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 Cipriano, Zorian Clayton, Rhianna Ilube, Darren Jones, Wema Mumma, and Brian Robinson. Tickets go on sale on Tuesday, February 20th for BFI Members and on general sale from Thursday, February 22nd via bfi.org.uk/flare.
BFI Flare 2024 opens with the European Premiere of Amrou Al-Kadhi’s assured debut feature Layla following its world premiere at Sundance featuring a “nuanced and captivating performance” by Bilal Hasna in the titular role.
The festival will close with the the world premiere of director Luke Willis’ docu-fiction Lady Like which follows the story of London-born, San Francisco-based drag queen Lady Camden, aka Rex Wheeler, of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 14 fame.
Other world premieres include Karen Knox’s romantic drama We Forgot To Break Up featuring a trans musician caught in a love triangle with his bandmates as they rise to fame in 2000’s Toronto. Kat Rohrer’s lesbian romcom What A Feeling which explores migration, class, and sexuality in Austria. While Jasmine Johnson’s heartfelt DIY debut What’s Safe, What’s Gross, What’s Selfish and What’s Stupid presents several slices of the London queer community in discussion about what it means to create a family.
Based on a story by filmmaker Dominic Savage and star Elliot Page, deeply moving drama Close To You which world premiered at Toronto, will receive its European premiere in a Special Presentation of the film, while Flare will also welcome Page onstage at BFI Southbank on March 15th for a Screen Talk to discuss his career so far. Page also serves as executive producer on another TIFF 2023 queer hit, D.W. Waterson’s cheerleading drama Backspot starring Devery Jacobs. Another Special Presentation selection is Levan Akin’s compelling drama Crossing, which charts the unlikely alliance forged between two protagonists as they attempt to trace a young trans woman who has vanished in Istanbul.
Fresh from its Sundance premiere in January, Rose Glass’ gripping and gory Love Lies Bleeding sees Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian star as a lesbian couple drawn into a web of violence in 1980s small-town New Mexico.
Also featured in this year’s lineup is a variety of coming-of-age high school and college grad stories across various genres. In Benjamin Howard’s powerful coming-of-age drama Riley, Dakota Riley is a star-player on a football team whose secret gay life threatens to destroy him. Noah Schamus’ debut feature Summer Solstice sees a pair of recent college grads head for the hills on vacation, only to discover that they’ve already drifted apart. While in Clare Cooney’s tongue-in-cheek queer slasher Departing Seniors, with a murderer in their midst, making it to graduation is the least of these high schoolers’ problems. A defiant trio of New Zealand schoolgirls battle against their strict matron in Josephine Stewart Te-Whiu’s satirical comedy We Were Dangerous.
Global perspectives in this year’s Flare selection include the slow burn romance Who’ll Stop The Rain, following an art student who experiences first love after joining a protest group in post-martial-law Taiwan by I-Hsuan Su. A landmark film for India is director Onir’s semi-autobiographical tale Pine Cone on how the search for love can change over time, unfolding over key dates for gay rights in the country. A mother’s misguided instincts lead to crime in Toll which world premiered at TIFF 2023, a remarkable and impressively shot family drama with a sharp satirical edge by Carolina Markowicz.
In YUN Su-ik’s Heavy Snow, teenagers Suan and Seol form a connection on the sandy beaches on Gangneung, South Korea; a place they continuously return to in order to find each other. In Fawzia Mirza’s vibrant Bollywood-infused The Queen of My Dreams which deftly intertwines the intergenerational dreams of a mother and daughter who are both trying to find their place in the world.
Trans narratives at BFI Flare 2024 include Malgorzata Szumowska’s ambitious odyssey Woman Of that tells the story of a trans woman’s life in small-town Poland set against the tumultuous backdrop of a crumbling Soviet Bloc. A group of visionary hijra in Delhi form a modelling agency to bring the traditional third gender into the 21st century in Ila Mehrotra’s India’s 1st Best Trans Model Agency. Writer-director-editor Jules Rosskam’s Sundance Award-winner Desire Lines, which boldly forges its own hybrid form to explore intimate stories of transmasculine sexuality from the past and present. While Marek Kozakiewicz’s inventive doc We Are Perfect follows an open audition for a trans masculine role that attracts 300 candidates, uncovering both raw talent and a revolutionary spirit.
Prolific documentary filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz (Boulevard! A Hollywood Story) returns to BFI Flare with his latest feature, Commitment To Life which explores how community action mobilized around AIDS in Los Angeles. Stephen Soucy’s Merchant Ivory is an entertaining and insightful film that honours two exceptional creators, Ismail Merchant and James Ivory, and the films they created, as told by their collaborators. In Sav Rodgers’ Chasing Chasing Amy, a film fanatic explores their enduring love for Kevin Smith’s 90s bisexual romcom, uncovering a little more than he bargained for. Directors Carlos López Estrada and Zac Manuel Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero follows Lil Nas X as he embarks on his first live tour. Stuart Pollit’s Don’t Ever Stop tells the story of legendary DJ and record producer Tony de Vit, who changed many lives with his music as he kept the 90s generation dancing through the height of the AIDS epidemic.
Another doc highlight is Sam Sahid’s Hidden Master: The Legacy Of George Platt Lynes which celebrates the work of celebrity portraitist and fashion photographer George Platt Lynes, who was also the creator of an archive of male nude photography. Markus Stein’s Baldiga – Unlocked Heart, which world premiered at the 2024 Berlinale, is a portrait of Germany’s enfant terrible of photography, Jürgen Baldiga, which documents his riotous life and tragic death through his diaries, archives, and extensive interviews with those who knew him, illuminating the AIDS crisis in 1980s underground Berlin. With excellent archival footage and great music, Marc Saltarelli’s documentary Studio One Forever spans the disco era to the AIDS crisis, offering insights into dance and celebrity culture in the as Studio One blazes a trail as the first and largest gay disco in the United States.
Expanding on the careers of these two 20th century originators in gay photography will be “Developing Muscles”, an illustrated lecture presented by BFI Flare programmer Zorian Clayton, billed as a homoerotic history of photography that will chart some of the queer inspirations and influences on Platt Lynes and Baldiga.
This year’s BFI Flare sees the 10th year of #FiveFilmsForFreedom in partnership with the British Council. This landmark initiative presents five films for free to audiences globally and invites everyone everywhere to show solidarity with LGBTQIA+ communities in countries where freedom and equal rights are limited. The 2023 LGBTQIA+ digital campaign attracted over three and a half million views from around the world with a quarter of views coming from parts of the globe where freedom and equal rights are limited. The project allows audiences worldwide to show solidarity with LGBTQIA+ communities and the 2023 selection spanned from Guyana, Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Nigeria, South Korea, with each story celebrating love as a human right. Since its launch in 2015, Five Films for Freedom films have been viewed by 23 million people, in over 200 countries and principalities. The Five Films for Freedom shorts will be available to watch for free UK-wide on BFI Player, as well as a special BFI Flare event and screening celebrating 10 years of the groundbreaking initiative and this year’s selection.
BFI FLARE: LONDON LGBTQIA+ FILM FESTIVAL, 2024 FULL PROGRAMME
HEARTS includes films about love, romance and friendship.
ALIGNED – Apollo Bakopoulos’ beautiful and engaging drama, follows the story of two male dancers who forge an artistic and sexual bond while training with a dance company in Greece. The intoxicating power of physical discovery and a shared love of Greek culture are vividly revealed in this love story partly played out through music and movement.
ISLA’S WAY – Meet Isla Roberts: great-grandmother, carriage driver, handywoman. The indomitable spirit of the cheeky octogenarian is the beating heart of this delightful and inspiring ode to the visibility of older women.
LESVIA – Tzeli Hadjidimitriou’s initimate documentary, a blissfully nostalgic yet impressively complex insight into the hidden stories of Lesbos, birthplace of Sappho and meeting place for lesbians since the 1970s. From the unique vantage point of being a lesbian from Lesbos herself, Hadjidimitriou expertly balances the perspectives of the women looking for a place to connect and relax alongside the wary locals they often encounter.
OUR SON – Billy Porter and Luke Evans star as a couple on the brink of divorce, fighting over custody of their eight-year-old son.
SINCE THE LAST TIME WE MET – Victor and David’s story takes us on a familiar journey of loving and losing. But 15 years later they get a second chance at love, the result is a fresh and entertaining drama of the heart.
SPLIT – In this sensual web series, a stuntwoman embarks on her first lesbian relationship when she falls for the actor she’s working with. With an incredible cast, including Alma Jodorowsky, Jehnny Beth, Ralph Amoussou and Pauline Chalamet, SPLIT is a bold and intelligent exploration of sex, relationships and intimacy.
DOPAMINE CRASH – A collection of short films about the messiness of break-ups. Coming off the love high is painful, although it may be for the best
DRAWN THIS WAY – The love and craft that goes into animation shines through in this collection of short films, which aim to engage, educate – and even titillate – audiences about queer lives.
QUEER/PLATONIC – An ode to joys and tribulations of queer friendships and platonic intimacies – their intensity, fluidity and subversiveness
TENDER HEARTED: SHORTS FROM THE UK & IRELAND – This selection of shorts seeks to remind us of the radical possibilities of opening up our hearts to life, love and healing.
UNICORNS – Sally El Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd’s stunning romance rooted in two distinct communities.Starring Ben Hardy and Jason Patel, the film is loosely inspired by the real-life experiences of Asifa Lahore, Britain’s first out Muslim drag queen.
Also screening in HEARTS: CHASING CHASING AMY; PINE CONE; SOLIDS BY THE SEASHORE; SUMMER SOLSTICE; UNICORNS; WHAT A FEELING, WHAT’S SAFE, WHAT’S GROSS, WHAT’S SELFISH AND WHAT’S STUPID; WHO’LL STOP THE RAIN; WOMAN OF….
BODIES includes stories of sex, identity, and transformation.
LIFE IS NOT A COMPETITION, BUT I’M WINNING – In this beautifully constructed, innovative documentary, a collective of queer athletes unearth deep histories of pioneering sportspeople who were excluded from the podium.
CONNECT/DISCONNECT – This selection of shorts looks at how the power of attraction can surprise and unsettle, whether it’s the first few seconds of an encounter or something longer.
COSMIC DREAMS: THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS – Techno-sexual deviants, pixelated dolphins and sensuous goddesses all reside in this fantastical queer multiverse of short film.
PLEASURE ME – Short films exploring queer sex and desire in varied forms. There is beauty and frustration, joy and heartbreak. The pleasure is endless – at least, for some.
SEX IS COMEDY: the revolution of intimacy co-ordinators – A fascinating insight into the role of the intimacy co-ordinator, told through behind-the-scenes access to new queer French TV show Split.
A TASTE OF SPAIN – From the bullring to the boxing ring, and the joys of youth to the vulnerability of old age, this selection of cinematic delights showcases short filmmakers from Spain.
SILVER HAZE – Reeling from the trauma of her difficult childhood, a 23-year-old burns survivor finds some healing through her first lesbian relationship.
SLOW – Dovydas and Elena form a strong connection, but the dynamic of their relationship changes when Dovydas reveals that he is asexual.
TOPS – It’s the hilarious trans 1990s breakfast TV show you didn’t know you wanted. Amy Pennington taps into the spirit of MTV and The Big Breakfast in this comic series that asks, ‘what top did you want to wear after top surgery?’
Also screening in BODIES: BACKSPOT; DEPARTING SENIORS; I DON’T KNOW WHO YOU ARE; JOIN THE CLUB; THE SUMMER WITH CARMEN; RILEY; WE ARE PERFECT.
MINDS features reflections on art, politics and community.
CALLS FROM MOSCOW – Four Cuban exiles find themselves in Moscow one day before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Triggered by the recent death of a Cameroonian activist, filmmaker Appolain Siewe journeys back to his home country to investigate the roots of homophobia within the local psyche in CODE OF FEAR. Siewe initiates uncomfortable conversations within his community regarding homosexuality and ostracised by his family, he finds himself confronted with the steep cost of African allyship.
METHODS FOR FACING A HOSTILE WORLD – These shorts show people using all the resources of their hearts, minds and bodies to defend what they love.
ORLANDO, MY POLITICAL BIOGRAPHY – Nearly a century after Orlando was published, Paul B. Preciado unpacks the meaning and importance for trans people of Virginia Woolf’s classic novel.
SAY WHAT YOU MEAN – It is really hard to speak your truth to a loved one, or to strangers. Yet all the people in these short films do, in their own time and way.
STATE OF THE ART – Gender-fluid, transgender and non-binary artists draw on dance, filmmaking and literature in these short tales of cathartic communication and exigent expression, contemplating art as a force to be reckoned with.
Also screening in MINDS: BALDIGA – UNLOCKED HEART; COMMITMENT TO LIFE; DAYS OF HAPPINESS; DESIRE LINES; DON’T EVER STOP; HEAVY SNOW; HIDDEN MASTER: THE LEGACY OF GEORGE PLATT LYNES; INDIAS 1st BEST TRANS MODEL AGENCY; LIL NAS X: LONG LIVE MONTERO; LOVE LIES BLEEDING; MERCHANY IVORY; REAS; STORIES OF OUR LIVES; STUDIO ONE FOREVER; TOLL; UNSPOKEN; WE FORGOT TO BREAK UP; WE WERE DANGEROUS; YOU PROMISED ME THE SEA.
EVENTS – BFI Flare 2024 will host a wide range of events, talks, and debates:
LITANIES FOR SURVIVAL: THREE FILMS BY MICHELLE PARKERSON + Q&A
A journey through the work of pioneering lesbian African-American filmmaker Michelle Parkerson with three short films, STORMÉ: THE LADY OF THE JEWEL BOX, ODDS AND ENDS and FIERCENESS SERVED! THE ENIKALLEY COFFEEHOUSE, followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker.
THE MAKERS
THE MAKERS returns this year as BFI Flare welcomes visiting filmmakers Amrou Al-Kadhi, director of Opening Night Gala, LAYLA, and Jeffrey Schwarz, director of COMMITMENT TO LIFE, to discuss their career journeys, share anecdotes about the making of their latest films and reveal their artistic approaches.
SCENES OF INTIMACY
A discussion with intimacy co-ordinator Tommy Ross-Williams around the creation of queer intimacy on screen. In this workshop, Ross-Williams will share insights on their own work developing intimate queer content on screen and provide space to reflect on the representation of queer relationships and marginalized identities in our daily lives.This event links closely with two features in the programme, sensual French webseries SPLIT by Iris Brey; and SEX IS COMEDY: THE REVOLUTION OF INTIMACY COORDINATORS the fascinating documentary on SPLIT by Edith Chapinproviding an insight into the work of an intimacy coordinator, highlighting the power dynamics, politics, and ethical considerations that come up on set.
MR. TEDS’ BIG FABULOUS INTERACTIVE QUIZ
The notorious bearded drag artist brings his anarchy-fuelled brand of quizzing to BFI Flare. With a background of performing across the world including Duckie, Underbelly and NYC Downlow, Mr. Teds brings the full force of his creativity to curate an interactive quiz night like no other, testing GBTQIA+ film knowledge, lip-syncing skills and life drawing abilities.
FAITH (IN THE POWER OF LOVE)
This illustrated discussion with speakers from different religious communities takes a look at representations of their religions in LGBTQIA+ films, including those that have made an impact on them. The panel will also discuss the intersection of faith and LGBTQIA+ identity: how easy is it for someone to be out in their faith community, and conversely, what is the experience of being out as a person of faith in the LGBTQIA+ community?
OSKA BRIGHT PRESENTS QUEER FREEDOM
Oska Bright Film Festival is the world’s leading festival for films made by or featuring people with learning disabilities or autism, this event see’s Lead Programmer Matthew Hellett present a selection of LGBTQIA+ shorts. Their Queer Freedom programme shines a spotlight on the stories of the LGBTQIA+ community, which can often go unheard. Featuring stories of love, loss, and friendship.
AN AUDIENCE WITH LINDA RILEY
At The Makers’ event at BFI Flare 2022, Gateways Grind director Jacquie Lawrence promised to turn the camera on Linda Riley, a leading LGBTQIA+ activist, the publisher of DIVA Magazine and Founder of Lesbian Visibility Week. This year we see Linda Riley in conversation with filmmaker Jacquie Lawrence in a behind-the-scenes look at her new film The Life of Riley ahead of the film’s release.
CAN WE BE FRIENDS?
A community event celebrating queer friendship and platonic intimacy, in all its forms. For all those seeking new friends and connection, BFI Flare programmers Rhianna and Wema have created a dedicated space celebrating queer friendship, inspired by the shorts programme QUEER/PLATONIC. There will be drop-in style creative activities to meet new people, and relaxed facilitated discussions about the joys and complexities of building queer community.
BFI Flare’s popular BADGE CAFÉ will return this year, along with DJ NIGHTS at BFI Southbank BFI Bar (taking place on Friday 15th, Saturday 16th, Thursday 21st and Friday March 22nd) featuring Fèmmme Fraîche, Club Kali, DJ Mike Menace and with Tamer Wilde during the opening night party, while the dynamic Unskinny Bop duo and Queer Kitty play BFI Flare’s closing night party.
Tickets go on sale on 20th February for BFI Members and on general sale from 22 February via bfi.org.uk/flare. Film descriptions courtesy of BFI Flare.
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