Celebrating Five Years of Side by Side LGBT Film Festival: Saint Petersburg, 25 October – 3 November, 2012.

Side by Side marks its 5th year anniversary festival in Saint Petersburg this coming autumn. The major theme for this year is local and global processes of the LGBT movement, exploring the discourses and practices relating to LGBT politics, activism, sexual and gender identity rights at local and global levels. Over the 10 festival days 38 films will be screened and among the countries providing the focus are China, Cuba, Uganda, Chile and South Africa, places where LGBT movements are still in their infancy and face great opposition. A first in the history of the festival will be the presentation of a programme of Russian films: The Beginning, compromising of new work from directors from around the country.

The festival will open with Sundance award winner Young & Wild (Joven y Alocada) by Chilean director Marialy Rivas who will also be in attendance. Other films include Beauty (Skoonheid) by South African director Oliver Hermanus which won the Queer Palm at the Cannes Festival in 2011 and the new feature Yossi by Israeli director Eytan Fox. The hard hitting documentary and multi-award winner Call Me Kuchu which documents the courageous efforts of David Kato and his team to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles in the fight for LGBT rights in Uganda will be screened and provide the basis for further discussion.

Joining the audience for Q & As and discussions are Eytan Fox (Israel), Marialy Rivas (Chile), organizer of the Beijing Queer Festival, Yang Yang (China) and Michiel van Erp (the Netherlands).

In cooperation with the Swedish documentary film festival, Tempo, Side by Side will be screening the work of film makers Sara Broos, (For You Naked) and Mette Aakerholm Gardell (Not a Man in Sight Not). Both directors will take part in Q & As following the screening.

Full programme will be published on 1 October, 2012