Queer Voices Shine at Houston Cinema Arts Festival

The Houston Cinema Arts Festival (HCAF) returns this November with a vibrant lineup of screenings, performances, and community events taking place across the city’s most beloved venues, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), The Deluxe Theater, and River Oaks Theatre. This year’s theme, “HERE,” challenges audiences to consider what it means to be fully present—rooted in time, body, and place—while navigating an increasingly fragmented world.

HCAF has long been known for its inclusive programming and focus on diverse storytelling. In 2025, queer cinema once again takes a prominent role, with four standout films that explore presence, identity, and the enduring power of creative expression. Each work reflects a deeply personal yet universal struggle: to belong, to connect, and to define one’s place in the world.

WHAT: The 2025 Houston Cinema Arts Festival
WHEN: November 6–16
WHERE: Multiple Houston venues
For tickets, scheduling, and full festival details, visit tinyurl.com/3s5mbyb2

Queer film highlights:

Dreams in Nightmares

Nov. 6 | 7:30 PM | MFAH, Lynn Wyatt Theater

Opening the queer film lineup is Dreams in Nightmares, a poetic road film directed by Shatara Michelle Ford. Three Black queer femmes set out on a journey to find a missing friend, uncovering layers of truth, trauma, and tenderness along the way. The film weaves surreal imagery with lyrical storytelling, evoking both the isolation and intimacy of chosen family. Ford’s direction transforms the familiar road-trip narrative into something transcendent—a meditation on Black queer womanhood and the sustaining power of kinship in a world that too often demands resilience at the expense of rest.

Perpetual Adolescent (La Eterna Adolescente)

Nov. 9 | 2:00 PM | The Deluxe Theater

In Perpetual Adolescent, director La Eterna Adoloscente delivers a deeply emotional portrait of three siblings drawn home for Christmas as their mother’s depression worsens. Set in Guadalajara and unfolding through grainy home videos and faded photographs, the film captures the hazy boundary between memory and grief. What begins as a family reunion becomes a reckoning with the past—an examination of how pain is inherited, buried, and finally confronted. Both lyrical and grounded, Perpetual Adolescent reveals how family ties can be fragile, yet healing is often found within their imperfections.

My Chest Is Full of Sparks

Nov. 11 | 7:30 PM | The Deluxe Theater

Following Perpetual Adolescent is My Chest Is Full of Sparks, a poignant exploration of distance and reconnection. The film follows two sisters separated by geography and grief after their father’s death. As one navigates life in Turkey and the other in Mexico, they communicate through video letters that document both the mundane and the profound. Over time, the exchanges become a lifeline, bridging emotional gaps even as they confront unresolved pain. Tenderly directed and visually intimate, the film illuminates how art and storytelling can transform loss into resilience.

S/HE IS STILL HER/E: The Official Genesis P-Orridge Documentary

Nov. 14 | 9:00 PM | River Oaks Theatre

Closing the queer program is S/HE IS STILL HER/E, an unflinching documentary about avant-garde artist and musician Genesis P-Orridge, whose work with Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV redefined the boundaries of gender, identity, and creative experimentation. Directed by Marie Losier, the film is both an artistic archive and an emotional farewell. Through rare footage and candid interviews, S/HE IS STILL HER/E examines P-Orridge’s lifelong project of self-creation and their pursuit of unity between art and existence. The documentary celebrates P-Orridge’s influence while offering a meditation on love, mortality, and the courage to live authentically. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmJbbI-P2iU

Together, these films embody HCAF’s 2025 theme—“HERE.” They ask viewers to consider presence not as stillness, but as engagement: being aware of one’s history, body, and community while embracing the uncertainty of our time. Whether through road trips, family letters, or boundary-pushing art, these stories remind audiences that being here means acknowledging both beauty and pain—and finding meaning in the space between.

The Houston Cinema Arts Festival continues to distinguish itself as a platform for bold voices and cinematic innovation. By spotlighting queer filmmakers and their stories, HCAF celebrates Houston’s diverse cultural landscape and reinforces the festival’s reputation as one of the city’s most inclusive and thought-provoking arts events.