The 2025 edition of Tag! Queer Shorts Festival hits the screen at the Hollywood Theatre on April 5-6, 2025. This year’s theme is “Create, Gather, Resist,” which is a direct call for LGBTQIA+ filmmakers and allies to respond to the dire political climate by engaging in visual storytelling that counters the dehumanizing narratives, to join together in celebration and solidarity, and to organize against the transphobia, homophobia, ableism, racism, and sexism that characterize this administration.
This year’s festival features 42 local and international short films organized into four thematic blocks. The Emergence program explores the liminal nature of queer existence and the constant state of transformation in our selves and relationships. The popular Local Action block features films from directors based in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. The second day of the festival begins with the ¡Presentes! program, a group of sophisticated films from Latine/Hispane directors including a strong group of Brazilian shorts. The day ends with Connect, another block with a strong international showing that examines the way queer communities find place and community in an isolating world.
Tag! is excited to present its first official awards in collaboration with Portland nonprofits. The Milagro Award for Hispane/Latine creativity, sponsored by well-known Latino arts organization Milagro, will go to the Brazilian Alzheimer’s-themed short Eu não sei se vou ter que falar tudo de novo by Vitória Fallavena. The Quest Center Award for Resilience in Recovery, sponsored by the Quest Center for Integrative Health, will go to Canadian director Juliette Leach for their mental health-centered film Bindweed. Finally, the Festival Director’s Award will be given to Dolissa Medina for the performance-based commentary on the AIDS crisis Viejito/Enfermito/Grito.
Join us in creating, gathering, and resisting at the Hollywood Theatre on April 5-6, 2025. Full program details are online at tagqsf.org/tagqsf-2025 and tickets are now available from the Hollywood box office at hollywoodtheatre.org/series/tag-queer-shorts-festival/ All Tag! screenings are presented with open captions in English, however the space is not accessible to chair users.
