Frameline Announces the Lineup for the 49th San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival & Queer2Queer Campaign

The following is a press release from EDGE OUTreach Partner FRAMELINE.

Today, Frameline announced the full lineup for the 49th San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival (Frameline49), the largest and longest-running queer film festival in the world. Taking place June 18-28, Frameline49's 11 days of programming feature nearly 150 films from 40 countries, and bring many notable premieres to the Bay Area, including 17 World Premieres, two International Premieres, 12 North American Premieres, and 11 US Premieres, and numerous West Coast, California, and Bay Area Premieres.

Previously, Frameline shared its Opening Night film, Sophie Hyde's "Jimpa," a multi-generational drama starring Olivia Colman, as well as its First Friday film, Sam Feder's 2025 Frameline Completion Fund film "Heightened Scrutiny," a salient documentary that centers on ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio as he argues at the Supreme Court for trans rights. As of today, Frameline has revealed the films for the Festival's other two big nights, Pride Kickoff and Closing Night. Frameline49 will launch into Pride Weekend with a screening of internationally acclaimed artist Rashaad Newsome and filmmaker Johnny Symons' "Assembly," which combines performance art, music, dance, and film into a powerful illustration of the complexity and resilience of the Black experience. On the final day of the Festival, James Sweeney's "Twinless," a Sundance standout, will serve as the Closing Night film.

"Usually we kick these things off by talking about how 'thrilled' we are, and while we are excited for our filmmakers and eager to share their incredible work with you all, those familiar expressions of enthusiasm feel insufficient right now, " said Allegra Madsen, Frameline's Executive Director. "I want to emphasize how deeply I value the extraordinary work of our filmmakers this year – their vision and courage are truly remarkable. All of us are weathering challenges that threaten our identities, our histories, and our everyday lives. Like many of you, I'm exhausted and angry. With Frameline49, I want us to examine our past of LGBTQ+ activism and art and I want to honor the powerful stories of this moment, to remind us all that Frameline is both a celebration and a statement. We'll still engage in difficult conversations and recognize the realities reflected in our films, but we'll also create spaces where we can untense our shoulders and laugh together, without having to defend our existence."

In a continuation of Frameline48's Juneteenth celebration, the Festival will present a special screening at KQED of Daniel Junge and Sam Pollard's "I Was Born This Way," a documentary centered on icon and activist Archbishop Carl Bean, who sang the titular gay anthem and founded both the Minority AIDS Project and the world's first LGBTQ+ church for people of color. Bolstered by beautiful rotoscope animation, the doc features appearances by Billy Porter, Lady Gaga, Dionne Warwick, and Questlove.

Other highlights include the World Premiere of Oriel Pe'er's "A Deeper Love: The Story of Miss Peppermint," an intimate documentary about trailblazing artist and activist Peppermint; a free advance screening of Netflix's "The Ultimatum: Queer Love" Season 2 at the newly opened Rikki's sports bar; a free outdoor screening at PROXY of Yashaddai Owens' "Jimmy," an impressionistic imagining of James Baldwin's (Benny O. Arthur) time in Paris; and a screening at Oasis of "Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror," a documentary about the queer touchstone directed by Linus O'Brien, the son of Rocky Horror writer Richard O'Brien.

Festival films will be screened at venues like the Roxie Theater, the American Conservatory Theater's (A.C.T.) Toni Rembe Theater, CinemaSF's Vogue Theatre, the Herbst Theatre, Oasis, Rikki's, KQED, PROXY, and The New Parkway Theater. While the majority of the Festival will take place in San Francisco and Oakland, Frameline's first-ever partnership with CAFILM Pride will bring a selection of Festival films to San Rafael (June 13-15).

"More than ever before, the Festival program was curated with community in mind, " Madsen added. "Not only do we want to center stories by and for the LGBTQ+ community, but we want to create experiences and spaces that foster crucial conversations, illustrate our collective supportiveness, and allow for resilience to the hard times to coexist with having a really good time together.

For more information, visit http://frameline.org.