Sometimes, it’s the chance encounters that create connections of irresistible appeal – moments that arise in liminal spaces, during periods of transition or on imagined journeys through time, when we must choose how the story will continue.
The title of this short film programme is borrowed from Maya Ziadé’s film Neo Nahda, in which the protagonist projects herself from the present into a 1920s Arab salon, where she encounters other queer women. It prompts us to ask what connections we can make from archive photographs and texts that have a bearing on our lives today. »What took you so long?« also refers to the futuristic yet real working world presented to us in Ayoung Kim’s elaborately animated film Delivery Dancer’s Sphere. Body and time are optimised, unforeseen events throw us off course. In Places I’ve Called My Own, the protagonist must evaluate the conditions each location offers for a queer life, where going back may no longer be an option. Chance encounters in everyday life can also provide the initial impetus for change, as shown in the urban backdrop of Saigon Kiss.
It is within this dynamic tension – between the past and notions of a possible future – that these four artistic film contributions unfold, both atmospherically and politically.