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Kokomo City directed by D. Smith
Kokomo City directed by D. Smith

The 16th Annual QFest St. Louis — presented by Cinema St. Louis (CSL) — will take place from May 4-10, 2023 at the Hi-Pointe Theatre, which was recently purchased by Cinema St. Louis.

The St. Louis-based LGBTQ film festival, QFest will present an eclectic array of 26 films from 9 countries (16 shorts, eight narrative features, and two documentary features). The participating filmmakers represent a wide variety of voices in contemporary queer world cinema. The mission of the film festival is to use the art of contemporary gay cinema to spotlight the lives of LGBTQ people and to celebrate queer culture. Nearly half of the films are by women or non-binary directors.

The fest will host the St. Louis premieres of bold new works by prominent LGBTQ+ filmmakers from around the world including “L’Immenista” starring Penelope Cruz, “Monica” starring Patricia Clarkson and Trace Lysette, and the heartbreaking “The Blue Caftan” from Morocco. Another highlight is this year’s Q Classic, legendary queer director Gregg Araki’s 1995 “The Doom Generation,” will be presented in a new 4K restoration and stars Rose McGowan and James Duvall.

Two provocative documentaries are part of the lineup. “Jimmy in Saigon” chronicles the mysterious life and death of the filmmaker’s older brother in Vietnam in the early 1990s. Champaign, IL native and director Peter McDowell will attend with the film. “Kokomo City” is a riveting look at four black trans sex workers in New York and Georgia as they confront the dichotomy between the black community and themselves. This film is the directorial debut of D. Smith, who is a two-time Grammy-nominated songwriter-producer and trans woman.

FILM PROGRAMS

The Blue Caftan, Maryam Touzani, Morocco, 2022, 122 min., Arabic with English subtitles, narrative

Blue Jean, Georgia Oakley, U.K., 2022, 97 min., narrative

The Doom Generation, Gregg Araki, U.S., 1995, 83 min., narrative, 4K restoration

In from the Side, Matt Carter, U.K., 2022, 132 min., narrative

Jimmy in Saigon, Peter McDowell, U.S., 2022, 90 min., documentary

Kokomo City, D. Smith, U.S., 2023, 73 min., documentary

L’Immenista, Emanuele Crialese, Italy, 2022, 97 min., Italian with English subtitles, narrative

Monica, Andrea Pallaoro, U.S., 2022, 106 min., narrative

Please Baby Please, Amanda Kramer, U.S., 2022, 95 min., narrative

Queer Shorts Programs 1 & 2

Multiple countries, program runtimes range between 102 – 106 minutes

The Sixth Reel, Carl Andress & Charles Busch, U.S., 2021, 94 min., narrative

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