers of Polo Sport adjacent cologne. In Eitr, Mohamed’s fear of his true desires will be tested as he is caught off guard by the power of being seen, but can this connection break him out of his performative shell, even for a lingering moment?
Fateema Al-Hamaydeh Miller is a Queer mixed-race Palestinian-Canadian filmmaker based in Toronto. Her work explores themes of fragmented identity, isolation and connection through grounded "oh no, should I laugh?" comedy. Fateema’s background in improvisation and clown greatly influences all of her work as she strives to create with integrity, depth and a sense of humour. She is particularly passionate about bringing to life nuanced and humanizing representations of Arabs and Muslims for the screen and prioritizes building spaces for marginalized voices to thrive both in front of and behind the camera. Fateema's short film EITR was one of 8 world-wide recipients of InsideOut's RE:Focus Fund, she is a Women in the Director's Chair alumni and is currently in development for her first feature film, coming-of-age dramedy, Waves/ 'Amwaj.
Comedy, 14 minutes 40 seconds, Canada
Language : Arabic, English
Grinding away at the inherited family business, Mohamed works tirelessly making sales of knock-off perfume, while living as a knock-off version of his true self. His doting mother Marwa brings him lunch everyday and sets up chay dates with potential romantic interests (and their families) what seems like every night. Inside of this monotony Mohamed is lying to himself about his sexuality and leaning into the mask of masculinity in order to maintain the expectations of those around him, but in reality the biggest expectations of how he should be are set by himself. We follow Mohamed on a day where the monotony comes to a screeching halt, when an unexpected charming customer enters his shop. Mohamed shares a connection with this beautiful stranger who lives in self-acceptance and who truly sees him underneath the many layers of Polo Sport adjacent cologne. In Eitr, Mohamed’s fear of his true desires will be tested as he is caught off guard by the power of being seen, but can this connection break him out of his performative shell, even for a lingering moment?
Fateema Al-Hamaydeh Miller is a Queer mixed-race Palestinian-Canadian filmmaker based in Toronto. Her work explores themes of fragmented identity, isolation and connection through grounded "oh no, should I laugh?" comedy. Fateema’s background in improvisation and clown greatly influences all of her work as she strives to create with integrity, depth and a sense of humour. She is particularly passionate about bringing to life nuanced and humanizing representations of Arabs and Muslims for the screen and prioritizes building spaces for marginalized voices to thrive both in front of and behind the camera. Fateema's short film EITR was one of 8 world-wide recipients of InsideOut's RE:Focus Fund, she is a Women in the Director's Chair alumni and is currently in development for her first feature film, coming-of-age dramedy, Waves/ 'Amwaj.
The Children’s Menu - Jenny Plante
A ghost, a hypnotist, a medium, an exorcist and a priest walk into an apartment...
Jenny is a filmmaker, screenwriter and artist living in New Hampshire. She has screened her work in NYC, Boston, Finland, London, Slovenia, Berlin and Los Angeles. Her work is largely satirical with elements of camp and heavy doses of pop culture and film history.
A ghost, a hypnotist, a medium, an exorcist and a priest walk into an apartment...
Jenny is a filmmaker, screenwriter and artist living in New Hampshire. She has screened her work in NYC, Boston, Finland, London, Slovenia, Berlin and Los Angeles. Her work is largely satirical with elements of camp and heavy doses of pop culture and film history.
Feeder - Laura Iancu
Animation, 2 minutes 8 seconds, United States
Language : English
A girl comes home to her cat.
Laura Iancu ( she/her) is a visual artist working primarily with virtual reality, non-fiction & experimental video forms, and immersive 3D animation, with an expanded practice of installation, photography, and graphic design. She is currently teaching film production classes at Virginia Tech.
Animation, 2 minutes 8 seconds, United States
Language : English
A girl comes home to her cat.
Laura Iancu ( she/her) is a visual artist working primarily with virtual reality, non-fiction & experimental video forms, and immersive 3D animation, with an expanded practice of installation, photography, and graphic design. She is currently teaching film production classes at Virginia Tech.
Can You Carry Me - Tess Meersman
Experimental, 3 minutes 38 seconds, United States
Language : English
Can you carry me? uses old familial artifacts such as super eight film, mini dv tapes, and old teeth to examine generational remembrances and the influence that the passing down of memory plays on the development of identity.
Tess Meersman is senior at Emerson college studying Media arts Production, Literature, and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality studies. Her areas of concentration lie in Producing, Development, and Experimental Filmmaking. Her works mainly focus the concept of the body, primarily in relation to gender and illness.
Experimental, 3 minutes 38 seconds, United States
Language : English
Can you carry me? uses old familial artifacts such as super eight film, mini dv tapes, and old teeth to examine generational remembrances and the influence that the passing down of memory plays on the development of identity.
Tess Meersman is senior at Emerson college studying Media arts Production, Literature, and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality studies. Her areas of concentration lie in Producing, Development, and Experimental Filmmaking. Her works mainly focus the concept of the body, primarily in relation to gender and illness.
Vollrausch - Agnes Alves Olivo
Drama, 20 minutes, Germany
Language : German, Portuguese
Lena Adler and Adam Schwarz just met at a university party. Lena is a party drug dealer who tries to support her mother and herself financially while dealing with an alcoholic father. Adam, son of a rich businessman, has a big ego and a drinking problem. They flirt, but they have nothing in common... except that this night will forever change their lifes.
After Lena leaves the party she is randomly controlled and arrested by the police. Adam drives home after a fight. Absurdly drunk, he causes a car accident that kills a young woman.
In this night they both have to deal with their family, the law and their guilty conscience.
A short film about Germany's drug policy and alcohol culture.
Agnes Alves Olivo is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Film at Hochschule Darmstadt, with focus on Direction. Between 2021 and 2023, she both directed and produced the short film "Vollrausch”, a semester project that sheds a light on Germany's alcohol culture and the underlying hypocrisy within drug policies.
Born 1998 in Curitiba, Brazil, Agnes cultivated a passion for reading and writing from a young age. During an exchange program near Portland, USA, she explored herself creatively in photography and theater. In 2016, Agnes and her family relocated to Germany, where she stepped into the film industry. Some of her jobs included lighting intern at MBF Filmtechnikverleih, and production assistant on ZDF's "SOKO Stuttgart."
Drama, 20 minutes, Germany
Language : German, Portuguese
Lena Adler and Adam Schwarz just met at a university party. Lena is a party drug dealer who tries to support her mother and herself financially while dealing with an alcoholic father. Adam, son of a rich businessman, has a big ego and a drinking problem. They flirt, but they have nothing in common... except that this night will forever change their lifes.
After Lena leaves the party she is randomly controlled and arrested by the police. Adam drives home after a fight. Absurdly drunk, he causes a car accident that kills a young woman.
In this night they both have to deal with their family, the law and their guilty conscience.
A short film about Germany's drug policy and alcohol culture.
Agnes Alves Olivo is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Film at Hochschule Darmstadt, with focus on Direction. Between 2021 and 2023, she both directed and produced the short film "Vollrausch”, a semester project that sheds a light on Germany's alcohol culture and the underlying hypocrisy within drug policies.
Born 1998 in Curitiba, Brazil, Agnes cultivated a passion for reading and writing from a young age. During an exchange program near Portland, USA, she explored herself creatively in photography and theater. In 2016, Agnes and her family relocated to Germany, where she stepped into the film industry. Some of her jobs included lighting intern at MBF Filmtechnikverleih, and production assistant on ZDF's "SOKO Stuttgart."
See Ya L8r - Ana Paula Teixeira
Drama, 18 minutes 52 seconds, Puerto Rico
Language : English, Spanish
After moving from New York to Puerto Rico, a young "Nuyorican" skater tries to distinguish her distant cultural identity & sense of purpose in her move to the island, but finds herself distracted by the nightlife, a troublemaker, and the mental tug of war between her sexuality and the purpose she had for coming here.
Ana Paula Teixeira is a Brazilian/Puerto Rican nonbinary queer filmmaker and photographer whose work captures the escapism of the queer community in the Caribbean. Their use of mysticism and the divine gaze empowers the beauty and history of queerness through esoteric points of view. They visually attempt to explain the wonders of this world with narratives rooted in folklore and ancestral storytelling set in a contemporary Caribbean landscape. Ana also documents the underground queer community around them using film photography. Their work has been published on Refinery29, Paper Magazine, Ladygunn, and Subvrt Mag. They hold a B.A in Digital Film Production from Sagrado Corazon, and their senior film thesis "Divina Gracia" was nominated and won honorable mention Puerto Rico Queer Film Fest.
Drama, 18 minutes 52 seconds, Puerto Rico
Language : English, Spanish
After moving from New York to Puerto Rico, a young "Nuyorican" skater tries to distinguish her distant cultural identity & sense of purpose in her move to the island, but finds herself distracted by the nightlife, a troublemaker, and the mental tug of war between her sexuality and the purpose she had for coming here.
Ana Paula Teixeira is a Brazilian/Puerto Rican nonbinary queer filmmaker and photographer whose work captures the escapism of the queer community in the Caribbean. Their use of mysticism and the divine gaze empowers the beauty and history of queerness through esoteric points of view. They visually attempt to explain the wonders of this world with narratives rooted in folklore and ancestral storytelling set in a contemporary Caribbean landscape. Ana also documents the underground queer community around them using film photography. Their work has been published on Refinery29, Paper Magazine, Ladygunn, and Subvrt Mag. They hold a B.A in Digital Film Production from Sagrado Corazon, and their senior film thesis "Divina Gracia" was nominated and won honorable mention Puerto Rico Queer Film Fest.
Moments I Saw In Red - Penn Balint
Experimental, 2 minutes 24 seconds, United Kingdom
Language : English
'Moments I Saw In Red' is an experimental short film that explores the relationship between trauma, synaesthesia, and art. Shot on 8mm film, the film follows the story of a person with PTSD and synaesthesia who is recounting their memories associated with the color red.
Synaesthesia is a rare neurological condition, whereby the senses get crossed and one might perceive things like colors or sounds while seeing or hearing other things. For the protagonist of 'Moments', their memories of crossing Calais, a school crush, and realising their trans identity all get "filed" under the colour red.
The film's unique use of 8mm film, original music, and a spoken word voiceover guides the audience through the protagonist's journey, as they meditate on their experiences and find a way to heal through artistic expression.
Penn Bálint (they/he) is a Hungarian multidisciplinary artist settled in Devon. Penn founded The Yoko Situation, an art collective centering trans- and disabled narratives. 'Moments I Saw in Red' is their first film.
Penn is currently in post-production for their next short, 'Soviet Fantasia', which blends queer culture, dance, folklore and synth-pop and was commissioned by Exeter Phoenix. He was also selected for the BFI New Voices Scheme in 2023, during which he will receive mentorship to develop a new script.
Experimental, 2 minutes 24 seconds, United Kingdom
Language : English
'Moments I Saw In Red' is an experimental short film that explores the relationship between trauma, synaesthesia, and art. Shot on 8mm film, the film follows the story of a person with PTSD and synaesthesia who is recounting their memories associated with the color red.
Synaesthesia is a rare neurological condition, whereby the senses get crossed and one might perceive things like colors or sounds while seeing or hearing other things. For the protagonist of 'Moments', their memories of crossing Calais, a school crush, and realising their trans identity all get "filed" under the colour red.
The film's unique use of 8mm film, original music, and a spoken word voiceover guides the audience through the protagonist's journey, as they meditate on their experiences and find a way to heal through artistic expression.
Penn Bálint (they/he) is a Hungarian multidisciplinary artist settled in Devon. Penn founded The Yoko Situation, an art collective centering trans- and disabled narratives. 'Moments I Saw in Red' is their first film.
Penn is currently in post-production for their next short, 'Soviet Fantasia', which blends queer culture, dance, folklore and synth-pop and was commissioned by Exeter Phoenix. He was also selected for the BFI New Voices Scheme in 2023, during which he will receive mentorship to develop a new script.
Flakey Baby - Ella Virginia Shea
Animation, 2 minutes 35 seconds, United States
Restless during a warm summer night, a girl descends into a fantastical landscape. In this world the girl finds eroticism and satisfaction that she was missing in her every day life.
Ella Shea is a student animator at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Animation, 2 minutes 35 seconds, United States
Restless during a warm summer night, a girl descends into a fantastical landscape. In this world the girl finds eroticism and satisfaction that she was missing in her every day life.
Ella Shea is a student animator at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
"Best of 2023" end-of-year screenings
Dec. 11th : Berlin, GermanyBerlin Local and International Shorts at Loophole
Boddinstraße 60, 12053 Berlin, Germany Doors at 19 Screening at 20 |
Online Program December 16th to 20th : Online Program
Best of 2023 - previously screened at our 2023 events On our Xerb Virtual Event Channel |
Dec. 14th : Cambridge, MassachusettsNew England Local and International Shorts at Brattle Theatre
40 Brattle St, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States Screening at 7pm |
