The British Council, the UK’s international organisation for cultural and educational opportunities, and the BFI (British Film Institute) have announced the five short films from the 30th BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival, that will be made available online for free on 17th March for audiences across the world as part of this year’s fiveFilms4freedom, an online film festival which celebrates love and diversity.
Following the success of last year’s fiveFilms4freedom, the online festival is back as a 24-hour campaign asking people everywhere to watch a film together over the course of one single day. fiveFilms4freedom is the world’s first digital, global, LGBT film festival and will be promoted through the British Council’s network in more than 50 countries and regions, reaching audiences across the Americas, China, India, Israel, Kosovo, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine and the Middle East. It’s a chance for audiences, wherever they are, to enjoy LGBT cinema; to find out a little bit more about emerging LGBT filmmakers from around the world; and most importantly, to show support for freedom and equality everywhere.
Alan Gemmell, director of fiveFilms4freedom at the British Council comments, “fiveFilms4freedom is a ground-breaking LGBT film festival supporting freedom and equality all over the world. For our second year we are showcasing some of our finest short film makers to help celebrate love and diversity through one of the world’s most powerful and accessible cultural forms: film. By bringing together the British Council and films from BFI Flare we are promoting LGBT cinema in countries that make up half of the world’s population.”
Tricia Tuttle, Deputy Director of Festivals at the British Film Institute adds, “LGBT film festivals are great spaces for nurturing new film talents and creating dialogue between filmmakers and audiences. In this, our 30th edition of BFI Flare, we are thrilled to present a rich and diverse programme which shows LGBT cinema to be in great shape. And it’s fantastic to work with British Council to connect filmmakers to a truly global community united in a love of film and a belief that love is a basic fundamental human right.”
From travelling communities to Easter bonnets to the wonderment of growing up, the five films tell a range of affecting stories about contemporary LGBT life in countries including Brazil, Ireland, Spain, the Philippines and the UK.
The five films are:
• SWIRL Two girls, young and in love, move backwards through the city in Peterson Varga’s lyrical short from the Philippines.
• XAVIER is a film by Brazilian director Ricky Mastro about a father who notices that his 11-year-old son pays a lot of attention to slightly older boys.
• BREATHE is a British-Irish film by James Doherty, about an Irish traveller is increasingly concerned that his son is ‘soft’, so sets about toughening him up.
• TAKE YOUR PARTNERS In this British short film by director Siri Rodnes, Miss Paterson expects Ollie to make an Easter bonnet like the other girls. But Ollie is not like the other girls.
• THE ORCHID A man has something important to tell his son, but can only get through to his voicemail in this film by Spanish director Ferran Navarro-Beltrán.
The five films will be available to watch online on 17th March on the British Council website and BFI player.
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