Three Dollar Bill Cinema hosts its 24th annual Seattle Queer Film Festival at venues across town October 10–20. Formerly known as TWIST (and before that, the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival), the Seattle Queer Film Festival features more than 150 LGBTQ2+ films from 28 countries. According to the fest, 96 transgender filmmakers and creatives were involved with the making of these films, and 58 percent of the films are directed by women. Here are nine of our favorites. Find the full schedule at thestranger.com/SQFF.
QUEER JAPAN
USA/Japan, 2019, 100 min., Dir. Graham Kolbeins
This documentary features a giant inflatable latex pig—and by “giant,” I mean like the size of a warehouse—that gives birth to little baby pigs. And by “little,” I mean like the size of a full-grown human. That all happens at Department H, a hentai and bondage party in Japan that includes some of the wildest costumes I’ve ever seen. Queer Japan tightly explores various Japanese queer identities, snagging interviews with celebrities like erotic manga artist Gengoroh Tagame. Easy, fun, and highly recommended. (Wed Oct 16, 9:15 pm, Northwest Film Forum.) CHASE BURNS
