All events are free of charge and all films have both Turkish and English subtitles.
TALK: QUEERATION: QUEER PROGRAMMERS TALK
15:00, Kıraathane Edebiyat Evi
How are the programs for queer festivals organized? What is given priority during the selection process? What sensitivities are taken into consideration? Queer festival programmers will talk about how festivals are organized in Europe and share their experiences on the organizing process. Esra Özban (QueerFest) will moderate the talk. The participants include Ricke Mericke(Queer Lisboa), Theresa Heath-Ellul (Wotever DIY Film Festival), Muffin Hix (Fringe! Queer Arts Festival) and Andrea Coloma (Mix Copenhagen).
FORUM: QUEER FILMMAKERS ON BOARD
17:45, Kıraathane Edebiyat Evi
This forum will bring together the directors and their teams with queer filmmakers, after the screening Shorts from Turkey, to discuss issues on the conditions and challenges of film production, screening and distribution in Turkey. We invite all those who make or want to make queer cinema in Turkey to this forum.
TODAYS SCREENINGS
Tasarım Atölyesi Kadıköy
13:00 – Intersex, which attracted a lot of attention at Queer Lisboa, is an activism film telling the story of Vincent Guillot who after discovering themself to be intersex tries to meet with other intersex people. In the documentary, an illustrator, Ins A. Kromminga joins Vincent’s journey and the couple tell a story through personal experiences, feelings, narratives and Ins’s anime works. The film also witnesses the wedding of Vincent and their girlfriend, bringing together the intersex community. After the screening of the film on January 27th at the Tasarım Atölyesi Kadıköy, Vincent Guillot, Ins A Kromminga and the activist Şerife Yurtseven will come together for the panel “X: Transnational Intersex Activism” at Kıraathane Istanbul Edebiyat Evi.
15:00 – Terror Nullius takes its name from the phrase terra nullius which means “land without an owner”. The film is a noteworthy example of a successful queer mashup film both due to its content and style. Filmed in Sydney in 2002 and produced by a two-person art collective Soda Jerk, which produces works at the intersection of documentary and speculative fiction genres. Terror Nulliusde constructs Australian cinema through its story taking place on the set of the production of “Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior”. The film is an eye opening criticism of colonialism and patriarchy.
16:30 – Jason Baker is a trans director who had been a programmer for BFI Flare and had their short films screened in many festivals. A Deal with the Universe, Baker’s first feature film, is an autobiographical work comprised of Baker’s personal archives. The documentary premiered at BFI Flare and is a special work that delivers the story of how Jason became a parent through intimate and personal questioning. The film takes the viewer through debates on gender and new parenting.
18:00 – Introducing the history of cinema from the past to the present day, Pink Life QueerFest brings together queer productions and the festival audience by hosting the film Tongues Untied, 1989 in the ‘cULT’ section as we celebrate the festivals 30th anniversary this year. The film, which will be shown in its restored copy, is one of the most important examples of the performative documentary genre. Tongues Untied has a very special place in film history for its work in opening space for black, gay and HIV positive people to talk on their own behalf. Farsi subtitles by the renowned academic and translator, Fahri Öz, will be available for the film.
Kıraathane Istanbul Edebiyat Evi
13:00 – Theresa Health, founder of Wotever DIY Film Festival, shares the selection of shorts at the intersection of queerness and Dis/ability with the title An Unashamed Claim to Beauty: Short Films at the Intersection of Queerness and Dis/ability.
15:00 – Mix Copenhagen Nordic Lights Short Selection by Mix Copenhagen LGBT Film Festival is prepared for this year’s QueerFest and features themes of body and prejudice.
16:30 – Queer Shorts from Turkey
18:00 – This year for Queer Series section, Mixed Messages, 2017 will be screened. The mini-series depicting a lesbian Londoner’s dating adventures in Berlin’s queer environments conveys the unsuccessful and sometimes unfortunate experiences of its hero who eventually realizes that they are looking for love in the wrong places.
Fransız Kültür Merkezi
13:00 – London based “Fringe! Queer Arts Festival” prepared the section entitled Fringe! Shorts Selection: You came in Like a Wrecking Ball. The section features innovative productions that explore the boundaries of cinematic expression.
15:00 – Corpo Electrico is an award-winning production and a highlight of Brazilian queer cinema. The realist film, which collected awards at various festivals including Queer Lisboa, portrays the story of a group of young people in their daily lives as they work in a textile factory. In the film, Elias starts working in a textile factory in São Paulo. As the workload increases with the upcoming holiday season, Elias begins to enter new social circles and encounters new emotions and experiences.
16:30 – Rafiki is another exciting new production to greet the audience in the Under the Rainbow section of the festival. Rafiki was premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. It tells the story of two young women whose friendship turns into love, amidst the political differences of their families. The film was banned in Kenya, its country of production on the premises that it promoted homosexuality.
Boysan’ın Evi
20:00 – Closing Film: Bixa Travesty won the TEDDY Best Documentary Award at the Berlin Film Festival. Witness the striking personality and dizzying world of Linn da Quebrada, a black trans performer and activist from the favelas of São Paulo. We recommend you not to miss the opportunity to meet with Quebrada who describes themself as a “gender terrorist”. Quebrada uses art and nudity as a radical tool to rebel against the heteronormative order.