The renowned American filmmakers Todd Haynes and Tom Kalin present their work at the 12th edition of the Mezipatra Queer Film Festival in Prague, Czech Republic. Tom Kalin presides over the International jury of the festival, which is one of the largest queer film festivals in Europe, and Todd Haynes will give a public masterclass.

The festival opens with Todd Haynes ‘ cult classic Velvet Goldmine, and the following films will be presented by him in person: Poison, Safe and Far from Heaven. Haynes’s Poison (1991) and Kalin’s Swoon (1992) were one of the groundbreaking films of the genre dubbed by critics “New Queer Cinema.” Todd Haynes is one of the most interesting contemporary American directors. A semiotics graduate, screenwriter, and director, he is very innovative in his handling of film narrative. He reconstructs pop idols in a postmodern way and draws inspiration from feminist heroines, all in a visually beautiful, and yet experimental form, not to mention cast with famous actors.

Tom Kalin’s award winning, critically acclaimed work has been screened throughout the world. His films and videos are in the permanent collection of the Whitney Museum, the Centre Georges Pompidou and MoMA. As a producer his films include I Shot Andy Warhol and Go Fish. He is a 2011 Guggenheim Fellow. Tom Kalin will present both Swoon, which was named one of the top 100 American Independent films by the British Film Institute and Savage Grace as well as a collection of videos called The Third Known Nest.

Todd Haynes will aslo give a masterclass. The masterclass is hosted by FAMU / MIDPOINT and moderated by Variety ’s film critic Boyd Van Hoeij. The entire presentation, which takes place on 12th November from 2:30 PM, will be streamed live at www.mezipatra.cz.

Mezipatra is a Czech specialized film festival screening films with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender themes. The name Mezipatra in Czech means "mezzanine", i.e. the space between individual floors: a symbolic space for meeting of all kinds of people, regardless of their particularities. The festival is hld annualy since 2000 and has attracted over 85000 visitors. The 12th edition takes place from 2-8 November in Brno, 10-16 November in Prague and a selection of the program tours three other cities in the Czech Reublic. The festival screes 83 films in three competitive categories and