The Ljubljana LGBT Film Festival is an annual international

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

held in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

. It is the oldest film festival of its sort in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and also the oldest international film festival in Slovenia. It showcases LGBT-themed films, i.e. films with nonheterosexual and non-

cisgender Cisgender (often shortened to cis; sometimes cissexual) is a term used to describe a person whose gender identity corresponds to their sex assigned at birth. The word ''cisgender'' is the antonym of ''transgender''. The prefix ''wiktionary:cis ...

topics or motifs. The festival was launched in 1984 in the capital of the

Socialist Republic of Slovenia The Socialist Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Socialistična republika Slovenija, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Slovenija, Социјалистичка Република Словенија), commonly referred to as Sociali ...

, one of the six republics forming the country of

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

. Screenings take place around 1 December –

World AIDS Day World AIDS Day, designated on 1 December every year since 1988, is an international day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease. The acquired immun ...

, and the festival takes about a week.

History

When Slovenia was still part of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Ljubljana's Student Cultural Centre (ŠKUC) founded its

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

section, called Magnus. The section organized the first edition of the festival as part of a wider festival on gay culture. It took place at several locations around Ljubljana: the ŠKUC Gallery, KinoŠkuc, The Ljubljana Faculty of Arts and Disko FV. From then on, the festival has been held annually, with the exception of the year 1987. The fourth edition of the festival was, namely, cancelled after pressures from the state authorities due to an alleged fear of the

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

epidemic. The festival got limited financial resources from state and city authorities for years, so not all screenings in the history of the festival were translated into the Slovenian language. In 1996 the Slovenian Ministry of Culture banned screenings without translation into the

Slovenian language Slovene ( or ), or alternatively Slovenian (; or ), is a South Slavic language, a sub-branch that is part of the Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is spoken by about 2.5 million speakers worldwide (excluding speake ...

, so the films of the 12th edition were translated simultaneously. Since 1994, the main festival location has been either the Kinodvor (in years 2004 to 2008) or the Slovenska kinoteka (Slovenian Cinematheque). Since 2004, the Ljubljana LGBT Film Festival has had at least one screening location outside Ljubljana. Since 2013, the best films of the festival are awarded prizes by the jury and by the audience. As

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

is the

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

of Ljubljana, the name of the Ljubljana LGBT Film Festival award is the Pink Dragon. In 2018, the festival was mainly supported by the Slovenian Film Centre for the first time in its history. The 2020 edition of the festival was held online due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. It could not include festival guests, but in recent years the festival attracted several well-known Slovenian and foreign filmmakers, who participated in festival talks and round tables. Among them were

Barbara Hammer Barbara Jean Hammer (May 15, 1939 – March 16, 2019) was an American feminist film director, producer, writer, and cinematographer. She is known for being one of the pioneers of the lesbian film genre, and her career spanned over 50 years. Hamm ...

Maja Weiss Maja can refer to: Places * Maja, Croatia, a village * Maja, Banten, a subdistrict in Lebak Regency, Banten, Indonesia ** Maja railway station * Maja, West Java, a subdistrict in Majalengka Regency, West Java, Indonesia * Maja River, a tributar ...

, Ljerka Belak,

Marcel Gisler Marcel Gisler (born 18 March 1960) is a Swiss film director and screenwriter. Life Marcel Gisler was raised in the Canton of St. Gallen. Since 1981 he lives in Berlin and studied Theatre studies and Philosophy at the Free University of Berlin ...

, Sibylle Brunner and Fan Popo.

Awards

2022 * Pink Dragon Jury Award: ''

Three Tidy Tigers Tied a Tie Tighter ''Three Tidy Tigers Tied a Tie Tighter'' ( pt, Três Tigres Tristes, lit. "Three Sad Tigers") is a Brazilian drama film, directed by Gustavo Vinagre and released in 2022.Matthew Joseph Jenner"Berlinale 2022 review: Three Tidy Tigers Tied a Tie Tig ...

(Três Tigres Tristes)'' ( Gustavo Vinagre) * Pink Dragon Audience Award: '' Nelly & Nadine'' ( Magnus Gertten) * Pink Dragon Short Slovenian Film Award: ''Marjetica v postelji'' (Alen in Robi Predanič) 2021 * Pink Dragon Jury Award: ''

House of Hummingbird ''House of Hummingbird'' () is a 2018 South Korean drama film written and directed by Kim Bora. The film debuted in competition at the Busan International Film Festival's New Currents section in October 2018, where it won the NETPAC Award and th ...

(Beol-sae)'' (

Kim Bora Kim Bora (Korean: 김보라; born November 30, 1981) is a South Korean filmmaker. Her short film, ''The Recorder Exam'' won numerous awards including the Best Student Filmmaker Award from The Directors Guild of America. The film was also a Nat ...

) * Pink Dragon Audience Award: ''

Tove (film) ''Tove'' is a 2020 Finnish biographical film about Swedish-speaking Finnish author and illustrator Tove Jansson, creator of the Moomins. The film was directed by Zaida Bergroth from a script by Eeva Putro, and stars Alma Pöysti in the titular ...

'' (

Zaida Bergroth Zaida Bergroth (born 8 February 1977) is a Finnish film director best known for her 2020 film '' Tove''. Career Bergroth was born in Kivijärvi in 1977. She graduated from the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture in 2004. He ...

) 2020 * Pink Dragon Audience Award: '' Welcome to Chechnya'' ( David France) 2019 * Pink Dragon Jury Award: '' Knife + Heart (Couteau dan le coeur)'' (Yann Gonzalez) * Pink Dragon Audience Award: ''

Portrait of a Lady on Fire ''Portrait of a Lady on Fire'' (french: Portrait de la jeune fille en feu, lit=Portrait of the Young Lady on Fire) is a 2019 French historical romantic drama film written and directed by Céline Sciamma, starring Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haen ...

(Portrait de la jeune fille en feu)'' (

Céline Sciamma Céline Sciamma (; born 12 November 1978) is a French screenwriter and film director. She is especially known for her films ''Girlhood'' (2014), '' My Life as a Courgette'' (2016), and '' Portrait of a Lady on Fire'' (2019), winning many nomina ...

) 2018 * Pink Dragon Jury Award: '' Hard Paint (Tinta bruta)'' ( Felipe Matzembacher, Marcio Reolon) * Pink Dragon Audience Award: ''

Freak Show A freak show, also known as a creep show, is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to in popular culture as "freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, those with ...

'' (

Trudie Styler Trudie Styler (born 6 January 1954) is an English actress and film producer. Early life and family Styler was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, the daughter of Pauline and Harry Styler, a farmer and factory worker. When Styler was two years ...

) 2017 * Pink Dragon Jury Award: ''

BPM (Beats Per Minute) ''BPM (Beats per Minute)'', also known as ''120 BPM (Beats per Minute)'', (french: 120 battements par minute) is a 2017 French drama film directed by Robin Campillo and starring Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Arnaud Valois and Adèle Haenel. The fil ...

(120 battements par minute)'' (

Robin Campillo Robin Campillo (; born 16 August 1962) is a Moroccan-born French screenwriter, editor and film director. He is known for his work on films such as ''The Class (2008 film), The Class'' (2008), ''Heading South'' (2005), the French zombie film ''Th ...

) * Pink Dragon Audience Award: '' Chavela'' (

Catherine Gund Catherine Gund (born Catherine Gund Saalfield; 1965) is an Emmy nominated and Oscar shortlisted producer, director, writer, and activist who founded Aubin Pictures in 1996. Gund's films have screened around the world in festivals, theaters, ...

, Daresha Kyi) * Pink Dragon Short Slovenian Film Award: ''Po gladini'' (Blaž Slana) 2016 * Pink Dragon Jury Award: '' Paris 05:59: Théo & Hugo (Théo et Hugo dans le même bateau)'' (

Olivier Ducastel Olivier Ducastel (born 23 February 1962) is a French film director, screenwriter and sound editor who currently works in collaboration with partner Jacques Martineau. Life and career After spending his adolescence in Rouen, Martineau moved to ...

Jacques Martineau Jacques Martineau (born 8 July 1963) is a French film director and screenwriter who works in collaboration with partner Olivier Ducastel. Life and career After spending his adolescence in Nice, Martineau moved to Paris to study at the Ecole N ...

) * Pink Dragon Audience Award: ''Transgender Life in Slovenia (Transspolna življenja v Sloveniji)'' (Michelle Emson) 2015 * Pink Dragon Jury Award: '' Margarita, With a Straw'' (

Shonali Bose Shonali Bose (born 3 June 1965) is an Indian film director, writer and film producer. Having made her feature film debut in 2005, she has since won such accolades as a National Film Award, a Bridgestone Narrative Award, and a Sundance Mahindr ...

) * Pink Dragon Audience Award: '' How to Win at Checkers (Every Time)'' (Josh Kim) 2014 * Pink Dragon Jury Award: ''

Matterhorn The (, ; it, Cervino, ; french: Cervin, ; rm, Matterhorn) is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the main watershed and border between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the ...

'' (Diederik Ebbinge) * Pink Dragon Audience Award: ''

The Way He Looks ''The Way He Looks'' ( pt, Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho, lit=Today I Want to Go Back Alone) is a 2014 Brazilian Coming-of-age film, coming-of-age Romance film, romantic Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Daniel Ribeir ...

(Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho)'' (

Daniel Ribeiro Daniel Ribeiro was born in São Paulo on May 20, 1982. He is a Brazilian film director known for his works You, Me and Him (Portuguese: Cafe com Leite) made in 2007 and I Don't Want to Go Back Alone, I Don't Want To Go Back Alone (Portuguese: Eu Nã ...

) * Pink Dragon Short Slovenian Film Award: ''God's Mistake (Božja napaka)'' (Eva Matarranz, Anna Savchenko) 2013 * Pink Dragon Jury Award: '' Yoshiko & Yuriko (Yuriko, dasuvidânya)'' (

Sachi Hamano a.k.a. ''and'' (born March 19, 1948), is a Japanese film director. She is the most prolific and written-about female ''pink film'' director. Life and career Sachi Hamano was born as Sachiko Suzuki in Tokushima Prefecture on March 19, 1948. Wh ...

) * Pink Dragon Audience Award: '' Rosie'' (

)

References

{{reflist Film festivals in Slovenia LGBT film festivals 1984 establishments in Slovenia Film festivals established in 1984 LGBT in Slovenia LGBT festivals in Europe