A spokesperson says---
“...2026 Criminal Queerness Festival (CQF), a festival which showcases groundbreaking new work written by artists from countries where queerness is criminalized or censored…
... the work of Palestinian, Egyptian, and Syrian artists...."
The selected works for the 2026 Criminal Queerness Festival are:
AREA D
Written by LOUR, Directed by Osh Ashruf
In AREA D, a scrappy Palestinian band lands an unexpected shot on the Eurovision stage. What starts as a lucky break spirals into a glitter-drenched spectacle, forcing the band to wrestle with whether visibility is worth compromising their identity. AREA D is a bold, genre-smashing musical fusing Arab-pop, punk, and electronic sounds.
Wed June 17 at 9pm, Thu June 18 at 9pm, Sat June 20 at 5pm, Sat June 20 at 9pm, Sun June 21 at 5pm & Sun June 21 at 9pm
Syrian Soap
Written by E. Zaalan, Directed by Tallie Medel
Original Direction by Natasha Mercado
Eat, Pray, Bathe with your exasperated ancestors in an intergalactic bathhouse and ponder: What kind of future ancestor do I wish to become? How far am I willing to go to express my authentic self? How much lotion is it acceptable to put on in front of other people? Full of heart and irreverence, Syrian Soap is part clown show, part stand-up, part fever dream.
Wed June 24 at 8:30pm, Thu June 25 at 8:30pm, Fri June 26 at 8:30pm & Sat June 27 at 4pm
faggy faafi Cairo boy
Written by Bazeed, Directed by Shadi Ghaheri
In the space between living and whatever the hell comes next, between daddy issues and Daddy issues, between the city that never sleeps and the city that never even blinks… Mohammad, the prodigal, closeted son returns to Cairo, and to his father's rapidly failing, irrevocable body. Distanced from his NYC boyfriend, Mohammad reunites with an old Cairo flame who now has a life of his own. And who’s to judge him, besides that angry little angel in the corner of the hospital room?
Tue June 9 at 8:30pm, Wed June 10 at 8:30pm, Thu June 11 at 8:30pm, Fri June 12 at 8:30pm, Sat June 13 at 4pm & Sat June 13 at 8:30pm
