Brian Butler looks at the upcoming 9th Fringe Festival in East London covering all things film and queer and finds plenty to be cheerful about.
A provocative and political programme of film screenings, workshops, panels and parties is promised across a range of venues in East London this month. Started as a not-for-profit response to arts funding cuts , the festival is dedicated to showing the best in queer film-making from basic to high-budget.
The works of 141 film makers will be on show – 60 per cent of them female, trans or non-binary.
It opens with the UK premiere of Wig – a film charting the history of iconic NYC drag festival Wigstock.
A major theme will be hidden queer histories. Scream ,Queen: My Nightmare in Elm Street shows the collapse of the actor Mark Payton’s career following the release of the Elm Street film.
Since 2011, Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest has been an entirely volunteer-run organisation rooted in London’s queer creative scene. In Novembers, and throughout the year, they showcase an eclectic mix of films, arts and events celebrating LGBTIQA+ stories from around the world, welcoming everybody. Other highlights of this years festival include;
The Cancer Journals Revisited reveals the words of black lesbian poet and breast cancer survivor Audre Lorde , and Two Decades of Dyke Shorts does what it says on the tin .
Unsettled and Seeking Refuge in America follows four LGBTQ+ asylum seekers arriving in San Francisco.
Another highlight is an afternoon with the self-styled drag terrorist Ms Vaginal Davis.
Panels on queer science fiction and drag queen story time for kids and families are also being staged, along with events about the social history of poppers.
From feature films to experimental installations, workshops and lively debates to wild parties, Fringe! hosts a multitude of diverse events to tickle every one of the senses. You’ll see them flooding East London’s cinemas, art galleries, pop-up venues and basement clubs with the powerful, provocative and strange.
The festival runs from 12 -17 November at various East London venues.
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