I knew I wanted to showcase queer centred narratives and queer filmmaking in my all EIFF programmes. The festival usually falls around the same time as Edinburgh Pride weekend, and my predecessor, Lydia Beilby, had put together a queer centred programme the previous year which screened during that weekend, and I had hopes of repeating this work, creating a small extra Pride celebration within the film festival. A few amazing films came along early on and promised a really exciting year of queer shorts and created a few interesting programming ideas. However, things changed for me after watching countless poorly executed short films that used queer people as props – after that what I most wanted to programme became a lot simpler,:just good queer films! What I eventually curated was a selection of queer shorts that had an authentic voice behind them and that made me happy and hopeful, without hiding from the realities of queer existence around the world. Being Here is a collection of snapshots of lives, nothing fancy, nothing overly traumatic, just some shorts which illuminate day-to-day lives full of laughter, loves, sexual & sensual moments, community connection and self- expression. Watching these films were some of the highest points of my work and I love that many of them are getting plenty of screenings at other festivals around the world.
Pompeii
Directed by Harry Lighton, Marco Alessi, Matthew Jacobs Morgan, UK, 2019, 9mins
Mother-in-Law
Directed by Seung-Eun Shin, South Korean, 2020, 24mins
Friends Like That
Directed by Francesco de Fusco, USA, 2020, 8mins
Carving Space
Directed by Annie Dean-Ganek, USA, 2019, 16mins
This is one of six programmes I curated for the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2020, which was cancelled due to Covid-19. The rest of the programmes can be viewed here, and if you have any questions or want further information, please get in touch.