Get ready to party like it’s 1996! This year, Three Dollar Bill Cinema is turning back the clock and turning up the volume with a fierce, joy-filled retrospective the Queer & Trans Film Festival 2025—July 10–12 at Broadway Performance Hall and Erickson Theater.

We’re uniting the legacy of the Seattle Queer Film Festival and TRANS|lations to celebrate 30 years of queer cinema and 20 years of trans storytelling. That means iconic shorts and features from festivals past, a brand-new lineup of trans-made and trans-led short films, and a spotlight on the brilliant local voices that shaped our scene. No virtual fest this year—so mark your calendar, grab your crew, and get ready to celebrate the stories that made us.

Opening night film on July 10 is Beautiful Thing, 7 p.m. at Broadway Performance Hall. Hettie Macdonald’s film is a tender, coming-of-age love story set against the gritty charm of a South London housing estate. When two teenage boys—shy, sweet Jamie and rough-edged Ste—discover an unexpected romance next door, they navigate nosy neighbors, pub brawls, and Donna Summer ballads to find something rare and real: first love that actually lasts. Released at a time when positive queer representation was still rare in mainstream media, Beautiful Thing became an instant touchstone for its warmth, honesty, and unabashed hopefulness. Equal parts kitchen-sink drama and glittery dream, it’s a queer classic with a heart as big as its soundtrack.