Marc Smolowitz

BALONEY tells the surprising story of San Francisco's beloved Gay All-Male Revue of the same name, which has been delighting audiences in recent years with live performances that lovingly investigate the larger milieu of gay and queer men's experience. BALONEY's co-creators, Michael and Rory, invite their collaborators and audiences to embrace the sexualized aspects of striptease and burlesque alongside a blend of fantasy, confession, and social commentary.

Cass juggles jobs as a nanny, restaurant server, and party drug dealer in order to make ends meet and pay for their tiny San Francisco apartment. After a one night stand with Kalli, a co-worker they have a crush on, Cass agrees to watch her 11-year-old daughter, Ari, while she goes out of town. But as days pass without word from Kalli, Cass and Ari form a bond that spirals Cass back to their own difficult childhood and the pain they’ve been running from.

A feature length short film compilation that portrays 15 people living with HIV/AIDS from the San Francisco Bay Area. 16 well known local filmmakers collaborated with 15 protagonists to create 15 pieces that run from verite doc to experimental film, dance video, spoken words piece to straight forward doc weaving a diverse slate of stories into one powerful video aids quilt of our times.

The intimate journey and unpublished backstory of BeBe Zahara Benet – a charismatic drag performer originally from Cameroon, and the very first winner of the culture-changing phenomenon, RuPaul’s Drag Race. With over a decade of unprecedented access, we observe BeBe’s struggles with celebrity, authenticity, success, and failure.

A young, queer Muslim woman is grappling with the decision to come out to her devout mother, and ends up marrying her boyfriend to evade silent disapproval. This is a mother-daughter love story that reveals the often unseen intricacies of coming out and of seeking common ground and family.

In this sweet and raunchy trans rom-com, insecure cartoonist Al is faced with his most daunting prompt yet: confess his true feelings for his best friend or risk losing him to a handsome nemesis.

Drag Race star Peppermint takes center stage in this up close and personal documentary about her journey with fame, identity, and the art of drag. Sharing her story alongside a close network of trans individuals, one of the world’s favorite drag performers takes you inside her rise from humble beginnings to her current reign as outspoken trailblazer for the trans community.

A shy barista stumbles upon a magical pink wig that transforms him into a fearless drag super-shero. But when a villainous queen starts kidnapping drag performers to steal their magical tears, he must step into the spotlight, embrace his power, and lip-sync for their lives in a high-flying, show-stopping battle for the ages!

Heaven Adores You is an intimate, meditative inquiry into the life and music of Elliott Smith. By threading the music of Elliott Smith through the dense, yet often isolating landscapes of the three major cities he lived in -- Portland, New York City, Los Angeles -- Heaven Adores You presents a visual journey and an earnest review of the singer's prolific songwriting and the impact it continues to have on fans, friends, and fellow musicians.

Stripped of their constitutional rights, their homes, businesses, and dignity, 120,000 Japanese Americans were forced into dusty desolate camps, surrounded by armed guards and barbed wire. Ironically it was the All-American pastime of baseball that saved their sanity.

Sharon-Rose Khumalo, a South African beauty queen, faces an identity crisis after discovering she's intersex. Her path crosses with Dimakatso Sebidi, a masculine-presenting intersex activist, as they both navigate a journey marked by society’s stigma and inner struggles. Intertwining raw reality with poetic beauty, Who I am Not captures the heart-wrenching fight for acceptance in a binary world.

Over six years, BURIED ABOVE GROUND tells the stories of three Americans battling the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - an Iraq War veteran; a Hurricane Katrina evacuee; and a child abuse and domestic violence survivor.

A fluorescent, action-packed romantic thriller where three undeniably remarkable friends move to San Francisco after meeting in protective custody. Despite being free, as a chosen family they find themselves locked in a prison of their own making.

Narrated by Margaret Cho, "Keep The Promise: The Global Fight Against AIDS" profiles advocates from around the world who attended the "Keep The Promise Rally & March," that unfolded in Washington, DC during July 2012 as part of AIDS Healthcare Foundation's lively presence at the 19th International AIDS Conference. A dynamic stage show, rally, and march punctuate powerful personal stories of people from all walks of life who have been impacted and affected by HIV/AIDS and have decided to continue the global fight to end the AIDS Crisis.

A young gay Romani couple from a remote village in Hungary has a dream so absurd that it seems impossible: making a musical film based on their lives.

Eighty years after the Holocaust, the daughter of the writer of a haunting Yiddish lullaby traces the song's origin and impact over generations.

Short film created for the 2014 San Francisco Dance Film Festival's Co-Laboratory project. Choreographed and performed by Jocquese Whitfield.

Black - once Blue - is now a trans man who works as a security guard in an apartment complex in Oakland. One night, Black notices an ex- girlfriend partying with some other women in one of the buildings. As none of the other security guards want to watch 'the lezzie party', Black volunteers to, thinking he may resolve some inner conflicts from the past. However, things take a turn for the worse.

FINDING THE MONEY follows economist Stephanie Kelton on a journey through Modern Money Theory or “MMT”. Kelton provocatively asserts the National Debt Clock that ticks ominously upwards in New York City is not actually a debt for us taxpayers at all, nor a burden for our grandchildren to pay back. Instead, Kelton describes the national debt as simply a historical record of the number of dollars created by the US federal government currently being held in pockets, as assets, by the rest of us. MMT bursts into the media with journalists asking, “Have we been thinking about how the government spends money, all wrong?” But top economists from across the political spectrum condemn the theory as “voodoo economics”, “crazy” and “a crackpot theory”. FINDING THE MONEY traces the conflict all the way back to the story we tell about money, injecting new hope and empowering countries around the world to tackle the biggest challenges of the 21st century: from climate change to inequality.

Virtuoso Afro-Cuban-born brothers—violinist Ilmar and pianist Aldo—live on opposite sides of a geopolitical chasm a half-century wide. Tracking their parallel lives in New York and Havana, their poignant reunion, and their momentous first performances together, Los Hermanos/The Brothers suggests what is possible when walls come down, and borders are crossed. A nuanced, intensely moving view of nations long estranged, through the lens of music and family. Featuring an electrifying, genre-bending score composed by Cuban Aldo López-Gavilán, performed with his American brother, Ilmar, with a guest appearance by violin maestro Joshua Bell and the Harlem Quartet.

A drag queen embarks on a quest for better workplace rights, but finds herself in a dicey situation when her new lawyer, a tone-deaf straight woman, is revealed to be a drag super fan.

Interviews and perspectives examining the conditions of intersectional justice from 20 leading faith and community leaders.