‘It’s important that queer people are seen on screen’: Cork's LGBTQ+ film festival returns

Cork’s LGBTQ+ film festival returns on September 10, and this year’s edition marks not only its third anniversary, but also a significant expansion.

The festival has grown into a four-day programme and has adopted a new name, changing from the Prisma Queer Film Festival to its Irish-language version, Priosma.

Benjamin Rupprecht, founder of Out Of Frame Cork and Festival Director of Priosma, says demand for more films led to the decision to expand the festival to four days, while the number of feature films on offer has increased from three last year to nine this year.

This year’s opening gala film is Six Months In A Pink And Blue Building, a Mexican film that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.

The film will be shown at The Triskel Cinema, and Rupprecht says he feels a strong connection to it.

“I immediately connected with it. It is an intimate coming-of-age story of a boy growing up in Mexico in the 1990s, encountering gender identity and sexuality.”

The film’s appeal, however, goes beyond its subject matter. Rupprecht was particularly struck by the way it blends fiction with documentary.

“Aside from personally connecting with it, it’s quite a beautiful film in the way that it combines fiction elements and documentary elements,” he said.

“The film-maker is telling his own story, but all his memories are reenacted through actors.

“There are elements in the film that are interviews with himself and his parents.

“It is unique in the way that it’s approaching the story, making it even more personal.”

The festival will also have a strong home connection, with Cara Holmes’ much-anticipated documentary Lesbian Lines receiving its Cork premiere.

“We’re really excited to have the first Cork screening,” said Rupprecht.

“The film had its Irish premiere at Galway, and we’re really happy to bring it home. Cara is a Cork-based filmmaker, and we are thrilled to screen the film.”

Chris O’Neill, Head of Cinema at Triskel Arts Centre, says he is glad to support the festival.

“When Priosma approached us about hosting screenings, we were more than happy to be involved,” he said.

“I’ve been an admirer of their programming in previous editions, and it’s great to see that they are expanding.

“ Six Months In A Pink And Blue Building is a strong film to launch this year’s programme with, while Lesbian Lines, from Cara Holmes, is an excellent documentary, and we are delighted there will be a film-maker Q&A after the screening.”

Lesbian Lines will be followed by a panel discussion and an after-party, with separate tickets available for the after-party.

“We’re hosting an after-party for the film, which we’ve fittingly called Hotline, with the Cork band I Dreamed I Dream, who are also featured in the documentary.

“We’ve also collaborated with Flirt, a lesbian nightlife collective, who are putting on a DJ set afterwards.

“We’re really making our Cork screening a special event, with a full programme built around it.”

The festival also includes a short film strand. There were 170 shorts submitted for consideration, which Rupprecht says took time to select because it was important for the festival to showcase as many aspects of the LGBTQ+ community as possible.

While most of the shorts, from 12 different countries, will screen at the Arc Cinema, a new strand showcasing emerging film-makers will take place, as Rupprecht explains.

“We’re doing an emerging film-maker showcase with Cork-based and other newcomer film-makers who will show their films in the Nano Nagle conference room. We chose this space because we’ll have a discussion with them afterwards as well.”

The festival also emphasises industry events, including the imaginatively titled Cool Shit On No Budget, which, as the name suggests, will discuss how to get films made on a low budget.

“Niall Sulcer is a producer from the States, and Elisa Beli Borrelli is an animation filmmaker working in Dublin. They are both successful in their own field and, as such, have great advice for anyone trying to work on a budget,” said Rupprecht.

The festival director says industry events are an important part of film festivals, and encourages film-makers to attend.

The closing gala film is Another Man. Rupprecht says it’s a film with lots of drama.

“It’s a Catalan romantic drama about two men and their attempts to make their life work in a small apartment, until one suddenly spots a hot man on the other side of the building, and the drama kicks off from there.”

The screening will be followed by a new play by Cork drag group Krystal And The Queers, following on from a collaboration with last year’s festival.

“Last year, our closing film was followed by a drag production that Krystal developed specifically for the festival, and because it works so well, we’re doing the same again with an entirely new show production,” said Rupprecht. “It will take place shortly after the last film ends at the Everyman.”

He says that having a dedicated queer festival is essential for the community.

“The key word here is representation; it is for people of the queer community to see themselves represented on screen. It is also about having a festival where you can specifically programme films made by people from the queer community, depicting authentic stories; it is incredibly important.

“I’m also proud to have this festival running in Cork. There is good representation around the rest of the country already, especially in Dublin, but having Priosma return for the third year is something that I’m proud of.”

See: https://www.priosmafilmfest.com/