Second outing for queer film festival in Cork
Cork drag collective Krystal & The Queers are taking part in the PRISMA Queer Film Festival
Benjamin Rupprecht is the founder of Out Of Frame, Cork’s monthly event where film-makers can discuss their work and share ideas. Last year, he founded PRISMA Queer Film Festival, Cork’s dedicated LGBTQ+ film festival.
This year, the event returns from August 29-31, and Rupprecht explains why the programme has expanded for its second outing.
“While the festival last year took place at a much smaller scale, running as a one-day event, we couldn’t have been happier how well it was received and immediately saw it as proof that Cork needs its own dedicated LGBTQ+ film festival again.”
Rupprecht says Cork has a beautiful and vibrant queer community, and a diverse independent film scene which should be celebrated.
“We hope PRISMA will establish itself as a recurring annual event in the vital cultural landscape of Cork. We are already eying dates for next year, plotting new ideas, and exploring further funding opportunities.”
This year’s opening film is Sauna, a Danish film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and is directed by Mathias Broe. Rupprecht says it is the perfect film to open the festival.
“We are very excited to host Sauna’s Irish premiere as part of our Opening Gala. It is an intimate drama following Johan, a young gay man moving to Copenhagen and falling in love with transgender William. The film explores transgender identity, acceptance, and cost of surgery, as well as homosexual coming-of-age and gay sauna culture.
“The festival includes work by several Cork artists including Krystal & The Queers. Rupprecht says it is vital to have home representation.
“It is really important to include and collaborate with Cork artists. We are especially excited to be working with the energetic Cork drag collective Krystal & The Queers on their theatrical debut with the production Somewhere Under The Rainbow. The show blends drag, performance and theatre to explore themes of self-image, love and fame in this fictional tale inspired by the Hollywood legend Judy Garland.”
The festival will include events run by Cork Queer Nature Collective and the queer open mic Litreacha.
Rupprecht says the festival will also showcase new and emerging Cork filmmakers.
“With our Prism Shapes programme, we feature a selection of established and upcoming Cork filmmakers and shining a light on all forms of queer film-making.
“We are proud to be allowed to showcase such diverse talent in our city, especially as our regional film scene continues to lack vital industry support and queer representation on screen still has a long way to go.”
There are 31 short films from 12 countries which Rupprecht says represent many aspects of the LGBTQ+ community.
“It was important for us to represent as many identities of the LGBTQ+ community as possible, as well as different genres, nationalities, and levels of experience. With four short film programmes and three international feature films, we are thrilled to show the exciting bandwidth of queer film-making.”
Several industry events are scheduled in the line-up. Rupprecht emphasises that the inclusion of queer people must occur from the beginning of the filmmaking process, and that the industry events will underscore this necessity.
“We believe queer diversity and inclusion can only start within crew structures, diverse casting, and empowering LGBTQ+ voices from the very beginning of the writing process.”
The industry events will focus on animation, queer casting, and queer Irish language filmmaking.
“With a panel talk on queer animation work, we are excited to learn more about the potential of queer world building and new ways of depicting gender and sexual identity. The Irish language has found a new centre stage within Irish film-making, and we invited Gaeilge artists to talk about the parallels in reclaiming and shaping identity through language within a queer context.”
There will also be a roundtable of local LGBTQ+ actors highlighting the importance of queer casting for authentic representation and in developing queer stories on screen.
Rupprecht says the Irish film industry is improving with regard to diversity, but more steps are needed.
“Our national film scene and industry have taken important first steps in becoming a more diverse and inclusive space. More specific and targeted training and mentorship programmes have been created. With more education and a younger generation finding their footing in the industry, the film scene is slowly starting to become a safer space, but it still has a long way to go to truly provide equal opportunities, authentic representation, and inclusion.”
Rupprecht says inclusion is more important than ever as global attitudes to LGBTQ+ shift.
“Current developments globally, threatening to revoke long fought for rights or shutting down queer voices and eradicating queer representation, are sad proof that the fight has only just begun.”
PRISMA is running Gemstones, a scheme for queer people aged 14 to 18 to learn more about film-making from established industry professionals. The young film-makers will produce a short film which will premiere at the festival.
Rupprecht says the festival hopes to enhance the experience of queer storytelling.
“Film is inherently political and has become a platform for authentic queer storytelling, representation, joy and activism. We hope that the festival will provide a safe space for exchange, identification, and inspiration, especially for young queer filmmakers and enthusiasts.
“PRISMA hopes to ensure the queer film scene continues to bloom and its voices echo louder than ever in a world that so desperately needs it.”
