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Festival 2026
Ties that Bind


Running time
83 mins

Told from the perspective of queer parents and children, these short films cast an attentive gaze on the complexity of family dynamics. Alternative possibilities for kinship blossom in decaying cinemas and darkened forests, where love and obligation are tangled up in knots of ambivalence. From childhood to parenthood, dealing with family doesn’t seem to get any easier, but unexpected moments of connection can illuminate the way.


Tickets


30 May 2026, 1:30 PM
Genesis Cinema 
Delay
2025
Directed by
Hanxuan Wang
Running time
15 mins
A gay father drives his heterosexual son to the airport for his wedding in Paris, but the flight is unpredictably delayed. The two spend a few extra hours together.

Papa’s Coding Day
2025
Directed by
Michael Pogoy
Running time
18 mins
Manny is a hardworking tricycle driver who struggles to make ends meet for his small family. His young son, Gelo, dreams of his father attending the school’s poetry contest, where he plans to recite a poem he wrote just for Manny. Quietly, Gelo saves up coins to buy his Papa a day off.

Toad Song
2025
Directed by
Qin Qin
Running time
15 mins
Eight-year-old Letian gets into trouble for bringing tadpoles to school. On his journey to find them a new home, he stumbles upon a secret that sets his family apart from others.

What’s softest in the world rushes and runs over what’s hardest in the world.
2024
Directed by
Charmaine Poh
Running time
15 mins
This hybrid documentary offers a glimpse of queer parenthood in Singapore, where such families are illegitimate in the eyes of the law. It borrows its title from Ursula K. Le Guin’s rendition of the Dao De Jing and refers to the dichotomy of water and stone. By gathering sensibilities of the natural world, Eastern co...

Honey, My Love, So Sweet
2025
Directed by
JT Trinidad
Running time
20 mins
In a decaying cinema in the heart of Manila, Life learns about love through watching films and encountering the father of their new friend.

Additional info



Content note: contains depictions of sex