As the BFI Flare gears up for its launch later this month, festival programmer Zorian Clayton highlights the best documentaries from the 2019 programme.
One of the largest and most significant celebrations of queer cinema in Europe, the 33rd edition of acclaimed LGBTQ film festival BFI Flare, returns to the Southbank from March 21 to March 31 this year.
Featuring a powerful, thought-provoking and eclectic mix of features, shorts, discussions, talks, workshops and club nights, this year’s festival reflects on themes of sex, identity, politics and community. With more than 50 full-length features and 80 shorts by filmmakers from across the globe, we spoke to festival programmer Zorian Clayton, to help shortlist a selection of essential docs from this year’s programme.
Leitis In Waiting
“The Leitis, like in many parts of the Pacific Islands and across Asia, have a historic third gender – one that occupies a space close to trans and non-binary identities. Because it’s an island that largely avoided colonisation, they managed to retain a more inclusive understanding of gender. Homophobia and transphobia are being brought to these Polynesian islands now with the arrival of western culture, and people who have been accepted for many, many centuries are under threat. It’s a unique insight into how precarious these traditions can be, but it also offers a potential look at how our thinking about gender could change for the better.”
Full film list HERE.