STRAW 2025: A Mother’s Silence Was Louder Than a Siren
A haunting look at grief, survival, and a mother’s quiet collapse in a world that never gave her room to fall.

A haunting look at grief, survival, and a mother’s quiet collapse in a world that never gave her room to fall.
A short film that begins with the language of romance but slowly reveals something far more unsettling beneath the surface.
Highlighting the many ways in which AFF 2023 illustrated that the queer experience is not a monolithic one.
'Pariah' tells a powerful, mesmerizing, and unflinchingly honest story of identity.
... La huesera haunts her daily life, leaving people to question her viability as a mother, and Valeria’s lack of satisfaction with her life leave her asking similar questions. These misgivings reach their peak after the baby is born, when Valeria, visibly in a state akin to possession, locks her in the fridge when she won’t stop crying through the night
I hope that more people will see Joyland, understand the situation, and eventually change themselves and society so we can have a more accommodating world where everyday tragedies like the one depicted in the film do not occur.