1st lesbian & gay international film festival ◊ Saint-Petersburg, Russia ◊ October 2008
Side by Side LGBT International Film Festival
Side by Side Announces Growing Support for Russia's First Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Film Festival.
Saint Petersburg, Russia (January 25, 2008) - In recent days Side by Side ("Bok-o-Bok"), Russia's first annual international lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender film festival scheduled for 2-5 October, 2008 in Saint Petersburg has been receiving an unprecedented level of attention in the nation's press and media.
State Artist of Russia Nikolai Burlyaev expressing the conservative view sparked off debate by describing homosexuals as "perverts" and homosexuality as a: "sin" and "illness". Calling for Luzhkov style tactics, that were deployed during the May Pride march in Moscow in 2007, he urged the authorities to take immediate measures and ban the festival. Later communicating the official position of Saint Petersburg's administration on the matter was head of the city's Committee of Culture Nikolai Burov, who stated that he would not interfere with the running of such a film festival, but was neither going to support it.
In response to the criticism levelled at the organisers of the film festival various notable figures from the world of Russian cinema and music came forward to champion Side by Side's cause and offer praise for their endeavor. "In my opinion no one has the right to discriminate against a person on any basis" said Alexander Sokurov, one of Russia's most prominent and contemporary film directors. "Discrimination is a crime against humanity. The fight against discrimination is a basic principal of European civilization. Homosexuality, in my opinion, is in no way an illness, it is a different construction of the human soul and body. This "different construction," a result of the development process in life, is as unique and divine as any other forms of existence. These people must eventually be accepted."
Saint Petersburg based rock musician Svetlana Surganova who enjoys a huge following, homing in more concretely on the problem of homophobia said: "People know little about themselves and many are afraid of themselves and in order not to look weak they start to pick on others. It is a well known tactic that the best method of defense is aggression. It will take a lot of great plots and clever films to overcome the fear in our society of such a natural thing as the phenomenon of homosexual relationships." Elaborating further: "I hope this film festival can break down society's stereotypes. In this sense our country is aggressively archaic and outdated, crammed with phobia and prejudice. It will take many more years and a lot of truly powerful, in the artistic sense, examples to convince our people to accept the equal existence of the LGBT community. I will be glad if some part of the population will become more loyal to this "sin" and "illness" and cure themselves from homophobia."
Igor Petrov, local LGBT activist and Coordinator of the Russian LGBT organizations network also underscored the importance of the event: "A long time ago films about gays and lesbians became a phenomenon of world cinema, for example in Berlin and Venice there are special awards for it. It goes without saying that the appearance of a gay and lesbian film festival in Russia is a huge cultural event not just for the LGBT community. It is yet another possibility of dialogue between us and the rest of society, yet another step to the way out of Russian gays and lesbians from the �underground' where they are forced to stay to this day." Echoing similar sentiments Peter Tatchell, British gay human rights campaigner: "Side by Side is a pioneering film festival that opens a new dimension to the intellectual and cultural life of the Russian people. Exploring issues of sexuality and identity, it reaches out to both queer and straight people, offering new understandings that can help bridge the sexual divide."
"The support is spurring us on," said festival organizers. "Every disparaging remark and voice of disapproval that we have encountered over the last few days is matched by wishes of encouragement and praise for the task we have undertaken. We will persist up until 2nd October, 2008 and the opening day of the first LGBT international film festival in Saint Petersburg, Russia."
If you are interested in keeping updated on events, leaving your opinion or donating and helping to change LGBT history in Russia visit the official site at http://www.bok-o-bok.ru/en/community
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