Leeds Queer Short Film Competition 1

The first of two competition programmes for queer shorts this year includes films from UK, Ecuador, Palestine, USA, and India.   A documentary following TRUK United: a grassroots, proudly trans football club. Filmed over two years, it captures the team’s highs and lows on and off the pitch as they create a safe haven for their community in the face of rising transphobia.Cameron Richards, Charlie Tidmas | UK | 2025 | 25 mins | English In this lush animation, we watch our protagonist discover themself and claim their queer identity. Shedding shame and rebuilding a beautiful intricate structure in its place.Yorkshire Premiere | Nour Khamis | Ecuador, UK, Palestine | 2025 | 4 mins | English, Spanish With archival footage from the ACT UP movement, this historical fiction re-enacts a direct action at the National Institute of Health during the height of the AIDS crisis, creating a throughline to the COVID pandemic and Anthony Fauci’s role during both.UK Premiere | Trace Pope | USA | 2025 | 16 mins | English American teen Neelu feels out of place amidst preparations for her sister’s wedding in Delhi until she forges a brief and unexpected connection with Zeyb, a quiet sari store clerk who moonlights as an internet drag queen.Yorkshire Premiere | Shruti Parekh | USA, India | 2024 | 19 mins | English, Hindi During a hot Belfast summer, a trans man takes a pregnancy test and then faces the difficult situation of how to tell his on-again/off-again boyfriend.Yorkshire Premiere | Caleb J. Roberts | Northern Ireland, UK | 2025 | 15 mins | English Mischievous Xena must pull off a matchmaking feat in order to get the promotion of her dreams. Exquisitely styled and produced, this is a queer-as-hell, laugh-out-loud guardian angel story you haven’t seen before.Yorkshire Premiere | Ravenna Tran | UK | 2024 | 17 mins | English