This weekend the GAZE Film Festival returns to the Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield, and it’s back with a bang.

The films, which are about and produced by the LGBT community, include fiction films and documentaries, features and shorts. There will also be panel discussions and parties organised around the festivities.

Here are seven of the films we’re looking forward to seeing (in order of their being screened), and their trailers to tempt you too:

1. Strike a Pose (Opening)
The festival opens tomorrow (Thursday 28th July) with Strike a Pose, which is about the seven young male dancers who accompanied pop sensation Madonna on her 1990 Blonde Ambition tour. The documentary looks back on the breakthroughs the tour made for the LGBT community and where the dancers are now.

2. Viva
Directed by Paddy Breathnach (I Went Down) and written by Mark O’ Halloran (Adam & Paul, Garage), Viva tells the story of a young Cuban hairdresser who wants nothing more than to be a drag performer. However, when his father returns home from prison, the boy’s dream becomes out of reach.

3. Uncle Howard
Documentary Uncle Howard is about a filmmaker’s nephew researching the life and career of his uncle, who died of AIDS. The film gives an insight into the scene of New York’s independent filmmaking scene and the cultural revolution of the late 1970s and 1980s.

4. Kiki
Aside from Uncle Howard, another documentary screening on the Saturday night of the festival is Kiki, which looks at the lives of LGBTQ youth-of-colour in the ‘Kiki’ scene of New York. Kiki also examines the art form and outlet of vogueing.

KIKI TRAILER SV from Folkets Bio on Vimeo.

5. Madonna: Truth or Dare
If you didn’t get enough of Madonna from Strike a Pose, never fear as there’s another film about the world famous artist screening at GAZE. This film also looks at the Blond Ambition World Tour but focuses more on the icon herself. It includes intimate interviews, backstage footage and incredible live performance videos.

6. Upstairs Inferno
In a film that is quite poignant in the aftermath of the Orlando shootings, this emotional documentary details another attack on the LGBT community. In June 1973, an arsonist set fire to the Up Stairs Lounge, a gay bar located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Relatives and friends of the victims are interviewed.

7. Holding the Man (Closing Film)
GAZE closes this year with the funny and emotional Holding the Man. It relates the story of Tim, an aspiring actor, and John, the captain of the school football team, who start seeing each other in high school and continue their relationship into adulthood. However, disapproving parents and a dramatic discovery put a great strain on their relationship.

 

For bookings and more information, see gaze.ie