Unspooling between 19–30 March 2025, the 39th edition of BFI Flare (London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival) will once again present its annual showcase of queer stories on the big screen. Widely considered one of the most important queer cinema events in the world, the festival will open with Andrew Ahn’s take on Ang Lee’s 1993 classic, both titled The Wedding Banquet. Ahn's recently has its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.

The rest of the programme divided into three primary thematic strands: Hearts, Bodies, and Minds. The Hearts strand, dedicated to films about "love, romance and friendship”, features the world premiere of A Night Like This (United Kingdom) by debuting Leeds-born director Liam Calvert. The film traces the connection between two men over the course of one cold evening in London. Other European titles from this section include Fatherhood by August B Hanssen and Even G Benestad, Darren Thorton’s sophomore feature Four Mothers [+lire aussi :
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fiche film], The Astronaut Lovers by Marco Berger, To Our Friends by Adrián Orr and self-funded Manchester-made feature Departures by Lloyd Eyre-Morgan and Neil Ely. Čejen Černić Čanak’s Croatia-set coming-of-age drama Sandbag Dam [+lire aussi :
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interview : Čejen Černić Čanak
fiche film], which just enjoyed its world premiere in the Berlinale’s Generation 14plus section, will also participate in this strand.

Standing out in the Bodies lineup is Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s directorial debut Hot Milk [+lire aussi :
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interview : Rebecca Lenkiewicz
fiche film] starring Emma Mackey and Vicky Krieps, which just vied for the Golden Bear at the Berlinale. This section also features the world premiere of the German fiction feature Where You Find Me by co-directors Willi Andrick, Juan Bermúdez, Isis Rampf and Anna Schröder of the International Filmschule Köln. The film centres on a friendship that blooms between a gynaecologist and a trans club manager, whose battles for bodily autonomy begin to intersect. Sacha Amaral’s The Pleasure is Mine [+lire aussi :
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interview : Sacha Amaral
fiche film], Maja Classen’s Truth or Dare, Tallinn Black Nights-premiered Some Nights I Feel Like Walking [+lire aussi :
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interview : Victoria Verseau
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Created by and starring Lamin Leroy Gibba, the critically well-received German series Black Fruit, about two queer Black German friends, is the only episodic title in both the Minds strand and the programme. This strand, which focuses on “reflections on art, politics and community”, includes a number of titles taking their victory laps on the festival circuit: Fabian Stumm’s tragicomedy Sad Jokes [+lire aussi :
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interview : Fabian Stumm
fiche film], Trương Minh Quý’s intimate romance Viet and Nam [+lire aussi :
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fiche film], Alexis Langlois’ Cannes-premiered Queens of Drama [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] and Alexis Taillant’s queer elder-focused documentary If I Die, It’ll Be of Joy. Several other documentaries continue their festival journeys after recent premieres, including Zackary Drucker's touching trans tribute Enigma, Mea Culpa by Patrick Tass and Peaches Goes Bananas [+lire aussi :
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interview : Marie Losier
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The festival will close with erotic thriller Night Stage by Brazilian directing duo Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Reolon, which just made had world premiere in the Berlinale’s Panorama sidebar. BFI Flare is rounded out with four “best of the year” films: Jane Schoenbrun’s eerie allegorical I Saw the TV Glow, Luca Guadagnino’s Daniel Craig-led Queer [+lire aussi :
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interview : Lillah Halla
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