48th San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival to Kickoff with ‘Young Hearts’ and Juneteenth Celebration

Frameline48, the largest LGBTQ+ cinema showcase in California, runs June 19-29, 2024 and will announce the full program slate on May 21

Today, Frameline announced a landmark Opening Night program for the 48th annual San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival (Frameline48): an Opening Night Film and Block Party that celebrates Juneteenth. The first-ever Castro neighborhood celebration of Juneteenth, Frameline48’s free outdoor event will feature an afternoon of music as well as a screening of Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero.

In addition to joining Frameline48’s attempt to organize the largest, queerest Electric Slide ever, Bay Area movie-goers can attend 80+ programs during the festival, which runs June 19–29. Instead of being housed in one venue, the 11-day celebration of film, queerness, and the San Francisco Bay Area will carry on the 2023 festival’s “Neighborhood Nights” spirit. The Juneteenth Opening Night Film and Block Party will be followed by screenings all over the Bay in historic venues, including the Roxie Theater, the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, the Herbst Theatre, the Vogue Theater and The New Parkway Theater in Oakland. 

“In this climate, our queer joy, community, and visibility are all political statements,” says Allegra Madsen, Frameline’s Executive Director. “Cultural change always begins with art and storytelling, what sets Frameline apart is that our organization is built by and for LGBTQ+ people. This year the festival program sets out to highlight how queer artists and queer cultural production has shaped the world we live in.”

Frameline will celebrate opening weekend with a screening of Young Hearts, directed by first-time feature writer/director Anthony Schatteman.  This screening will be followed by Frameline’s traditional Opening Gala celebrating the commencement of the festival. Young Hearts, is a poignant coming-of-age story that boldly reshapes the coming out narrative into a celebration of acceptance and understanding one’s self. Opening weekend will also feature Fawzia Mirza’s Queen of My Dreams, at once a universal tale of mother-daughter relationships and a story of specific shifting South Asian cultural and political dynamics. Early bird tickets for Young Hearts and Queen of My Dreams will go on sale May 1, 2023. Frameline48 will partner with KQEDLive and local filmmaker Deborah Craig for a screening of the artist’s documentary, Sally!,  which chronicles not just the life of lesbian-feminist firebrand, professor, and fantasy author Sally Gearhart but a crucial moment of, and movement for, social change. Additionally, Frameline48 will partner with Oakland’s own Drunken Film Fest for a free program about the importance of queer spaces and their legacy — appropriately set in an iconic Bay Area queer space.

“I am so proud to lead Frameline and be part of its revolutionary history and future. Our organization does the essential work of ensuring that queer people can tell, share, and see their own stories,” Madsen says. “Film can push people — filmmakers and audiences alike — to create change and shape our cultural moment. To further that, Frameline48 is redefining what it means to be a film festival in today’s landscape.”

JUNETEENTH FILM AND BLOCK PARTY
Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero (2023)
Zachary Manuel, Carlos López Estrada
Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero captures the creative dynamo and mesmerizing star power of Lil Nas X, the Grammy Award-winning rapper, singer, and songwriter, as he embarks on his first-ever headlining U.S. tour. With unparalleled access, the film follows the genre-breaking artist as he navigates his meteoric rise to fame, his desire to inspire his fans, and his place in the pantheon of Black queer icons.

OPENING GALA SCREENING
Young Hearts (2023)
Alex Schatteman  
Elias seems to be a pretty carefree kid in a cute rural Belgian town. But when a cool new city boy moves next door, Elias’ feelings of friendship go much deeper than he knows what to do with, and his confusion sends him spinning. In this tender and affirming youth romance, Elias finds that the journey to first love will have to start with accepting himself.

Queen of My Dreams (2023)
Fawzia Mirza 
Queer Pakistani grad student Azra is worlds apart from her conservative Muslim mother. When her father suddenly dies on a trip home to Pakistan, Azra finds herself on a Bollywood-inspired journey through memories, both real and imagined; from her mother’s youth in Karachi to her own coming- of-age in rural Canada.

KQED PARTNER SCREENING
Sally! (2024)
Deborah Craig
She spearheaded the 1970s and 80s lesbian feminist movement – making an indelible impact on LGBTQ equality and women’s rights. A brilliant and sexy superstar who inspired thousands. So how come you’ve never heard of Sally Gearhart?