The Seattle Queer Film Festival is back with both in-person and virtual screenings through October 20. by Chase Hutchinson The Seattle Queer Film Festival is back this week with both in-person and virtual screenings through October 20. Following last year’s impressive lineup, which made it one of the festival’s absolute best, this year has a shorter in-person component, running for just four days as opposed to 10. But it still boasts some solid programming from around the world, with films that are sad and sexy and silly (sometimes all at the same time!) and stories that include sensual sky-flirting and murderous dinner parties.  Passes and a full schedule are available here. To help you jump in, I’ve rounded up five highlights you won’t want to miss: Power Alley (Levante) Brazil/France/Uruguay, 2023, 99 min., dir. Lillah Halla Kicking things off is a thoughtful slice-of-life drama about the young Sofia, played with real presence by Ayomi Domenica Dias. Sofia is a talented volleyball player living in São Paulo and she dreams of using the sport to get a scholarship in Chile. But when the 17-year-old gets pregnant and attempts to get an abortion, she finds herself targeted by a cruel conservative group that will stop at nothing to control her life. The film becomes a story about the community that Sofia forms with her team—including a newfound romance with her teammate—and how they support her when few others will. The film is directed with patience in its most intimate moments and incisive energy in the rebellious ones, mixing the triumphs of the team with the pain of the world they’re stuck in. That it’s director Lillah Halla’s first feature is quite remarkable as she confidently crafts a portrait that is as gentle as it is grounded, never glossing over the repressive realities that the young athletes face while finding moments of grace that endure through it all.   Fri Oct 11 at 8 pm at AMC Pacific Place 11 - Theatre 2 High Tide United States, 2024, 105 min., dir. Marco Calvani High Tide is a focused feature debut that sneaks up on you. Written and directed by Marco Calvani, with a subtle, quietly moving lead performance by Marco Pigossi, the film is all about the ways the beautiful, queer destination of Provincetown, Massachusetts is not always so simple for those who live there. Namely, the lonely Lourenço (Pigossi), a Brazilian immigrant whose life is informed by precarity as his visa is expiring. As if trying to find a way to stay in the United States wasn’t enough, Lourenço is also dealing with a sudden breakup that motivates him to figure out what he wants in his life. When he connects with Maurice (James Bland), a charming and confident man with secrets of his own, their chemistry crackles and lights up the screen. As this meet cute becomes more melancholic, the film juxtaposes beautiful landscapes with the more fraught emotions contained therein. Just as importantly, it finds an understated resonance in every small detail, from shots of a face shifting in emotion to a figure being left behind in the distance. It ensures you, too, will likely fall in love with Lourenço and Maurice, though the film’s beauty comes in knowing that it can’t last.  Sat Oct 12 at 2 pm at AMC Pacific Place 11 - Theatre 1. Not available as a virtual screening. Gondola Georgia/Germany, 2024, 82 min., dir. Veit Helmer In Director Veit Helmer’s Gondola, the characters speak not a word, but it still shouts from a world above the rooftops with vibrant cinematic joy. The story follows cable car conductors Iva (Mathilde Irrmann) and Nina (Nini Soselia) as they zig and zag their way across the sky in the mountains of western Georgia. What begins with a game of chess, proving once more it's the most romantic of all board games, soon evolves into flirting, serenading, and sharing the most sensually charged exchanges to ever take place on a gondola. The strongest part of the experience is getting to see the duo’s shenanigans in the sky grow increasingly creative. The more Gondola it keeps its head high up in the clouds, the more we get swept up in the journey.  Sat Oct 12 at 8 pm at AMC Pacific Place 11 - Theatre 1. Available to screen virtually starting Oct 14. The Astronaut Lovers Argentina/Spain, 2024, 116 min., dir. Marco Berger Films built around deception are common, but trust me when I say you have never seen one like Marco Berger’s ambling yet affectionate The Astronaut Lovers. This dramedy revolves around Pedro (Javier Orán) and Maxi (Lautaro Bettoni), two childhood friends who are now adults and haven’t seen each other in years. Over the course of only a few summer days at a gorgeous Argentina getaway, the two start to take part in a game where they pretend to be a couple. Pedro is openly gay, but Maxi seems to be doing it on a lark to see what his now ex-girlfriend will make of it all. At least initially. As they continue to spend time with each other, the conversations shift from gleeful sexual teasing to serious reflection as they contemplate their connection and what it is they are looking for. The story has relaxed pacing, though the chemistry of Orán and Bettoni injects it with emotional electricity. It’s a film that makes plenty of cheeky sex jokes about space while exploring a whole host of deeper ideas about attraction, performance, and societal expectations, managing to blast off just as it sticks the landing.  Sun Oct 13 at 2 pm at AMC Pacific Place 11 - Theatre 1. Not available as a virtual screening. Mother Father Sister Brother Frank Canada, 2024, 85 min., dir. Caden Douglas Last but definitely not least is the most darkly absurd film of the festival. Trapping us in a chaotic family dinner to end all family dinners, the scrappy comedy Mother Father Sister Brother Frank starts out with a suburban gathering where everyone has a secret. After an unexpected guest comes knocking, the evening takes a violent turn, and this dysfunctional family will have to come together to deal with the bloody aftermath. It’s a film that, much like the disruptive character at its center, is always in danger of overstaying its welcome but is still just clever enough to get away with it. With each escalation and swerve it serves up, the commitment of the cast, as well as a clever script, ensures it remains light on its feet, even as its characters constantly stumble over what to do. It’s a silly yet substantive meal of a movie worth seeing with the whole family so you can all fight about it afterward.  Sun Oct 13 at 4 pm at AMC Pacific Place 11 - Theatre 1. Not available as a virtual screening.