{"id":625712,"date":"2026-09-24T06:58:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T06:58:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/625712\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T06:58:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T06:58:13","slug":"queerframes-lab-expands-into-southeast-asia-for-fourth-cohort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/625712\/","title":{"rendered":"QueerFrames Lab Expands Into Southeast Asia for Fourth Cohort"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tQueerFrames<\/a> Screenwriting Lab, a training initiative for emerging queer, trans and nonbinary filmmakers, is expanding into Southeast Asia for its fourth annual edition, bringing together storytellers from India, the Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia and the diaspora.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 2026 cohort features eight fiction feature projects, with queerness woven into the core of each story. The selected filmmakers are Alec Berame and Joshua Caesar Medroso from the Philippines, Saurav Mahind and Sanju Kadu from India, Minh-Anh Vo Dinh from Vietnam and Canada, Megan Teo from Singapore, Kurnia Alexander from Indonesia and Rachel Leyco from the U.S. Their scripts take on identity, intimacy, masculinity, belonging and personal freedom through love stories, thrillers, horror and dramedies that blend genres.<\/p>\n

\n\tLaunched in 2023, QueerFrames has worked with 22 queer and trans filmmakers from the region since its founding. The Lab pairs craft-focused screenwriting development with mentorship from filmmakers, producers, programmers and industry leaders, taking participants from an early draft to a project that is ready for the market.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 2026 edition will open with an in-person screenwriting retreat in Hua Hin, Thailand, running Sept. 23 to Oct. 2, followed by an Industry Day in Bangkok on Oct. 3 held in partnership with the French Embassy in Thailand, Alliance Fran\u00e7aise Bangkok and the French Regional Audiovisual Cooperation. The Lab will then continue with virtual sessions through March 2027.<\/p>\n

\n\tNetflix and the French Institute in India are backing the 2026 edition, with additional support from Purin Film Fund in Thailand and Momo Film Co in Singapore.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis year\u2019s mentors include Anup Poudel, who produced Nepal\u2019s Oscar contender \u201cElephants in the Fog<\/a>,\u201d winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes; Berlinale director Tricia Tuttle<\/a>, returning to the Lab; Filipino filmmaker and actor Isabel Sandoval<\/a>; \u201cA Useful Ghost\u201d director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke; Indian screenwriter Gazal Dhaliwal; and Momo Film Co chief Tan Si En. Writer-directors Vishnu Sinha, adjunct faculty at Columbia University, and Paromita Dhar return as Lab instructors.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWith this year\u2019s expansion into Southeast Asia, QueerFrames is bringing together a wider community of storytellers who are pushing beyond familiar narratives and exploring queer lives across cultures, genres and lived experiences,\u201d said Rafiul Alom Rahman, director of QueerFrames Screenwriting Lab. \u201cOur hope is to build not just stronger projects, but lasting connections and infrastructure that enable these filmmakers to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSome of the most powerful stories come from places and experiences that have been left out of the frame,\u201d said Poudel. \u201cQueerFrames offers writers the space to develop those stories with courage, specificity and creative freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMathieu B\u00e9jot, cultural attach\u00e9 for film, audiovisual and digital content at the French Institute in India, pointed to the partnership\u2019s longevity. \u201cOur longstanding partnership with QueerFrames reflects that commitment, and we are delighted to continue supporting a new generation of queer filmmakers from South and Southeast Asia as they develop their work and connect with the wider international film ecosystem,\u201d B\u00e9jot said.<\/p>\n

\n\tAmong the 2026 projects: Berame\u2019s \u201cHisap Sebatang Before Ciao! (Each\/Other)\u201d follows a Filipino diplomat navigating a geopolitical crisis while hiding a quiet romance with his counterpart from Malaysia. Vo Dinh\u2019s \u201cAnglerfish\u201d centers on two men whose seaside getaway is upended by a stranger\u2019s arrival and a string of grisly deaths. Teo\u2019s \u201cPack\u201d follows a closeted professional boxer who turns to underground pit-fighting to transition. Leyco\u2019s \u201cWinning\u201d is a spoken-word dramedy about a broke queer artist who wins the lottery and slowly becomes the gambling-addicted father she despises.<\/p>\n

\n\tMahind\u2019s \u201cStarvation\u201d follows Namya, a gay drifter who pickpockets closeted men until one of his marks comes back looking for closeness instead of revenge. Kadu\u2019s \u201cUnder Such a Sky\u201d follows a closeted gay man who breaks his pattern of chasing straight men through a bond with four kids from his swimming class. Medroso\u2019s \u201cLasto (Last Two)\u201d follows a debt-ridden gay uncle and his niece tracking down the thief who robbed them of their winnings from a \u201clasto\u201d game. Alexander\u2019s \u201cJatuh Cinta yang Lurus (A Straight Way to Love)\u201d follows a gay filmmaker who returns to the town that once cast him out, only to find that reconnecting with the friend who was also his first love threatens the life he rebuilt after leaving.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"QueerFrames Screenwriting Lab, a training initiative for emerging queer, trans and nonbinary filmmakers, is expanding into Southeast Asia…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":625713,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[282840,146,85,282841,46,282842,156294],"class_list":["post-625712","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-elephants-in-the-fog","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-isabel-sandoval","tag-israel","tag-queerframes","tag-tricia-tuttle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=625712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625712\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/625713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=625712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=625712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=625712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}