BY VALERIE COMPLEX
Arts nonprofit Frameline announced the full program for the 48th San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival (Frameline48). Curated from over 1,600 submissions and invitations, the Frameline48 slate will screen from June 19–29 in theaters across the San Francisco Bay Area, including the Roxie Theater, the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, the Herbst Theatre, the Vogue Theatre, and The New Parkway Theater in Oakland. The 11-day celebration of film and queerness will carry on—and amplify—the spirit of the 2023 Festival’s “Neighborhood Nights.”
In lieu of a traditional opening night show, Frameline48 will commence with the first-ever Castro neighborhood celebration of Juneteenth. A free outdoor event, the Juneteenth Film and Block Party will feature an evening of music, drag performances from Reparations curated by winner of the Drag Queen of the Year Pageant, Nicki Jizz, as well as a screening of Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero. By celebrating the intersection of Blackness and queerness, Frameline48 reaffirms its commitment to bringing visibility, joy, and essential stories to the communities it centers.
“I can’t think of any better way to kick off Frameline48 than with a screening of Long Live Montero,” said Allegra Madsen, Frameline’s Executive Director. “As a queer Black artist, Lil Nas X embodies so much of what this year’s Festival is about: meeting the cultural moment and using art as a means of expression, connection, and creating lasting change. At the same time, it’s important—and even revolutionary—to continue celebrating queer joy.”
Celebrating queer creators, past and present, is also a vital component of Frameline48. Director Alessandra Lacorazza’s debut feature, In the Summers (6/20 at the Palace of Fine Arts), was awarded Frameline’s Completion Fund Grant, and went to premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival—where it won the Grand Jury Prize (U.S. Dramatic). Thirty years ago, director/writer Rose Troche and writer Guinevere Turner’s lesbian classic Go Fish (6/20 at the Palace of Fine Arts) similarly earned Frameline’s Completion Fund Grant and went on to have a history-making turn at Sundance. In a full-circle moment, In the Summers and Go Fish will both screen at Frameline48, with the latter having been restored in 4K, in part by Frameline, for its 30th anniversary.
Of the over 120 screenings at Frameline48, other highlights include the “Queer Premiere” of writer-director Anthony Schatteman’s coming-of-age feature-length debut Young Hearts (6/21 at the Palace of Fine Arts), which will be followed by Frameline48’s First Friday Gala, hosted at Terra Gallery.
The Festival will also feature A Conversation with Lena Waithe on June 29th at The Herbst, the Emmy Award-winning and Tony-nominated writer, producer, and actor behind hit series and films like The Chi, Twenties, and Them. Moderated by Variety Senior Artisans Editor Jazz Tangcay, the conversation with Waithe will also include the presentation of the Variety Creative Conscience Award, which honors an individual in the entertainment world who personifies the industry’s dedication to humanitarian, cultural, and charitable causes.
In a celebration of local talent, Frameline48 is delighted to screen Lady Like (6/26 at the Vogue), which features Lady Camden, the San Francisco-based British drag queen who appeared on RuPaul’s Drag Race as well as various web series, including Give It to Me Straight. When it comes to spotlighting local talent, Frameline48 will also continue the Festival’s tradition of starting off Pride Weekend in style with a Pride Kickoff Party, hosted by Oasis. In conjunction with the screening of Don Hardy’s Linda Perry: Let It Die Here (6/28 at the Herbst), legendary singer, songwriter, and producer Linda Perry will perform at Frameline48’s Pride Kickoff Party. In many ways, this is a homecoming performance for Perry, who wrote the classic 4 Non-Blondes song “What’s Up?” in San Francisco.
By showcasing a dynamic collection of LGBTQ+ films and hosting ground-breaking queer artists, Frameline48 places an emphasis on the transformative power of art. “Film festivals are often seen as being by and for tastemakers in our industry, but Frameline deepens that perception by being by and for change-makers,” Madsen said. “Queer and trans artists don’t just influence culture, they create it. Frameline48 celebrates and platforms that tireless innovation and spirit by bringing filmmakers and works from all over the world together in the Bay Area—a place that’s historically been on the pulse of propelling queer art forward.”
Individual tickets for all screenings and events in the Frameline48 lineup will be available May 22 for Frameline members and on May 24 for the general public, for $24.00 at the Palace of Fine Arts and The Herbst and $19.50 per ticket at the neighborhood venues.. For the first time, audiences can also purchase the Festival’s “Palace Pass,” for $200, which grants holders access to all public screenings at the Palace of Fine Arts Theater and the Herbst Theatre. For more information on ticketing, please visit frameline.org.