IDFA: lots of documentaries with an LGBTQ theme

View the overview here:

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) presents an exceptionally rich selection of documentary films and projects with an LGBTQ theme this year. Below is the list of titles.

Four films from this list will be screened at IDFA’s Queer Day, which returns to Eye this year. Which films they are, has yet to be announced.

The 34th edition of IDFA takes place from 17 to 28 November with screenings in cinemas and festival venues throughout Amsterdam, including Pathé Tuschinski and Eye.

Some 250 films and projects will be screened, including world premieres, the best of international festivals, new films by well-known documentary filmmakers, an overview of new work by Dutch directors, and immersive new media projects.

The complete list of documentaries can be found on the IDFA website. You can also buy your tickets there. Below is an overview of the films with an LGBTQ theme as a central theme.

God Has Aids (Gustavo Vinagre and Fabio lLeal, Brazil 2021)
Forty years after the outbreak of the AIDS epidemic, seven artists and an activist doctor give a new perspective on the difficult acceptance of seropositive people in Brazil.
Flee (Jonas Poher Rasmussen, Denmark/Sweden/Norway/France 2021)
Flee is a largely animated story of the gay Amin, who fled from Afghanistan in the 1980s. The film shows the harsh conditions and the lasting marks left by life as a second-class citizen.

The Beach of Enchaquirados (Ivan Mora Manzano, Ecuador 2021) world premiere
Vicky is a fisherman in a small village in Ecuador. Her story is used to paint a picture of the acceptance of the local trans community.
Gangnam Beauty (Yan Tomaszewski, France 2020) world premiere – short film
England’s Oli London spent a fortune on plastic surgery to become the spitting image of Korean pop star Jimin. Gangnam Beauty is a beautiful mix of documentary and theater about idolatry, in which Oli also plays a part in the portrayal of a Korean myth.

[Posthuman Wombs] (Anna Fries and Malu Peeters, Netherlands/Germany/Switzerland 2021) world premiere
[Posthuman Wombs] is an interactive artwork in which the visitor sees a world in which any body can become pregnant. The work explores non-normative pregnant bodies, aiming to reshape the predominant image of pregnancy: the eternally smiling pregnant cis-woman.
Two-spirit (Mónica Taboada-Tapia, Colombia 2021) world premiere – short film
“All I have is love” is Georgina’s response to the hostility that comes to her, as a transgender woman in a small indigenous community in Colombia.

Travesti Odyssey (Nicolás Videla, Chile/Argentina 2021)
The last performance of the equally entertaining and activist travesty show Cabaret Travesía Travesti coincided with the Chilean uprising of October 2019. Why did the colorful troupe, which included filmmaker Nicolás Videla himself, stop?
Gabi, between ages 8 and 13 (Engeli Broberg, Sweden 2021)
Gabi, a Swedish-British girl, just wants to be herself, not a girl but not a typical boy either. But that’s quite difficult when your environment – and ultimately your body – wants to push you in a certain direction.

Seek Bromance (Samira Elagoz and Samira Elagoz, Dutch/Finland 2021)
This road movie shows the destructive romance between two transgendered individuals, across the desolate desert between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, showing the dynamics between masculinity and femininity.
Close to You (Cássio Kelm, Brazil 2021) short film
At the beginning of the corona pandemic, a young transgender filmmaker ends up in his father’s apartment. The subtle film tells a layered story of personal transition, unspoken tenderness and Brazilian politics.

Ultraviolet and the Blood-Spitters Gang (Robin Hunzinger, France 2021) world premiere
From the fiery letters Marcelle wrote to her childhood sweetheart from the sanatorium during the interwar period emerges an image of a rebellious young woman who was far ahead of her time and went her own way with a group of like-minded people.
The Last Chapter (Gianluca Matarrese, Italy, France 2021)
In The Last Chapter the filmmaker portrays, without embarrassment and with the utmost love, his older lover and bdsm master Bernard, who is at the beginning of his final stage of life. Ahead of moving into a new apartment, he looks back on an eventful life.

The End of Wonderland (Laurence Turcotte-Fraser, Canada 2021) world premiere
Porn star Tara Emory has been working on her “trans sci-fi porn epic” Up Uranus for years, with barely any money and great design – like everything else in her life. The End of Wonderland is a gentle portrait of an intriguing transgender artist, car repairman and hoarder.

Nitrate Kisses (Barbara Hammer, United States 1992)
Nitrate Kisses is a dazzling historical documentary essay by Barbara Hammer, pioneer of lesbian experimental cinema, about hidden image histories and the importance of being seen.