Hold the skepticism—the smart and funny group of people profiled in this fast-moving documentary have heard it all before. Meet Swank Ivy who makes YouTube videos debunking common beliefs; or David Jay, the movement’s poster boy and regular on television talk shows, including The View. (A)sexual documents the growth of this newly organized sexual minority while raising provocative questions about queer inclusiveness and the boundaries of “normal” sexual desire. In 2002 Jay created a website, asexuality.org; today, there are some 26,000 members of AVEN (Asexual Visibility and Education Network). Members discuss coming out as an asexual, their struggles for acceptance, and the various subgroups within the community (to cuddle or not to cuddle?). Along with David Jay and other members of the asexual community, the film features academic researchers who speculate that there are over three million asexuals in the US. Sexperts Carol Queen and Dan Savage weigh in on the f ledgling asexual movement and its place in queerdom. Is it possible that in today’s sexualized society, lack of desire is perversion’s f inal frontier? (Description courtesy of Monica Nolan, Frameline International LGBT Film Festival)

Event Info↗

A beautifully told love story of what happens when one woman finally follows her heart. Mia and Frida meet for the first time at their respective parents’ engagement party. As their eyes meet over the champagne toast, both women recognise a deep attraction for each other. But standing in their way is Tim, Mia’s long term boyfriend and business partner, who has just asked Mia to marry him. Thrown together by circumstance, Mia finds it hard to resist acting on her desires for the beautiful and openly gay Frida. Although she insists it was just a one-time thing, she is drawn to the other woman as strongly as Frida is drawn to her. Realising the love and acceptance she experiences with Frida is what she truly wants in life, Mia’s actions have the potential to turn everyone’s lives upside down. How far will she go to keep the woman of her dreams? A beautiful and sensual film told elegantly by Keining with strong performances by all involved. (Description courtesy of Emma Smart, BFI London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival.)

Event Info↗

Wanting to quit prostitution in Manila and start a new life, Sofia, a transgender woman, gets her chance when an old friend asks her to look after her twelve year-old son, Tomas, while she works overseas for a year. Sofia packs her bags and moves to the small town of Talisay where she becomes Donna, taking care of Tomas. As she’s about to settle into this quiet, idyllic life, the past inevitably creeps back up and she discovers that the town’s mayor Tiongson, who is seeking re-election, is a crony of Verano, one of her regular clients back in Manila. Determined to erase any trace of her past, Donna discreetly hatches a plan to remove Tiongson from power and rid the town of Verano’s influence.

Event Info↗