The BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival has unveiled the line-up for its 37th edition which takes place March 15 – 26.
The programme features 58 features, six of which are world premieres, spread across three thematic strands – Hearts, Bodies and Minds.
Scroll down for full line-up
World premiering at the festival is John Hay’s documentary Willem & Frieda which is presented by Stephen Fry and explores how a gay man and a lesbian woman led the anti-Nazi resistance in Holland.
The other world premieres are Timothy Harris’ documentary Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn about the first openly gay person of colour with a seat in the US senate; Corin Sherman’s coming-of-age comedy Big Boys; Shamim Sarif’s drama Polarized about an affair between two women with conflicting ideologies; Emily Railsback’s American Parent which follows a lesbian couple raising a child; and Mandy Fabian’s romantic comedy Jess Plus None.
Flare’s line-up also includes notable titles that have premiered at other festivals previously. From Sundance is D. Smith’s documentary Kokomo City, which won the audience award; Lisa Cortés’ doc Little Richard: I Am Everything; and the previously announced opening film The Stroll from Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucker.
Also previously announced was the closing film - Hannes Hirsch’s debut feature Drifter which will world premiere at the Berlinale this month.
Luis De Filippis’s debut feature Something You Said Last Night will also screen at the festival, having already played at Toronto, Rotterdam, Zurich and San Sebastian where it won best film.
Industry events
The BFI Flare x Bafta Mentoring programme is once again open, offering six emerging LGBTQIA+ filmmakers the chance to take part in a professional development programme with bespoke events and one-to-one meetings with industry professionals.
Previous alumni include Georgia Oakley, Dionne Edwards and Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor.
There is also a range of events and talks happening across the festival including a panel on bisexual representation on screen (Bisexual Visi-bi-lity In Film & Television) and Tara Brown will led a discussion on queer disability on film (We Have Always Been Here!).
The Flare festival will take place in person at London’s BFI Southbank and will offer a selection of titles to UK audiences on the BFI player.
The #FiveFilmsForFreedom initiative will also return, in partnership with the British Council allowing global audiences to stream five selected films for free.
BFI: Flare line-up 2023
Hearts
American Parent
dir. Emily Railsback
The Blue Caftan
dir. Maryam Touzani
Chrissy Judy
dir. Todd Flaherty
The Dream Songs
dir. Cho Hyun-chul
Egghead And Twinkie
dir. Sarah Kambe Holland
The Fabulous Ones
dir. Roberta Torre
Golden Delicious
dir. Jason Karman
Horseplay
dir. Marco Berger
Jess Plus None
dir. Mandy Fabian
Lie With Me
dir. Olivier Peyon
Life Unrehearsed
dir. Jieun Banpark
Maybe Someday
dir. Michelle Ehlen
Polarized
dir. Shamim Sarif
Silent Love
dir. Marek Kozakiewicz
Three Nights A Week
dir. Florent Gouëlou
Unidentified Objects
dir. Juan Felipe Zuleta
Bodies
Before I Change My Mind
dir. Trevor Anderson
Big Boys
dir. Corin Sherman
Bread And Salt
dir. Damian Kocur
Fierce: A Porn Revolution
dir. Patrick Muroni
The Five Devils
dir. Léa Mysius
How To Tell A Secret
dirs. Anna Rodgers, Shaun Dunne
Kokomo City
dir. D. Smith
Le Beau Mec
dir. Wallace Potts
Mel
dir. Inna Sahakyan, Paul Cohen
Monica
dir. Andrea Pallaoro
Narcissism – The Auto Erotic Images
dir. Toni Karat
Peafowl
dir. Byun Sung-bin
Rule 34
dir. Júlia Murat
Something You Said Last Night
dir. Luis De Filippis
Swallowed
dir. Carter Smith
Winter Boy
dir. Christophe Honoré
Wolf And Dog
dir. Cláudia Varejão
XX + XY
dir. Soh Yoon Lee
Minds
100 Ways To Cross The Border
dir. Amber Bay Bemak
1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture
dir. Sharon Roggio
Afeminadas
dir. Wesley Gondim
The Empress Of Vancouver
dir. David Rodden-Shortt
Jewelle: A Just Vision
dir. Madeline Lim
It’s Only Life After All
dir. Alexandria Bombach
Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn
dir. Timothy Harris
Little Richard: I Am Everything
dir. Lisa Cortes
Lotus Sports Club
dirs. Vanna Hem, Tommaso Colognese
Loving Highsmith
dir. Eva Vitija
My Name Is Andrea
dir. Pratibha Parmar
Prejudice and Pride: Swedish Film Queer
dir. Eva Beling
Willem & Frieda
dir. John Hay
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