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ABSTRACT
Many LGBTQ film festivals have transformed from bottom-up, community-driven events into established, profitable organizations. For some, this change has implied downplaying their activist agenda in favor of a celebratory and homonormative approach. This article demonstrates how BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival, a long-running European LGBTQ film festival, has dealt with the turn to homonormativity. Reporting on a qualitative study on the role of programmers and the actual program during BFI Flare’s 30th edition, this article argues that BFI Flare employs programming strategies that are moderately queer. These strategies are used to produce a festival that is both politically engaging and commercially viable, curating a program that is considered as inclusive as possible, attractive to large and heterogeneous audiences, and as striking a balance between celebrating LGBTQ (film) culture and engendering social and political change.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes
1. “LGBTQ” is used as an umbrella term. It encompasses anyone who is identified and/or self-identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans*, or queer.
2. Ng (Citation2013), for instance, discussed the gaystreaming practices of Logo, a US television network launched to provide content for LGBT audiences. Rebranding their network programming strategies to draw in larger audiences, the network started investing in programming content with a gay sensibility, though not necessarily focused on LGBTQ issues. With gay men and heterosexual women as the target audience, the network programs content that celebrates a consumption culture and lifestyle.
3. I refer to entzaubert, Leeds Queer Film Festival, or Wotever DIY Film Festival, to name a few festivals that operate outside of a creative industry logic.
4. This brief history is based on information retrieved from the program brochures of all prior editions of the festival, which were consulted at the BFI Reuben Library.
5. BFI Flare was not the only LGBTQ film festival to change its name. Various established LGBTQ film festivals decided to remove identity markers from their name. For instance, CGLFF-Copenhagen Gay & Lesbian Film Festival changed its name to MIX Copenhagen in 2010, and Skeive Filmer (Norwegian for Queer Films) became Oslo/Fusion International Film Festival in 2015. Using metaphors rather than identity markers allows many persons with non-normative gender and sexual identities to feel acknowledged by festivals that aim to be inclusive and represent them (Dhaenens, Citation2018b). However, it is crucial to look into the content of these festivals to see whether the symbolic turn to inclusivity by using a new name is more an act of window dressing or a profound investment in programming diversity.
6. Despite not being the focus of this article, I want to highlight that various scholars who wrote about LGBTQ festivals have discussed programming practices that can be understood as moderately queer. For instance, Zielinksi (Citation2008) explored how various taste cultures come together in LGBTQ film festivals aimed at addressing their various audiences, including cinephiles interested in films by established queer auteurs and non-cinephiles who choose films based on topic (e.g., coming out) rather than for their artistic or cinematic values.
7. I decided to focus on the festival’s feature films. Even though the festival offers a broad range of short film programs, feature films remain the most emphasized and popular format of BFI Flare.
8. This does not imply that the characters in these features self-identify as such. However, it is the most likely interpretation of the main characters and/or themes.
9. LGBTQ film festivals seem to make use of divergent criteria to assess a film’s cinematic and artistic qualities, such as high production values, professional acting, or an innovative or creative approach to filmmaking (Dhaenens, Citation2018b).