Greetings from Yelamu, the traditional unceded territory of the Raymatush Ohlone people, which is now known as San Francisco.
We welcome you to our 17th annual International Queer Women of Color Film Festival. Our Festival Focus, Molten Connections, forges new relationships, awakens steadfast bonds of diaspora, and sparks a metamorphosis of queer love that withstands time.
Founded over 20 years ago by an immigrant queer Asian woman, QWOCMAP is the first film and media arts organization in the world by, for, and about queer and transgender Black/African descent, Native American/ Indigenous, and People of Color. Together with you, our Beloved Community, we continue to traverse evershifting uncertainty. We tumble through tears of mourning as we weather increased anti-Asian racist violence, which is rooted within the same type of othering of Asian peoples that drives what is happening in Palestine.
We turn to you. You are feldspar and quartz, lending strength. A community of stalactites and stalagmites, you patiently grow interconnected pockets of joy. You are the foundation that shelters future generations, climbing toward the sky even as we stay grounded in our past.
With you, we emerge brighter than ever with the brilliance of sand-polished stones. With you, we stoke a fire of determination to cast ironclad resilience, reveal sparks of hope, and shatter inequity through film. Hand in hand, virtually and physically, we lay a cornerstone for change and crystallize a path for justice.
With light, love, and liberation,
Alisha, Astrid, Cassandra, Christina, Kebo, Lynn, Mad, Nat