London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival: a programmer's view

The London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival is 21 this year. Programmer Brian Robinson gives a personal view of how things have changed

But there remain fascinating insights into virtually unexplored territories in a film like ‘Coffee Date’, where a straight man feels like he’s falling in love with a gay man (and vice versa), or in ‘Tick Tock Lullaby’, where two lesbians fantasise about what it would be like to be promiscuous cruisey queens.

Films with transgender themes are increasingly part of our programme. This year is no exception: award-winning drama ‘A Soap’ features a relationship between a transwoman and her neighbour. In spite of ‘Transamerica’, there is a dearth of fiction that features trans characters. ‘Boy I Am’ is a powerful and controversial film which addresses the tensions and latent sexism involved in some of the assumptions of those involved in transitioning. A fascinating parallel is the femme movement where lesbian women are interested in focusing on a specifically femme identity, which is explored in the film ‘Female to Femme’.

The LLGFF is a broad and inclusive church that takes in the erotic, the discursive, the historical, the contemporary and the polemical alongside conventional narrative cinema and the boldly experimental. We believe it’s important for all our communities to see themselves up there on the screen. We have moved beyond the need for every representation to have to provide a positive role model. We want to encourage audiences to explore the richness and diversity of sexuality, to experience new ways of being and seeing. Discover the incredible diversity of the programme (and don’t get discouraged if you find a screening is sold out, you can sign up for a text messaging service for returns).

Take your pick from highlights such as ‘Rag Tag’ (a powerful debut featuring black British boys in love), the delightful experimental work of gay pioneer Jack Smith, the ’70s pornography of Peter de Rome, Alison Steadman in ‘Girl’ (a ground-breaking lesbian role from 1974) or postmodern feminist comedy ‘The Itty Bitty Titty Committee’.

Twenty-one years ago, we could never have imagined that our sexuality could get so complicated or so thrilling or so queer.

Brian Robinson was writing in a personal capacity as one of a team of programmers of the LLGFF and would like to thank his fellow programmers who represent a wide range of opinion. The LLGFF (www.llgff.org.uk) runs March 21-April 4.

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