BFI Flare: London’s LGBTIQ+ Film Festival 2020 announces full line-up
The festival is set to showcase more than 50 feature films and 100 shorts
By Steve Brown
The BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival has unveiled its 34th edition’s full programme.
Last week, it was revealed the three films for the opening, closing and centrepiece screenings.
Kicking off on March 18 with the world premiere of Matt Fifer and Kieran Mulcare’s drama Cicada.
On March 26, Sam Feder’s documentary on transgender representation on TV will be screened as this year’s centrepiece.
Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen reveals how Hollywood reflects and manufactures anxieties about gender and features the likes of Laverne Cox, Yance Ford and Chaz Bono.
The festival will close on March 28 with a screening of Jessica Swale’s feature debut Summerland.
Other highlights include Jamie Patterson’s arresting sophomore feature Justine, which sees a young woman struggle with her demons in this powerful rumination on how the past can shape the present.
Oliver Hermanus’ beautiful yet brutal study of closeted homosexuality in the Apartheid-era military Moffie will also be screened.
With Don’t Look Down, Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau serve up a deliciously enigmatic chamber piece which is far more than just an exercise in style, but is also a sly critique on power, submission and the destructive side of love, while Claire Oakley’s debut feature Make Up is a riveting psycho-sexual drama in which nothing is quite what it seems.
Hong Khaou’s poignant meditation on cultural displacement in Monsoon, featuring Henry Golding in a tender portrayal of a man endeavouring to reconnect with the place he once called home.
Pride & Protest – Directed by Blaise Singh – opening with the anti-LGBTIQ+ lessons protests in Birmingham, the modern face of activism is the focus of this timely and necessary documentary.
Documentary, Steelers: The World’s First Gay Rugby Club, follows the first ever LGBTQ rugby club and is an inspiring testament to the power of teamwork and friendship, this uplifting documentary will charm the (rugby) socks off you – whether you are a fan of the game or not!
Michael Blyth, BFI Flare’s Senior Programmer, said: “This year’s Festival feels more relevant than ever with filmmakers reflecting moving, urgent stories about LGBTIQ+ lives.
“We are privileged to share such a wide range of films from around the world that will entertain, provoke, perhaps most importantly, help us better understand ourselves and each other.”
Tricia Tuttle, BFI Festivals Director added: “As ever, the programmers have pulled together a truly international selection of films exploring LGBTIQ+ themes, but we’re heartened to see just how much strength in depth there is in work coming out of the UK.
“British features really shine in this globe-spanning programme.”
BFI patrons and champions will be able to buy tickets from February 24, members from February 25 and public booking opens from February 27.
BFI Flare runs from March 18 to 29 at BFI Southbank and visit here for full details and ticketing information.