Film Categories: Youth

  • Under Pressure

    When gunshots ring out at school, library geek Alex finds herself hiding with popular girl Ruby, Alex’s secret crush. Will Alex find the courage to reveal her true desire amid the overwhelming fear and confusion?

  • Lavender: A Lesbian Love Story

    By accepting a lavender marriage proposal, Joy risks her secret relationship, forcing her to choose between appeasing her family and true love.

  • Vampires Drink Blood… I Drink Sorrow

    A love story at the end of time.

  • MAN MADE

    MAN MADE, a repurposed narrative of a boy who gets introduced to the wonders of life by a beautiful shining trumpet. But the struggle to be oneself has only begun. Utilizing found 16mm footage and both digital and analog manipulation techniques, Mikkola pierces conventional masculinity with a transformative queer gaze.

  • Arrival 1, Arrival 2

    This experimental essay film springs from the final days of December 2020 when I moved from Chicago to Toronto. The film documents my move and then continues on alternate paths, weaving through the liminal spaces of borders, sickness, interpellation, and dreams. Content Note: This film contains extended discussions about fatphobia and disordered eating. Specifically, this film contains descriptions of food restriction, idealization of thinness, and intense emotional and physical pain after eating. After 11:41 there is no direct discussion of disordered eating. Flashing lights throughout. Loud noises throughout.

  • The Birth of a Beautiful Butch

    “The Birth of a Beautiful Butch” is a story about Alex, a gay high school senior, caught between who she is and what she’s supposed to be. On the day of her school pictures, Alex feels struck with an appearance that doesn’t fit right with her body. When she retreats into her mind, she is able to imagine the person she wants to be. Ultimately, she transcends the judgement of others through fashion in an authentic expression of herself.

  • The Expanding Horizon

    A 16-year-old wants to buy weed from his drug dealer classmate, but he has an unusual request.

  • Boys of My Youth

    Through eerie iPhone photographs of empty high school hallways and dimly lit locker rooms, an unknown narrator reflects on his teenage sexual repression.

  • Grandpa’s Fingers

    A grandfather recounts a story to his two young granddaughters, explaining what happened to his fingers. A short fable about family, storytelling, and cannibalism that gives new meaning to the phrase “finger food.”

  • No Mime Game

    An effective mime-skit showing the perils of drinking and driving. A mixture of mime, camera work, and special effects prepares us to expect the inevitable crash. An excellent film for use in driver and health education or dramatic arts classes.