BFI Flare London LGBTQ+ Film Festival announces full programme for 2023

The BFI has announced the full programme for its 37^th annual BFI FLARE: LONDON LGBTQIA+ FILM FESTIVAL 2023, running from 15 to 26 March 2023 at BFI Southbank and on BFI Player.

BFI Flare will take place at BFI Southbank, and also offer a selection of titles on BFI Player to UK-wide audiences, and to international audiences via Five Films for Freedom – now in its 8^th year, in partnership with The British Council. BFI Southbank will be buzzing with special events and DJ nights during the festival, and for the first time will present Flare Expanded for the first 4 days of the festival from 16-19 March.  BFI Flare is divided into three thematic programme strands: HEARTS, BODIES and MINDS and this year presents 28 World Premieres (across features and shorts) with 58 features and 90 shorts from 41 countries.

Tickets go on sale on 22 February for BFI members and 24 February for general public via bfi.org.uk/flare

Michael Blyth, Senior Programmer said:
“For the past 37 years, BFI Flare has brought audiences the best, most innovative and most boundary pushing LGBTQIA+ stories from across the globe. But as our audiences constantly grow and evolve, the festival must grow and evolve with them. This year, in addition to our world-class showcase of contemporary queer film, we will take audiences beyond the cinema screen with BFI Flare Expanded, a free programme of queer immersive art guaranteed to offer new insights and shift perspectives” 

As previously announced, BFI Flare opens on Wednesday 15 March with the International Premiere of Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucker’s resonant documentary THE STROLL which won the Sundance Film Festival’s Special Jury Award: Clarity of Vision Award. The stirring and deeply personal documentary is the definitive story of trans sex workers of colour in New York’s Meatpacking District. The Festival’s closing film on Saturday 25 March is the UK Premiere of Hannes Hirsch’s debut feature DRIFTER, fresh off its World Premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, the film is a scintillating portrait of a young man coming to terms with life, love, sex and relationships in contemporary Berlin. Both films and many in the festival demonstrate the themes of community and friendship running through this year’s programme.  In addition, Tünde Skovrán’s intimate documentary WHO I AM NOT will have its UK Premiere as the Centrepiece Presentation. The film is an intimate portrait of the lives of two intersex South Africans and the challenges they face navigating binary sex and gender systems.
 
World Premiere screenings the Festival will be presenting include John Hay’s illuminating documentary WILLEM & FRIEDA, where Stephen Fry investigates the inspiring and moving story of a gay man and a lesbian who led anti-Nazi resistance in Holland. Timothy Harris’ timely documentary KENYATTA: DO NOT WAIT YOUR TURN follows 31-year-old Pennsylvania State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta who takes us along on his race to become the first openly gay person of colour with a seat in the United States Senate. Corin Sherman’s hilarious and heart-warming BIG BOYS is a coming-of-age comedy about a teenage boy experiencing a sexual awakening when he falls for his cousin’s boyfriend on a camping trip. Acclaimed filmmaker Shamim Sarif’s visually arresting feature POLARIZED explores the unavoidable attraction that develops between two women as they navigate the barriers of race, religion and class that have kept them apart. Two new mums navigate questions of intimacy and shifting power-dynamics in this heartfelt exploration of queer parenthood in Emily Railsback’s AMERICAN PARENT. Mandy Fabian’s lively and laugh-out-loud romantic comedy JESS PLUS NONE follows Jess who is at an off-the-grid wedding and must find a way to deal with her ex, her friends and even herself.  The BFI Flare programme features trans filmmakers telling their own stories, with the previously mentioned THE STROLL and also fresh from Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award and NEXT Innovator Award, D. Smith’s bold documentary KOKOMO CITY, about Black trans sex workers, that buzzes with passion, energy and intelligence. D. Smith knows what it means to come out as a Black trans woman and lose everything. After a successful career in the music industry ended, she turned to filmmaking, and, in the face of considerable odds, shot this punchy debut that looks into the lives of four sex workers. This is documentary filmmaking that pulls no punches and has no time for politeness. This year’s programme also features a number of films which showcase a progressive evolution of queer narratives, and trans narratives in particular. SOMETHING YOU SAID LAST NIGHT, supported by BFI Flare main sponsor Campari, is a refreshingly authentic family drama. Director Luis De Filippis’s stunning debut mined her own experiences as a transgender woman of Italian heritage to tease out extraordinary depth in the everyday relationships between twentysomething trans woman Renata and her family on vacation. Trace Lysette (TRANSPARENT, HUSTLERS ) is captivating in MONICA, a beautifully understated family drama, playing a woman belatedly seeking to rekindle a relationship with her estranged mother, magnificently played by Patricia Clarkson. The screening is supported by the Interbank LGBT+ Forum members.

Alongside the previously mentioned WHO I AM NOT Soh-Yoon Lee’s XX + XY follows an intersex teen and their friends navigating the complex feelings and urges that come with adolescence, in this unique coming-of-age comedy. The film is a fresh, funny and sex-positive spin on the high-school comedy, giving a voice to those whose stories are all too often overlooked by this genre. 
 
BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND, BFI Flare shorts alumni Trevor Anderson’s feature debut, is a hilarious and nail-biting rollercoaster ride through teen angst, crushes and friendships, following Robin, an androgynous newcomer at high school who refuses to join the binary world of single sex sports teams. A delightful road movie about connecting with your heritage, self-acceptance and finding love in unexpected places, EGGHEAD AND TWINKIE is a sweet coming-of-age comedy featuring a young Asian American girl and her hapless best friend who hit the road to meet her online crush. 
 
Over the first four days of the Festival, we will be presenting BFI FLARE EXPANDED – a selection of four immersive art and virtual reality works from boundary-pushing LGBTQIA+ artists, working across emerging technologies such as interactive Virtual Reality, screen-based installations and 3D-scanning. Exploring themes of identity, belonging, self- expression and vulnerability, these powerful and visionary works aim to shift perspectives and give new insight into our increasingly complex world. LGBTQ+ VR MUSEUM – Conceived by acclaimed British creative technologist Antonia Forster, along with Thomas Terkildsen, this immersive project is the world’s first virtual reality museum. Containing 3D scans of personal artifacts chosen by people in the LGBTQ+ community and accompanied by stories told in their own words.HE F**** THE GIRL OUT OF ME – Taylor McCue’s provocative and hugely affecting interactive game tells the deeply personal and moving story of Ann, a trans person from America, who is forced into sex work to pay for the costs of her hormone replacement therapy – with traumatising consequences. CHROMA 11 – Based on a true story of lost love, this immersive Virtual Reality experience reunites a gay couple by means of digital media and the power of memories. Ix Wong Thien-pau (Malaysia) and Aaron Khek Ah Hock (Singapore) worked as a dance duo for many years, sharing their joint love and passion for their art. During the filming of Tsang Tsui-shan’s Ward 11, a short documentary about their work, Aaron passed away. As an extension of the film, the beautiful and poignant Chroma 11 envisions a reunion of the two lovers in the form of a dance duet through clips of rearranged memories and volumetric video. WE ARE HERE BECAUSE OF THOSE THAT ARE NOT -Working at the intersection of gender, race and collective memory, Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley utilises new media techniques to create thought-provoking projects about Black trans existence and legacy. Her interactive Black trans archive poses existential questions of collective memory and self-expression through digital media.The festival sees a fascinating selection of features and documentaries which tell the story of queer elders including Aseneth Suárez Ruiz’s CLARA that follows a filmmaker who returns home to Colombia to find out about her mother’s past love and encounters unexpected twists along the way. Jieun Banpark’s LIFE UNREHEARSED is a captivating and witty portrayal of two retired Korean nurses living their best lives in Berlin. Roberta Torre’s THE FABULOUS ONES follows a group of older trans women, who reunite following the discovery of a lost letter containing the last wishes of a dearly departed friend. In addition, AGEING WITH (OUT)YOU is a strand of shorts that features queer elders of various ethnicities and orientations experiencing the unique challenges – and blessings – of ageing, with or without a partner. 
 
Following the well-received World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Lisa Cortes’ LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING is a fierce, fun and glitter-flecked documentary exploring the real and complex story about the life of the architect of rock and roll, with contributions from a host of famous faces including John Waters, Billy Porter and Elton John who try to find the man behind the self-created myth. A pioneer for Blackness and queerness in music who never got his dues, Little Richard was also someone who was at war with his sexuality and religion throughout his life. Also at Sundance, IT’S ONLY LIFE AFTER ALL recounts the story of the classic lesbian singer-songwriter duo the Indigo Girls, told with humour and heart, through a blend of archival material and camcorder footage over the last three decades, shot by Indigo Girl Emily Saliers herself. Country music at its queerest: big hair, big heart and a truck load of guitar.
 
The BFI Flare programme features a wide variety of films with a global perspective including THE BLUE CAFTAN, set in Salé, one of Morocco’s oldest medinas, The film tells the story of a married tailor who falls for his younger apprentice in Maryam Touzani’s richly textured and sweepingly beautiful exploration of love, desire and tradition. Set in Bhopal, India, Ektara Collective’s A PLACE OF OUR OWN is a sensitive portrayal of two Indian trans women’s fight to find a place to live after the sudden eviction from their home by a prejudiced landlord. Set in Slovakia at the turn of the twentieth century, Mariana Cengel Solcanská’s THE CHAMBERMAID is a fast-paced, sexy and witty period film about the love between two teenage girls from opposite sides of the social ladder. Unfolding over a single day in Seoul THE DREAM SONGS is CHO Hyun-chul’s South Korean hazy fever dream of teenage longing, adolescent emotions and a lesbian love triangle.  Sex is political in Julia Murat’s sensually directed RULE 34. The Brazilian Winner of the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival, focuses on a young woman who explores her erotic desires at home as a camgirl by night, while during the day working on sexual violence cases as a law student. A young man in emotional freefall embarks on a journey of sex and self-discovery in Christophe Honoré’s richly textured, semi-autobiographical teen drama, WINTER BOY, supported by BFI Flare official partners Mishcon de Reya and PGIM Real Estate.
 
This year’s BFI Flare programme takes a closer look at two iconic queer literary women: Madeleine Lim’s sensitive documentary JEWELLE: A JUST VISION is a celebration of the achievements of Jewelle Gomez, whose vampire stories and engagement with Black and Indigenous histories were well ahead of their time. Eva Vitija ’s LOVING HIGHSMITH is a beautifully textured study revealing the rich and troubled private life of the woman behind Strangers on a Train, The Talented Mr. Ripley and Carol. Loving Highsmith reveals some disturbing truths about the much- loved writer, audiences can discuss this further at the event WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT LOVING HIGHSMITH in the BFI Library.
 
From the archives, PREJUDICE & PRIDE: SWEDISH FILM QUEER is a fascinating history of LGBTQIA+ representation on Swedish cinema screens. Doing for Sweden what The Celluloid Closet did for Hollywood, Eva Beling’s hugely enjoyable, whip smart documentary explores the rich legacy of queer cinema from her home country. 
 
Shaun Dunne and Anna Rogers’s profoundly moving and inspiring documentary HOW TO TELL A SECRET explores thestigma of living with HIV in Ireland. The film is cleverly constructed around Dunne’s stage play, Rapids. Actors speak the words of people who can’t acknowledge their HIV status in public, contrasting with activists – young and old – determined to break down the need for the secrecy around HIV. The lack of education around the topic, the terror of first diagnosis and the search for community support, are themes explored by this cast of performers, friends, ex-lovers and healthcare professionals.  Courage, friendship and a passionate engagement with history are all on display in this moving and compelling film.
 
Co-presented with the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, SILENT LOVE, Marek Kozakiewicz’s intimate documentary debut, is an insight into what it takes to build a new type of family. The film follows Aga, who moves back home to Poland to care for her brother after their mother’s death whilst hiding her relationship with her girlfriend from the authorities.
 
BFI Flare celebrates the rediscovery of Wallace Potts lost masterpiece of 1970s gay porn, LE BEAU MEC, featuring the camerawork by legendary cinematographer Néstor Almendros (DAYS OF HEAVEN, THE BLUE LAGOON, SOPHIE’S CHOICE). The film’s legendary reputation over the decades makes it a festival must-see. Following his recent death, BFI Flare will screen the late pioneering gay British filmmaker Ron Peck’s STRIP JACK NAKED: NIGHTHAWKS II in his memory. Peck’s 1979 feature film NIGHTHAWKS told the story of a gay schoolteacher and his relentless search for a partner. 13 years later, STRIP JACK NAKED: NIGHTHAWKS II comprises outtakes from the first film as Ron gave an account of his life as a young gay man growing up in 1960s and 70s Britain and details the making of NIGHTHAWKS, itself a product of the gay liberation movement. This is a rare and fascinating film that presents a powerful and poignant insight into our recent history. The screening will include Ron Peck’s 1974 short ITS UGLY HEAD. Peck’s NIGHTHAWKS and WHAT CAN I DO WITH A MALE NUDE? are also available to subscribers on BFI Player. 
 
BFI Flare will also include a wide range of events, talks and debates, which include, REMEMBERING RON PECK, an intimate library event which will provide the chance to learn more from friends of this sensitive giant of gay independent film and learn more about this important, unassuming yet driven auteur and gay rights champion. Other event highlights include WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE!, highlighting the importance of queer disability representation within the landscape of film and culture with a panel led by film curator Tara Brown to discuss the intersections of queerness, disability and film.BISEXUAL VISI-BI-LITY IN FILM & TELEVISION, a panel discussion on Bisexual representation in film and television, BFI FLARE’S BIG GAY FILM QUIZ, covering the full gamut of queer cinema old and new, plus BFI Flare’s ever popular DJ Nights at the BFI Bar 
 
This year’s BFI Flare Shorts programme is split across 12 thematic selections, including the strand I NEED I WANT I WILL, a collection of UK produced shorts offering a thrilling miscellany of experience and imagination. 
 
This year’s Festival will see the return 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. Since its launch in 2015, Five Films for Freedom films have been viewed by 20 million people, in over 200 countries and principalities. Full details of the five selected films and how to access them to be announced separately.
 
Now in its ninth year, the BFI Flare x BAFTA Mentoring programme in partnership with BFI NETWORK, is once again offering six emerging LGBTQIA+ filmmakers the opportunity to strengthen their professional networks. The professional development programme, which is open for applications now, will include access to bespoke events and case studies during BFI Flare, one-to-one meetings with senior industry figures and filmmakers, and free annual membership to BAFTA Connect. Alumni include Georgia Oakley (Blue Jean), Dionne Edwards (Pretty Red Dress), Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor (Blue Story, Boxing Day), Amrou Al-Kadhi (Little America) and Georgi Banks-Davies (I Hate Suzie); previous mentors have included Luca Guadagnino, Kate Herron, Iain Canning, Isaac Julien, Desiree Akhavan and Russell T Davies.
 
BFI Flare is programmed by Grace Barber-Plentie, Jay Bernard, Michael Blyth, Zorian Clayton, Brian Robinson and Ulrich Schrauth has curated the BFI Flare Expanded programme. The BFI has also appointed two new programmers this year: Rhianna Ilube and Wema Mumma.
 
For professionals working in the film and screen industries, this year’s BFI Flare Industry Programme will return with delegate networking and dedicated events. Press and Industry screenings will be back in venue at BFI Southbank and the digital viewing library will be powered by Shift72.  The full BFI Flare Industry Programme line-up will be announced in the coming weeks.
 
 
BFI FLARE: LONDON LGBTQIA+ FILM FESTIVAL, 2023 FULL PROGRAMME
 
BFI Flare is divided into three thematic strands: HEARTS, BODIES and MINDS.  The full programme is detailed below.
 
HEARTS includes films about love, romance and friendship. The films screening in HEARTS are:CHRISSY JUDY (Dir. Todd Flaherty) – An exploration of what happens when you break up with your (platonic) soulmate. THE DREAM SONGS (Dir. CHO Hyun-chul– Teenage longing, emotional immaturity and a lesbian love triangle combine to produce this hazy South Korean fever dream. EGGHEAD AND TWINKIE (Dir. Sarah Kambe Holland) – A young Asian American girl and her hapless best friend hit the road to meet her online crush in this delightful road movie.GOLDEN DELICIOUS (Dir. Jason Karman) – An Asian Canadian teenager grapples with his identity when he falls for the boy next door. But what will his family think? And how will he tell his girlfriend?HORSEPLAY (Dir. Marco Berger) – A group of young men test each other’s boundaries in this provocative chamber piece. LIE WITH ME (Dir. Olivier Peyon) – A captivating drama finds an author experiencing powerful emotions as he looks back to his first, youthful love affair.MAYBE SOMEDAY (Dir. Michelle Ehlen) – Caught in the painful process of separating from her wife, non-binary photographer Jay embarks on a trip to reconnect with the past and find a fresh start.SILENT LOVE (Dir. Marek Kozakiewicz) – The intimate documentary follows Aga, who moves back home to Poland to care for her brother whilst hiding her relationship from the authorities.THREE NIGHTS A WEEK (Dir. Florent Gouëlou) – A young photographer meets outrageous drag queen Cookie Kunty and nothing will ever be quite the same again.UNINDENTIFIED OBJECTS (Dir. Juan Felipe Zuleta– A little person and a sex worker embark on a mission to find aliens in an utterly compelling road movie like no other. 
Also screening in HEARTS are the previously mentioned AMERICAN PARENT, THE BLUE CAFTAN, CLARA, THE FABULOUS ONES, JESS PLUS NONE, LIFE UNREHEARSED, A PLACE OF OUR OWN, POLARIZED,
 
BODIES includes stories of sex, identity and transformation. The films screening in BODIES are:
 BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND (Dir. Trevor Anderson) – This hilarious and nail-biting rollercoaster ride through teen angst, crushes and friendships in this 1980s high-school comedy-drama.BREAD AND SALT (Dir. Damian Kocur)– A young Polish pianist returns to his small hometown for the summer, where he witnesses the mounting conflict between his friends and the town’s newcomersFIERCE: A PORN REVOLUTION (Dir. Patrick Muroni) – A group of young women and non-binary people start a porn company with the intention of creating new images of themselves. The result is Oil, a porn collective that aims to educate as much as titillate. THE FIVE DEVILS (Dir. Léa Mysius) – Adèle Exarchopoulos stars in this magical queer French thriller about a young girl with special powers whose world is upended with the arrival of a mysterious relative.HOW TO TELL A SECRET (Dirs. Anna Rodgers, Shaun Dunne) – Confronting the stigma of living with HIV in Ireland, the film explores the experiences of a generation who are fighting back.LE BEAU MEC (Dir. Wallace Potts) – Rudolf Nureyev’s last lover Wallace Potts directed hot hunk Karl Forest in this Parisian porno – featuring choreography by the Russian legend – that included camerawork by legendary cinematographer Néstor Almendros (Days of Heaven, Sophie’s Choice). Until very recently an almost-lost film, surviving only in decaying VHS tapes, collector Gerry Herman’s lengthy search finally uncovered this lost masterpiece. MEL (Dir. Inna Sahakyan, Paul Cohen– One of Armenia’s most decorated athletes is faced with leaving his country and career behind when his transition unexpectedly hits the headlines.MONICA (Dir. Andrea Pallaoro– Trace Lysette is captivating in this beautifully understated drama, playing a woman belatedly seeking to rekindle a relationship with her estranged mother (Patricia Clarkson) in her Midwestern hometown. NARCISSISM – THE AUTO EROTIC IMAGES (Dir. Toni Karat) – Intimate and intense, this is a deep exploration of autoeroticism and self-love, featuring many of the famous faces from Berlin’s radical porn and sex-positive scene, this is a subtle and thoughtful film that interrogates who gets to be visible, who gets to be beautiful and who gets to control their own image. PEAFOWL (Dir. BYUN Sung-bin) – Steely Shin Myung is a fierce trans queen on the Seoul nightclub scene who reconnects with her Buddhist heritage, in this defiant dance debut.RULE 34 (Dir. Júlia Murat) – A Brazilian woman explores the vastness of her erotic desires at home, while during the day works on sexual violence casesSOMETHING YOU SAID LAST NIGHT (Dir. Luis De Filippis) – Fresh from winning Toronto International Film Festival’s Changemaker Award, the film follows twentysomething trans woman Renata in this refreshingly authentic family drama.SWALLOWED (Dir. Carter Smith) – It’s drugs, bugs and unrequited hugs in this deliciously grotesque queer body horror set in the bright lights of LA’s porn scene.WINTER BOY (Dir. Christophe Honoré) – Paul Kircher, Vincent Lacoste and Juliette Binoche star in Christophe Honoré’s (Sorry Angel) richly textured, semi-autobiographical teen drama, which tells the story of a young man in emotional freefall, who embarks on a journey of sex and self-discovery. WOLF AND DOG (Dir. Cláudia Varejão.) – Young queer best friends Ana and Luís attempt to traverse life on a small Portuguese island in this intimate, stunningly shot drama.Also screening in BODIES are the previously mentioned BIG BOYS, KOKOMO CITY and XX + XY
 
MINDS features reflections on art, politics and community.  The films screening in MINDS are:100 WAYS TO CROSS THE BORDER (Dir. Amber Bay Bemak) – A fantastic odyssey through the world of radical artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña, reflecting on 40 years of performance art and border activism.1946: THE MISTRANSLATION THAT SHIFTED CULTURE (Dir. Sharon Roggio) – This moving documentary explores the personal stories of LGBTQIA+ people and their allies who have used sophisticated Bible scholarship and translation to uncover the revelation that the first time the word homosexual was included in the Bible was 1946. AFEMINADAS (Dir. Wesley Gondim)– Five Brazilian performers represent a dazzling encounter with variations of masculine femininity. THE EMPRESS OF VANCOUVER (Dir. David Rodden-Shortt) – A treasure trove of never-seen-before archives illuminate queer Canadian history through the extraordinary life of a local legend, Oliv Howe IT’S ONLY LIFE AFTER ALL (Dir. Alexandria Bombach)- The story of the classic lesbian duo The Indigo Girlsis told with humour and heart, through a blend of archival material and camcorder footage shot by Emily Saliers herself.LOTUS SPORTS CLUB (Dirs. Vanna Hem, Tommaso Colognese) – A trans football coach becomes a father figure to LGBTQIA+ homeless youth, building a team that flourishes into a family.MY NAME IS ANDREA (Dir. Pratibha Parmar) – The life of Andrea Dworkin, a controversial figure in the feminist sex wars, is presented through her own writing and speeches. 
Also screening in MINDS are the previously mentioned: JEWELLE: A JUST VISION, KENYATTA: DO NOT WAIT YOUR TURN, LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING, LOVING HIGHSMITH, PREJUDICE AND PRIDE: SWEDISH FILM QUEER, STRIP JACK NAKED: NIGHTHAWKS II and WILLEM & FRIEDA
 
Flare will also screen four of the best queer films to hit cinemas over the past 12 months including: Laura Poitras’ Academy and BAFTA nominated documentary ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED, an epic, deeply personal emotional story about internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin and her fight to hold the Sackler family accountable for the overdose crisis. Elegance Bratton’s profoundly personal feature THE INSPECTION brings a fresh, queer edge to the military bootcamp movie and the U.S’ notorious ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy.  Halina Reijn’s enjoyable millennial whodunnit horror stars BODIES BODIES BODIES stars Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Rachel Sennott. Georgia Oakley’s BAFTA Nominated debut BLUE JEAN tells the story of Jean, a PE teacher living in the north-east of England, at a time when the Conservative government fostered renewed aggression against queer people. 
 
SHORTS PROGRAMME
This year’s BFI Flare Shorts programme is split across 12 thematic selections & features the strand I NEED I WANT I WILL, a collection of UK produced shorts offering a thrilling miscellany of experience and imagination.
 
EVENTS
BFI Flare will also include a wide range of events, talks and debates, which include:
 
WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE!
This event highlights the importance of queer disability representation within the landscape of film and culture and includes leading people in the movement for accessibility and queer disability on film. It features rare clips that highlight the fact that queer disabled folk have always been here. Afterwards, film curator Tara Brown will lead an in-depth panel discussion about the intersections of queerness, disability and film.
 
BISEXUAL VISI-BI-LITY IN FILM & TELEVISION
A panel of out and proud Bisexuals look at the industry’s poor track record when it comesto portraying bisexuality. It will highlight someof the problematic bisexual stereotypes in TV shows and movies and discuss how bisexuality on film and television has begun to evolve, as filmmakers and showrunners begin to eschew outdated tropes.
 
BIG GAY FILM QUIZ
Fancy yourself a queer cinema buff? Then test your big screen prowess with the world’s best LGBTQIA+ film quiz. Form your own team (max four) or grab a solo ticket and pair up with fellow quizzers on the night. There will be prizes, surprises and more fun than you could imagine. 
 
Our popular BFI FLARE DJ NIGHTS will return (Wednesday 15, Friday 17, Saturday 18, Thursday 23, Friday 24 March at BFI Southbank’s BFI Bar with our favourite DJ’s including Jonathan & Sadie, Bar Wotever, Club Kali, Frankie Goes to Flare, Fèmmme Fraîche, and our Closing Night Party will take place on Saturday 25th with Unskinny Bop + The Batty Mama.
 
BFI Flare accredited Press and Industry Delegate Access to shift72 Viewing Library and Press and Industry screenings start TBC For further details about Press and Industry accreditation and the full programme see bfi.org.uk/flare