GAZE: Kenya (+ Pre-Feature Short)

CLUB 18+120 min

Synopsis

FEATURE:

Kenya Director Gisela Delgadillo, Mexico, 2022 1h 30m

Amongst a vulnerable community of transgender sex workers surviving in Mexico City, Kenya finds herself becoming the mother and the voice for this multiply-marginalised population. Filmmaker Gisela Delgadillo employs a generous and empowering hands-off filmmaking

technique that places the energy of story-telling into its subject’s hands, with raw and intimate results. The tragedy at the centre of this incredible documentary is the murder of a fellow trans sex worker, Paola, at the hands of one of her clients. The ensuing transformative fight for justice for Paola encompasses the entire fabric of life as a trans woman sex worker in Mexico, igniting purpose, activism, grief and bonding. By the end of the film the time spent by the viewer in Kenya’s circle and emotional inner world feels both an honour and a call to action.

Kenya is presented in partnership with Red Umbrella Film Festival (RUFF), a collective of current and former sex workers using cinema to connect and explore storytelling from their community. Check out the RUFF shorts programme taking place on the Monday afternoon of

GAZE and read more about the project over at their Instagram @redumbrellafilmfestival

PRE-FEATURE SHORT:

Peccadillo Dir. Sofia Garza-Barba / US / 2023 / 25m

Lorenzo secretly yearns to explore his femininity, and according to his religious family, secrets belong to the devil. Faced with a choice, he must live a lie or confront the devil himself.