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You're viewing the Frameline Showcase 2026 archive held in 2026. Explore this years festival

On the heels of Frameline50, this inaugural Fall Showcase premiered standout LGBTQ+ films in San Francisco proper in the lead-up to awards season. With a focus on craft and excellence in queer cinema, the showcase spotlighted the LGBTQ+ artisans behind and in front of the camera as well as the craft of the filmmaking itself. Titles selected for the program include a range of award-winning films that have made waves at Cannes Film Festival, Berlinale, Telluride Film Festival, and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

The main slate of new-release films kicked off with Mouse, a coming-of-age story from the directing duo of Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson (Ghostlight) starring Oscar nominee Sophie Okonedo (Hotel Rwanda, Slow Horses), Katherine Mallen Kupferer (Ghostlight), Chloe Coleman (Avatar: The Way of Water), and Iman Vellani (Ms. Marvel). The always-remarkable Okonedo also starred in another showcase entry: Arie Esiri and Chuko Esiri’s Clarissa, a modern-day reimagining of Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway set in Nigeria, featuring standout performances from David Oyelowo (Selma, Silo), Ayo Edebiri (The Bear, Bottoms), India Amarteifio (Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story), Toheeb Jimoh (Ted Lasso), and Nikki Amuka-Bird (I, Jack Wright). Frameline brought Cannes notables to the Bay Area for their San Francisco premieres too, including Coward, Belgium’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards. Directed by Lukas Dhont (Girl, Close), this gay love story set during World War I stars newcomer Emmanuel Macchia and Valentin Campagne, joint winners of the Best Actor Award at Cannes.

The showcase also featured Tangles, director Leah Nelson’s animated, San Francisco-set drama about a woman grappling with her mother’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis, starring Abbi Jacobson (A League of Their Own) and Emmy winners Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep), Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), Samira Wiley (The Handmaid’s Tale), Wanda Sykes (Curb Your Enthusiasm), and Seth Rogen (The Invite, The Studio). The slate of new-release titles culminated in the San Francisco premiere of Elsinore at The Castro Theatre. Directed by Simon Stone (The Daughter, The Dig) and fresh off its world premiere at Telluride, the film stars Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Andrew Scott (All of Us Strangers, Blue Moon) as lauded actor Ian Charleson, and features supporting performances from Joe Locke (Heartstopper) and Emmy and Oscar winner Olivia Colman (The Favourite, The Crown).

The Frameline50 Fall Showcase took place on select dates in October and November in venues throughout San Francisco, including The Castro Theatre, the Premier Theater at One Letterman, and the Vogue Theatre. Alaska Airlines will join Frameline for its inaugural fall showcase as the Presenting Sponsor, following their support as an Official Partner during Frameline50 in June 2026.

Frameline Showcase 2026 Films

Shown A-Z (7 films)