Official Selections: 9th LA Queer Film Festivals

Congratulations to our accepted filmmakers!
Films are listed in alphabetical order, index to the left.
Scroll Down to learn more about each film.

Director Statement
The relationship between the social mask and true self has always been my obsession in filmmaking. In “Stimulants & Empathogens” this theme gets a Molieresque spin of a romantic dramedy.

The plot was informed by an extensive research. I talked to activists and experts on the film’s subjects: drug underworld, struggles of an LGBTQ+ teenager in Poland in mid-2020s in both elite schools and “juvies” and last, but far from least, the superiority complex and conditional hospitality manifested at times in the Polish attitude towards Ukrainian refugees - another issue interwoven into the film.

Given its Molieresque, theatrical inspirations, our goal was to make sure that the story is told through a cinematic language, which contrasts the protagonists’ class markers - f.ex. Kuba’s aggressive drill rap and Antek’s cello classical pieces. Clashing social masks in order to deconstruct them fits the message of our film, which happens to be my favorite definition of cinema: “A lie to tell the truth”.

Director's bio: Mateusz Pacewicz
An award-winning filmmaker and scriptwriter. He was born in 1992. He made his debut in 2019 as the screenwriter of the film "Corpus Christi" (dir. Jan Komasa), which was nominated for an Oscar for Best International Feature Film and for five categories at the European Film Awards, including Best Screenplay. His second film, "The Hater" (also directed by Jan Komasa), won the award for Best International Film at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival. He is also a co-author of the script and co-director of the short film "Skwar" which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2017.

XY is a tense, character-driven drama that bounces between the lives of two very different people, named simply X and Y, as they navigate loneliness, identity, and violence in today’s America.

The story focuses on Y, a troubled cis man who works at a convenience store in a desolate strip mall. His daily routine is marked by isolation, unhealthy coping mechanisms, and fixation on X, who frequents his store. Meanwhile, X is a beautiful young trans cam-girl struggling with her own financial and emotional challenges, including rejection and societal prejudice.

Y is an aimless individual consumed by resentment and loneliness. His only sense of living comes from watching X’s daily live streams, adding to his fetishized obsession. His internal struggles are compounded by frustration with his mundane life, suppressed anger, and sexuality. All of which he masks under a thin veneer of politeness.

From X’s perspective, she navigates her existence with resilience, despite facing rejection from transphobic men in dating apps, harassment from strangers, and even abandonment by her own family. The only place she finds solace and community is at Club Z, a queer bar that just so happens to reside right next door to Y’s convenience store.

The narrative culminates in a chilling sequence involving Y’s transformation from a quiet fixation to an active threat after a fatal and disturbing encounter outside of the club.

XY is a film that explores complex social issues such as transphobia, toxic masculinity, and the fragility of safe spaces, leaving a lasting impact through its raw portrayal of two people's intersecting struggles.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Stephan Fleet

I’ve decided to update my statement after this monumental clusterfuck of a year in America.

Over a year ago, we filmed a short film about trans rights and the double standards that grant lonely, predator type cis-het men — let’s call them what they are, incels — the freedom to arm themselves, while trans citizens are just out here trying to survive. We thought it was bad then…

Cut to now. The trans community has become a blatant target of a witch hunt led by the most corrupt U.S. administration in a very long time.

I was even asked to “tone down” my original director’s statement by PR folks. Thinking it “safer” to dodge the film’s key issues. I tried that. It felt wrong. So — fuck that.

This is the real me. Hello.

For the past eight years, I’ve been fortunate in my professional work to be a part of a high-level satirical project that takes direct aim at the contradictions and hypocrisy of America. But in my personal art, I wanted to take a more direct tone — to explore themes that matter to me most: trans rights, queer identity, and gun control — and to make a film that speaks to them.

From a storytelling perspective, I couldn’t be prouder of everyone involved, especially my co-writer and lead actress, JL Perkel, whose bravery is at the heart of this film. We wanted to craft true-to-life characters, rooted in real experiences, to show how plausible — and painful — these realities are.

Visually, we wanted to frame it all in a classic cinematic language: the decayed Western. I’ve always loved Westerns — their look, their tone, their mythic Americana. But they’re also a fiction: male-slanted, heteronormative, and often complicit in the mythology of dominance. So this film not only twists that legacy — it reclaims it.

We hope you connect with XY. It was made with a lot of love, by a team that was paid fairly, shot in Los Angeles, and built with integrity — which, in itself, feels like an act of rebellion these days.

At the very least, I hope this film brings awareness to those who may not yet understand the current trans struggle. And if it moves you, consider supporting a charitable organizati