Two films meditate on the elements around us that can project our queer futures
As a queer person working to fight climate change, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the role that queer & trans communities play in environmental justice – both as frontline populations that are disproportionately impacted by environmental degradation (especially at the intersections of race, gender, and disability), and as the leaders, organizers, and artists that can help us shape a more just future.
This week’s films don’t articulate the political dimensions of that struggle, but their stories are grounded in the healing and safety that can be found when we are better connected to the environments around us. They also depict how that healing usually comes in community with others, reminding us that the ways we think about environmentalism must be people-centered, and that there is no queer future unless we are bringing everyone along with us.
“Can you hear it? The peace.”
Stille Dorst | High Tide, written and directed by Claire Zhou, begins as Tariq (Mouad Ben-Chaib), who is going through a divorce, rents a holiday cottage from Jonas (Joshua Albano) while Tariq tries to figure out what his new life looks like. When the cottage has plumbing issues, he and Jonas end up spending more time together and getting closer as they find things they have in common.
Claire Zhou was inspired to create this film after talking to the organizer of the Moroccan Gay Pride float at Amsterdam’s Pride Parade and hearing about experiences of many men in the Moroccan-Dutch queer community. The film, while frequently wistful, is ultimately a hopeful look at how self-discovery can lead to new beginnings and healing. Zhou can be found on Instagram.
Stille Dorst | High Tide
“I was a middle, a fume, a possibility.”
Silver Femme, written and performed by Jimena Lucero, and directed by Nico Reano, is an experimental film about gender, transness, the moon, and the connections we can make with others when we are safe, supported, and affirmed. Everything about the film is dreamy and lyrical, from the editing to Lucero’s poetic lines to her elegant performance.
Nico Reano, a filmmaker based in New York City, worked with their friend and poet Jimena Lucero to create this film in 2019 as a true passion project, funded by the two of them out-of-pocket. Since then, Silver Femme has not only been screened at multiple festivals, but has also been part of an exhibit called “Short Films from Earth: Nature is Queer” at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Reano and Lucero can both be found on Instagram.
Silver Femme
