It’s hard to be “masculine” — whatever that means. In the short film collection “Masc for Masc”, stories of a garden variety of men have been brought together from different cultures all over the world. In the centre of their stories are their sexualities, friendships and family relationships, constricting power plays and sometimes beautiful and other times desolate emotional landscapes. Few things are hidden from the camera’s eye and that which is, speaks loudly.

Consisting mostly of the work of female and queer directors, the selection shines a light on “masculinities” from unexpected and sensitive angles. The films make us ask, who is to decide what makes a man and what doesn’t? How do you measure “masculinity”? How much do we leave space for people’s self-expression and how much do we sacrifice to fit in?

Heinrich Sepp