A film festival aimed at bringing the LGBT+ community together will take place in Kirkcaldy this weekend, 10th to 12th March.
The inaugural Fife LGBT+ Film Festival will feature musicals, classics, romance and documentaries when it airs at The Hive, with screenings completely free to attend and is organised by Pink Saltire.
The festival received funding from The National Lottery’s ‘Awards for All’ funding programme and will feature 3 days of films for community members and allies to enjoy.
Friday 10th kicks off the weekend festival with the 2020 feature ‘And Then We Danced’ at 1pm, followed by ‘Are You Proud’ (2019) at 3.30pm and the hit British gay romance ‘God’s Own Country’ (2017) at 6pm.
Saturday is packed with sing-a-long hit musicals Hairspray at 1pm, the ABBA-inspired Mamma Mia at 3.30pm and the classic West End hit Cabaret (1972) at 6pm.
There’s a more relaxed feel to the programme on Sunday, with documentaries exploring identity, sexuality and bullying, with Olly Alexander’s ‘Growing up Gay’ at 1pm, ‘Lily: A Transgender Story’ at 3.30pm and Tom Daley’s ‘Illegal To Be Me’ from 6pm, as well as a peppering of charity short films made in Scotland.
Festival Producer, Jaxon McCallum (26), told us:
“I wanted to get involved in this project as I just have a real love for films, especially those which are LGBT+ related. When Pink Saltire talked about this as a possibility I thought it was an amazing opportunity to get involved right at the start and see where it can grow to.”
“There are a few queer film festivals in Scotland, both the Scottish Borders and Dumfries & Galloway have their own festivals and ofcourse we also have the Scottish Queer International Film Festival in Glasgow, so if we are anywhere near as successful as those events in a few years we’d be very happy – they’ve been a real inspiration for us.”
“Film lets us explore so many emotions, often with our loved ones or friends, and there are loads of amazing films with LGBT+ representation out there to choose from. After what’s been a really difficult and isolating few years due to Covid and now the cost of living crisis, we wanted this first festival to be as inclusive as possible and to make us think about love, being together, happiness and joy. But its also important to reflect how far we’ve come as a society and on some of the challenges our community continues to face here in the UK and around the world.”
Entry for all screenings are free of charge, some age restrictions apply to certain films, check with the venue or by emailing: info@pinksaltire.com
