Rushes Soho Shorts is London’s international short film festival. Renowned for the championing of both emerging and established talent, the festival is recognised globally as a leading showcase of short films. 

The Boys, Bromance and Budgerigars line-up presents some of the most provocative queer work the festival has screened over the last couple of years, alongside moving portrayals of love and friendship. 

From the streets of Singapore to the roads of London, the drive-ins of Miami to the motels of Atlanta, the swimming pools of Australia to the mountains of Austria, all are alive with the sound of... superheroes, estranged sons, transsexuals, straights, gays, friends and lovers. Harsh fictional realities are pitched against sensitive documentaries, uncomfortable comedy against appealing drama, and simple youth against the beauty of age in this engaging and entertaining selection of shorts.

MASALA MAMA

The young son of a struggling rag-and-bone man is constantly distracted by daydreams of drawing comic-book superheroes. One day he steals a comic from a gentle Indian shop owner.

RITE

A father tries to connect with his estranged son by taking him out for his 18th birthday.

DYING AND OTHER SUPERPOWERS

When Josh finds out he is HIV positive on his 18th birthday, he escapes the harsh reality by believing he has superpowers.

Miami by Foals

Starring famed transsexuals Calpernia Addams and Glamorous Monique, the video for Miami by Foals exhibits prison-yard buffed bods, wire fences and a fight scene that’s resolved by the arrival of a hydraulic-powered Chevy.

SASSIE'S GRAN

Jean Elliott graced catwalks in the 1960s as a celebrated Belfast beauty queen. Now her grandson Scott Shilliday does the same as a drag artist. SASSIE'S GRAN is a warmhearted and enchanting film charting their relationship and nostalgia through still images. The film uses a series of photographs by Derville Quigley to reflect on how opinions on beauty, body image, coming out and identity in Northern Ireland have changed over the years. A touching reminder of the important role some grannies play in our lives.

Hey Jane by Spiritualized

The video follows a day in the life of a transvestite in Atlanta, in what eventually becomes a spiral of violence.

PVT CRAINE

Private Craine discovers the body of his sergeant after a bomb blast. The events that follow take an even darker turn.

HERMANN

HERMANN follows the story of an aging gay man, who hasn't given up hope of finding a partner. He distracts himself from his loneliness through friendship with his budgie Gloria and a rigidly structured daily routine - and then he meets Joerg.

TWO LAPS

Two friends. One race. Two Laps. No prisoners.