BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//GayOut//Event Export//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT UID:216097@gayout.com DTSTAMP:20260831T050704Z DTSTART:20260926T160000Z DTEND:20260926T173000Z SUMMARY:2026 Backyard Docs Film Festival: Backyard Docs Shorts DESCRIPTION:Join us for Backyard Docs 2026 Short Film Program! This colle ction of short films takes audiences from the cold hallways of New York C ity’\\;s immigration court\\, a butterfly sanctuary in Chicago\\, ba ck home to the streets of Pittsburgh\\, and beyond. These films cover com plex histories\\, stories of speaking truth to power\\, and journeys to d iscovering something deeper about life and self. After the screening\\, w e will be joined by filmmakers from most of the films for an audience Q&a mp\\;A.\\nBig Bass\\nWhat does it mean to feel seen by others before youâ €™re ready to see yourself? A filmmaker travels back to 1997 to revisit a dream-like memory from second grade that centers around her queer identi ty\\, her legendary PE teacher and a mysterious large plastic fish.\\nBor n Secret\\nA filmmaker returns to his hometown\\, Oak Ridge\\, Tennessee\ \, the secret city that built the atomic bomb. There\\, he meets the work ers who created humanity’\\;s greatest weapon that now wrestle with their legacy\\, while their grandchildren inherit a world on the brink of nuclear catastrophe.\\nWater Cooler\\nThe Trump administration has turne d immigration courts into deportation traps. As ICE agents wait to arrest their targets outside of courtrooms\\, their banal conversations clash w ith the severity of their actions. ​ This documentary short — filmed in New York’\\;s Federal Plaza from November 2025 through January 20 26 — captures the virulent callousness of ICE agents detaining migrants who are trying to stay in the country legally.\\nHilda O. vs. The State of New York\\nAt 15 years old\\, Hilda Onley was sexually abused at the N Y State Training School for Girls\\, where she was incarcerated in 1958. Hilda has lived for over 65 years\\, haunted and traumatized by the abuse she had faced with an impenetrable statute of limitations until NY’s C hild Victims Act was passed in 2019. Her case against the state began wit h limited time on the clock. This is the story of 82-year-old Hilda’s f ight for justice.\\nSueños de una Monarca\\nAfter transforming her Chica go home into a monarch sanctuary\\, Mexican immigrant\\, environmental ac tivist\\, and mother\\, Claudia Galeno-Sánchez is on a mission to save t he monarch butterfly—a vital symbol for her family and millions of othe rs across North America.\\nChad Chechak: Lantern Fly Hero\\nChad Chechak\ \, a man with bitter feelings towards the invasive lantern fly species\\, shares his philosophies as he exercises an unorthodox approach.\\nSaturd ay\\, Sept. 26th\\, 4:00 PM @ The Harris Theater\\n_______\\nBackyard Doc s Film Festival is our annual celebration of non-fiction cinema that expl ores our region’s Rust Belt and Appalachian identity.\\nWe showcase doc umentary films and filmmakers who are directly connected to our region or have a shared connection with our region’s identity and culture. Forme rly known as The Rust Belt &\\; Appalachia Documentary Film Festival\\ , the Backyard Docs Film Festival continues its trademark DIY screening s tyle\\, holding screenings in unconventional locations such as repurposed factories\\, dive bars\\, and backyards. However\\, this year\\, we are expanding the festival to include traditional theater venues for some of our more well-attended screenings. The four-day event will also showcase a photography exhibition\\, private rough-cut feedback sessions\\, worksh ops with world-renowned filmmakers\\, and\\, of course\\, great afterpart ies. It’s the one time of the year when filmmakers\\, journalists\\, an d artists of all stripes can come together and create new connections whi le helping redefine the story of the Rust Belt and Appalachia.\\nhttps:// www.gayout.com/usa-canada/united-states/pittsburgh/events/2026-backyard-d ocs-film-festival-backyard-docs-shorts-2026-09-26 LOCATION:Pittsburgh URL:https://www.gayout.com/usa-canada/united-states/pittsburgh/events/2026-backyard-docs-film-festival-backyard-docs-shorts-2026-09-26 STATUS:CONFIRMED END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR