For the past couple of years, Eric Hause has been enjoying the fruits of his labors.
He founded the popular Virginia Queer Film Festival and directed its first two runs in 2023 and 2024, bringing dozens of films dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community to Norfolk. Still, he’s not resting on his laurels.
Hause believes more is riding on the success of the third iteration of the festival this month than the prior two. The problem is the national political climate.
“The queer community is in a boatload of trouble right now,” Hause said.
He referred to the Aug. 27 mass shooting in Minneapolis that killed two children and injured 21 people. Federal officials described the shooter as transgender. And in the wake of the tragedy, The Associated Press reported, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey decried hatred being directed at the city’s transgender community.
And Hause, who’s concerned about wider backlash against people who identify as transgender, sees his festival as a means to show the LGBTQ+ community in a more positive light.
“We have to do these kinds of things,” he said, “and share these kinds of stories so that we can show the world that we are creative and that we deserve to live the lives we want.”
The festival will feature a combined 33 short films and feature-length movies with screenings on Sept. 12-14 at the University Theatre on the campus of Old Dominion University.
Two films that are expected to be highlights are “Elijah” and “Connection | Isolation,” at 2:30 and 4:30 p.m. Sept. 14, respectively.
A still from “Elijah,” part of the 2025 Virginia Queer Film Festival. (Courtesy of Image Maker Films)
“Elijah,” directed by Razid Season, is a 19-minute short film that packs an emotional punch. It follows a South Asian Muslim taxi driver whose past worldviews are challenged when he must confront prejudice in his community to protect his transgender son.
“Connection | Isolation,” an 85-minute hybrid documentary directed by G. Chesler, retells the story of a group of people who bonded and helped each other navigate the pandemic by participating in a weekly Zoom meeting, according to festival organizers, and invites audience members to “witness the strength of connection.”
Films were selected by a panel of judges that included ODU’s Priya Vashist, an assistant professor of communication and theater arts, who spoke with The Virginian-Pilot.
“Mainstream media has historically portrayed queer characters as comic relief or tragic figures,” she said. “And we’re showing, and chose on purpose, a lot of films that celebrate queerness rather than resorting to those comical or tragic tropes.”
Colin Warren-Hicks, 919, 818, 8139, colin.warrenhicks@virginiamedia.com
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IF YOU GO
When: Various showing times, Sept. 12-14
Where: ODU’s University Theatre, 4600 Hampton Blvd., Norfolk
Tickets: Screening packages that include access to multiple films start at $3 for students, $5 for older adults or military members, and $10 for adult general admission
Details: festival.vaqff.org
