THE QUEER SHORT FILM FUND

The Queer Short Film Fund was set up to facilitate annual development and production of Queer Film Projects that originate from Germany. Submissions are accepted for documentary, narrative, animated or experimental projects that are queer in content and or form. Projects should ideally challenge and question normative perspectives and simultaneously broaden their vision to topics beyond traditional LGBTQIA+ representation of the mainstream niche market.

The fund consists of a cash prize of 1.500 €, donated by XPOSED and a 5.000€ Jury Price dontated by VFF – Verwertungsgesellschaft der Film- und Fernsehproduzenten.

In addition, the fund is accompanied by a mentoring programme: An industry expert advises the winner in five sessions from script development to the production phase and post-production.

The three finalists for the 10th Queer Short Film Fund are:

Wellington Almeida
Wellington Almeida is an independent filmmaker, programmer, and film writer. His graduation short film, “Flawless,” received the award for Best Short Film at the 8th Boddinale Film Festival. He also writes for the Portuguese film portal Cinema7Arte and serves as a film programmer for the Soura Film Festival in Berlin and the DTLA Film Festival in Los Angeles.

Project Mascquerade
The film follows 3 characters – 1 fictional and 2 real ones – as they navigate the complexities of their identities. David and Adrian represent the real-life individuals who share remarkably similar journeys: David, once a bullied child in the conservative, communist countryside of Poland, and Adrian, who struggled with his identity in urban Cape Town during the violent era of apartheid in South Africa. Adrian’s story is especially poignant, as he grappled with the belief that he was a girl in a time when the concept of being transgender was not widely understood. Now residing in Berlin, David thrives as a DJ and porn actor, while Adrian makes a living as a carpenter. Their narratives offer a profound exploration of the intersections between identity, environment, and personal growth.

Completing the ensemble is Thomas — the fictional character, a young queer boy from northern Germany who relocated to Berlin to pursue his dream of being an actor. Unapologetically flamboyant, Thomas attends an important audition for the role of Newland Archer from Edith Wharton’s “The Age of Innocence”, a seductive man divided between the love of two women. However, the disappointing feedback that he is “not masculine enough” for the part triggers an identity crisis, challenging him to navigate the complexities of self-acceptance amidst external pressures and expectations, thus leading him on a profound journey of personal growth and understanding.

Grant Gulczynski
Grant Gulczynski, b. 1991, is a British filmmaker. Between 2013-2016 he was based in Sarajevo, undertaking his PhD in Liberal Arts Filmmaking, under the mentorship of Hungarian director Béla Tarr. His work has screened internationally at festivals such as CPH:DOX, Molodist, London Short Film Fest and Singapore International Film Festival. He has been a recipient of the Leverhulme Trust’s Scholarship, as well as being selected for Berlin Talent Campus and NISI MASA.

Project Just for Fun
Jorge is member of a secret society of players in Berlin, and tonight is his first game. He plays his part well, but things go off kilt when he goes off script and offers his playmate George some poppers. As the men debrief, Jorge feels the conflict between his personal desires, the rules of game play and the nature of fun.

Maj-Britt Klenke
Maj-Britt Klenke, born in Berlin in 1992, studied acting from 2013 to 2017 at the Otto Falckenberg School in Munich.

After completing her studies, first leading role in “Das freiwillige Jahr” (D: Ulrich Köhler, Henner Winckler), which premiered in Locarno in 2019.
She was nominated for the German Acting Award in the “Young Talent” category for her performance.
In 2024, she completed her first short film together with Jannik Mioducki and is currently developing a series for a streaming service.

Project I’ll go Bananas
Mareike (29) is sitting in the changing room at the gym, and she’s nervous.
Brigitte (60), the coach of the basketball team, is the source of Mareike’s excitement.
While training, Mareike tries to keep her desire under control.
Will she manage to tell Brigitte how she feels?

The mentor for the 10th Queer Short Film Fund is Eline Gehring
Eline Gehring began her career in 2006 as a camerawoman and editor for German reporting in Paris, Prague, Kiev and Berlin.
2008 she shoots a documentary in St Petersburg and works for Deutsche Welle in Cairo.
Her stations also took her to South Africa, where she spent a year making films, documentaries and social adverts for NGOs in 2011.
In 2013, she began studying at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (DFFB).
In 2016, she worked as co-director on the documentary HELMUT BERGER, MEINE MUTTER UND ICH produced by Edition Salzgeber.
In the same year, Eline began her work on her feature film debut NICO. In addition to the many film awards NICO wins, it is also nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the German Film Awards 2022. The film is then included in the list of German entries for the Oscars via German Films.
In December 2022, Eline directed the 2d season of the series LOVING HER for ZDF Neo.
Currently she is developing her 2d feature film and directs another series in summer 2024.

ELIGIBILITY

• The Applicant must be the copyright holder of the project.
• The Applicant must have made at least 1 short film to be eligible.
• The Applicant must live in Germany.
• Student projects are eligible, as long as they retain the rights of the film.
• Projects must be no longer than 10 minutes in duration.
• Projects can be in any film/video/other format.

DEADLINES & DATES

• Submissions –  Deadline May 10th, 2024
• Semi-finalist pre-selection notification – May 14th, 2024
• Announcement of the Semi-finalists – May 27th, 2024
• Semi-finalist public pitch – May 31st, 2024
• Winner Announcement at Lolly Awards – June 2nd, 2024

REQUIRED MATERIALS

To submit your project, please email through your submission with the following required materials to filmfund@xposedfilmfestival.com

(please include a link to download all materials underneath your Project Synopsis)

• a one pager – that should include, title, synopsis, project length, contact details and short biography of the director and key creatives.
• a script – created in final draft format, delivered in pdf format.
• a visual document – delivered as a pdf document.
• a budget – delivered in either excel or pdf.
• a page of links – to directors and or key creatives past work.
• all materials must be provided or translated into German or English.

REVIEW PROCESS

XPOSED assembles a selection committee that will review every application, preview the previous works of the filmmakers, and select the semi-finalists. The semi finalists are then invited to a public pitching session where they will present their projects to the Lolly Awards Jury, which is made up of producers, directors and other experts in the queer film industry. The jury will deliberate and announce the recipient of the fund at the annual Lolly Awards Ceremony, held during the evening of the last festival day.

Previous Recipients:

• The 1st Queer Short Film Fund was received by: Doireann O’Malley for the project PROTOTYPES
• The 2nd Queer Short Film Fund was received by: Zara Zandieh for the project THE SEAS RUNS THROUGH MY VEINS
• The 3rd Queer Short Film Fund was received by: Pol Merchan for the project PIRATEBOYS
• The 4th Queer Short Film Fund was received by: Popo Fan for the project BEER! BEER!
• The 5th Queer Short Film Fund was received by: Tonina Matamalas for the project AMIGAS… MUY AMAIGAS
• The 6th Queer Short Film Fund was received by: Sarnt Utamachote for the project SONIC REVERBS
• The 7th Queer Short Film Fund was received by: João Carvalho for the project WAIT YOUR TURN
• The 8th Queer Short Film Fund was received by: Eric Bitencourt for the project UNCANNY HOME
• The 9th Queer Short Film Fund was received by: Katrina Singleton for the project CABIN FEVER
• The 10th Queer Short Film Fund was received by: Wellington Almeida for the project MASCQUERADE