Friday 6 February

Irish Focus | 7pm

Our opening night celebrates the best of Irish LGBTQIA+ filmmaking, featuring films nominated for Best Irish Production and An Léiriúchán is Fearr i nGaeilge (Best Production in Irish).

Claonadh (An Inclination)

Director: Ciara Ní É

Peigí is discovered in a bedroom she shouldn't be in. A coming-of-age drama as Gaeilge about identity and self-discovery.

🏆 Finalist: An Léiriúchán is Fearr i nGaeilge

Flirt

Directors: Aisling Kane, Louis Flanagan

A young man's debs night is turned on its head when a secret threatens to devastate his relationship and future plans.

🏆 Nominated: Best Irish Production, Audience Award

Ribbit

Director: Oisín Moroney

A family's fragile peace is fractured by a sudden move to a new home. As the parents struggle through the chaos, their son is left increasingly adrift and isolated.

🏆 Nominated: Best Irish Production

Moved

Director: Sarah Griffin

Nine LGBTQIA+ asylum seekers from around the world gather at a Dublin community centre to share their journeys — from fleeing persecution to building new lives and dreaming of safer futures.

🏆 Nominated: Best Irish Production

Samhain

Director: Croí Burrowes

A grieving young woman sets a place for her late father at the table on Halloween Night, hoping to see him again.

🏆 Nominated: Best Irish Production

Fr. Brennan is Having a Breakdown

Director: Luke Faulkner

Fr. Brennan has been acting rather strange lately, and who better than Man of the Year Richard Hennessy to whip the naïve parish priest into shape? A dark comedy exploring repressed sexuality in rural 1990s Ireland.

🏆 Nominated: Best Irish Production

An Talamh Faoi Gheasa (The Enchanted Land)

Director: Pradeep Mahadeshwar

This unique short film intertwines an ancient Indian mythological story with the beauty of the Irish language. Exploring themes of transformation, gender identity, migration and displacement, the story is told through Bharatanatyam dance and traditional Irish folk singing. Shot at historical locations in and around Dublin.

Please Be Normal

Director: Eoghan McQuinn

An insecure 30-something year-old demands others on a gay dating app be "normal" — however, he himself is about to be exposed as being anything but.

🏆 Nominated: Best Irish Production

Glacaim (I Do)

Director: Joseph Jones (Seosamh Mac Seoin)

In the quiet, windswept Donegal Gaeltacht, Dónall prepares for his wedding day, but his mind is elsewhere, lost in the pages of his journal. When the journal vanishes, so does his certainty about the day ahead. All is not what it seems.

Corcaigh Trí Thine (Cork is Burning)

Director: Andrea Foley

A dive into the Cork drag scene — the artists, the history, the activism, and the world's first drag school. Behind the bright lights, we explore the unglamorous life of activism and the people who work to create spaces and protect rights.

🏆 Finalist: An Léiriúchán is Fearr i nGaeilge

Saturday 7 February

Audience Award | 4pm

Seven films compete for your vote. Watch, vote, and help decide the winner — announced at the Queer Vision Awards later that evening.

The Blame Silence

Director: Israel Cordova 🇧🇷 Brazil

After his father's death, Mauro, a rural farmer, finds himself facing a freedom he never dared to live. Caught between guilt and desire, he confronts his fears to finally embrace who he truly is.

Flirt

Directors: Aisling Kane, Louis Flanagan 🇮🇪 Ireland

A young man's debs night is turned on its head when a secret threatens to devastate his relationship and future plans.

Highdiver

Director: Oscar Bittner 🇩🇪 Germany

Since early childhood, Tuan and Felix have been inseparable. As they train to become Olympic high divers, their budding love for each other suffers under the weight of the competition. Professional sport is a harsh business, and Tuan will sacrifice everything for it... or will he?

Picture Girl

Director: Simon Brown 🇮🇪 Ireland

Sadie, an autistic nonverbal teenager, develops a crush on her new neighbour and expresses her deep feelings through a stream of portraits. When Sadie's secret blows out into the open, this unexpectedly brings the girls closer in a connection neither of them could have foreseen.

Crystalline

Director: Christopher Cunetto 🇺🇸 United States

A drag queen haunted by addiction must battle vivid hallucinations to nail a life-changing performance.

Basil vs Basil

Directors: Dasha Melnik, Basil Ayoub 🇦🇺 Australia

On a quest to challenge the hypocrisy of local politics and disrupt the status quo, a young filmmaker finds himself caught up in the con.

Anadromous

Director: Ari Grubb 🇺🇸 United States

When they find themselves evolving out of their aquarium home, two fish set off on a musical journey of self-acceptance and queer joy, and find community in a freaky fish gay bar in the deepest depths of the ocean.

Bold and Beautiful: International | 7pm

Our Saturday night screening showcases the best of international LGBTQIA+ cinema — stories from around the world, right here in Waterford. Followed by the Queer Vision Awards.

Alzou

Director: Ugo Woatzi 🇧🇪 Belgium

The queer community that once thrived in the Alzou Valley has disappeared. After years of exile, Alzou — the river's deity — returns. Through a ritual act, Alzou seeks to reconnect with the valley's living forces, attempting to rekindle the bond between nature, spirit, and those who once inhabited this sacred place.

Only the Dead Fish Go With the Flow

Director: Christophe Gomes 🇫🇷 France

Camille is a six-year-old boy, but Camille feels like a girl. For Carnival, Camille goes to school dressed as a princess, despite the school's refusal to acknowledge Camille as a girl. The principal summons Camille's mother for a final confrontation.

High Diver

Director: Oscar Bittner 🇩🇪 Germany

Since early childhood, Tuan and Felix have been inseparable. As they train to become Olympic high divers, their budding love for each other suffers under the weight of the competition. Professional sport is a harsh business, and Tuan will sacrifice everything for it... or will he?

The Blame Silence

Director: Israel Cordova 🇧🇷 Brazil

After his father's death, Mauro, a rural farmer, finds himself facing a freedom he never dared to live. Caught between guilt and desire, he confronts his fears to finally embrace who he truly is.

Butterfly Kiss

Director: Zohar Dvir 🇩🇪 Germany

Carol panics and argues with her girlfriend Ray after an unexpected proposal. The situation gets worse when she wakes up in an apocalyptic reality and discovers that Ray has transformed into a butterfly. Devoting yourself to your girlfriend could come at a price.

Bagua

Director: Mish Keating 🇦🇺 Australia

A young Chinese woman's obsession with feng shui spirals out of control as she tries to protect her girlfriend from an evil spirit.

Souvenir Shop

Director: WU Yé 🇨🇳🇫🇷 China/France

A young man with an angelic face, seeming almost out of place in this world, randomly meets a stranger on a suburban road. Under the blazing sun, they try to wander through the city like ordinary tourists, but trouble keeps finding them.

Boys of a Feather

Director: Shelby Lewis 🇺🇸 United States

While waiting for a job interview, Tomás sees his best friend (and crush) from childhood. But will Jamal recognize him after all this time? A sweet, quirky queer meet-cute romantic comedy.

It Is Not Dirty

Director: Ulysse Patrick Thevenot 🇫🇷 France

Didier remembers. In the intimacy of his daily life, he recounts his memories of love and loneliness, of what is hidden and what remains. A film about LGBT seniors, resilience, and hope for future generations.

 

Queer Vision Awards | 9.30pm

The festival culminates with the Queer Vision Awards ceremony, honouring the best in LGBTQIA+ filmmaking across all categories.

🏆 An Léiriúchán is Fearr as Éirinn — Best Irish Production
🏆 An Léiriúchán is Fearr i nGaeilge — Best Production in Irish
🏆 Bold and Beautiful — Best International Production
🏆 Gradam an Lucht Féachana — Audience Award