LGBT Film Festival

LGBT Film Festival

LGBT Film Festival

The Lesbian Gay By and Transgender film festival started 17 years ago and takes place every year in the cinema museum of Thessaloniki, in the port.

In fact, the LGBT film festival was born in 1999 and created by the association A- Sympraxi (partnership for gender issues).

A-Sympraxi is an assocation which deals with homophobia and gay issues around employment.

 

The LGBT lasts 3 days from Friday 25th to Sunday 27th October. Long and short films are screening in the nightime.

 

As volunteers for United Society of Balkans, we went there on Friday night and seized the oppportunity of interview Nikos Hatzitrifon, who is the director of the festival.

 

Can you introduce yourself and tell us more about this festival ? 

 

His name is Nikos Hatzitrifon, he works at Hellenic Ministry of Culture, and organises some daily conferences around several subjects such as feminism, how to deal with homophobia and around the difficulties gay people are confronted to in the employment world.

He also presents one book of congress about same sex partners and another one about homosexuality in cinema.

 

The goal of LBGT film festival and all the congress he leads is to provide a social approach and act around the project of discuss about several topics such as homophobia and daily issues that gays and lesbians are passing through at work and in any ways. The organisation is a non institutional education.

Their target is to get knowledge and new ideas about how to fight discrimination against gay people. Build on these solutions to solve also other problems.

 

How is the festival going this year and what could be improved ?

 

The best improvment would be to add more people. Indeed, 500 people are expected, but the reality is that cinema has been decreasing of 10 % per year, for the last 5 years.

 

We can easily explain it by the current economical crisis which has been affecting a lot Greece, but also by the expension of download movies. Otherwise, the festival is going well. All the staff are volunteers here, exept the printers of the programs. « We would like to have more people to help with knoledge about cinema. », Nikos Hatzitrifon said. Indeed, more people well-skilled in cinema are expected,espacially those who has knowledge about the technical aspect.

 

However, the positive part this year is definitely the number of the movies provided, which are thousands of films to watch. They have to admit that it has been hard to choose and pick only 35 of them to be screened, according to the director.

Basically, the purpose has to be different, the film has to give a message, has to mean and say something to the watchers

 

Actually, the point would be to give them something to discuss about.

Anyway, even if they have been busy and run a lot, the increase of choices is still a big improvement and they can be proud of people's involvment.

 

On another hand, they are always looking for something innovative.

« We are never satisfied ».

 

Luckily, 85 countries applied, and extented the internationalisation of the LGBT film festival. In fact, the more diversified of cultures and origins the movies are, the more it gets orientated to social issues and enable us to analyse the psychological relations between the people and the different point of views. Moreover, they're looking for countries who have already solved some problem, in order to bring solutions and hope !

 

One last question, how do you fight homophobia in daily life ?

 

The organisation is obviously against violence, so they use discussion and speeches as the best means to fight sexual discrimination. « We are good at discussion ».

Small conferences are set up and they work in partnership with other organisation in Thessaloniki pride and lesbian associations.

 

 

To be continued...

 

 

 

Article written by Esther Mastrodicasa

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