14-year-old Ulysses (Luka Kain) has recently lost his dad. While he is struggling with gender identity and going through self-discovery, the atmosphere at home becomes unbearable when his grandma settles in to take care of him and his little brother. Luckily, Ulysses will find some freedom by escaping to meetings in a church with an LGTB+ group who keep each other company and offer support to one another every Saturday. Soon, Ulysses will discover the American culture of balls, love, friendship and other essential elements that will help him define who he is.

Actor-writer-director Damon Cardasis was honoured at many festivals celebrating the LGBT+ community for his debut film, Saturday Church, a feature that premiered at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival. It’s an atypical and bold musical, a realist tale with transexual fairies, a castrating grandma coupled with some sad and sordid landscapes. However, the magical musical scenes lighten the painful journey of Ulysses (amongst others, the beautiful song “The Conditions of Love”) and turn it into a touching and heartwarming story about overcoming differences. Music lovers will find in Saturday Church an excellent indie version of the genre while viewers interested in the drag and queer culture will enjoy all the glamour, high heels, glitters and balls of Paris is Burning (Jennie Livingston, 1991). Saturday Church is above all an ode to self-discovery, differences and this community still misunderstood, often even stigmatised, by the media.

Wednesday 7th 20:15 – Sala 3

Sunday 11th 18:00 – Sala 3

2017: Tribeca Film Festival

2017: Best film – Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival

2017: Best film – Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival.

2017: Best first film – Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival