Building on the success of Five Films for Freedom, the annual digital programme run by the British Council and the British Film Institute (BFI), More Films for Freedom brings you three new commissioned short films exploring LGBTIQ+ stories. The films were made by British, Syrian, Palestinian and South African filmmakers.
We are making them available online throughout the summer.
Our More Films for Freedom campaign is so special because it allows us to connect UK filmmakers and those in the under-represented regions of the Middle East and Africa to tell their LGBTIQ+ stories. With lots of Pride events around the world cancelled this year due to Covid-19, what better way to bring global LGBTIQ+ communities together than through the power of film.
Briony Hanson, Director Film
Watch free online from 15 June
Nowhere (streaming 15 June–14 July)
Written and directed by award-winning Christopher Manning, this short drama tells the story of a young Palestinian woman who crosses the Israeli border to find her long-lost brother.
The Men Who Speak Gayle (streaming 15 July– 4 August)
Young drag performer Nathan and retired airline steward Louis bond through Gayle, a secret language created by the gay community during Apartheid South Africa, in this documentary by Andrew Brukman.
Let My Body Speak (streaming 15 August–14 September)
Syrian refugee Madonna Adib writes and directs this personal account of the experiences her body stores from her childhood in Damascus, battling obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), witnessing the Syrian revolution, and falling in love with a woman.
It might be harder to celebrate #Pride together this year, but you can celebrate LGBTIQ+ culture at home by watching one film each month in solidarity with LGBTIQ+ communities in places where freedom and equal rights are limited.
Watch the films, share them and join us on Twitter using #MoreFilmsForFreedom