The 2022 Q-Fest cohort of students, faculty, and staff traveled to the Frameline film festival in San Francisco. (Submitted photo)

A signature event for equity, diversity, inclusion, and representation returns to UW-Eau Claire after a two-year pause due to the pandemic.

The entirely student-run and curated film festival Q-Fest 2022 is titled “The Queer and Now,” a kaleidoscopic array of full-length and short films examining queer lives in the U.S. and around the globe.

Sponsored each year by the campus Gender and Sexuality Resource Center (GSRC), a Q-Fest cohort of 11 students, two staff members and one faculty member travel to San Francisco to attend Frameline, the world’s oldest and largest queer film festival, and spend 13 days immersed in the city’s Castro District. From the hundreds of films they watch, Blugold students narrow down the selection to screen at UW-Eau Claire.

According to the Q-Fest mission statement, “What takes place during this trip is both a global examination of queer lives through film, as well as an exploration of queerness as recorded on the streets of San Francisco and the hearts of its inhabitants. The immersion experience culminates at San Francisco Pride — one of the world’s largest such celebrations of queer resiliency and community.”

Festival highlights

The full schedule of films, all free and open to the public, can be found on the Q-Fest website. Here are a few notable events:

• Tuesday, Oct. 18, 7-9 pm, Woodland Theater, Davies Center
  • Opening night film: BLACK AS U R
    A documentary from director Micheal Rice examines homophobia in Black spaces and injustices experienced by Black queer people. Rice will attend and participate in a Q&A after the film.

• Wednesday, Oct. 19, noon-1:30pm, Woodland Theater, Davies Center
  • Student presentations: Student cohort members will share their experiences in San Francisco, what they learned and how it changed them.
• Saturday, Oct. 22, 11am-1:30pm, Pablo Center at the Confluence
  • Mama Bears, a documentary directed by Daresha Kyi. An exploration of the journey of two mothers, Sara Cunningham and Kimberly Shappley, who advocate fiercely for LGBTQ+ people, especially those persecuted by fundamentalist Christians in the U.S. Tammi Terrell, a featured subject in the film, will attend the screening with her partner; a Q&A will follow.

• Saturday, Oct. 22, 8-10pm, Woodland Theater, Davies Center
  • Closing film: El Houb (The Love), directed by Shariff Nasr. A dark dramedy based on the real-life experience of a Moroccan man coming out to his Muslim parents.