Date
Friday 30 September 2022 to Sunday 09 October 2022

Tribute to British queer cinema at the 28th Athens International Film Festival Opening Nights

This autumn we are joining forces once again with the Athens International Film Festival Opening Nights for a unique tribute to British queer cinema, with screenings of eight iconic British films worth discovering or re-evaluating.

This year marks 50 years since the first Pride parade was organised in the UK. This was the first actual march by members of the LGBTQI+ community in a hostile environment, only five years after homosexuality had been decriminalised.

It’s also been over 60 years since the controversial premiere of Victim in UK cinemas. Directed by accomplished filmmaker Basil Dearden and featuring Dirk Bogarde in the leading role, it was the first film to openly – considering the timing – address the issue of homosexuality.

In a country where homosexuality was fiercely prosecuted as a criminal offence, it’s no wonder that the ‘queer’ revolution took so long to take off. Once that happened, however, the UK cinema scene vigorously embraced diversity and sexual identity, producing along the way a number of compelling films which not only broke down taboos and bravely captured the – until then hidden – lives of a sizeable portion of the population forced to stay on the fringes, but more importantly, they paved the way for free expression for a multitude of exceptional gay artists such as Derek Jarman and Terence Davies.

In collaboration with the 28th Athens International Film Festival Opening Nights, we have created this special tribute with a selection of films that have become milestones in the history of the LGBTQI+ community, as well as in terms of emancipation and the assertion of human rights.

Screenings

The films in the Queer Britannia tribute are:

Information

For further information on the films and the screenings please visit www.aiff.gr and www.cinemagazine.gr.

Share this