Halfway through this year’s Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Festival in London and there is still an eclectic mix of films, arts and events celebrating LGBTIQA+ stories over the coming weekend
Fringe! started in 2011 as a community response to arts cuts carnage, and since then has expanded exponentially to become one of the most innovative and exciting festivals on the circuit.
Here are a few of the must see/do events on
Queerguru’s Best of The Fest List
LOVE HUB : CONFIDENTLY QUEER
FRI NOV 12, 19:00 TO 20:00
TALK, BASEMENT @GLASS HOUSE, FREE
Kicking off a weekend full of health and well-being events in the festival’s Love Hub, we’re thrilled to partner with Stillpoint Spaces London for Confidently Queer. This interactive discussion event explores psychological skills to better understand and build confidence for queer people.
FETISH + DESIRE (A SCREENING AND CONVERSATION WITH TOPHER CAMPBELL, CAMPBELL X, AND AJAMU X)
FRI NOV 12, 20:30
FILM,TALK,Q+A, GENESIS CINEMA, £10.5 / £8 CON
A rare and intimate conversation between filmmakers Topher Campbell and Campbell X, alongside screenings of their films Fetish (2018) and Desire (2017) respectively. This conversation will be hosted by photographer, curator and archivist, Ajamu X, and will be a chance to discuss Black queer sexuality through the lens of these works.
Fetish | dir. Topher Campbell | USA, UK 2018 | 17′
Fetish, a multi-dimensional being, bestrides the streets of New York City. As his strength and vulnerability are exposed, he reveals his power through death and rebirth. As he defies space and time, Fetish becomes the embodiment of the ‘Black Man Who Fell To Earth’. His last moments are a mixture of traffic-stopping masculine power, supernatural presence, and nakedness.
DES!RE | dir. Campbell X | UK 2017 | 9′
An experimental film exploring desire for transmasculine, butch, stud, and masculine of centre (MOC) people
CLOSE-KNIT (+FAMILY-FRIENDLY KNITTING SESH)
SAT NOV 13, 12:30
FILM,WORKSHOP, RIO CINEMA, £13.50 / £10.50 CON
After Tomo’s flighty mother leaves her for the umpteenth time and she’s taken in by her Uncle Mario, and his partner Rinko, a transwoman. This beautiful, heartwarming film examines what family means for the queer community, and re-examines residual social stigma towards queer familial freedom in Japan. With introduction from Yi Wang from Queer East and a Queer Family-Friendly Knitting workshop to get you ready for a snuggly cotton-laden winter, this is a top pick for our seasonal hi-BEAR-nators.
LOVE HUB : LATIN AMERICANS LIVING WITH HIV IN ENGLAND
SAT NOV 13, 13:00 TO 14:00
TALK,FILM,Q+A, BASEMENT @ GLASS HOUSE, FREE
What’s it like to be living with HIV as a Latin American in England? Join film-maker Roberto Tovar as he showcases My Message To You – 5 short films (approx 30 mins) made in collaboration with Metro Charity and NAZ Project London. The films will be followed by a Q+A. This event will also be available live online via a private streaming link.
ALL BOYS AREN’T BLUE + BLACK GAY WRITERS PANEL
SAT NOV 13, 17:30
FILM,TALK, BASEMENT @ GLASS HOUSE, £7 / £0 CON
Based on the book of the same name, All Boys Aren’t Blue is a fitting translation creatively done, full of love joy, and nuance. The short film, which is directed, adapted, and produced by Nathan Hale Williams is a filmed dramatic reading of three chapters from the book. Jenifer Lewis (“Black-ish”), Dyllon Burnside (“Pose”), Bernard David Jones (“The Mayor”) and Thomas Hobson (“Sherman’s Showcase”) bring passion and pathos to writer George M. Johnson’s words in this dramatic reading of his book.
Each of the characters represent a Johnson at different stages of his life. The memoir is an autobiographical recounting of trails, tribulations and triumphs that have made George M. Johnson into the person they are today.
THIRST TRAP
SAT NOV 13, 22:00
PARTY, THE GLORY, £10
Dancefloor Saturdays are back at The Glory with the arrival of brand new night Thirst Trap!
Quench your desires every Saturday night with a rotating cast of scene stars, pop up performances and juicy DJ sets from all your favourites!
This week we indie disco connoisseur Mike Menace, partystarter princess Dorothy Perkins, operatic sensation Helen Noir and the most loveable Shiv, plus pop up shows by drag superstars Soroya Marchelle and Shakona
SUN NOV 14, 13:00
FILM, RIO CINEMA, £13.5 / £10.5 CON
Gemmel “Juelz” Moore and Timothy “Tim” Dean were 2 beautiful, brilliant Black gay men with full lives, loving communities, and future plans. Both of them lost their lives to drug overdoses at the house of Ed Buck, Democratic donor and powerful white gay man.
This delicate yet stirring documentary addresses an urgent issue in our queer communities with grace and the respect Gemmel and Tim’s lives deserved. Enlisting their friends and communities, this film pays tribute to the fullness of their individual paths, hopes, desires, and personalities.
The film also unflinchingly exposes the evil of white liberal homosexual and Democratic donor Ed Buck, and the failings of a legal system that allowed him to continue to attract and endanger men seeking fun and freedom. Getting at the heart of the questions posed during 2020’s uptick in the prevalence of the BLM chant, the film exposes the work to be done. A call to arms, for and by the queer community.
GEMMEL & TIM | dir. Michiel Thomas | USA 2021 | 77’
CLOSING NIGHT | NO STRAIGHT LINES: THE RISE OF QUEER COMICS
SUN NOV 14, 20:30
FILM, GENESIS CINEMA, £10.50 / £8, 5.50 CON
From Come Out Comix to Fun Home, via Dykes to Watch Out For and Brown Bomber & The Diva, cartoons come to life on screen through this celebration of LGBTQI+ comics, zines and graphic novels.
No Straight Lines profiles five pioneers of the queer comics scene from the 1970s onwards – Alison Bechdel, Howard Cruse, Jennifer Camper, Rupert Kinnard, and Mary Wings – who have used their work to discuss everything from the AIDS crisis and workplace discrimination to the search for love and a good haircut.
NO STRAIGHT LINES | dir. Vivian Kleiman | USA 2021 | 78
For the full program and how to book tickets
check https://www.fringefilmfest.com/fringe!-2021
For the full program and how to book tickets
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Labels: 2021, Fringe!, London. East End, Queer Fest
