On the outskirts of Beirut, SIRENS follows the emotional journey of Lilas and Shery, co-founders and guitarists of the Middle East's first all-female metal band, as they wrestle with friendship, sexuality and destruction in their pursuit of becoming thrash metal rock stars. Directed by Lebanese-American woman director Rita Baghdadi, SIRENS is a completely unprecedented look at a Beirut-based Lebanese queer women’s heavy metal band and their trials and tribulations of trying to be their authentic selves in the most liberal country in the Middle East.

Seven tales of forgiveness and acceptance, belonging and celebration. Join us in exploring the complex and diverse narratives that make up Queer Asian experiences in this year's Queer Asian Stories program.

Touching and poignant, the acclaimed coming-of-age comedy The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls In Love tells the story of two teenagers whose unexpected friendship grows into the joyful wildness of first love. Randy (Laurel Holloman), a rebellious working class tomboy, meets the beautiful, popular, well-to-do Evie (Nicole Ari Parker) when she brings her Range Rover into the repair shop where Randy works after school. Immediately intrigued by each other, the two girls start a romance that delights and disrupts their lives, causing Evie to lose her friends, Randy to lie to her parents, and sending the two of them on the run. Sensitive and romantic, funny and sincere, this daring film was hailed as a crossover success upon its release and is now celebrated as an iconic part of the 1990s queer cinema canon. Beloved by audiences, it was often referred to, with relief, as one of the few lesbian movies with a “happy ending where no one dies.” World Premiere of the Newly Remastered HD Film, with Preservation Funding Provided by the Sundance Institute and Strand Releasing. A Strand Releasing release.