We may be stuck in a sticky situation with regards to LGBT politics right now, but thankfully it isn’t all negativity and gloom making its rounds on the island. Trying to ease the tension is the annual Love & Pride Film Festival, returning for its 10th anniversary with a timely line-up of foreign films on the theme of ‘acceptance’.
Running from Oct 4-12, the film festival organized by Golden Village and curated by the Singapore Film Society seeks to spotlight stories of accepting oneself—beyond just the LGBT community. Opening the festival is acclaimed Japanese film Of Love and Law, about two male partners who run Japan’s first and only LGBT law firm, and their portfolio of “misfit” clients who must remain invisible in a society like Japan.
In the same vein of award-winning queer cinema, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, which won the grand jury prize at this year’s Sundance, tackles the controversial practice of conversion therapy through the narrative of outcast Cameron Post (Chloe Grace Moretz) as she struggles to find her place amongst her peers. Then there’s Mandarin flick Alifu, The Prince/ss about an aboriginal boy’s dream to become a woman, and Hong Kong drama I Miss You When I See You, where protagonist Jamie must choose between his socially acceptable girlfriend and his reignited feelings for his high school best friend Kevin. Or simply catch French film Sorry Angel, a bittersweet love story between 40-year-old writer Jacques and student Arthur—which already hides undertones of 2017’s queer film of the summer Call Me By Your Name.
Tickets start from $13 for the public, and the films will be screened at Golden Village Grand, Great World City and VivoCity. All the films are rated R21 due to homosexual theme and content; we’ll just leave that tidbit here to stew.
Love & Pride Film Festival 2018 runs from Oct 4-12 at Golden Village Grand, Great World City and VivoCity. More information here.
