The BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival (March 21 – 31) has unveiled the full programme for its 33rd edition, including over 50 features.
Titles will include the European premiere of Justin Kelly’s JT Leroy starring Laura Dern and Kristen Stewart, which will close the event. The film, adapted from Savannah Knoop’s memoir Girl Boy Girl: How I Became JT LeRoy, premiered at Toronto last year.
The Flare centrepiece screening will be the UK premiere of Tomer Heymann’s documentary Jonathan Agassi Saved My Life, a portrait of one of the world’s most successful gay porn stars.
Also playing is another Toronto title, Annabel Jankel’s Tell It To The Bees, starring Anna Paquin and Screen Star of Tomorrow 2009 Holliday Grainger. Adapted from Fiona Shaw’s novel, the film follows two women in 1950s Scotland who fall in love.
The festival is divided into three thematic strands, ‘Hearts’, ‘Bodies’ and ‘Minds’.
‘Hearts’ will show films about love, romance and friendship, with titles including Papi Chulo starring Matt Bomer and Cannes 2018 title Rafiki.
‘Bodies’ will show films about sex, identity and transformation, including Li Cheng’s Venice Queer Lion winner Jose and 1994 comedy The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert.
Finally, ‘Minds’ will focus on art, politics and community, including Gabriel Silverman and Fiona Dawson’s Transmilitary, which follows four solders risking dismissal to fight for transgender rights in the US armed forces.
The BFI NETWORK @ Flare mentorships in partnership with Bafta return for a fifth year, connecting UK-based LGBTQ+-identified emerging filmmakers to a professional network in the industry.
As previously announced, the festival will open with Chanya Button’s Vita & Virginia, starring Gemma Arterton and Elizabeth Debicki.
No comments yet