The 19th Dublin International LGBT Film Festival GAZE has announced a line-up packed full of features, shorts, documentaries and experimental films for the August Bank Holiday Festival from 28th July-1st August.
This year’s festival will run in three Dublin City Venues; The Screen, the Irish Film Institute and the Project Arts Centre, and will show over 50 films from around the world.
The festival will open with a screening of Sabine Bernardi’s ‘Romeos’. The German comedy drama follows 20 year old Lukas as he launches himself into a new life in the big city and forms a close relationship with gorgeous Fabio. But Lukas is keeping a big secret — that he was born a girl.
Director of Programming Paul Rowley says this year’s festival films are “genuinely encompassing the true diverse range of experiences in the LGBT community worldwide, the films on offer this year bring us unforgettable characters and profound stories that will stay with us long after.”
GAZE highlights include Laure Charpentier’s ‘Gigola’ which follows the lifestyle of handsome garçonne ‘Gigola’ in 1960’s Paris; and lesbian costume drama ‘Sea Purple’, which follows friends Angela and Sara in 19th century Sicily as their deep friendship turns to passionate love. As well as a selection of best queer shorts from the Iris International gay and Lesbian Short Film Prize and ‘Youth Shorts - Am I Gay Yet?’ which document the first negotiations with sexuality.
Panels and discussions also feature in the festival programme. The Inside Scoop panel will take place on Saturday July 30th for any filmmaker who is trying to get there work out there to be seen. Joining the panel will be Director of Programming at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, David Kwok, Co-director of Pecadillo Pictures and Director of the Iris Prize Berwyn Rowlands. Other panels include a ‘Lost in the Crowd’, a discussion about LGBT and homelessness with representatives from advocacy groups.
The IFI and GAZE collaboration features a German director Fassbinder retrospective programme in the Irish Film Institute with screenings of World on a Wire Part One and Two at the IFI.
Other screenings include the Swedish winner of the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival Grand Jury prize ‘She Monkeys (Apflickorna)’; teen feature ‘Jitters’ (Órói), the Irish premiere of South American musical ‘Miss Tacarembó’ and Spanish film ‘For 80 Days’ and Rashaad Ernesto Green’s ‘Gun Hill Road’ which looks at the response of macho Latino patriarch Enrique, who returns from prison to find his son has begun transitioning from boy to girl. ‘Gun Hill Road’ recently opened Outfest in LA, the biggest LGBT film festival in the world.
Shorts to be shown at the festival include an introduction to the Irish Gay Rugby Team in ‘Emerald Warriors’, a tale of a young woman who returns home for her father’s funeral to a hostile reception in ‘Sleight of Hand’ and the world premiere the winner of the first ABSOLUT GAZE New Filmmakers Project ‘Hold on Tight’. GAZE and the IFI are also offering teenage film critics an opportunity to be part of a panel selecting their favourite ‘teen pick’ at this year’s festival. To become part of the Teengazer panel email teengazers@ifi.ie
Every night from 10pm, The Project Arts Centre will open its doors as the official festival club Queer Hang-Out with special movie-themed music, cocktails and company.
The full programme and tickets will be available from July 15th at: GAZE Film Festival 2011.
