Date
Wednesday 17 March 2021 to Sunday 28 March 2021

Five Films For Freedom is a global, online short film programme in support of LGBTIQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer) rights.

We invite audiences everywhere to watch the five films online in solidarity with LGBTIQ+ communities in places where freedom and equal rights are limited, and to spread the word using the hashtag #FiveFilmsForFreedom.

Self-expression, homophobia in rural communities, coming out as a teenager, and finding love later in life - this year's short films look at an intersection of LGBTIQ+ perspectives to explore love and acceptance.

Since the project began, 15 million people have viewed the films in over 200 countries and principalities, including parts of the world where homosexuality is punishable by the death penalty.

Watch online for free from 17 March.

www.youtube.com/user/britishartschannel

www.film.britishcouncil.org/about/work/fivefilmsforfreedom

www.bfi.org.uk/flare

Media partner in Poland: Replika

 

More about the 2021 programme

Pure (USA)

Directed by Natalie Jasmine Harris

On the eve of her cotillian ball, a young Black girl grapples with her queer identity and questions her purity.

Victoria (Spain)

Directed by Daniel Toledo

A bittersweet reunion between a trans woman and her ex sparks tension and a long buried resentment.

Trans Happiness is Real (UK)

Directed by Quinton Baker

A transgender activist takes to the streets of Oxford to fight anti-trans sentiment through graffiti.

Bodies of Desire (India)

Directed by Varsha Panikar and Saad Nawab 

Using Varsha Panikar's poetry series of the same name, Bodies of Desire is a visual poetry film capturing four sets of lovers amid passion.

Land of the Free (Sweden) 

Directed by Dawid Ullgren

David and his friends celebrate his 25th birthday with a swim at the beach. The good mood quickly changes after two straight couples walk by and laugh. But was the laughter directed at them? And who owns the truth of what exactly happened?