&PROUD LGBT film festival

The first LGBT film festival in Myanmar

Across Myanmar and South East Asia, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens have long found ways to express their identity and articulate their rights, often in the face of legal challenge and lack of social understanding. LGBT communities have celebrated their relationships, engaged in political movements, joined sports teams, started families, supported each other, and enriched their communities in multiple ways.

The Yangon LGBT film festival will celebrate the breadth and diversity of Asian LGBT lives. Focusing on films from South East Asia, with detours to other Asian countries, the festival will bring together film makers, actors, and producers to show and discuss their work. Our aim is to showcase the wealth of the LGBT experience, with films from nearly all ASEAN nations, and as much focus on transgender communities as on lesbian, gay and bisexual ones. The festival welcomes documentary and fictional films, long and short. All films with a principal LGBT storyline, or which address the LGBT community’s experience, will be welcome. All films will be subtitled in Burmese, and directors, producers and actors will be invited to discuss their work with the audience in open sessions between showings.

The festival will take place on November 14, 15 and 16 2014 at the French Institute in Yangon. A public call for films to screen was be issued in May 2014, and a panel of activists, community members and film makers reviewed the submissions to develop a mixed programme that has something for everyone. A programme of related social and community events will accompany the festival, including a special party night organised by YG Events.

Who are the LGBT Film Festival organisers?
The Yangon LGBT Film Festival is a coproduction of Colors Rainbow, YG and Abadi Art. Colors Rainbow is an NGO working for LGBT rights and is at the centre of the LGBT community in Myanmar - hosting a network of LGBT organisations in the country. YG is a social business with a gay heart – best known for organising the monthly fab party in Yangon. Abadi Art is a cultural organisation working to promote social engaged art practise across Asia.

More information:
http://www.andproud.net
http://www.facebook.com/andPROUD