British Council and BFI announce their film selection from London LGBT Film Festival BFI Flare.
The British Council, the UK’s international organisation for cultural and educational opportunities, and the British Film Institute (BFI) have announced the five short films selected from BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival. They will be made available online and completely free of charge on March 17 for audiences across the world as part of this year’s fiveFilms4freedom, an online film festival which celebrates love and diversity.
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.
This Thursday, March 17, fiveFilms4freedom will become a 24-hour campaign asking people everywhere to watch a film together over the course of one single day. This will be 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.
From travelling communities to Easter bonnets and 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. They are polished, rough, funny, sad and inspiring and each has a different voice.
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 who 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.
Alan Gemmell, Director fiveFilms4freedom, British Council, said: “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.”
The five films will be available to watch online on March 17 on both the British Council website and BFI player.
To view online, click here:
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