[title]
The UK’s biggest LGBTQ+ film festival, BFI Flare, is almost here – and it’s marking its 40th birthday in typically exuberant style. Kicking off on March 18, it’ll be delivering premieres, documentaries, shorts, parties, DJ nights, and screen talks to audiences in London and, in some case, across the country. There’s even a special exhibition, 40 Years of BFI Flare, at Queer Britain to tie a ribbon on it all. ‘We'll be looking back at Flare’s history and we're ready to celebrate,’ says BFI Flare programmer Grace Barber-Plentie.
With tickets on sale and still available to festival goers, we asked Barber-Plentie to pick a few highlights from a programme that boasts 65 feature films and 62 shorts. Here’s what she’s recommending.
NB: Last-minute tickets to sold-out screenings are often available during the festival. Check the BFI Flare website after 11am during the festival to see newly-released tickets, or join the standby queue at BFI Southbank 30 minutes before screenings.
Don't Come Out
This is a really fun Dominican horror film centred around an entity that’s targeting queer people. It’s an homage to old horror films: it‘s very gory and has a political element to it. We had director Victoria Linares Villegas’s debut feature, It Runs in the Family, at Flare a couple of years ago and her second feature, Romana, was at the London Film Festival. We’ve really celebrated her career over the years.
5.50pm, Thu Mar 19
8.45pm, Fri Mar 20
The Serpent’s Skin
‘We have a couple of horror and horror-coded films this year, including this very fun one from Australian director, Alice Maio MacKay. If you're into Buffy or Charmed, it's a very witchy, vampire-y kind of film that plays with that ’90s and early 2000s vibe. It’s really fun. Along with Vera Drew and Louise Weard, MacKay is part of a new scene of trans femme filmmakers doing things on their own terms. It's like very DIY and punk.’
6.10pm, Sat Mar 21
6.30pm, Sun Mar 22
Washed Up
‘We’ve got the world premiere of this really great British film by Isabel Daly. It’s in the magical realism realm – we've got quite a lot of magic realist stuff in the festival this year – and it's a Cornish coming-of-age romcom about a girl who falls in love with a Selkie. It's like Bait meets Splash. A really sweet, quirky romance.’
8.50pm, Wed Mar 25
12.45pm, Sat Mar 28
Bearcave
‘This is about two best friends who grow up in a small Greek village. One of them is in a traditional heterosexual relationship – she's found out she's pregnant and is moving to the city with her boyfriend. The pair are reflecting on the time they've spent together, and you start to realise that maybe they're meant to be together. It's a bit experimental and arthouse, and really moving. You think it's one thing, then it gradually reveals itself to be something else. It’s a gorgeous film.’
5.50pm, Tue Mar 24
8.20pm, Wed Mar 25
Out Laws
‘This documentary is about three queer people – from Sri Lanka, Barbados and Namibia – who end up in the UK because of the stigma around queer people in their countries. It's a history lesson about colonialism, but also a beautiful portrait of three people who come together in London for Pride. It sounds a bit heavy, but it's a really celebratory film that shows what the queer community does best: to support and uplift each other.’
5.50pm, Mon Mar 23
10.30am, Sat Mar 28
What Will I Become?
‘Addressing trans youth suicide in the US, this documentary uses a lot of home footage to look at the lives of two young trans male teenagers. It's obviously a very heavy subject, but hopefully this will be a screening where people are able to be vulnerable and open and share [their experiences]. One of the filmmakers is a suicide survivor, so it's a really personal film.’
8.45pm, Tue Mar 24
6.25pm, Wed Mar 25
To Dance is to Resist
‘This documentary, about a couple that are dancers in Ukraine, was filmed between 2022 and 2025. Obviously, the situation there is awful, but what's really beautiful about this film is that it shows people continuing to live their lives – a form of resistance in itself. Gay marriage isn't legally recognised in the Ukraine, so while they’re openly living together in a relationship, they're not legally recognised. It's an eye-opening and important film.’
8.30pm, Thu Mar 26
6.15pm, Sat Mar 28
Ìfé: (The Sequel)
‘The first lesbian film from Nigeria, Ìfé was a short film that ignited a lot of conversations about African queerness in 2020. This sequel takes place a few years later with its two characters happily in relationships. But then a chance encounter reignites their relationship: did they make the right choice? Are they drawn to each other? It's messy but really romantic.’
8.40pm, Mon Mar 23
3pm, Tue Mar 24
Pink Narcissus (1971)
‘We’re screening a new restoration of this queer cinema classic at the BFI Southbank and across the UK. It's experimental, one-of-a-kind and striking, a very visually-driven film. It's about a hustler in his apartment, and it's about his daydreams and fantasies. It's very influential in queer cinema.’
3.20pm, Thu Mar 19
Madfabulous
‘If Bridgerton fans are hungering for a period drama with a twist, this is the thing to see. It's based on a true story about the Marquess of Anglesey, played by It's a Sin’s Callum Scott Howells. He’s this larger-than-life heir who leaves his debauched life in Paris to shake things up in Anglesey. It's got a really amazing cast, with Rupert Everett and Siobhán McSweeney. It’s very big and luscious.’
6pm, Wed Mar 25
3.05pm, Thu Mar 26
BFI Flare runs March 18-29. Head to the official site for full programme info and to book tickets.
The 60 greatest LGBTQ+ films of all time.
Find out where BFI Southbank lands on our list of the 100 best cinemas in the world.