UK Asian Film Festival celebrates queer stories through compelling cultural visuals
Screening around 30 films across its 10-day run, the festival has also announced three queer-focused films as part of its LGBTQ+ strand
By Aaron Sugg
UK Asian Film Festival has announced the LGBTQ+ strand as part of its 2026 full programme, exploring queer identity across India, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Presented in partnership with Queer Asia and Queer East, Mental Health & LGBTQI+ Lives: Cinema and Conversations will take place at King’s College London on 7 May.
UK Asian Film Festival, recognised as the world’s longest-running South Asian film festival outside the Subcontinent, is marking its 28th edition this year.
Organised by Tongues on Fire with support from the BFI Audience Projects Fund, the festival runs from 1 to 10 May across London, Leicester, Coventry and Cumbernauld.
Screening around 30 films across its 10-day run – including titles such as Ghost School, Shadowbox, Mera Lyari and Pukam Pukai – the festival has also announced three queer-focused films as part of its LGBTQ+ strand.
This year’s UK Asian Film Festival LGBTQ+ films include:
The Pact by Apurva M Asrani: set in India the short film follows a son returning to his late father’s home and uncovering buried memories.
Heels To Heal by Justice Khor: a musical documentary celebrating Malaysian queer resilience as three local drag queens heal deep wounds.
My Therapist Said, I Am Full Of Sadness by Monica Vanesa Tedja: a reflective documentary on belonging, family and queer identity set in Indonesia.
The festival will also feature a British Asian strand highlighting UK South Asian life and identity, a musical tribute concert celebrating icons of Hindi cinema music, industry panels and masterclasses with filmmakers, writers and historians, and the Young Tongues platform supporting emerging British Asian creatives.
For more information on UK Asian Film Festival 2026, please visit the official tonguesonfire webiste.