Pride 2024: An Exploration of Queer Cinema
June is Pride Month, as people all over the world come together to celebrate LGBTQIA+ voices. It’s a time to celebrate how far we’ve come as well as fight against the discrimination and injustice that still persists around the world. Cinema is a way to spotlight fresh perspectives, tackle complex subject matters and open audiences’ hearts and minds. Today, we are bringing you a roundup of exciting UK-based queer film events to add to your calendar.
Queer 80s | Barbican, London | 5-26 June
Time travel through the movie screen back to the 1980s, a decade when LGBTQIA+ representation and creativity thrived in the build-up to enormous geopolitical and social change. Historic events shaped the 1980s as borders were starting to shift and archaic laws against homosexuality began to be revoked. Queer filmmakers seized the camera to tell new stories in different ways. More interesting, provocative and unapologetic depictions of LGBTQIA+ people made it to the big screen. In the background, the world was on the edge of transformation.
FilmPride: The Brighton & Hove Pride Film Festival | Preston Park, Bristol | 3-4 August
FilmPride is part of Fabuloso in the Park – Brighton & Hove Pride’s official fundraiser for the Brighton Rainbow Fund. During Pride weekend, this film festival will take place in Preston Park, the beating heart of every year’s event. This is the place to spend the weekend watching some of the best contemporary indie queer films, made by, and about, members of the LGBTQIA+ community. This year’s edition will include a packed programme of international short films, documentaries and animations on a range of topics. There’ll be something for everyone!
Queer Film Club | The Love Tank, London | 12 June
The Queer Film Club is specially curated for queer migrants and queer people of colour and hosted by Krzysztof Dubicki, a Polish LGBTQIA+ film expert. Discover powerful, independent, films from across the globe, each thoughtfully selected to celebrate diverse voices and stories. With his background in film and screen media studies, along with his role as an assistant to the London Independent Film Festival, Krzysztof is always up to date with the newest film premieres, ensuring an enriching and engaging experience for all who are in attendance.
Queer Vision Film Festival | Watershed, Bristol | 28 June – 12 July
Queer Vision is now in its 12th year of celebrating LGBTIA+ cinema! It’s a festival founded upon the power of representation – having LGBTQIA+ people behind and in front of the camera – and film as a tool for social change. Events are held year round, but the main festival takes place during Bristol Pride. This year’s programme aims to increase the visibility and accessibility of queer media, with projects from Ila Mehrotra, Pedro Almodóvar and Amy Pennington. Join queer film lovers in a safe space, make new friends and chat about your newest movie obsession.
Superbia Cinema: Neurodiversity Captured on Film | Cultplex, Manchester | 15 June
Superbia Cinema is a joyful celebration of queer filmmaking that aims to uplift the work of talented LGBTQIA+ creatives. This year’s shorts explore neurodiversity and is all about uplifting neurodivergent artists and filmmakers by spotlighting their projects. Neurodivergent people often do not see themselves represented in film and media, even though many are working in the industry undiagnosed and unrecognised. Superbia is a place to come together and learn more about each film’s actors, directors, filmmakers, production processes and more.
Stills:
- Longing (2023), dir. Courtney Tan
- Coming Out (1989), dir. Heiner Carow
- Joyland (2022), dir. Saim Sadiq
- India’s 1st Best Trans Model Agency (2024), dir. Ila Mehrotra
- In Motion (2022), dir. Sophie Broadgate
The post Pride 2024: An Exploration of Queer Cinema first appeared on Aesthetica Short Film Festival.
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