Joshua Tree National Park
This travelogue features images from our visit to the Anza-Borrego desert, Coachella Valley, Joshua Tree National Park and the 29 Queer Film Festival in 29 Palms, California.
Contents
- 1. Unarius Academy
- 2. Anza-Borrego Desert
- 3. Joshua Tree National Park
- 4. 29QFF Day 1
- 5. Joshua Tree National Park
- 6. 29QFF Day 2
- 7. 29QFF Day 3
1. Unarius Academy
Opal and I were invited to 29 Queer Film Festival for a screening of our short film Are You Sure. We flew into San Diego ahead of time to visit relatives, staying in El Cahon—just a block down the street from Unarius Academy.

Headquartered in El Cahon, CA, my impression is the organization provided a place for isolated or lost souls. The organization's leader, Uriel, proclaimed visions of an optimistic, bright future; and Unarius encouraged their members' creativity with more than words: they invested in sewing machines, recording studios, cameras and video editing equipment and more.
And boy did their members create. Bright, beautiful, and at least a little kooky, they put their creativity to the task of spreading the message of the space brothers, and the peace that would come when humanity reconnected with them.
Opal and I were privileged to see Children of the Stars, a documentary about the group and its history, on the big screen at the Maryland Film Festival earlier this year. It's a fascinating watch.

2. Anza-Borrego Desert
I believe that the choice is not just whether or not to go, but who to travel with, the route to take, and where to stop along the way. In this case, instead of taking the highway, we took the scenic route to 29 Palms. The scenery was fucking astounding.






3. Joshua Tree National Park







4. 29QFF Day 1
We made it to 29 Palms mid-afternoon, early enough to check in, get settled and visit the Ace Hardware before heading to the 5:30pm opening film, Papi's Pregnant.
Later on was a collection of Queer Horror shorts.

5. Joshua Tree National Park
Being on east-coast time, Opal and I woke early. With plenty of time before the first Saturday show at 2:30pm, we returned to Joshua Tree National Park and explored some more.









6. 29QFF Day 2
The film festival resumed with The People's Joker, a spectacular film that parodies the 2019 mainstream film Joker. Instead of telling the creation story of a fictional character, though, the story is adapted to tell the coming-of-age/coming out/figuring-self-out story of the transsexual protagonist. It is a full-length film comprised of a mix of live action and animation, and so much better than another schlocky, gritty (because everything has to be gritty these days) backstory film about some comic-book character.
Evening featured a shorts program, including a first-time film Caterpillar, by a local who single-handedly shot the film on her iPhone and edited and scored it. It is beautiful and inspiring. She also does amazing still photography.
The final feature of the day was the premiere of the short film Willa Justice: Drag Queen Private Eye, which was a hoot. There was also a drag show by Lady Chilane, who played the lead role. The filmmakers say they are looking into doing a feature film; if they can keep up the comedic pace that the short has, it would be very fun and I think a very successful film.
7. 29QFF Day 3
The final day of the film festival, our short ran in another grouping of shorts at noon. The set included Not Dating, a lighthearted take on the challenges of dating during the pandemic.
Much darker—but amazing—was Blue Square Heart. This film follows someone who, at a young age, is sent to a therapist who uses conversion therapy on them. How's that influence their adult self? For more on this film, check out this interview with the filmmaker.
I've talked about a few of the films, but there were several others. All were great— Jonathan and Graham, who organized the festival, did an amazing job curating. I loved the small-town, community feel of this festival. If you're looking for a friendly, queer-oriented film festival, consider 29QFF. And on the way there, take the scenic route—it's worth it.

