Saturday, October 25 (7pm)
HE NEVER DIES: FILMS OF KALIL HADDAD
Co-presented by Aurora Picture Show and The Big Queer Picture Show
Aurora Picture Show – 5601A Navigation Blvd.
$10 / Free for Aurora members
Aurora and the Big Queer Picture Show co-present a survey of films by queer Palestinian-Canadian filmmaker Kalil Haddad. Haddad mines and remixes personal archives and vintage gay pornography to create transgressive, lo-fi ghost stories that examine the exploitation and violence within constructions of queer desire. In addition to Haddad’s earlier works, this selection includes the premiere of his newest film My Secret Boyfriend Died in a Mass Shooting (2025). The screening will be followed by a Zoom conversation between Kalil Haddad and Big Queer Picture Show’s Michael Robinson.
This program is 18+ only.
Content warning: contains strobing lights, nudity, and graphic violence, alongside strong discussions of sexual violence and child abuse. Viewer discretion advised.
There is no late entry allowed at this and most of Aurora’s screenings and events.
Kalil Haddad is an experimental filmmaker based in Toronto. He has written, directed, and edited over a dozen short films including: The Beautiful Room is Empty (2020), The Taking of Jordan (2022), His Smell (2023), and Victim of Circumstance (2024). His work has screened at Festival du Nouveau Cinema, Kasseler Dokfest, Fantasia, Indie Memphis, London Short Film Festival, the Institute of Contemporary Arts, and Onion City Experimental, where The Taking of Jordan received a Jury Prize for Best of the Festival. Writing on his films have appeared in publications such as Tone Glow, Reverse Shot, Cinema Year Zero, and the Toronto Star. He Never Dies, a touring showcase of collected works, launched July 2025 at Spectacle Theater and LA Filmforum.
Michael Robinson is one of the co-founders of The Big Queer Picture Show, a monthly mobile queer film program showcasing short and feature-length repertory and contemporary cinema. He previously worked as the Associate Creative Director at Houston Cinema Arts Society (HCAS), where he still runs the regional short film competition, Borders | No Borders. He was previously the Co-Artistic Director and Shorts Programmer for QFest, Houston’s International LGBTQ+ Film Festival. Michael received his B.A. in Anthropology and Film at Rice University, and is currently the Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. He also occasionally writes about film for Outsmart Magazine.
The Big Queer Picture Show features both contemporary and classic queer films to create new spaces of LGBTQIA+ centered cinematic experience and community. Through nomadic programs in Houston’s traditional and non traditional cinema spaces, we strive to honor Houston’s queer history, celebrate its queer culture, and build connections across generations. We’re a fiscally-sponsored project of Aurora Picture Show with founders and organizers Baird Campbell, Trey Ferguson, and Michael Robinson.
Image: Kalil Haddad, His Smell, 2023. Courtesy of the artist.