LGBT Film Festival returns to cinemas this year

Ljubljana – The Festival of LGBT Film, organised in Ljubljana by the ŠKUC Association, returns to cinemas on Saturday after going online last year. While government financing has been almost halved, the festival will still screen over 40 productions from 22 countries until 19 December, organiser Brane Mozetič said.

According to Mozetič, who was also part of the film selection jury, the 44% cut in funding was not unexpected, but the organisers still managed to avoid another online edition of the festival, opting for cinema venues with a limited number of spectators.

The selection of films was based on the principle of geographical and thematic diversity. Feature films will be shown at the Slovenian Cinematheque, medium-length at the Kinodvor cinema, with some short films also to be screened in the off-programme at the AKC Metelkova alternative culture centre.

In addition, short films will be available for viewing online via the Vimeo platform, and the winning film will be selected by visitors and a three-member expert jury.

Mozetič added that after many years, the festival will feature a screening at the Cankarjev Dom cultural centre, with the festival opening there tonight with the French drama The Divide (La Fracture) by Catherine Corsini, winner of the Queer Palm at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.

The same evening will also feature a screening of the Slovenian short film Sestre (Sisters) by Katarina Rešek-Kukla, the winner of this year’s top prize at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival.

The feature film programme includes a documentary on lesbian rebels, set in the 1980s United Kingdom, a Swiss-Belgian production about the disintegration of a traditional village family, and a screen adaptation of Hermann Hesse’s novel about two men befriending each other as boys in a medieval monastery.

The organisers also mentioned Tove, the Finnish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards. Tove is a biographical film about Finnish writer and illustrator Tove Jansson, who is best known for The Moomins, her series of books for children.

The festival will be accompanied by two workshops – one led by Chilean filmmaker Nicole Costa and the other by German short film director Jan Soldat. Screenings of some films will also take place in other Slovenian cities, including Maribor, Koper and Ptuj.

The Festival of LGBT Film in Ljubljana is the oldest LGBT film festival in Europe and the oldest international film festival in Slovenia. Film screenings traditionally take place at the Slovenian Cinematheque around 1 December – World AIDS Day.

The post LGBT Film Festival returns to cinemas this year appeared first on Slovenia Times.