After a year as a successful bi-monthly night at East London’s Genesis Cinema, OFN has become OFN LGBTQIA+ FILM FESTIVAL: a full weekend celebration of queer cinema, and now with the capacity to show feature films and documentaries as well as shorts.
Running 15 – 17 November, this extended 5th edition is also moving to the heart of queer London because, for the first time, OFN will take place throughout Soho, with film screenings at Curzon Soho and the Courthouse Hotel Cinema, plus after-parties at venues including Louche Soho, The Yard, and Soho Theatre.
In addition to incorporating features, the 5th OFN will have its biggest-ever selection of short films. Altogether, 11 features and 113 shorts by and for the LGBTQIA+ community will be screened in cinema and/or online. With an international selection, the programme represents LGBTQIA+ stories from 34 countries.
As with all previous editions, the OFN awards system remains central to the event. The 5th OFN will honour queer filmmakers with the highest number of awards for LGBTQIA+ stories in Europe, with 18 categories judged by an international panel.
OFN founder and festival director Lex Melony told QX: “It’s vital that London audiences experience diverse, high-quality content from around the world whilst also giving international queer filmmakers a platform to showcase their work. My ultimate goal is to build a platform – an inclusive rainbow umbrella – where One Fluid Night becomes a universe that connects, unites, and promotes all spectrums of creativity. Let’s keep building our OFN community together!”
OFN Film Festival Feature Selection
SUNFLOWER (dir: Gabriel Carrubba, Australia). English Premiere. Nominated for Best International Feature jury prize at Rio Festival de Cinema LGBTQIA+. The story follows a 17-year-old boy grappling with his sexuality while coming of age in the working-class suburbs of Melbourne.
LIUBEN (dir: Venci Kostov, Bulgaria/Spain). Winner of the Pink Dragon Jury Award at Ljubljana LGBT Film Festival. The story revolves around a summer romance between two boys from very different backgrounds and is set in a mountain village in Bulgaria where prejudice simmers. Victor, who has a comfortable life in Madrid with his partner, José, returns to his childhood home for his grandfather’s funeral. He decides to stay for the summer to reconnect with his father and immerse himself in the village lifestyle. While there, he unexpectedly falls in love with an 18-year-old Roma boy.
THIS TIME (dir: Robert Vaughn, Canada). Acclaimed at festivals including Whistler, Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. This road trip movie follows a closeted teenager who inherits her estranged father’s journal, which contains cryptic clues about his secret life. To fulfil her father’s dying wish, she blackmails an alcoholic hearse driver into racing her to Los Angeles in hopes of meeting her father’s supposed friend, Liza Minnelli. The film is available for online screening.
PADRES (dir: Benjamin Lopez, Puerto Rico). European Premiere. Virginia donates her eggs to her twin brother David and his partner Bruno so that they can become parents, but she hides this decision from her husband, Miguel. After the baby is born, a tragic accident claims the lives of Virginia and Bruno. This leaves David and Miguel to team up to protect the young boy. This comedy illustrates the power of love, highlighting the true meaning of family. The film is available for online screening.
A quick peek …
