Gearing up for a smorgasbörd of superior cinema at this year’s Audi Dublin Film Festival, we’ve plundered the programme for the queer pick of the posse.

CATFIGHT (Directed by Onur Tukel)

February 19, 8.40pm, Cineworld

Former college friends Veronica (Sandra Oh) and Ashley (Anne Heche) run into each other at a party. The women, now in their 40s and having not seen each other since school, find that their lives have taken very different paths. Within minutes of their reunion, a rivalry is revived, old wounds are torn open, and a Manhattan stairwell becomes the scene of a woman-on-woman brawl worthy of the greatest martial arts epics. This dark black comedy features Alicia Silverstone as Ashley’s lesbian partner, Lisa.

I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO (Directed by Raoul Peck)

February 21, 8.45pm, Light House Cinema

Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson and with unprecedented access to gay author and activist James Baldwin’s original work, award-winning filmmaker Raoul Peck has completed the cinematic version of the book Baldwin never wrote – a radical narration about race in America that tracks the lives and assassinations of Baldwin’s friends, Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X and Medgar Evers. Whilst partly anchored in the struggle for equality in the 50s and 60s, I Am Not Your Negro is about what it means to be black in America today. It’s been nominated a Best Documentary at this year’s Oscars.

HANDSOME DEVIL (Directed by John Butler)

February 26, 7.45pm, Savoy

This year’s closing film (pictured above) is a funny and observant queer coming-of-age tale from gay Irish novelist and filmmaker John Butler (whose previous film The Stag was the Closing Gala in 2014) When bullied outsider Ned and macho athlete Conor are forced to share a bedroom at their rugby-mad boarding school, their unlikely friendship takes them both by surprise as they bond over music and begin practicing guitar together. After their supportive English teacher encourages them to enter a local talent competition, Conor faces increasing pressure to choose between ‘manly’ athletic pursuits and his new love of music. Meanwhile Ned has to decide whether to betray his new friend’s trust to save his own skin. Ultimately, each learns the importance of bravery, loyalty, and finding one’s own voice.

LILY (Short, directed by Graham Cantwell)

February 21, 8.45pm, Light House Cinema

This LGBT short, written and directed by Graham Cantwell tells the story of Lily, a girl with a secret, on the cusp of becoming a young woman. With her best friend, the fiercely loyal and flamboyant Simon, she navigates the treacherous waters of school life. When a misunderstanding with the beautiful and popular Violet leads to a vicious attack, Lily is faced with the greatest challenge of her young life.

BREATHE (Short, directed by James Doherty)

February 24, 6pm Light House Cinema

In this short, a hardy Irish Traveller becomes increasingly concerned with his nine-year-old son’s femininity and sets about toughening him up.

The Audi Dublin International Film Festival runs from February 16 to 26, to see the full programme and book tickets, click here.