S.F. LGBTQ film festival hopes unique fundraising twist helps beat Trump cuts

In another novel concept designed to help Frameline weather a loss of federal funding, the nation's oldest and largest LGBTQ media arts organization is turning to donor sponsored screenings.
Called the Queer2Queer Campaign, it encourages supporters to 'adopt' a screening at San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival. Priced at $2,500, a sponsored screening assists Frameline cover the costs of not only venue rental and other exhibition fees, but also bringing in filmmakers for in-person Q&As for the June 18-28 event at venues in San Francisco and Oakland.
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Frameline 49
When: June 18-28
Where: Roxie Theater, Herbst Theatre, Vogue Theatre, American Conservatory Theater's Toni Rembe Theater, Oasis, KQED, Rikki's, Proxy and Charmaine's in San Francisco; the New Parkway Theater in Oakland.
Pre-festival: June 13-15, Smith Rafael Film Center, 1118 Fourth St., San Rafael. www.rafaelfilm.cafilm.org/pride-2025
Streaming: Select films will be available to stream at home June 23-30.
Films: Nearly 150 from 40 countries, including 17 world premieres.
Opening night: 'Jimpa,' starring Olivia Colman and John Lithgow. 7 p.m. June 18. $35. Toni Rembe Theater, 415 Geary St., S.F.
Juneteenth: 'I Was Born This Way,' documentary about the late Archbishop Carl Bean. 6 p.m. June 19. $19.50. KQED, 2601 Mariposa St., S.F.
First Friday: 'Heightened Scrutiny,' documentary about American Civil Liberties Union transgender attorney Chase Strangio. 7 p.m. June 20. Toni Rembe Theater • First Friday Party. 9 p.m.-midnight. Charmaine's, 1100 Market St., S.F. $35 film only; $85 film plus party.
Pride Kickoff: Rashaad Newsome and Johnny Symons' documentary 'Assembly.' 5:45 p.m. June 27. Herbst Theatre, 401 Van Ness Ave. S.F. • Pride Kickoff Party. 9 p.m.-midnight. Oasis, 298 11th St., S.F. $28 film only; $60 film plus party.
Closing night: James Sweeney's comedy 'Twinless.' 8:30 p.m. June 28. $35. Herbst Theatre.
Frameline Executive Director Allegra Madsen and her team hatched the idea for the Queer2Queer Campaign after Frameline was stripped of about $50,000 in grants promised to it by the National Endowment for the Arts, part of the Trump administration's directive to defund the arts and humanities.
'It's frustrating. It's sad,' Madsen told the Chronicle hours before revealing the full schedule for Frameline 49 at a release party at Oasis on May 13. 'It's darn near impossible not to read it as an attempt at censorship. But the festival will go on, we will still make space and community for queer people. That is our mission, regardless of changing policies at the national level.'
The Queer2Queer Campaign follows the previously announced pay-it forward initiative to provide free tickets to transgender and nonbinary attendees to 'Heightened Scrutiny,' Sam Feder's documentary about American Civil Liberties Union attorney Chase Strangio, the first out trans person to argue before the Supreme Court. The film is screening as part of the festival's First Friday event on June 20.
'We got ourselves through McCarthyism, the Lavender Scare. We supported each other through the AIDS crisis, and we developed the art of activism and mutual support. It seems like we're entering another paradigm where the powers that be, the larger current administration, wants to marginalize queer people again,' Madsen said. But, she added, 'Queer people have a very long history of standing up for and with one another, particularly when the societal forces don't want to do so.'
Frameline 49, which features nearly 150 films from about 40 countries, opens with 'Jimpa,' Sophie Hyde's family drama starring Olivia Colman and John Lithgow, and closes with James Sweeney's 'Twinless,' a comedy about two grieving men who bond in a support group and form an unlikely friendship. Both were well received at January's Sundance Film Festival.
Big nights include the Juneteenth-slotted movie 'I Was Born This Way,' Daniel Junge and Sam Pollard's documentary about the late Archbishop Carl Bean, who founded both the Minority AIDS Project and the world's first LGBTQ church for people of color; and the Pride Kickoff Party film 'Assembly,' which follows visionary artist Rashaad Newsome as he transforms a historic military facility into a Black queer utopia, blending art, artificial intelligence and performance.
Madsen, who also led the programming team, is especially proud of the variety of films at this year's edition, which include the animated thrill ride 'Lesbian Space Princess,' which won a Teddy Award at the Berlin International Film Festival; the world premiere of Oriel Pe'er's 'A Deeper Love: The Story of Miss Peppermint,' a documentary about the artist, activist and 'RuPaul's Drag Race' runner-up; and the searing intersex documentary 'The Secret of Me,' which exposes deep family secrets.
Then there's the film 'your great-aunt Ida' should see, Madsen said.
'Somebody asked me, 'So what should my out-of-town relatives come and see at Frameline to get a little taste?'' Madsen recalled. 'The answer this year is 'Four Mothers.''
The Irish comedy is about a young gay author whose book tour is upended when his mother has a stroke. As he cares for her, three more elderly women arrive on his doorstep.
'I really love that film,' Madsen said. 'It is the film for the sandwich generation.'

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