Nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and serving as the gateway to the Granada Geopark, Guadix is a small rural municipality in southern Spain. It is uncommon for an LGBTIQA+ film festival to occur outside major capitals, making GIFIC’s presence here even more significant.
The GIFIC Festival reaffirms its commitment to LGBTIQA+ diversity and visibility with a thoughtfully curated lineup of feature films, short films, series, and discussions that connect activism with film criticism. Over three days, this year’s event highlights groundbreaking works by both emerging and established queer creators.
The festival opens on Friday with the premiere of Ciao Bambina, the powerful documentary co-directed by Afioco Gnecco and Carolina Yuste chronicling Rafi’s gender transition. Fresh from winning the Biznaga de Plata for Best Documentary at the 2024 Málaga Film Festival and vying for a Goya Award in 2025, Ciao Bambina sets a tone of intimacy and resilience. Later in the evening, attendees will discover Luca Guadagnino’s Queer. Queer is an adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ work, set in 1950s Mexico, featuring Daniel Craig in an award-winning role that earned him the Best Actor award at the 2024 National Board of Review Awards.
The Festival GIFIC continues to spotlight dissenting voices and foster dialogue between creators, activists, and audiences
Saturday afternoon at the Fundación Pintor Julio Visconti will feature staged keynote presentations from three prominent figures in queer cinema:
Tatiana Fernández, the founder of the socially engaged production house FDEZ&VERA, will share insights from her award-winning short film 6 A.M., which received the Silver Medal at the Student Academy Awards, as well as her acclaimed debut feature, La Amiga de mi Amiga.
Sonia Abbas, head of film distribution at Begin Again Films and communications director at Arte GB, will discuss her journey from founding the radio program 16 Novenos to shaping the dialogue around independent cinema.
Film critic and journalist Mariasun Miquel concludes the session by exploring queer representation in Southeast Asian cinema, drawing on her interviews at Milana Cine and her experience curating festivals.
As the sun dips on Saturday, Asociación San José becomes the hub for short-film exploration. Nach Solís and Miguel Ángel Olivares’s Piedra, papel o tijera, selected at over forty festivals and longlisted for Goya 2026, shares the bill with Carmen Vidal’s Casa diversa, which portrays Paraguay’s first trans shelter and earned honours at LesBiGayTrans Asunción 2024 and LesGaiCineMad 2024.
The evening continues with the European debuts of the Thai series pilots Reverse With Me and Roller Coaster, before concluding with the haunting short dramas Cólera and Ángulo muerto, both of which meditate on symbolic violence and the process of grief.
Saturday night’s centrepiece arrives at Teatro Mira de Amescua (Guadix, Granada) with the regional screening of La mitad de Ana. Acclaimed at LesGaiCineMad and the Madrid International LGBT+ Film Festival for its tender portrayal of a mother’s support as her daughter navigates identity, the film provides a poignant close to the day’s program.
On Sunday morning, Festival GIFIC culminates in the roundtable Dissident Identities in Audiovisual Media, featuring trans actors Lola Buzón and Pablo Alamá. Lola Buzón—celebrated for her role as La Paca in Te estoy amando locamente, a performance that earned her a Goya nomination and the honour of Grand Marshal at Madrid Pride 2023. Together, they will share personal insights on representation and breaking barriers in Spanish and international media.
Festival GIFIC 2025 invites audiences to engage, reflect and celebrate the richness of queer storytelling in one of Andalucía’s most evocative landscapes.
For complete program details for the GIFIC queer film festival and ticket information, visit gific.es.
Travel Tip: Guadix is an easy journey from Granada by bus.
All images supplied.
