Across much of West Africa – and Africa more broadly – LGBTQ+ lives continue to exist under immense pressure. In countries like Nigeria, same-sex relationships are not only socially stigmatised but also legally criminalised, with laws such as the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act reinforcing a culture of fear and invisibility. While there have been small…
Tag: LGBTQ Cinema
40th BFI FLARE: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival: In Conversation with Lexie Bean, Director of “What Will I Become?”
Lexie Bean is a trans multidisciplinary artist whose work moves across writing, film, and community-based practice, always based on questions of identity, memory, and the body. For over fifteen years, they have worked closely with survivors of domestic and sexual violence, creating spaces for storytelling through books, performances, and visual work. Their practice is collaborative…
40th BFI FLARE: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival: “Satisfaction” Review
Something is unsettling about Satisfaction, not because it shocks in obvious ways, but because it does not offer simple answers. It stays in discomfort, in silence, in the spaces where language fails, and in doing so, it asks one of the most difficult questions a film can pose: how do we make sense of our…
40th BFI FLARE: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival: “What Will I Become?” Review
Across both the United States and the United Kingdom, the mental health crisis affecting transgender young people has become increasingly difficult to ignore. Studies consistently show that trans youth experience significantly higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts than their cisgender peers. In the U.S., research from organisations such as The Trevor Project has…
40th BFI FLARE: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival: In Conversation with Rahemur Rahman & Lily Vetch, Directors of “Body of Our Own”
Perhaps it is through artists that we come to see stories we might never have known otherwise, stories that exist beyond the margins. Body of Our Own is one such film. Centered on the lives of three women from the Hijra community, offering a perspective rarely seen on screen. The film is brought to life…
40th BFI FLARE: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival: “Body of Our Own” Review
Presented at this year’s BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, the documentary Body of Our Own follows three members of the Hijra community: Momo, Neshi, and Jannat. Directed by Rahemur Rahman and Lily Vetch, the film gives us a beautifully observant portrait of identity and friendship. Filmed over seven years, Rahman and Vetch take a…
The 40th Edition of the BFI Flare Will Run from 18-29 March 2026 at BFI Southbank
Now in its 40th year, the BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival returns to BFI Southbank with one of its most expansive and internationally minded editions to date. Long considered a key fixture of the global queer film calendar, the festival continues to balance discovery with legacy, pairing brave new voices with restorations, talks and…
76th Berlin International Film Festival: “Iván & Hadoum” Review
Hadoum, a Moroccan woman, and Iván, a Spanish trans man, are colleagues in a greenhouse in southern Spain, where they fall in love. However, this love is tough. It has to face problems such as class and race, and, most practically, it interferes with Iván’s promotion. Behind it all lies the expectation of his entire…
76th Berlin International Film Festival: In Conversation with Ian de la Rosa, Director of “Iván & Hadoum”
Set against the sun-soaked landscapes of southern Spain, Iván & Hadoum, directed by Ian de la Rosa, tells a love story connected as much by place and everyday life as by desire and identity. Through small but meaningful moments, like reclaiming the word “hybrid,” the film quietly shows trans identity as something defined by choice…
Singapore International Film Festival: “10s Across the Borders” Review
10s Across the Borders is a pan-Asian documentary feature directed by Chan Sze-Wei, spotlighting the ballroom scene culture in Southeast Asia. Starring three pioneers Xyza Pinklady Mizrahi, Teddy Oricci, and Aurora Sun Labeija from the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand, it uncovers this fascinating subculture derived from African and Latinx communities in New York in a…
VIEW OF THE ARTS 