A thrilling culmination where participants showcase their films, engage in Q&A sessions, and kick off the countdown to the “Audience Favorite” award
After several months of working on their films, the participants finally get to showcase their work on the big screen during the 10 Minute Challenge Premiere! It is a chance for all the teams to meet all together once again, reflect on their progress throughout the 10 Minute Challenge trajectory, and, of course, present their films to the public.
Each screening is followed by a brief Q&A with the filmmakers, where they can talk a little bit about their motivation and process. At the end of the evening, the public vote for “Audience Favorite” award officially opens and the countdown to the Award Ceremony starts.
The 10 Minute Challenge is a short film competition for beginning queer filmmakers. Following a program of masterclasses, the participants are encouraged to make their own 10-minute short films, which celebrate their premiere during QFFU and can win prizes in the categories ‘Best Film‘, ‘Emerging Talent’, and ‘Audience Favorite’. In 2025, the masterclasses are in collaboration with Studio Camera.
En ik zag dat het goed was — Bart Seijbel (The Netherlands, 10 mins.)
When Lotte’s father has problems with her fiancé, Pastor Van der Laan (Jan Kooijman) visits him to have an open conversation about faith and homosexuality. An intimate short drama that follows a man’s process as he contemplates the tension between the word of God and the love for his child.
Infect Me Gently — Can Bora (The Netherlands, 11 mins.)
An HIV-positive artist presents work created with his own blood—a visitor recoils, afraid he might “catch something.” This moment opens the door to the surreal, where a haunting figure drifts between exposure and erasure. An engagement with the concept of the Other as a reflection on the tension between contemporary medicine and social attitudes that remain stuck in outdated panic. Which is more contagious: the virus, or fear?
The Queer Box — Marta Morosi (The Netherlands, 11 mins.)
What does it mean to be queer in a world that only sees straight? In this exploration of queer visibility, four people who are often misread as straight reflect on their experience navigating heteronormative society, and the bittersweet privilege of being able to hide your queerness while constantly feeling the need to explain why you belong to the queer community.
Beyond the Mirror — Renée Hildesheim (The Netherlands, 11 mins.)
A poetic documentary following performer, thinker, and activist Renée on a personal and political journey through Amsterdam and Berlin. As an ongoing project to create layered, multifaceted portraits of individuals living beyond normative gender and sexual frameworks, this short is an intimate meditation on gender, space, and the desire to be truly seen.
VOGELAAR — Willemijn Debets (The Netherlands, 11 mins.)
A documentary portrait of Martha, a young artist and activist who devotes herself to the intricate study of bird anatomy to create life-sized replicas from materials she finds outside. In this short, her current project, a crow, takes shape right before our eyes as Martha reflects on her process. An ode to the art of looking closely and an invitation for kinship across species.
VLINDER — Yulai Smits (The Netherlands, 12 mins.)
In this hybrid documentary, we follow poet, writer, and fashion-icon Vlinder Verouden as she talks about her experiences now that she is in transition. As an ode to being queer, the film captures the feeling and beauty of this process and serves as a reminder that in the end—we are all in transition.
