The 2021 edition of the GAZE International LGBTQ+ Film Festival kicks off on Wednesday, 29 September, showcasing some of the best queer cinema from Ireland and abroad. GCN is delighted to be collaborating with GAZE to present a series of post-screening filmmaker Q&As as part of the In and Out Festival.

Shame // Less

One of the most highly anticipated screenings is that of Shame // Less, an Irish film directed by Stephen Quinn, Noel Donnellon, and Luke Faulkner.

The experimental feature is a cosmic cruise anchored by performance artist Stefan Fae and figures from Dublin’s creative queer underbelly including Lady K, Vickey Curtis, Pradeep Mahadeshwar and Attracta Tension, to name but a few. In an Ireland that’s post-Marriage Equality, post-Repeal and a city engulfed in the power of the corporatocracy, Shame // Less invites you to peer through the gloryhole and bear witness to what it means to be radically queer in this new era.

Part cabaret, part performance art, the film is a response to the study ‘Culture and Sexual Risk: An Ethnographic Analysis of Gay Male ‘Sexual Worlds’ in Ireland Today’. Set in Dublin’s iconic Boilerhouse, this film is not to be missed and will be screening in partnership with ACT UP Dublin on Thursday, 30 September in the Irish Film Institute.

Some BTS photos from shooting Shame // Less at the Boilerhouse this Summer. 2 days till its screening in the @IFI_Dub for @gazefilmfest . Tickets here https://t.co/Hr3WGPiJRQ pic.twitter.com/2Jl3Us9YkO

— Luke (@PureGrand) September 28, 2021

A Q&A will follow the screening, hosted by GAZE’s Head of Programming, Seán McGovern, and will feature Stephen Quinn, Noel Donnellon and Luke Faulkner who will provide valuable insights into both the film and the filmmaking process.

Starting at 7:45PM, it will be available to enjoy in-person for those with a ticket to the film screening in the IFI. For those at home, it will be broadcasted to GAZE’s Facebook page and GCN’s YouTube channel at the same time.

Rebel Dykes

Another film sure to be a fan favourite is Rebel Dykes, an unapologetic documentary that celebrates London’s lesbian scene. It screens in partnership with the British Council in the Light House Cinema on Friday, 1 October.

In a city that many from across the world have called their home, London’s dyke scene was rooted in the Greenham Common peace camps, a love of leather, protest and battles amongst the SM dykes and those opposed to it. What united all was a rejection of Thatcher’s brand of rampant capitalism and anti-feminism, and the love of a thriving, anarchic lesbian community.

A Q&A hosted by Sonya Mulligan, the director of Irish documentary Outitude, will take place virtually following the screening, and will feature filmmakers Siân Williams and Harri Shanahan. The discussion will be broadcasted at 10PM to the Light House Cinema for those with tickets to the film, and also to GAZE’s Facebook page and GCN’s YouTube channel at the same time.

Stay tuned for more Q&As to be announced, and to see the full programme for this year’s GAZE International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, visit gaze.ie. For tickets to any of the screenings visit the IFI and Light House Cinema websites.

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