Arts editor Gillian Smith shares highlights from the upcoming 39th BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival at BFI Southbank from 19th to 30th March, showcasing a diverse range of films and events that foster a celebration of queer cinema.
A Flare for Film? You know what to do…
Not gonna lie, it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride recently in the big wide world of motion pictures. A packed schedule of festivals, awards ceremonies, event launches and premieres has been mopping up the attention of cinephiles everywhere for quite a few months now, as per it being that time of the year, of course.
But as the pace begins to slacken, and before film fever turns into festival fatigue and a trip to the pub rather than another screening, let us here at My Soho Times draw your attention to the 39th edition of the BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, one of the world’s most significant and long-standing queer film events.
BFI Flare is taking place at BFI Southbank this month – it’s compact, it’s buzzing and includes a wide range of global perspectives. Not to mention whole raft of extra goodies such as panel discussions, DJ Nights, networking events, well-being workshops and the return of the much-loved Badge Café. There’s also an exhibition… OUT OF THE CLOSETS AND INTO THE STREETS: LGBTQ+ ACTIVISM IN THE 80s, celebrating the solidarity and resistance of the LGBTQ+ community in those turbulent times.
As the BFI Flare programming team explains, “Flare is a place for community, thought and discussion through film and this year we have an abundance of cinematic riches and events to spark endless conversation. We can’t wait to welcome talents from the UK and across the globe to share these incredible stories with audiences this March.”
Difficult to know where to start with everything that’s on offer, but you can get your bearings by navigating the three thematic programme strands: HEARTS, BODIES and MINDS, which encompass 34 World Premieres (across features and shorts) with 56 features, one series and 81 shorts from 41 countries.
The all-important opening feature this year is the International Premiere of THE WEDDING BANQUET, Andrew Ahn’s joyful comedy of errors fresh from the Sundance Film Festival. The multi-talented cast includes Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-Chan, Joan Chen, and Youn Yuh-Jung. A reimagining of Ang Lee’s beloved 1990s rom-com, it teems with humour and heart is a timely reminder that being part of a family means learning to both accept and forgive.
The festival’s Closing Night film is the UK premiere of award-winning writer-directors Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Reolon’s NIGHT STAGE. This erotic thriller follows an actor and a politician who begin a risky affair and whose forbidden desires, played out in public places, lead to unforeseen danger.
Other highlights include Best of the Year, such the BAFTA-nominated WILL & HARPER with Will Ferrell and SNL writer Harper Steele hitting the road in a hilarious and moving tribute to the importance of allyship. Also showing will be Luca Guadanigno’s QUEER, showcasing a career-best performance by Daniel Craig, alongside Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s directorial debut HOT MILK (from Deborah Levy’s Booker Prize-nominated novel) starring Emma Mackey, Fiona Shaw and Vicky Krieps. Thriller PONYBOI is directed by Esteban Arango and written by River Gallo who also stars alongside Dylan O’Brien and Victoria Pedretti.
#FiveFilmsForFreedom (in partnership with the British Council) is a landmark international initiative presenting five films from the BFI Flare shorts programme available for free online to audiences globally for the duration of the festival. It’s an invitation to everyone everywhere to show solidarity with LGBTQIA+ communities in countries where freedom and equal rights are limited.
There’s so much more and I could go on, but much better would be for us all to get online or down to the BFI on the Southbank and get those tickets booked. And then you can all go to the pub!
The BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival will take place at BFI Southbank from 19th-30th March. Tickets are available now via bfi.org.uk/flare.
Written by Gillian Smith | Cover image Manok still courtesy of uncommon pictures
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