09/04/2018 - On the occasion of the 33rd Lovers Film Festival, a space dedicated to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex film industry comes to Italy for the very first time

A fairly difficult challenge: creating the very first meeting and discussion space dedicated to the LGBTQI film industry at a festival. However, giving it a shot this year is the 33^rd Lovers Film Festival – Torino LGBTQI Visions, the oldest themed film festival in Europe, directed by Irene Dionisio and chaired by Giovanni Minerba, which is promoting the first edition of the Lovers Goes Industry, which will take place on Saturday 21 April, during the 2018 edition of Lovers (20 to 24 April).

Manufacturers, distributors, exhibitors and filmmakers will be invited to participate in this one-day networking event. "We are pleased that Lovers Film Festival is welcoming industry professionals to the event for the first time," explainsIrene Dionisio to Cineuropa, "with a special program: an industry day divided into two sections. In the morning, major sales agents in the sector (including Wide and M-Appeal) will be presenting their price lists. In the afternoon, a dozen works-in-progress by young international directors will be presented to producers, distributors and delegates of some of the most important LGBTQI festivals in Europe. It will be an opportunity to broaden our event program and make it more multi-layered, creating a bridge between Italy and the rest of the world in terms of LGBTQI cinema."

The day is organised in collaboration with Film Commission Torino Piemonte, Torino Film Lab, ARCI Torino, Circolo dei lettori and UCCA. An LGBTQI thematic industry day such as this one is yet to exist at any other festival, not even at the BFI Flare event in London, which wrapped up a week ago. Despite the significant presence of LGBT topics at the Oscars in recent years (Moonlight, A Fantastic Woman [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Call Me By Your Name [+see also:
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trailer
Q&A: Luca Guadagnino
film profile]...), Variety published a report from the GLAAD New York media advocacy group a few months ago stating that some of the most important film studios are unable to increase the number of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or queer characters in their films. Last February the site AfterEllen.com analysed the most effective financial strategies that film and TV producers should adopt to attract more LGBT viewers. 

Things are changing, however, in the independent cinema market – the sector most in need of development – thanks to initiatives such as Lovers FF in Turin.

(Translated from Italian)