Ever Wondered What a Queer Film Festival Would be Like? Answer: It’s Awesome — The Bright Side of the Rainbow
By Lillith Rengstorf
The Indianapolis LGBT film festival took place at the Kan Kan Theater from November 10th through November 19th. It featured everything from full length films, to animated shorts, to short film collections, all by LGBTQ+ directors that showcased LGBTQ+ stories. My university’s LGBTQ+ alliance student group hosted a trip to see the short film collection. We were accompanied by the university’s faculty affinity group, and the LGBTQ+ alumni association. The short film collection consisted of seven different shorts, all in varying genres, however two stood out to me in particular.
Aikāne
The first was Aikāne, directed by Daniel Sousa, Dean Hammer, and Joe Wilson. The word aikāne refers to intimate partners of the same gender in pre-colonial Hawaiian native tradition. Aikāne were respected advisors and life partners with no stigma surrounding their relationships. This short was a story based on this history. Aikāne was the only animated short we watched, and the only one with no dialogue. However, it didn’t need dialogue to impress me with the beautiful storytelling and expression of queer love. The animation style was absolutely stunning, with many small details and motifs that I’m sure would come to life even more with a second viewing. The story follows a Hawaiian warrior and the shapeshifter that comes to be his lover and trusted friend as they face the threat of white colonialists. Despite the lack of spoken dialogue, the respect and love shown between the two main characters, and their respective peoples, comes across so strongly.
As You Are
The second short film that left me with a very strong impression was As You Are, directed by Daisy Friedman. I am still thinking about this one, weeks later… I cried… a lot. As You Are is the story of a lesbian couple spending the night together for the first time. One of the characters has a physical disability and this is a beautiful story about accepting a loved one as they are, and what it means to love unconditionally. Another reason this film has stuck with me is because of the accuracy with which they portrayed lesbian intimacy. It’s not all smooth-talking and instantly jumping in bed together. Friedman beautifully showed the giggles, awkwardness, and sweetness that comes with making the decision to be intimate with a partner. It also beautifully and delicately addresses having hard conversations about attraction, sexuality, and past traumas in relationships. All of these messages and ideas combined into one of the most powerful pieces of queer media I’ve seen.
The Indianapolis LGBTQ+ Film Festival is, I believe, the first time that I have ever seen LGBTQ+ stories, written by LGBTQ+ people, for LGBT viewers. It was just so refreshing to see. Most of the time in pop culture, queer stories are written by straight writers. Or if they are written by LGBTQ+ writers, the stories are intended for a mostly straight audience. These stories touched a place in my heart, and I will definitely be attending the LGBTQ+ Film Festival again in future years. I feel so fortunate to have both a community on campus to attend events like this with, and a surrounding community that hosts events like this.
About the Author:
Lilith Rengstorf is from Northwest Indiana, and recently graduated from Valpo High School. She will be attending Butler University for Biology in the fall. Lilith uses she/they pronouns and has been publicly out as bisexual for around two years. In their free time Lilith enjoys reading, sewing, and knitting.
About the Series:
‘The Bright Side of the Rainbow’ is a series written by Lilith Rengstorf and members of the Be A Friend Project. In the face of constant negativity, this series highlights queer positivity. Matthew’s Place authors discuss what makes them grateful to be queer, from drag shows to a special kind of joy only LGBTQ+ people get to feel. Follow along on our journey!
