Lady Champagne, Barbara Forever, and Hunky Jesus, films with deep ties to San Francisco’s LGBTQ+ community and queer filmmaking legacy, will headline the landmark 50th San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival (Frameline50) taking place June 17 to 27, 2026.
Frameline50 will open on June 17 at The Castro Theatre with Lady Champagne, directed by, written by, and starring D’Arcy Drollinger. Framed for murder and thrown into “Lady Prison,” exotic dancer Champagne White stages a grand escape using her arsenal of disguises, one-liners, and dance moves to take down a sinister perfume empire in this outrageous “dragsploitation” slapstick comedy, filmed entirely in San Francisco. The riotous sequel to Drollinger’s Shit & Champagne (2020) will make its West Coast Premiere, co-stars Matthew Martin, and features iconic drag performers like Alaska Thunderfuck, Varla Jean Merman, Jackie Beat, Peaches Christ, and Nicki Jizz, among others.
On June 25, also at The Castro Theatre, Frameline50 will screen Brydie O’Connor’s Teddy Award-winning Barbara Forever — an archive-rich documentary that honors the life, work, and legacy of pioneering lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer. Known for experimental works like Dyketactics (1974), Nitrate Kisses (1992), and A Horse Is Not a Metaphor (2008), Hammer not only screened her films at Frameline, but was the recipient of the Frameline Award in 2000. Frameline50 will host the San Francisco Bay Area Premiere of O’Connor’s documentary.
This year’s Pride Kickoff film, which screens on June 26 at The Castro Theatre and ushers Festival-goers into San Francisco’s Pride Weekend, is Jennifer M. Kroot’s Hunky Jesus. Narrated by George Takei and featuring Sister Roma and Honey Mahogany, Kroot’s latest documentary chronicles the history and lasting impact of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, San Francisco’s beloved and satirical drag nuns who host the film’s titular competition every Easter Sunday. Kroot’s film will have its US Premiere at Frameline50.
“San Francisco doesn’t just watch films, we make them, break them open, and remake them in our own image. These three films are San Francisco stories about the artists, the activists, the drag queens, the dykes and the queers who built this city’s culture and dared to put it on screen,” said Allegra Madsen, Frameline’s Executive Director. “That Frameline gets to open its 50th year with them, at the Castro, feels less like coincidence and more like destiny. Fifty years in, Frameline is still history in the making.”
In addition to celebrating San Francisco on screen, Frameline will be opening a Festival Hub on May 14 at the iconic Hamburger Mary’s in the city’s Castro district, underscoring the Festival’s return to the historic gay neighborhood.
“For many queer people worldwide, the Castro holds a special significance — a first visit to the neighborhood is a right of passage in some ways — so it’s incredibly meaningful for Frameline to be rooted here for our fiftieth,” Madsen added.
The Frameline50 Box Office will be open at Hamburger Mary’s from May 14–June 14, Thursday through Sunday ONLY; the Festival Hub will be open at the same location from June 18–26 during select hours to be announced on May 13.
OPENING NIGHT
Lady Champagne
DIR D’Arcy Drollinger 2026 USA 95 min
Starring, written, and directed by San Francisco’s own D’Arcy Drollinger, this riotous sequel to Shit & Champagne sees its titular dancing queen framed for her husband’s murder, leading to even more madcap hijinks.
CENTERPIECE
Barbara Forever
DIR Brydie O’Connor 2025 USA 102 min
Beautifully intimate and exquisitely edited, Brydie O’Connor’s Teddy Award-winning portrait of pioneering lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer is a singular ode to one of queer cinema’s great visual poets.
PRIDE KICKOFF
Hunky Jesus
DIR Jennifer M. Kroot 2026 USA 85 min
Jennifer M. Kroot’s latest documentary blends the activism, radical resistance, and hilarity of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence from their beginnings to the present.
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