GAZE International LGBTQ Film Festival: Discover highlights from the 2024 industry programme
Posted: 1st August 2024
Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland is proud to support the 2024 GAZE International LGBTQIA Film Festival as an industry partner through the agency's Audience Development Fund. Taking place from 1st to 5th August, the festival will present a diverse line-up of international and Irish feature and short films, as well as an array of special events, workshops, exhibitions and panels.
Discover some highlights from the festival's industry programme below.
Café au Gaze
On Saturday, Sunday and Monday mornings of the festival, Café au GAZE will invite attending artists, filmmakers and industry professionals of the festival to talk about their practice and to share behind the scenes stories from their work. From homegrown horror talents to French film stars of the queer new wave, come take a peek behind the curtain…
Guests will include French actor Félix Maritaud, Irish director Kate Dolan, filmmaker and choreographer David Amado, documentary director Roland Javronik, actor and art connoisseur Russell Tovey, producer Susie Hall, Irish filmmaker and photographer Bob Gallagher and British festival stars Andrew Haigh and Dominic Savage. The panels will be hosted by Greg Thorpe, Mayra Xavier and Sam Ahern.
Post-Screening Panels
Break the Game is an incisive documentary about the online trans experience by way of Twitch streaming and the gaming community. GAZE Assistant Programmer and editor of the anthology VERY ONLINE James Hudson will be chatting to a wide range of Irish trans and nonbinary talents in the worlds of video game design, journalism and streaming.
Panellists:
- Alexandra Day has worked with Dublin based developer Dreamfeel since 2018, including production on their award-winning game If Found… published with Annapurna Interactive
- Lex Luddy is a trans video game journalist from Cork who’s written for Vice, Polygon, PLAY Magazine, and more, alongside running startmenu.co.uk, a website and community for emerging games journalists.
- Korbo is a queer nonbinary streamer and content creator from Dublin, specialising in variety streams and focusing around their humour, social commentary, ‘Roasting Irish Housing’ and unapologetic queerness.
Furthering Desire Lines’ deep dive, programmer James Hudson will be chatting with starGAZE participant and GAZE alum Hiram Harrington and archives manager and researcher Jazz Burns about film, trans sex, trans history, and keeping our archives erotic.
Panellists:
- Hiram Harrington is a deeply macabre transgender screenwriter and director from North Dublin. His horror/thriller short film, GLORY, HOLE premiered at GAZE 2023 and his queer heist dramedy script Goodnight Girl is in the early stages of development as a limited series with Escape Pod Media and Screen Ireland. He is also a participant in this year's starGAZE programme, where he will develop his feature horror screenplay SHINE ON, BLACK SUN. Hiram's interest lies in depictions of otherness, eroticism, and the taboo on screen.
- Jazz Burns works as an archives manager and parent to a human child. Jazz has a BA and MA in Art History, a Master of Library Science, and a decade of experience working in archives, art museums, and libraries. They’ve presented internationally on topics such as searching for trans people in archives, visual literacy training, and labour organising as a librarian.
- Dr Matt Kennedy is an interdisciplinary empiricist in the area of trans studies, an educator and a writer. He is currently employed in Belong To, Ireland’s National LGBTQ+ youth organisation as the research and advocacy manager and is the outreach manager for the Trans* Research Association of Ireland. His PhD explores transnormativity and the lifeworlds of young trans men in Ireland.
There’s still a wealth of taboo topics and risqué subjects in the queer community, and the Taboo Shorts block is just the start of a boundary-teasing conversation. Programmer James Hudson will be joined by the hosts of Poz Vibe podcast to talk more about HIV, chemsex, safety and stigma, with director Christopher T. McGill joining to expand on the scenes and themes of his short documentary Beautiful Trouble.
- Veda Lady is a cabaret performer and style icon creating her own brand of queer pop since the 1990s. She is the creator and co-host of Poz Vibe podcast, a podcast for people living with HIV, and Poz Vibe Tribe, a peer support group for the Poz community. Her biographical film Pregnant With A Drag Queen will be screening in the GAZE New Irish Shorts and she is currently working on Chem Sessions, a podcast to destigmatise the chem sex community. Veda and Poz Vibe co-host Robbie Lawlor represented Ireland at World Pride Sydney 2023 and at The World Pride Human Rights Conference, and worked on the 2023 award-winning documentary How To Tell a Secret.
- Christopher T. McGill is an award winning director and producer who has worked across documentary and narrative short films. He is the co-creative director of queer film production company Riot Productions, best known for the cult hit Rebel Dykes. His recent film IS IT ME was shortlisted for the Grierson Trust award, and he has worked on films ranging from impactful stories about asylum seekers to queer underground nightlife. He is currently working on his first feature documentary about an activist group operating in Scotland.
GAZE is proud to present a fundraiser screening of Photo Booth in aid of Medical Aid for Palestinians, and to supplement this screening with an insightful conversation hosted by Lecturer in Media Studies TUD and GAZE trustee Caroline Earley covering topics of pinkwashing, BDS, Irish queer activism for Palestine, student encampment in Irish colleges, and queer Palestinian identity. Amir Abu Alrob is a queer Palestinian artist, actor, and collaborative theatre maker living in Dublin. Aoife Kilbane is an organiser with UCD BDS, and a Politics, Philosophy & Economics student specialising in homonationalism and Israeli Apartheid. Plus we welcome speakers from Queers for Palestine including panel host Caroline Earley, Siobhan Curran and Niamh Magee.
starGaze
Additionally, GAZE has announced this week the six recipients of its new professional development scheme starGAZE supporting emerging LGBTQIA filmmakers, in collaboration with the National Talent Academy for Film & TV Drama, Dean Arts Studio and Press Up Hospitality Group. Philip Emo, Alba Fernandez, Ian Fallon, Hiram Harrington, Pradeep Mahadeshwar and Liadán Roche will receive year long mentorship and attend a bespoke Lab day at the festival, with workshops from artists including Peaches, John Butler amongst others. They’ll also get full access to the festival, including all screenings, talks and in-conversations. Our sincere congratulations to the selected participants.
About GAZE International LGBTQ+ Film Festival
GAZE is Ireland’s International LGBTQIA Film Festival. Every year since 1992, the festival has screened an eclectic programme of new international cinema that explores the experience of being an LGBTQIA person. GAZE celebrates new queer storytelling and their exciting programme of screenings, talks and events engages audiences and artists in a vibrant social experience here in Dublin, Ireland, with an additional selection of films made available online to the whole of Ireland.
GAZE 2024 will take place from Thursday 1st to Monday 5th August. Tickets are still available for select screenings here.