Gay Film Nights ( ro, Serile Filmului Gay)

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

organised annually in Cluj-Napoca,

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

by the LGBT association

Be An Angel Be An Angel Romania (BAAR) is a Romanian human rights organisation based in Cluj-Napoca founded by Lucian Dunăreanu, an LGBT rights activist. Although the organisation's mission is to combat discrimination in Romanian society in all its forms, i ...

. By presenting a series of films with LGBT themes, it seeks to showcase

LGBT culture LGBT culture is a culture shared by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals. It is sometimes referred to as queer culture (indicating people who are queer), while the term gay culture may be used to mean "LGBT culture" o ...

and cinema, while also initiating a dialogue with other members of society. The complete title of the event is ''Festivalul de Film "Serile Filmului Gay"'' (or "Gay Film Nights" Film Festival). The festival was first organised in 2004. Entry to the films is free. The films shown at the Gay Film Nights are somewhat different from those shown as part of

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

's annual

GayFest Bucharest Pride, known previously as GayFest, is the annual festival dedicated to LGBT rights in Romania, taking place in Bucharest for nearly a week. Current event organizer is Kyle David Kipp. It first took place in 2004 and now occurs in May� ...

, which also includes a film festival. Gay Film Nights tends to be more mainstream and focussed on English-language films in its selection, while GayFest usually presents a greater number of documentaries and European productions, with a greater focus on

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, ...

. Apart from the screening of films, Be An Angel also organises a number of other events during the Gay Film Nights festival. One of these is the Miss Travesty Romania contest which is open to drag and cross-dressing participants, intended to celebrate transsexual and

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

culture, and Mister Gay Romania. Additionally, the Gay Film Nights includes a Gay Prize Gala, which seeks to recognise those who have contributed to LGBT culture and rights throughout the year, with prizes awarded in several categories.

Gay Film Nights 2016

Held 14 – 20 November 2016, Cluj-Napoca.

Gay Film Nights 2014

Held 10 – 16 November 2014, Cluj-Napoca.

Gay Film Nights 2009

Held 19 – 25 October 2009, Cluj-Napoca. GAY FILM NIGHTS International Film Festival 2009 AWARDS Best Short Film: ''Todas!!!'' (

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

) Best Documentary: ''Transvestites also cry'' by Sebastiano d'Ayala Valva (

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

) Best Feature Film: '' I Can't Think Straight'' (

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

) Public's Choice: ''My name is Love'' ( Sweden)

Gay Film Nights 2008

Gay Film Nights 2008 took place between 13 and 19 October 2008, under the tagline of "The same people. The same ideals. Just in appearance different". It was the fifth edition of the festival. Films: Short Films ''A Domicilio'', ''Area X'', ''Below the Belt'', ''Benny's Gym'', ''Fabulosity'', ''FAIR Enough'', ''Flores en el Parque'', ''Just'', ''Kaden'', ''King County'', ''Kompisar'', ''Laundromat'', ''Le Baiser'', ''Mechanic's Daydream'', ''Mother's Day'', ''Postmortem'', ''Premieren'', ''Radu + Ana'', ''Scarred'', ''Signage'', ''Secrets of the Mystic Oracle'', ''The Offering'', ''Thick Lips Thin Lips'', ''Twirling Earl'', ''Una última voluntad'', ''Uncle Mike'', ''Was is schon normal?'' Feature Films ''Butch Jamie'', ''Coffee Date'', ''East Side Story'', ''Finn's Girl'', ''Pusinky'', ''The Gymnast'' Documentaries ''Campillo'', ''Here's Looking at You, Boy'', ''Red Without Blue'', ''The Two Cubas'', ''Voodoo Woman''

Gay Film Nights 2007

Gay Film Nights 2007 took place between 15 and 21 October 2007, under the tagline of "Respect me the way I am!". The festival commemorated the fifth anniversary since the founding of

, the festival's organiser. For the first time, the festival included photography exhibitions, a theatre performance and a Home Made Movies Contest, where amateur filmmakers were invited to create an LGBT-themed short film, of no more than 20 minutes, with a message of anti-discrimination or tolerance. The event was organised as part of the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All and was sponsored by KulturForum Europa. Films shown in the 2007 Gay Film Nights were: *''Tan Lines'' (Australia) *''Surveillance'' (UK) *''Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure'' (USA) *''Vampire Diary'' (UK) *''

Another Gay Movie ''Another Gay Movie'' is a 2006 American romantic comedy film directed by Todd Stephens. It follows four gay friends, Andy, Jarod, Nico and Griff, who vow upon graduating high school that they will all lose their " anal virginity" before their fri ...

'' (USA) *''FtF: Female to Femme'' (USA) *''The Birthday'' (Netherlands) *''Brother Outsider'' (USA) *''Friends in High Places'' (Germany) *The short films ''Summer'' by Hong Khaou, ''Lucky Man'' by Dan Faltz, ''Sonntag Morgen'' by Beate Kunath, ''#01 hygienist'' by Beate Kunath and ''Backstroke'' by Amy Bronson The Gay Prize Gala 2007 took place on September 29 at 22:00 at Club Angels, with the following recipients in the following categories: *Person of the Year for supporting the Romanian LGBT community: Daniel Zavoian *Prize for excellence: Neculai Constantin Munteanu *Organisation of the Year for supporting the Romanian LGBT community:

*Prize for LGBT activism: Kenno *Prize for the promotion of LGBT culture: Gay Film Nights *Best medium of information for the LGBT community:

Angelicuss ''Angelicuss'' is the first Romanian LGBT magazine and is published by Be An Angel, an LGBT rights organisation from Cluj-Napoca. The magazine was initially only available through the internet, with the first print version released in November 20 ...

Magazine *Sexiest male: Răzvan Fodor *Sexiest female: Monica Barladeanu *The most popular

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...

in Romania: Toxice * Gay song of the year: ''Prinde-mă, aprinde-mă'' by Andreea Bălan *The most objective TV show with an LGBT theme: ''PRO TV Portret'' on PRO TV The "black ball" was once again awarded to

Gigi Becali George "Gigi" Becali (; born 25 June 1958) is a Romanian businessman and former politician, mostly known for his ownership of the FCSB football club. Becali was a Member of the European Parliament between June 2009 and December 2012, and a Memb ...

, for his repeated anti-gay remarks.

Gay Film Nights 2006

Gay Film Nights 2006 was held between 25 and 30 September, and was the first festival to include

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s (the short films shown were ''Highlanders Too'', ''Toilet Treatments'' and ''Providence Dirt Newsreel''). A different full-length film was shown each day at 19:00 at Club Angels, with five films shown in total (considering that the festival runs for five nights): *''

Almost Normal ''Almost Normal'' is a 2005 comedy-drama film directed by Marc Moody and starring J. Andrew Keitch, Tim Hammer, and Joan Lauckner.Transamerica'' (USA) *''

The Birdcage ''The Birdcage'' is a 1996 American comedy film directed by Mike Nichols, adapted by Elaine May, and starring Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, and Dianne Wiest. Dan Futterman, Calista Flockhart, Hank Azaria, and Christine Baranski appear ...

'' (USA) *'' Boys Don't Cry'' (USA) *'' Saving Face'' (USA/China) Additionally, at 22:00 every night, a different LGBT party was held as part of the festival, including a

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music i ...

night, a live music party and the Miss Travesty event on September 30. The Gay Prize Gala 2006 took place on September 29 at 22:00 at Club Angels, with the following recipients in the following categories:Gala Premiilor Gay 2006
(''Gay Prize Gala 2006'') *Person of the Year for supporting the Romanian LGBT community: Alexandra Ungureanu *Prize for LGBT activism: Romaniţa Iordache from Accept *Prize for the promotion of LGBT culture: The Toxice musical band *Best medium of information for the LGBT community: Th
GayOne.ro
online magazine *Sexiest male: Adrian Rosenberg *Sexiest female: Alexandra Ungureanu *The most popular

in Romania: Kaballa Timişoara *Gay song of the year: ''Viaţa mea'' by Cristina Rus *The most objective TV show with an LGBT theme: ''Bomba zilei'' on OTV The Gay Prize Gala also awarded a "black ball" to the politician

, for his anti-gay remarks and his virulent opposition to Bucharest's

pride parade in June 2006.

References

External links

Official website

Gay Film Nights FILM FESTIVAL 2009

Gay Film Nights FILM FESTIVAL 2008

Gay Film Nights Festival 2007

Gay Film Nights Festival 2006

{{LGBT fiction LGBT events in Romania LGBT film festivals Film festivals in Romania Recurring events established in 2004 Cluj-Napoca 2004 establishments in Romania Annual events in Romania Autumn events in Romania LGBT festivals in Europe