Managing to overcome all odds Side by Side LGBT Film Festival, Russia is already into its 5th year of existence and in Saint Petersburg, October, 2012 we will be celebrating this landmark achievement.
The fourth Side by Side LGBT Film Festival, which ran from the 21 – 30 October, 2011, was a major success on many fronts being held at various centrally located venues across the city. Throughout the ten days of festival events were highly attended and in the region of over 2000 people cam...
Short Films, Long Amazement – at the 27th Hamburg International Short Film Festival The first films shown to amazed audiences on fairs and during vaudeville shows all had one thing in common: They were short. Likewise, many early attempts at film making, in which directors develop concepts and ideas for future features, are quite often rather short as well. Even though the short film started because of technical limitations, it is now offering impressive opportunities: There is hardly any othe...
Russia’s only lesbian and gay film festival Side by Side is preparing for the fourth annual October festival in Saint Petersburg. The third Side by Side LGBT Film Festival, which ran from the 15 – 23 October, 2011, was a complete success being held for the very first time freely and openly at various mainstream venues across the city. Events throughout the week were highly attended and on most occasions demand exceeded the availability of seating there being standing room only. In the regi...
Russia’s only Lesbian and Gay film festival Side by Side kicked off at 19.30 on 15 October 2010 at cinema multiplex Varshavsky Express in St. Petersburg.The packed house and festive atmosphere in the cinema hall was both a joy and a surprise for the participants and organizers of Russia’s first and only LGBT film festival. As Manny de Guerre, festival founder, noted for the first time in three years since the founding of the festival this was the most the most celebratory-like opening of the...
Side by Side LGBT Film Festival, Russia gains backing of Pedro Almodovar, Gus Van Sant and Ken Loach. Side by Side LGBT International Film Festival which will be held from 15 – 23 October, 2010 in Saint Petersburg, Russia has garnered the support of key figures from world cinema including Spanish director Pedro Almodovar, American director Gus Van Sant and British filmmaker Ken Loach. Underlining the festivals significance Ken Loach noted its importance in its contribution to the fight again...
Side by Side Lesbian and Gay Film Festival Tests Saint Petersburg’s Tolerance Level for the Third Year Running. Russia’s only lesbian and gay film festival, Side by Side, is gearing up for its third season of films and discussions set to take place in the city of Saint Petersburg from the 15 – 23 October, 2010. Over the course of the nine festival days the Saint Petersburg audience will have the opportunity to see in the region of 40 films from all corners of the globe. The 2010 competit...
Lesbian and Gay Film Festival Side by Side Shown the Door in North Russian Capital Archangel. Side by Side LGBT International Film Festival has been stopped from holding a regional film festival in the North Russian Capital Archangel several days prior to its start. The festival was planned to take place from 7 – 11 July, 2010 at various independent establishments across the city: Hotel “Pur-Navolok”, Club “Koleso” and Café “USSR”.The city and regional administration were informed...
The Fight Goes On.
Saint Petersburg LGBT Film Festival Side by Side assesses the Siberian leg of their 2010 tour of the Russian Federation.
In Novosibirsk the festival, running from the 15 - 18 April, visitors had the chance to see the best LGBT films from the 2009 Saint Petersburg programme, debate on topics related to homophobia, the rights of LGBT people in Russia and become acquainted with Lida Mikhailova's photo exhibition "Coming out of the Closet....
Side by Side LGBT International Film Festival receives prize from the Teddy Award Foundation at this years 60th Berlin International Film Festival.
The Teddy Award Foundation has awarded Russia's first annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) film festival Side by Side a monetary prize of 2000 Euros. The prize was awarded on the opening evening of the 24th Teddy Award by Klaus Mabel Aschenneller director of the Teddy Award Foundation in recognition of Side by Side'...
Third Side by Side LGBT International Film Festival Accepting Submissions from 11th January – 30th June, 2010
The third annual Side by Side LGBT International Film Festival, scheduled for the autumn between the 15 – 22 October, 2010, is currently accepting film and video submissions. The festival is looking for work of all genres, lengths and formats, including dramatic, documentary and experimental works, by, about and of interest to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transg...
Berlinale’s Queer Teddy: Interview with Wieland Speck, Director of the Panorama section and the Teddy AwardsAmong the major film festivals the Berlinale, Berlin’s International Film Festival stands out as the first with an official award, the TEDDY, for the best lesbian, gay, bi- and transsexual films, an award which has been granted for the last twenty years. The Venice Film Festival had for two years now the QUEER LION for the best LGBT feature film. The number of LGBT films screened at ...
Although there is a clearly defined international circuit of gay and lesbian film festivals around the world (totalling more than 70 different events), the “queen of the crop” definitely remains the Teddy Award, which is given to LGBT films premiering at the Berlinale. The gay Oscar is not only a prize to be coveted but also is accompanied with one of Berlin’s hottest ticket parties, held last evening.
Tihe eight members of the international jury are all organizers of gay fi...
Looking back over 30 years of Panorama Wieland Speck talks about interconnections between the films and their socio-political contexts: “We look in this treasure chest and are happy to discover that none of the themes we tackled then have lost their relevance today.” Alongside current feature and documentary films, this year’s programme includes historical Panorama films as well as all ten previous winners of the Panorama Audience Award. The consequences of globalisation are explored from ...
Wednesday, June 25-------Jerry Rudes is a man on a mission. For the past quarter century, he has lived with one foot in New York and the other in the lovely Provence city of Avignon, France. Reflecting his own dual domiciles, he founded the Avignon Film Festival in 1984 as a “transatlantic crossroads of independent cinema”. When asked to comment on his original inspiration for founding the event, Rudes told of a memorable encounter with filmmaker Agnès Varda. “When I first went to Cannes ...
The Athens 2nd International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival is heading into its second year and it has picked up along the way a new name for itself, OUTVIEW. After its first successful year the Athens international Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, or should we say OUTVIEW, returns bigger on the 23rd of May – 27th of May with even more critically acclaimed films and we are most proud to announce our special guest of honour, the director of the Panorama Section of Berlinale, Wieland Speck.Wieland Spec...
Twelve years of tradition and experimentation, ranging from the classic to the post-modern, from the lessons of great maestros to the innovations of their students: a journey through images to discover the most hidden corners of melodrama, from cross-over to tributes. Schermi d’Amore is, above all, an unrepeatable opportunity to learn more about the most original aspects of romantic cinema; a festival which has always been able to bring forgotten films back into our lives, put the spotlight on...
NEWFEST KICKS OFF GAY PRIDE MONTHJune is, among other things, Gay Pride Month, a time for the gay and lesbian communities around the US to celebrate their hard-won rights and freedoms. Celebrations range from street fairs to parades to fashion shows and music concerts. And film festivals. In June alone, gay and lesbian film festivals will be held in such gay strongholds as New York, Provincetown and San Francisco. In the coming months, more than 40 such events will be held around the US. These f...
PHILADELPHIA FILM FESTIVAL SETS NEW RECORD OF 65,000 ATTENDANCE AND 90 SELL-OUTS The 2005 Philadelphia Film Festival ended its 14-day celebration of cinema by posting an attendance record of 65,101, beating last year’s record of 61,000. Of the 300 screenings the Festival held from April 7-20, a record 90 sold out, and 20 films drew an audience of over 600.At its Closing Night on April 20, the Festival announced Jury Prizes and Audience Awards. Leading the list of winners were the feature fil...
