28th Annual Dances With Films (DWF) Festival Highlights LGBTQIA+ Programming During Pride

16 Feature Films, Short Films, and Pilots Slated to Screen June 19-29

Los Angeles, CA (June 6, 2025)—Discovery festival Dances With Films (DWF) is proud to highlight the LGBTQIA+ lineup for its 28th edition in honor of Pride Month. This year, three features, nine shorts, and four pilots will play at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre from Thursday, June 19 through Sunday, June 29.

The Features slate begins with the World Premiere of Lane Michael Stanley’s T on Friday, June 20 at 7:15PM. Filmed over lead actor Mel Glickman’s real-life first year taking Testosterone, T is a fictionalized, never-before-seen journey of nuanced transmasculine discovery, authentically portraying the moving struggles and joys encountered in friendships, family, and romantic relationships.

Features wrap up on Wednesday, June 25 with the West Coast Premiere of Chris Coats’ FLAMINGO CAMP at 4:30PM and the World Premiere of Avan Hardwell’s SILENT PREY at 9:30PM. FLAMINGO CAMP takes place in the harsh Sonoran Desert’s near-lawless squatter town of Slab City, where a group of young queer and trans anarchists have created a thriving safe space for themselves. The camp flourishes through the mild winter months under the leadership of its founder Nova, but the unthinkable happens when Nova departs for the summer and the brutal heat sets in, fracturing this once close-knit chosen family. In SILENT PREY, an embattled Los Angeles attorney learns that the police have attributed her brother’s untimely death to an accidental overdose and joins forces with a hesitant detective to uncover the truth. Soon their investigation unearths a string of murders that point to a serial killer hellbent on cleansing America of the evil he believes to be destroying it.

T

FLAMINGO CAMP

SILENT PREY

The Shorts programming kicks off on Friday, June 20 at 4:45PM with the Los Angeles Premiere of Cheri Gaulke and Sue Maberry’s OLD GIRL IN A TUTU: SUSAN RENNIE DISRUPTS ART HISTORY in the “Doc Shorts Block 1” category. Feminist scholar, Susan Rennie, seizes her iPhone and sneaks her queer, octogenarian body into master works of art, disrupting the narrative of the male gaze. With humor and wit, Rennie’s photographic interventions offer a feminist critique of the conventional canon of art history, and an unabashed embrace of her elder, queer identity.

Saturday, June 21 brings us Sara Monge’s HAPPY PLACE World Premiere in the “Comp Shorts Block 1” category at 11:45AM. After realizing she may want to date women, Anna goes to her roommate’s cousin’s lesbian engagement party in the hopes of finding answers but discovers something much more terrifying instead. This is followed by the “Comp Shorts Block 3” category at 4:15PM, which features the West Coast Premieres of Jonathan Hammon’s FIREFLIES IN THE DUSK and Steven Fierberg, Brandon Johnston, and Lindsay Chamber’s HEAVEN AND NATURE. In FIREFLIES IN THE DUSK, Victorian-era Charlotte and modern bro Zack exchange love letters through time and space. When Charlotte’s overbearing mother forces her to marry the uptight Cecil, Charlotte throws herself through a time portal to be Zack. But when Cecil follows, everything goes awry. HEAVEN AND NATURE is set in the late 1950s, as childhood sweethearts are confronted with the realities of their relationship as adults and forced to acknowledge that situations are not always what they appear to be. They must ask themselves what they are willing to sacrifice to live the American Dream.

HAPPY PLACE

FIREFLIES IN THE DUSK

HEAVEN AND NATURE

Sunday, June 22 sees the World Premiere of Stephan Fleet and JL Perkel’s XY in the “Comp Shorts Block 6” category at 4:15PM. Up and coming trans actress JL Perkel and recurring Palm Royale actor Dominic Burgess star in a social commentary on trans rights in America. XY is the story of a repressed convenience store clerk named Y and a trans cam girl named X whose lives tragically intersect at a bleak strip mall in today’s America.

The “Fusion Shorts Block 1” category on Monday, June 23 at 5:00PM features the California Premiere of Fiona Obertinca and Corey Pinchoff’s DANDELION. In 1970s Los Angeles, rebellious queer teen Margaret gets thrown out of yet another foster placement and finds herself in the company of a mysterious social worker who’s tasked with finding her a new home before the break of dawn. At odds and forced to travel the city together, Margaret realizes that running may not be her only option.

XY

DANDELION

The West Coast Premieres of Carrie Adam’s COMPOSURE and Emelie Claxton’s DOGGONE are on Tuesday, June 24 at 7:00PM in the “Fusion Shorts Block 3” category. In COMPOSURE, an engagement photographer connects with a bride-to-be when the groom doesn’t show up to their photoshoot. DOGGONE follows a struggling artist who gets a sweet gig dog sitting for a wealthy publicist. But all hell breaks loose when the Pomeranian in her care is dognapped right out from under her nose. On her quest to get the dog back before the owner gets home, she must face art world jerks, drag queens, drunk bridesmaids, and the rift forming in her most important relationship.

Closing out the shorts is Jonathan Hamond’s MASCLOOKING, starring Daniel Franzese, with its World Premiere in the “Fusion Shorts Block 5” category at 7:00PM on Wednesday, June 25. After two friends discuss the pros and cons and gay dating apps, one starts to get ominous messages from a potential hookup with the handle, MascLooking. And MascLooking is getting close…and closer.

COMPOSURE

DOGGONE

MASCLOOKING

Rounding out the lineup is Pilots, which start on Saturday, June 21 at 2:45PM with Rain Valdez, Darryl Stephens, and Kyle Puccia’s World Premiere One For The Team in the “Pilots Block 3” category. Desperate to hang onto his Ivy League scholarship, trans hotshot Nico Ramirez moves an hour away from home to play lacrosse at an affluent new high school. Coach says Nico could win them the championship, but will he lose his friends, his full-ride, and his entire sense of self in the process?

Tuesday, June 24 sees Paul Sanchez IV’s Babyteeth at 4:30PM, preceding the screening of feature film THE DISTANT JUMP. Babyteeth follows Toni, an 11-year-old LatinX transboy who is afraid of the monster under their bed…which is very real, but it may not be the only monster in the house.

One For The Team

Babyteeth

Pilots end on Saturday, June 28 with the West Coast Premieres of Monica Raymund and Lisa Cordileone’s Crazy As A Loon in the “Pilots Block 4” category at 11:00AM and Lynn Rosen and Chad Kessler’s Gasbag in the “Pilots Block 6” at 3:30PM. Crazy As A Loon is a gripping proof of concept centered on one American family simply trying to exist during the Lavender Scare of 1953 in Washington, D.C. On the night of her son’s birthday party, a matriarch is hunted by a covert government unit, unleashing far more than her perpetrators bargained for. The story exposes the ruthless tactics—secret interrogations, surveillance, and blacklists—targeting queer Americans, people of color, and intellectuals. The story resonates with the chilling truth that what happened 70 years ago still echoes through America today. Gasbag is a coming-of-age ensemble comedy about a lovable, recently out overtalker discovering what (and who) he wants at age 42. The heart of Ted Lasso meets the vibe of Abbott Elementary, by way of Queens, New York.

DWF is excited to continue its commitment to amplifying and celebrating LGBTQIA+ voices and filmmakers, especially during Pride Month.

Crazy As A Loon

Gasbag

DWF co-founder Michael Trent concludes, “We are incredibly honored to present such a diverse slate each year. Pride Month is a time of celebration and visibility for the LGBTQIA+ community, and we are so proud to shine a spotlight on these exceptional filmmakers who use their voice and art to promote acceptance and understanding.”

The 2025 outing of DWF will play a total of 254 films, with the theme “Find Your Truth,” making it Los Angeles’ largest independent film festival. A complete list of films and events, the festival schedule, passes and tickets, and more are available online here. Press materials are available here (photo credit Dances With Films) and advance screeners are available for media on request.

About Dances With Films (DWF)

Now in its 28th year, Dances With Films (DWF) champions the unflinching spirit at the very core of the independent film scene. With most film festivals relying heavily on celebrity, DWF has relied on the innovation, talent, creativity, and sweat equity that revolutionized the entertainment industry. And that reliance continues to prove successful, with alumni moving on to write, direct, and produce celebrity-studded vehicles, star in blockbuster movies and television series, produce multi-million-dollar films, and create hot TV shows.