YouTube Premiere
Thursday, June 25, 2026
8:00 PM ET
12 minutes
Online
A queer short film about two men attending a meditation retreat, where the silence allows them to confront unexpected truths about themselves.
Created by The Emergent in collaboration with Giant Cookie Films.
Silence Speaks. Hearts Listen.
This isn't a story that announces itself. It happens in the pauses… a glance held a beat too long, the space between what someone almost says and what they actually do.
Silent Retreat sits inside the quiet tension of two people trying to figure out what they are to each other. Under the stillness, there's something restless going on… a kind of longing that doesn't know if it's allowed to exist out loud.
Nothing rushes. A look lasts longer than it should. The things left unsaid start to outweigh the rest. In a place built around quiet, every breath starts to feel like it means something.
It's intimacy without the spectacle. Connection without any promise of where it leads.
WATCH WITH US
Join us for the YouTube premiere of Silent Retreat on Thursday, June 25 at 8:00 PM ET.
The film premieres live on YouTube, and right after, we're hopping on Zoom for a casual watch party and Q&A with the producers.
Come hang out on Zoom starting at 7:45 PM ET, watch the premiere together, and stick around afterward to talk about it.
Watch the YouTube Premiere
Join the Zoom Watch Party & Q&A
The Distance Between Two People
At its heart, Silent Retreat is about that strange middle ground between closeness and isolation.
Two men share the same space, the same days… but underneath, there's a question neither of them says out loud: how much of yourself can you show before it changes everything?
The retreat strips away the noise of everyday life. With nothing else to focus on, the small stuff starts to matter more… a flicker of warmth, a flash of nerves, curiosity sitting right next to fear. The kind of thing you'd usually miss.
Sometimes the smallest gesture ends up saying the most.
What You’ll Walk Into
A restrained and intimate queer short film
Quiet, atmospheric storytelling
Performances built on subtle emotional shifts
A story about vulnerability, longing, and connection
A reflective viewing experience that lingers after the screen fades
When the Quiet Ends
The film doesn't wrap things up neatly. What it leaves you with instead is a feeling… the echo of a connection that never quite resolves.
That's really where Silent Retreat lives: in the after… the questions you carry out of it, the simple awareness of just how messy human connection actually is.
Some stories shout to be heard. This one whispers, and trusts you to lean in.
Join us June 25
Silent Retreat premieres on YouTube Thursday, June 25 at 8:00 PM ET.
Watch with us live, then stay for the Q&A.
YouTube Premiere
Thursday, June 25, 2026
8:00 PM ET
12 minutes
Online
A queer short film about two men attending a meditation retreat, where the silence allows them to confront unexpected truths about themselves.
Created by The Emergent in collaboration with Giant Cookie Films.
Silence Speaks. Hearts Listen.
This isn't a story that announces itself. It happens in the pauses… a glance held a beat too long, the space between what someone almost says and what they actually do.
Silent Retreat sits inside the quiet tension of two people trying to figure out what they are to each other. Under the stillness, there's something restless going on… a kind of longing that doesn't know if it's allowed to exist out loud.
Nothing rushes. A look lasts longer than it should. The things left unsaid start to outweigh the rest. In a place built around quiet, every breath starts to feel like it means something.
It's intimacy without the spectacle. Connection without any promise of where it leads.
WATCH WITH US
Join us for the YouTube premiere of Silent Retreat on Thursday, June 25 at 8:00 PM ET.
The film premieres live on YouTube, and right after, we're hopping on Zoom for a casual watch party and Q&A with the producers.
Come hang out on Zoom starting at 7:45 PM ET, watch the premiere together, and stick around afterward to talk about it.
Watch the YouTube Premiere
Join the Zoom Watch Party & Q&A
The Distance Between Two People
At its heart, Silent Retreat is about that strange middle ground between closeness and isolation.
Two men share the same space, the same days… but underneath, there's a question neither of them says out loud: how much of yourself can you show before it changes everything?
The retreat strips away the noise of everyday life. With nothing else to focus on, the small stuff starts to matter more… a flicker of warmth, a flash of nerves, curiosity sitting right next to fear. The kind of thing you'd usually miss.
Sometimes the smallest gesture ends up saying the most.
What You’ll Walk Into
A restrained and intimate queer short film
Quiet, atmospheric storytelling
Performances built on subtle emotional shifts
A story about vulnerability, longing, and connection
A reflective viewing experience that lingers after the screen fades
When the Quiet Ends
The film doesn't wrap things up neatly. What it leaves you with instead is a feeling… the echo of a connection that never quite resolves.
That's really where Silent Retreat lives: in the after… the questions you carry out of it, the simple awareness of just how messy human connection actually is.
Some stories shout to be heard. This one whispers, and trusts you to lean in.
Join us June 25
Silent Retreat premieres on YouTube Thursday, June 25 at 8:00 PM ET.
Watch with us live, then stay for the Q&A.
