Some stories can only quietly take root in the dark - until a beam of light pushes the door open, tearing a crack in the silence.

The 3rd Macao International Queer Film Festival, themed “Tenderness·Revolution,” tells a silent uprising through films. While mainstream lenses still shy away from our truths, we gather the warmth left behind by the camera - restitching the kisses that were cut, the tears that were muted, the hugs that were pixelated, the desires deemed “forbidden,” frame by frame, back into the narrative of our lives.

With tenderness, we hold the camera: close-ups capture the pulse beneath the skin, long takes linger on the weight of silence, and montages piece together lives that resist easy definitions. And the revolution hides between every cut, for when the projector light flickers on, something always begins to take root in the eyes of the audience.

Every frame is a tender revolution.

From 2023 to 2025, we’ve arrived at our third edition. This time, there’s no need for voice-over, we speak for ourselves.

Jay Sun

Festival Director

Macao International Queer Film Festival