#bfi london lgbtq+ film festival

[thequeereview]

38th BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival - full lineup revealed

The full lineup for the 38th edition of BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, running March 13th – 24th at BFI Southbank and on BFI Player, has been announced. The 2024 selection, divided into three thematic strands—Hearts, Bodies, and Minds—includes 33 world premieres, with 57 features and 81 shorts from 41 countries. This year’s programmers are Grace Barber-Plentie, Jay Bernard, Diana…

[jgroffdaily]

‘A Nice Indian Boy’ will be released theatrically early next year, and then will be available on streaming (no further details available yet)

Jonathan Groff singing Bollywood tunes is the centerpiece of “A Nice Indian Boy,” a groundbreaking gay rom-com that’s heating up the BFI London Film Festival.

Director Roshan Sethi and stars Groff (“Mindhunter,” “Glee,” “Doctor Who”) and Karan Soni (the “Deadpool” franchise) are challenging Hollywood norms with their cross-cultural love story, which debuted at SXSW. It aims to bring a fresh perspective to both LGBTQ+ and South Asian representation on screen.

The genesis of the project traces back to 2019, when Levantine Films optioned Madhuri Shekar’s play of the same name and Eric Randall adapted it as a screenplay. Sethi came aboard in 2021 after the producers saw his previous film “7 Days.” He then approached his real-life partner Soni to co-star. Groff signed on after watching “7 Days.”

“I do think what’s interesting about the current era of ‘diversity films’ is that they tend to be very homogeneous. They’re all Asian or they’re all Indian, or they’re all black or they’re all white, in the exact opposite case, and the reality of our world is that we’re all mixed up with each other in tangled, messy ways. And this movie very much reflects that, because you have a meeting of cultures,” Sethi says.

For Groff, who plays a white character adopted by Indian parents, the role required immersing himself in a culture he was largely unfamiliar with. “I had never seen a Bollywood movie. I didn’t know anything about this culture in general,” Groff says. His preparation included watching the Bollywood classic “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” (DDLJ) to nail a pivotal musical moment in the film.

This scene, featuring Groff’s character singing the evergreen “Tujhe Dekha To Ye Jana Sanam” from “DDLJ,” is a highlight of the film. “I didn’t know that he was going to do, like, a falsetto, la, la, la, la, la – that trilling thing,” Sethi says. “Everyone was turned on,” Soni adds.

Despite the cultural specificity, Groff found the family dynamics surprisingly relatable. “I, immediately from the first take of the first scene, couldn’t believe how familiar it all felt,” he says. “Even though there was a stark difference in culture, it was so heartwarming to see that families are families, no matter what culture you’re in.”

The production faced significant challenges, primarily due to a compressed timeline. Sethi reveals they had just four weeks of pre-production and a 21-day shoot with six-day weeks. “We were just like this tiny indie movie that was crammed in between these other much larger, broader circumstances,” he says, referring to Soni’s commitment to “Deadpool” and the then-looming SAG-AFTRA strike.

Financing the film also proved difficult. “We barely got this movie made. We barely found the money. We struggled for years,” Sethi says. He notes that Groff’s involvement was crucial in securing funding. “None of the Indian actors are deemed meaningful enough to obtain financing,” Sethi explains, calling Hollywood “one of the most racist industries in America.”

For Sethi, who still practices medicine, the film represents a personal milestone. “I was closeted six years ago, and now I got to make this movie, which is highly personal,” he says. “I could never have imagined when I was like, walking around the hospital as a straight doctor, watching [HBO’s] ‘Looking,’ that I was going to like be out, much less like be making this movie.”

“A Nice Indian Boy” is set for a theatrical release in the first quarter of next year, with streaming plans to follow. The filmmakers are optimistic about its commercial prospects, citing positive responses from diverse test audiences. “When we were testing the movie among audiences, the highest scoring audience was always white women,” Sethi notes.

The team hopes the film will resonate beyond niche audiences. “Part of the other issue with the so-called diverse film and representation movements is that they’ve made those movies feel like they are for niche audiences,” Sethi says. “The truth is diversity should be an opening up of storytelling where you’re finding more and more interesting and more new stories to tell people, but just vitalize art. They don’t splinter it, they don’t make it more niche. They vitalize it.”

As they prepare for the film’s wider release, the cast is moving on to new projects. Soni is set to star in the thriller “Fade to Black,” while Sethi is working on a new romantic comedy script where he’s “going back to straight people.” Groff, fresh off his Tony win for “Merrily We Roll Along” on Broadway, is returning to the Great White Way with “Just In Time,” a new musical about the life and times of singer Bobby Darin.

[expo63]

Also posting these two separately

16 Mar 2024, BFI Flare LGBTQ+ Film Festival 2024, BFI Southbank, London: VIP arrivals Rupert Graves and Greta Scacchi, there for the UK premiere of Stephen Soucy’s Merchant Ivory documentary – which also turned out to be a huge reunion of the (UK) Merchant Ivory family.

[ilikethisacompletelynormalamount]

As Andrew Haigh's upcoming film All of Us Strangers, begins screening at an ever expanding list of film festivals, beyond the three featured on the official poster, Telluride Film Festival, New York Film Festival and BFI London Film Festival.

I am attempting to maintain an up to date list, in chronological order, (last updated Dec 14th, 2023)

All the details about the festivals, links to where/when to get tickets are under the cut.

Athens International Film Festival Sept 27- Oct 9

Beyond Fest (Los Angeles, its West Coast Premiere) Sept 26-Oct 10

Hamptons International Film Festival Oct 5-12

Festival do Rio (Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival) Oct 5-15

HIFF: Heartland International Film Festival (Indianapolis, IN) Oct 5-15

FFG (Film Fest Gent, Belgium) Oct 10-21

Chicago International Film Festival Oct 11-22

Seattle Queer Film Festival (opening night gala) Oct 12-22

Newfest (New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival, Closing Night film) Oct 12-24

FILMEKIMI iKSV Oct 13-22 (Istanbul) Oct 20-22 (Izmir)

BIFF: Bergen International Film Festival Oct 18-26

Adelaide Film Festival (Australia) Oct 18-29

Alice nella Città (independent section of the Rome Film Festival) Oct 18-29

Middleburg Film Festival (VA) Oct 19-22

Cambridge Film Festival Oct 19-26

FFCGN: Film Festival Cologne (Germany) Oct 19-26

Twin Cities Film Festival (Minneapolis/St Paul MN ) Oct 19-28

Film Bath Festival Oct 19-29 (booking now)

Outshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival (Ft Lauderdale, FL) Oct 19-29

Viennale (Vienna Film Festival) Oct 19-31

FICM (Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia) Oct 20-29

Montclair Film Festival (NJ) Oct 20-29

SCAD Savannah Film Festival (GA) Oct 21-28

SEMINCI (Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid, ES) Oct 21-28

AFI Fest: American Film Institute (Los Angeles, CA) Oct 25-29

VAFF:Virginia Film Festival (Charlottesville) Oct 25-29

TIFF-jp (Tokyo International Film Festival) Oct 23 - Nov 1

AFF (Austin Film Festival and screenwriters conference) Oct 26-Nov 2

BIFF: Brisbane International Film Festival Oct 26 - Nov 5

LIFF (Leiden International Film Festival, NL ) Oct 26 - Nov 5

Miami Film Festival GEMS Nov 2 - 5

Belfast Film Festival (opening night gala) Nov 2-11

Inverness Film Festival Nov 3-9

Denver Film Festival Nov 3-12

Leeds International Film Festival Nov 3-19

PÖFF (Pimedate Ööde filmifestival): Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Estonia) Nov 3-19

ZFF: Zagreb Film Festival (Croatia) Nov 6-12

Cornwall Film Festival (opening night) Nov 6-19

LIFFe: Ljubljana International Film Festival (Slovenia) Nov 8-19

Stockholm International Film Festival Nov 8-19

MQFF: Melbourne Queer Film Festival Nov 9-19

SLIFF: St Louis International Film Festival (closing night) Nov 9-19

Cork International Film Festival (Ireland) Nov 9-26

TGHFF: Taipei Golden Horse International Film Festival Nov 9-26

CINECITY: Brighton Film Festival (closing night) Nov 10-19

EnergaCAMERIMAGE International Film Festival (Toruń, Poland) Nov 11-18

IFFMH: International Film Festival Mannheim Heidelberg Nov 16-26

QCINEMA International Film Festival (Quezon City, Philippines) Nov 17-26

Chéries-Chéris: Festival du Film LGBTQI & +++ de Paris Nov 18-28

SGIFF: Singapore International Film Festival Nov 30- Dec 10

Around the World in 14 Films: Berlin Independent Film Festival (closing night) Dec 1-9

SIFF: Sonoma Awards Buzz Screening Dec 12

Festival Univerciné, Britannique (Nantes) Dec 12-14

AOUS Fundraiser screening to support HIFF : Love & Anarchy (Finland) Dec 14

Les Arcs Film Festival Dec 16-23

TLVFEST: Tel Aviv International LGBTQ+ Film Festival Dec 21-31

Athens International Film Festival 🇬🇷

Beyondfest (co-presented by Outfest) Los Angeles, CA 🇺🇸

HIFF33 Hamptons 🇺🇸 International Film Festival

Festival do Rio: Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival 🇧🇷

HIFF33 Heartland International Film Festival Indianapolis 🇺🇸

Film Fest Gent 🇧🇪

Chicago International Film Festival 🇺🇸

All of Us Strangers was added to the recently released lineup for The Chicago International Film Festival (the longest running competitive international film festival in North America), as an entry in their Outlook Competition.

🎟️Tickets

Seattle Queer Film Festival 🇺🇸

Seattle Queer Film Festival will open on Thursday October 12th at The SIFF Egyptian with the West Coast Premiere of Andrew Haigh’s critically acclaimed new drama, ALL OF US STRANGERS starring Andrew Scott (Fleabag) Claire Foy (The Queen), and Paul Mescal (Aftersun).

Newfest: New York 🇺🇸

FILMEKIMI 🇹🇷

BIFF: Bergen International Film Festival Oct 🇳🇴

The lineup for BIFF 2023 is complete and ticket sales are open! Screening schedule and ticket sales from October 5th!

AFF: Adelaide Film Festival 🇦🇺

Alice nella Città 🇮🇹

The "surprise movie 3" closing Alice nella Città is Andrew Haigh's Estranei (All of Us Strangers), the film's Italian premiere, October 29th.

Middleburg Film Festival, Virginia 🇺🇸

🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎

Cambridge Film Festival 19th - 26th October 🇬🇧

FFCGN: Film Festival Cologne 🇩🇪

Twin Cities Film Festival, Minneapolis/ St Paul Minnesota 🇺🇸

Film Bath Festival 🇬🇧

Outshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival 🇺🇸

Viennale: Vienna Film Festival 🇦🇹

This year's Viennale will take place from October 19 to October 31. The complete program of this year's festival edition will be published online on October 10, 8 pm. here on this website. Tickets are available from October 14, 10 am.

FICM: Morelia Film Fest 🇲🇽

Montclair Film Festival, New Jersey 🇺🇸

SCAD Savannah Film Festival, Georgia 🇺🇸

The largest university-run film festival in the world, presenting competition film screenings, gala premieres, special screenings, workshops, and panels with lauded industry guests, award-winning professionals, and emerging student filmmakers.

SEMINCI 68: Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid 🇪🇸

AFI Fest: American Film Institute (Los Angeles, CA)🇺🇸

VAFF:Virginia Film Festival (Charlottesville) 🇺🇸

TIFF-JP: Tokyo 🇯🇵 International Film Festival

AFF: Austin Film Festival🇺🇸

October 26 – November 2 We are proud to announce ALL OF US STRANGERS as one of the premiere films at #AFF30! Join us at the Festival to witness a journey that transcends time, love, and even death! Purchase your badge here

BIFF: Brisbane International Film Festival🇦🇺

LIFF:Leiden International Film Festival, Netherlands 🇳🇱

Miami Film Festival GEMS 🇺🇸 "the jewels of the fall season"

Inverness Film Festival Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Nov 3-9

Denver Film Festival: Denver Colorado 🇺🇸

Andrew Haigh’s new film, All of Us Strangers will screen on Friday, Nov. 10th at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Includes a post-film conversation and award presentation to director Andrew Haigh. Pre-reception included in ticket price. Reception begins at 6pm. Screening begins at 7pm..

Leeds International Film Festival 🇬🇧

PÖFF: Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 🇪🇪

Local title:Kõik me võõrad

Title in Russian: Незнакомцы

ZFF: Zagreb Film Festival (Croatia) 🇭🇷

Cornwall Film Festival 🇬🇧

LIFFe: Ljubljana International Film Festival Slovenian 🇸🇮

Stockholm International Film Festival 🇸🇪

MQFF: Melbourne Queer Film Festival🇦🇺

SLIFF: St Louis International Film Festival 🇺🇸

Highlighting the lives of the LGBTQ+ community, SLIFF’s QFest Spotlight Film, “All of Us Strangers,” from Searchlight Pictures, the critically acclaimed romantic drama written and directed by Andrew Haigh, starring Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell, and Claire Foy, will close the festival on 11/19

Cork International Film Festival 🇮🇪

Scheduled: Sun 19 November Showtime: 20:30

Venue: The Everyman

MacCurtain Street, Cork

Taipei Golden Horse International Film Festival 🇹🇼

CINECITY: Brighton Film Festival 🇬🇧

CLOSING NIGHT: Nov 19 Andrew Haigh's All of Us Strangers, Duke of York's Picturehouse. The full programme will be announced on Friday 20th October - when tickets will also go on sale.

EnergaCAMERIMAGE 31st Edition of The International Film Festival Of the Art of Cinematography, Toruń 🇵🇱

a great international feast of cinema

Excellent movies, outstanding filmmakers, meetings, seminars, workshops

Presentations of modern technologies and film equipment

Remarkable documentary films and terrific music videos

Exceptional atmosphere and unforgettable experience

Unique tribute to the 10th muse

🎟️Passes

IFFMH: International Film Festival Mannheim Heidelberg 🇩🇪

QCINEMA International Film Festival 🇵🇭

Chéries-Chéris: Festival du Film LGBTQI & +++ de Paris🇫🇷

Ouverture : @CheriesCheris 2023 Sans jamais nous connaître (All Of Us Strangers) de Andrew Haigh Mardi 21 Novembre au MK2 Bibliothèque Translated from French by Opening Film: @CheriesCheris 2023 Without ever knowing us (All Of Us Strangers) by Andrew Haigh Tuesday November 21 at MK2 Library

SGIFF: Singapore International Film Festival 🇸🇬

Around the World in 14 Films, Berlin 🇩🇪

🎟️Tickets available Nov 14

The Berlin premiere of “All of Us Strangers” by British director Andrew Haigh (“45 Years”) marks the celebratory conclusion of the 18th edition of AROUND THE WORLD IN 14 FILMS on Saturday, December 9th, 2023. Only at the end of August 2023 Andrew Haigh's “All of Us Strangers” celebrated its world premiere at the American Telluride Film Festival. The 18th World Cinema Festival presents the “surreal romance” (Vogue) in its “Closing Night”. The on-screen appearances of Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal, two of Ireland's hottest actors, are likely to provide star power. Lead actor Andrew Scott shone in his role as Moriarty in the BBC cult series “Sherlock” and other appearances in “James Bond 007: Specter” and “Fleabag”. Paul Mescal, star of the British series "Normal People", attracted worldwide attention with his moving performance in the independent hit "Aftersun". Director Andrew Haigh will also have fond memories for Berliners: his masterpiece “45 Years” won the Silver Bear at the Berlinale in 2015, which the leading actors Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay received.

SIFF: Awards Buzz Screening 🇺🇸

🎟️Tickets

Festival Univerciné Britannique, Nantes 🇫🇷

🎟️Tickets

Save HIFF Love & Anarchy 🇫🇮

The future of HIFF – Love & Anarchy, one of Finland’s most significant film festivals, is under threat. HIFF is now calling on its audience to help. There are three types of tickets available for the support screenings, and you can support with either 25 €, 40 € or 100 €. The tickets will go on sale on 29.11.2023 at 11.00.

One of the most popular guests in the history of HIFF has been the Irish actor Andrew Scott, who visited Helsinki in 2014. It is only appropriate that we are the first in Finland to screen a film that will be one of the highlights of his career.

All of Us Strangers, directed and written by Andrew Haigh, is one of the highlights of the autumn. The film, which received top reviews at Telluride and the New York Film Festival, is a drama about loneliness, grief and a longing for love that gets under your skin.

🎟️Support screening tickets

Les Arcs Film Festival 🏔️🇫🇷

TLVFEST LGBTQ+ International Film Festival 🇮🇱 tickets 🎟️

[expo63]

Yesterday's big reunion of the Merchant Ivory family (UK chapter) – including actual video of our boys' latest reunion (37.5 years on from the Maurice shoot). xxx

16 Mar 2024, BFI Flare LGBTQ+ Film Festival 2024, BFI Southbank, London. Photocall for the UK premiere of Stephen Soucy's eye-opening, often very funny Merchant Ivory documentary – which also turned out to be a huge, precious reunion of the (UK) Merchant Ivory family. Here they are.

Also, 9th from left in the first group shot (in glasses), that's Adrian Ross Magenty (Dickie Barry/Tibby Schlegel).

Full line-up L–R: The BFI’s/BFI Flare’s Brian Robinson, James, Rupert, Simon Callow, the film’s director Stephen Soucy, lovely Nickolas Grace (Harry in Ivory’s Heat and Dust, Anthony Blanche in the 1981 Brideshead Revisited), Natascha McElhone, casting legend Celestia Fox, Adrian Ross Magenty, Helena Bonham Carter, Susie Lindeman (squeaky-voiced Dolly Wilcox/James’ wife in Howards End) and the glorious Greta Scacchi.

With thanks to Getty Images & to undinecissy for finding the video.

Bonus shot: ‘VIP arrivals’ Rupert and Greta by Dave Benett:

[ginevranauaui-filmfestivals]

BFI flare: Londons’ LGBTQ+ film festival

It is the biggest LGBTQ+ film festival in Europe. It happens every year in the spring. It was first developed in 1986 with the name "Gay's own pictures". Nine feature films were shown at the event, which ran from October 16 to October 22. At the time, there was just one lesbian-themed film.

In 2018, they showcased fifty feature films and ninety short films.

The word "flare" was considered to better describe the programming's content and to supply an inclusive and flexible phrase that would enable previously ignored sexualities and emerging identity categories to be become a part of the festival's audiences.

[vimooz]

From March 21st to 31st, the 33rd edition of BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival will showcase the best in contemporary global LGBTQ+ films, over 50 features, more than 80 shorts and a wide range of special events, guest appearances, club nights and much more.

The Festival will open with Chanya Button’s breath-taking period drama VITA & VIRGINIA, charting the passionate relationship between literary trailblazer Virginia Woolf and enigmatic aristocrat Vita Sackville-West, starring Elizabeth Debicki and Gemma Arterton respectively [press release here]. The Festival will close with the European Premiere of Justin Kelly’s JT LEROY. Powered by superb performances from Laura Dern and Kristen Stewart, the film is adapted from Savannah Knoop’s memoir Girl Boy Girl: How I Became JT LeRoy and tells the captivating real life story of the most compelling literary ‘hoax’ of our generation. With a screenplay written by Justin Kelly and Savannah Knoop, JT LEROY also stars Diane Kruger and Jim Sturgess.

[thequeereview]

The Stroll opens 37th BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival running till March 26th

The 37th BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival opens tonight with Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucker’s outstanding The Stroll which received its world premiere in the US Documentary Competition at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, going on the win that section’s Special Jury Award for Clarity of Vision. It tells the collective history of the transgender women of colour who worked “the stroll”—a…

[raidwrites]

I got to review a few of the short films from this year’s BFI Flare LGBTQ+ Film Festival! Check out my favourites in this article for Queer News UK.

[helloyoucreatives]

Queer East Film Festival (15 - 26 September) is delighted to unveil its full programme centred on queer storytelling and activism from East and Southeast Asia. This year’s programme includes a selection of 37 features, short films and artists’ moving image works from 15 countries, ranging from new releases to classic retrospectives, mainstream box office hits to radical independent works, accompanied by pre-screening introductions and filmmaker Q&As. A series of online panel discussions with international guests will run throughout the festival period, covering topics such as women in the film industry, queer film festivals, and the development of Asian LGBTQ+ movements.

Launched in 2020, Queer East is a new film festival that aims to amplify the voices of Asian communities in the UK, who have often been excluded from mainstream discourse, despite Asians being one of the country’s fastest-growing ethnic groups. Queer East seeks to facilitate a better understanding of the richness of queer Asian heritage, and to bridge the cultural distance between the UK public and the region. Featuring works made by international filmmakers and Asian diaspora communities, and looking to foster authentic voices, the festival explores a wide range of perspectives, showcasing stories that intersect with personal experiences, cultural norms, and socio-political transitions.

The second edition of Queer East opens with the UK premiere of Daughters (2020), the directorial debut of Hajime Tsuda from Japan; and will close with the multi award-winning Dear Tenant (2020), directed by Taiwanese filmmaker Yu-Chieh Cheng.

This year, the world’s spotlight shone on Japan as the host country for the Summer Olympics. This drew the programmer’s attention to Japan’s history of iconoclastic, inventive and unapologetic queer filmmaking, and its growing strength in advancing LGBTQ+ rights. To mark this, the festival presents Focus Japan, a ten-film programme that looks back on queer representations in Japanese films from the 1980s until today. It features a double bill from the Japanese maestro Nagisa Oshima; Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983) and a rare 35mm presentation of Gohatto (1999); a queer revisiting of the 1995 animation Ghost in the Shell (dir. Mamoru Oshii) and the 20th anniversary screening of Ryosuke Hashiguchi��s Hush! (2001), alongside recent releases like Queer Japan (dir. Graham Kolbeins, 2019) and Close-Knit (dir. Naoko Ogigami, 2017).

Building on the success of last year, the festival’s Focus Taiwan strand continues with Days (2020) by the internationally acclaimed auteur Tsai Ming-Liang, the UK premiere of Teddy-award winning director Zero Chou’s Secrets of 1979 (2021), and a special presentation of The End of the Track (dir. Tun-Fei Mou), a rediscovered classic made in 1970. The series also includes an exciting line-up of short films and experimental works that showcase Taiwan’s vibrant queer culture.

Other highlights include a 20th anniversary screening of Lan Yu (dir. Stanley Kwan, 2001), one of the most iconic gay films in the Mandarin-speaking world, presented here in its newly restored version; South Korea’s award-winning drama Moonlit Winter (dir. Daehyung Lim, 2019); and drag comedy Number 1 (dir. Kuo-Sin Ong, 2020) from Singapore.

Significant progress and landmark rulings have been made across Asia in recent years, from India's decriminalisation of homosexuality to Taiwan’s recognition of same-sex marriage. However, challenges and obstacles remain, and are faced by many people. It is within this context that Queer East explores the various forces that have shaped the current queer landscape in East and Southeast Asia, reflecting on what it means to be Asian and queer today through its curatorial approach.

The pursuit of legal protection for, and recognition of, marriage equality and same-sex families has been one of the focal points in campaigns for LGBTQ+ rights in Asia. Hence, the programme this year has a particular focus on ‘family’, a noun that conveys strong cultural traditions and ideologies.

Yi Wang, Festival Director and Programmer for Queer East, discusses his approach:

“By showcasing films that challenge conventional understandings of family kinship, I hope to provoke a conversation about how we understand and interpret the meaning and formation of family, through an alternative queer lens, even when the films do not include obvious LGBT storylines.”

Wang continues,

“Global events in the past year, from Covid-19-related anti-Asian attacks to the Black Lives Matter movement, have once again reminded us how vital fair and authentic racial and sexual representation is for our society. LGBTQ+ people have had labels, stereotypes and stigmas imposed on them for a long time. For me, queer is a word without consistent meaning, and we should not settle on a one-note definition. I believe that film is one of the most direct and accessible mediums that allows us to address issues and situations that people simply weren’t aware of before. Films enable us to construct a more positive, inclusive and dynamic LGBTQ+ narrative both outside and within the LGBTQ+ communities.”

Queer East Film Festival is supported by Film Hub London, managed by Film London. Proud to be a partner of the BFI Film Audience Network, funded by the National Lottery. The Focus Japan programme is organised in partnership with the Japan Foundation, with support from Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation and Japan Society. The Focus Taiwan programme is supported by the Ministry of Culture, Taiwan and Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute. This year’s artists' moving image programme is supported by Arts Council England.

Coming soon – in autumn this year, highlights of the Queer East Film Festival will tour to a number of UK cities including Cardiff, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Nottingham, Sheffield and more. Full details and dates to be announced.

https://queereast.org.uk/festival-2021/

[picotludique]

See You Soon from Tyler Rabinowitz on Vimeo.

A gay man travels across the country to spend the weekend with someone he's been talking to for months on a dating app, hoping to find the kind of romance that he grew up thinking he'd never get to experience.

Starring 2020 Tony Award nominee James Cusati-Moyer and Jonny Beauchamp.

'See You Soon' premiered online on Short of the Week. Read their review here: shortoftheweek.com/2020/06/27/see-you-soon/

tylerrabinowitz.com

2020 Short of the Week — Official Premiere 2020 NewFest –– Special Jury Mention for Acting 2020 Palm Springs International ShortFest — Audience Pick 2020 NoBudge –– Films of the Year 2020 FilmShortage –– "Top 10 Short Films of 2020" (#9) 2020 Outfest 2020 New Orleans Film Festival 2020 BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival 2020 Inside Out LGBTQ Film Festival and more

Written and Directed by: Tyler Rabinowitz

Produced by: Natalie Harris, Julia Kennelly, Jeremy Truong, Stefaniya Vey

Executive Produced by: Jason Michael Berman, Levi Chambers, Alex Mitow, James Miille, Alan Klessig, Paul Rabinowitz, Evan Rabinowitz, and Ami Rabinowitz

Cinematography by: Oren Soffer

Casting by: Freya Krasnow

Edited by: Will Mayo

Production Design by: Griffin Stoddard

Original Score by: Logan Nelson

Made in association with Rubbertape and Equilateral Pictures.

[man-reading]

You’ll be able to view hundreds of incredible LGBTQ films from your living room.⁣⁠ ⁣⁠ Ahead of its cancellation on Monday due to the coronavirus pandemic, the BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival have announced they will be screening a plethora of features and shorts on their upcoming new digital service.⁣⁠ ⁣⁠ BFI Flare at Home will include Levan Akin’s critically-acclaimed drama And Then We Danced, Daniel Karslake’s documentary For They Know Not What They Do and Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau’s revenge story Don’t Look Down.⁣⁠ ⁣⁠ It will also host favourites from past BFI Flare festivals and the BFI Flare Five Films for Freedom line-up of shorts films.⁣⁠ ⁣⁠ 230 films will be made available in total, and the rest of the titles will be announced in the next few days.⁣⁠ ⁣⁠ Hit the link in our bio for the full story! Photo by GAY TIMES on March 19, 2020. Image may contain: 2 people, selfie, child and closeup, possible text that says 'BFI Flare will be making over 200 LGBTQ films available to stream online!'

This photo was shared by instagram user GAY TIMES (@gaytimes)

[cake-emu]

I’m going to Flare!

That’s right folks, I’ve got press accreditation to BFI Flare, London LGBTQ+ Film Festival!

I’m going to be pitching away, and will hopefully find homes for my coverage of the festival & the films showing there. But I will need to pay for travel and accommodation fees, so if you want to support my work at all, you can tip me via my Ko-fi account (if paying in USD $), or straight to my Paypal (if paying GBP £).

Any and all donations are appreciated and will keep me super motivated to work hard and write about all the new queer cinema on offer! And for those that don’t know me, I’m bisexual, so yes I write from a queer female perspective.

If you’re interested in my previous coverage of queer cinema, you can find highlights of my work here:

- For Little White Lies, I wrote about the Spanish film Carmen y Lola (’Carmen and Lola’) - For Women and Hollywood, I previewed Brazilian fairy tale As Boas Maneiras (’Good Manners’), featured queer filmmaking crowdfunding campaigns, and wrote a feature on Hollywood’s dismissal of films about queer women - For my own website, I reviewed The Miseducation of Cameron Post, have written about Killing Eve at length, and a couple of years ago, analysed how The Bold Type refreshed the coming out narrative

Also - if there are any films or themes in particular that people want to hear about, let me know. I don’t plan to see everything of course but I’ll try to make the most of the opportunity.

Even if you can’t spare any coin (or don’t want to), even just a reblog is hugely appreciated :-)

[sesamebagel]

this is sold out so march is irredeemable 

[blutarsky]

Landline from Matt Houghton on Vimeo.

Landline | landlinedocumentary.co.uk

Landline is a short documentary about the only helpline in the UK for gay farmers. Through a series of recorded telephone conversations and reconstructive visuals, the film uses the helpline as a lens through which to view the experiences of LGBTQ people in the British farming community. 

In a world that prizes traditional masculinity and in which ideas of ancestry are fundamental, being gay can be isolating. Suicide rates are extremely high in both young farmers and gay men in particular, and combining these can be a recipe for tragedy. But there are also thriving gay scenes in the most rural of towns, stories of unexpected friendships and relationships, and moments so unlikely that they could only happen in real life. Candid, intimate and shocking, Landline is a snapshot of a group of people bound together by circumstance but so often isolated from each other. 

A film by Matt Houghton | itsmatthoughton.co.uk

Winner: Best Documentary Short Grierson Awards 2018
 Winner: HBO Documentary Short Film Award  Runner-up: Best British Short London Short Film Festival
 Nominated: Best UK Short Open City Documentary Festival 
Nominated: Best Short Film Berlin British Shorts 
BFI Flare FiveFilms4Freedom: seen over 460,000 times in 12 days

Official Selection: CPH:DOX, Sheffield Doc/Fest, BFI Flare, Aspen ShortsFest, Aesthetica Short Film Festival, DOC NYC, Leeds International Film Festival, Seattle Film Festival, THIS IS ENGLAND Film Festival, Ji.Hlava International Film Festival, Outfest LA, Shanghai Pride.

Online premiere at Short Of The Week | shortoftheweek.com/2019/03/26/landline Interview at Director's Notes | directorsnotes.com/2019/03/26/matt-houghton-landline

Father: Jem Dobbs 
Son: Jonathan Blake Father 2: Alex Thompson 
Daughter: Niamh Blackshaw Son 2: Bradley Johnson
 Mother: Valerie Bundy Farmer: Oliver Devoti


Directed by Matt Houghton Producers: Rupert Williams, Alistair Payne-James
 Executive Producer: James Sorton Associate Producers: James Spinney, Peter Middleton Casting Director: Lara Manwaring Director of Photography: James Blann Production Designer: Guy Thompson 1st Assistant Director: Tom Lancaster Sound Recordist: Craig Rihoy Costume Designer: Cynthia Lawrence-John Make-up Artist: Charlotte Kraftman Film Editor: Matt Houghton Consultant Editor: Maya Maffioli Music by Noah Wood Sound Designer: Alex Bingham Colourist: Simon Bourne Head of Production & Talent Management: Jordan McGarry Development Producer: Angeli Macfarlane Producer, Short Film Schemes: Josic Cadoret Production and Development Officer: Alice Whittemore

Special thanks to Keith Ineson, The Richardson Family, Hannah Milne, The Ball Family, Marisa Clifford, Marie Cunningham, Kate Metcalfe, The Ivy House Pub, Vincent Gavin, Harriet Cannon, Nii Swaniker, Del Jones, Neil Tester, Craig Davis, Sam Bellamy, Jon Evans, Melissa Houghton, Jack Abbot, Liam Achaibou, Metal Culture, Daniel Grieshofer, Miles Blacket, Neil Andrews, Martin Kelly, Alistair Vlok, Mike Baldock and to everyone who shared their stories and experiences

A Pulse Films and Fee Fie Foe production

Gay Farmer Helpline | 07837 931894 | gayfarmer.co.uk