RomânăRoaba de Cultură
Herăstrău
Wednesday, 11th of August, we are going to visualise a queer shortfilm marathon in the open-air, at Roaba de Cultură, at Pride Park. Display starts at 21:00 and ends at 2:00. The evening begins with a movie premiere: “I was night-walking when I say all of those colors”, directed by Bogdan Balla, with Paula Dunker and Istvan Teglas. The movie is inspired by Derek Jarman’s installation Section 28 and makes a comparison between recent history stories of the community and the present personal experiences, aiming to distil the distance between the silent realities of queer love and its hysterical public representation.
Coming up is a retrospective of ART200, the international queer film festival in Bucharest. ART200 set out in 2020, and through the movies, events and people involved, wishes to encourage self-presentation, collaboration and an intra-community approach to the problems we face as LGBTQIA+ people. In October 2020, the festival took course exclusively online, so this is the first time the Bucharest Pride shorts will be run offline, in a physical format. The selected shorts include themes such as: trans & non-binary experiences, sex work, mental health of queer people, polyamory and kink, queer movies made in Romania. The evening ends with a ShortsUP shortfilms selection which invites dialogue and addresses day-to-day problems, sometimes humourously, sometimes patiently and sensitively. ShortsUP is the cinematic project of the ORICUM Association, which created numerous public development programmes in the past 11 years, including programmes which support shortfilm industry and develop collaboration opportunities between artists and creative communities.
The event is organized with the support of the Accept Association at Bucharest Pride (6th-14th August 2021). This year’s theme is “Come Out. Speak Up.” In 2021 we celebrate 20 years since Article 200 has been repealed from the Penal Code, which incriminated homosexuality, and we take a look back to the evolution of our rights and community during these past 20 years, aiming to build together safe, inclusive future for each and every one of us. Together once again, building safe spaces where our identity is celebrated. Films from the ART200 selection: Hard, by Sasha Ihnatovich, Jasmina Mustafić (Slovenia, 6’). Shortfilm ”Naporno” represents an attempt of questioning the status quo of normative heterosexual pornography. Stray Dogs Come Out at Night, by Hamza Bangash (Pakistan, 11’). Karachi, Pakistan. Iqbal, a migrant sex worker cannot make peace with his illness. About-hair, by Josefina Lubojacki (Czech Republic, 19’). How do you feel about your hair? This is Right; Zak Life and After, by Gevi Dimitrakopoulou (Greece, 13’). A short narrative documentary about Zak’s murder aftermath, from his community’s perspective. Sauce, by Daniel Daniel (UK, 15’). Waiting in the car at the drive-through, a couple talks about what they want – from the menu and from one another. Laynie Needs a Light, by Jill Harrigan (USA, 9’). A woman enters an illicit bar to have one drink, but soon becomes a stranger’s terrifying love interest. Projecting, by Ariel Robbins, Cal Calamia (USA, 2’). A poetic and loving duet in a bathtub. Followed by queerness. Goodbye Rebecca & Eileen, by Sarah Hill (USA, 12’). The short presents a non-linear story exploring the moments before, during and after top surgery. Vergine Santa Frida, by Daniel Benchea (Romania, 17’). The portrait documentary Vergine Santa Frida explores the life and blooming career of the drag queen. RAMYA, by Raj-Alexandru Udrea, Alina Medoia, Bogdan Balla (Romania, 14’). Raj’s life becoming Ramya. Between work and the freedom of being at home, queer identity finds its own ways. Cerul va fi curând senin, by Ana-Maria Cioroianu, Nora Ugron, Alexandra Șerbenco (Romania, 10’). Two girls go out on a date in Bucharest. Suddenly, a passer-by’s remark triggers a traumatic memory for one of the girls. She tries to overcome it together with her lover. Alexa, by Diana Matilda Crișan, David Bularca, Mișa Dragomir, Mihai Bostan (Romania, 6’). The documentary attemps to explore the idea of community, of home, of visibility versus privacy, from the experiences and life stories of Alexa Valianatos, a trans woman living in Bucharest with her daughters. Patruped, by Cristian Frînculescu, Ilinca Oprea, Andrada Balmez (Romania, 6’). Two people seemingly typical meet up, become friends and relate to each other through similarities… or at least their legs do. Films from the ShortsUP selection: Long Distance (r. Anoop Lokkur, Australia) 7′. Aayushi, a young lesbian from India living in Australia receives a phonecall from her mother. The Name of the Son (r. Martina Matzkin, Argentine) 13′. Awarded at the Berlin International Film Festival, the argentinian shortfilm patiently captures the relationship between Lucho, a 13 year old trans boy, and his father. The Distance Between Us and the Sky (r. Vasilis Kekatos, Greece) 9′. Awarded at the Cannes International Film Festival, the greek shortfilm tells the story of two men’s closeness. God’s Daughter Dances (r. Sungbin Byun, South Korea) 24′. A transgender dancer is constrained to participate in the army recruiting process. The shortfilm won the Audience Award at this year’s edition at the Clermont-Ferrand International Shortfilm Festival. Revolvo (r. Francy Fabritz, Germany) 8′. What seems to be an elegant walk of two elderly lesbians, proves to be completely something else. Tracing Utopia (r. Catarina de Sousa și Nick Tyson, Portugal/USA) 27′. Tracing Utopia is a documentary into the dreams of a queer teens group based in New York who dream of a better world.