SHORTS
Retrospective 8: Living Lineages
Curated by Bartholomew Sammut, Pol Merchan, Thomas Schallhart, Nastaran Tajeri-Foumani, Merle Groneweg
What does it mean to inherit a history that was never meant to be preserved? In this program, the archive becomes a site of conversation between generations. From the cruising grounds of Manhattan to the domestic spheres of Beirut, these films trace the textures of queer lineages. By weaving together celluloid, skin and song, these works prove that the past is not a static record, but a living pulse: a beat that goes on.
Sinema Transtopia
24.05.2026 – 19:00
Beat Goes On
Beat Goes On is an impressionistic portrait of the activist Keith Cylar (1958–2004), co-founder of Housing Works and a central figure in the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power (ACT UP) New York City. A fellow harm reduction activist recalls how “Keith moved from mixing with the government, to threatening the government, to beating the government—all in the space of five minutes.” By resurfacing and weaving together archival media of Cylar’s own words and actions, this video endeavors to convey—in the space of about five minutes—some of the personal charisma, political savvy and fearlessness that characterized Cylar’s advocacy.
Director: Shanti Avirgan
Country: USA, 2019
Language: English
Subtitle: English, German
Duration: 8 min 51 sec min
Pier 34 New York, Summer 83
Summer 83, NY. An abandoned warehouse on the banks of the Hudson River, Pier 34, at the foot of the World Trade Center, delivered to the elements, to anonymous homosexual encounters, to artists from the East Village, who came to find refuge in this cathedral space to create immense frescoes on the decrepit walls, sculptures placed in space. No signed work. An ephemeral museum, a place of artistic and sexual freedom, destroyed by the city a few months after this shooting. A unique testimony filmed in 16mm B&W in 1983 and edited 40 years later, un 2023.
Director: Marion Scemama
Writer: Marion Scemama
Country: United States, 2023
Language: English
Subtitle: English
Duration: 9 min
I've Heard Stories
I’ve Heard Stories is a short animated film staging a story that
took place at the Carlton hotel in Beirut.
In this video, Marwa Arsanios attempts to piece together
rumors surrounding the now demolished Hotel Carlton. The
hotel was a popular meeting place for gay men living in Beirut,
Lebanon, where homosexual acts are considered illegal. At
that time (1973 to 1993), the hotel was also the setting of three
murders that might or might not have been related to these
sexual encounters.
Among the victim of these (probably) passionate crimes was
the Lebanese politician and businessman Henri Pharaoun.
Known as a collector and the richest man in Lebanon during
most of his lifetime, Pharaoun was stabbed multiple times by
an unknown assailant (his lover, driver or cook). Nora was the
only witness to this murder. The nature of the murders went
unreported.
The animation explores different ways of narrating Arsanios’
reconstruction of the event through drawings and videos,
gossip and facts, in an effort to give these crimes their place
in the history of the city.
Director: Marwa Arsanios
Writer: Marwa Arsanios
Country: Lebanon, 2008
Language: No dialogue
Subtitle: English
Duration: 4:48 min
OCEANIA
Najib, a reserved 16-yo teenager, experiences solitary holidays, engrossed in video games. With the disappearance of his elderly and lonely Algerian neighbor, he discreetly takes possession of the apartment keys, gradually immersing himself in the narrative of a bygone generation. This exploration encourages him to open up to the world, to explore new islands before they fade away.
Director: Valentin Noujaïm
Writer: Valentin Noujaïm
Country: France, 2024
Language: French
Subtitle: English
Duration: 24 min
Sitt el Beit (The Lady of The House)
Director: Anya Kneez
Country: USA,
Duration: 9 min
The Garden of Fauns (El jardín de los faunos)
Retracing the life and work of Spain’s Nazario Luque, groundbreaking queer artist and author of the first openly gay underground comic strips. Romantic and sharply provocative, El jardín de los faunos is an intimate portrait of a man who devoted his life to love and freedom, amplifying queer culture in a country still discovering its freedom after Franco’s dictatorship.
Director: Pol Merchan
Writer: Pol Merchan, Mònica Rovira
Country: Germany / Spain, 2022
Language: Spanish
Subtitle: English
Duration: 24 min
