The queer film festival Mezipatra is taking place in Prague for the 23rd time this year. From 03.11. until 11.11. a total of 71 Czech and international film productions dealing with LGBTQ issues will be presented.
This year’s festival will present works that have already been shown in Cannes, Venice or the Berlinale. Some of them are set to be presented in person by their creators at the Queer Film Festival in Prague, including the new film “Fogo-Fátuo” by Portuguese director and Venice Festival Grand Prize winner João Pedro Rodrigues. Accompanying lectures, discussions, workshops and exhibitions are again an integral part of the accompanying program.
“Breaking the Ice”
This is the theme of the 23rd edition of the festival. With this motto, Mezipatra encourages you to leave the safety of your comfort zone, to cross the boundaries between the familiar and the unknown and to confront insecurities directly.
So this year’s queer film festival is all about emancipation and the inspiration to break the ice and jump in at the deep end. The challenge is to overcome clichés, shatter prejudices and draw attention to injustice.
Extensive program with educational factor
Films from different categories are also on the program this year. Some of these film productions are also judged by an internationally networked expert jury as part of an international competition.
The queer film festival shows selected feature films, such as this year’s opening film “Concerned Citizen”, a satirical comedy about a gay couple living in Tel Aviv. This year, works such as David Wagner’s romance “Eismayer” – which takes place within the Austrian army between uniformity and discipline – or the drama “Fears Within Us” by Lukasz Ronduda, which is based on true events, deal with the suppression of one’s own sexuality and the experiences of queer people in Catholic Poland.
A total of five selected documentaries will also be presented, covering romantic, historical, dramatic and pornographic themes. A series of international short films, which are intended to express the diverse identities and the necessary cohesion within the queer community, are also part of the program as well as retrospectives, which “break the prevailing cis-heteronormativity with a bang”, as the organizers describe it.
The block of short films “Ukraine is Queer”, which was specially selected for the occasion of the festival by Bohdan Zhuk, one of this year’s jurors, makes an important contribution this year. The makers of the short films are also invited to present their messages and images from the war.
The documentary “Nelly & Nadine” tells a poignant love story of two women whose circumstances of their meeting in a concentration camp could not be more appalling. Nevertheless, Nelly and Nadine get together and then spend their whole lives together.
The life of Ukrainian queer people during the war, presented in the short film “queer mixér”. Photo: mezipatra.cz
What does Mezipatra stand for?
Translated into German, Mezipatra means something like “intermediate floor”. The organization describes itself as a space between floors where people meet and which does not belong to anyone. Everyone is welcome here, regardless of whether you are on your way up or down the stairwell. Any differences are irrelevant here.
Mezipatra has set itself the task of giving people in the Czech Republic a space to discover and reflect on the diversity of sexual and gender identities – also through the Queer Film Festival. Around 12,000 people meet here every year, and Mezipatra supports them in understanding their own identity and, above all, the meaning of “queer” through encounters and self-portrayal.
In addition to the Queer Film Festival, events on the same topic take place throughout the year, such as the “Mezipatra Approved”, where films from previous festivals are presented. Mezipatra is also represented at the annual “Prague Pride Festival”, where the organization is not only part of the parade, but also offers accompanying programs on the topic of identity in the city.
The festival has already firmly established itself on the Czech cultural scene and is very popular around the world. Commenting on the queer film festival, former President of the Czech Republic Václav Havel once said: “The Mezipatra Film Festival has become a well-known and respectable partner of other film screenings taking place in the Czech Republic.”
All films of the festival will be shown in their original language with Czech or English subtitles. Tickets for the festival can either be purchased online in advance or at the cinema box office. Further information about the program can be found on the website of the organizers .
After its opening in Prague, the Queer Film Festival will also take place from 11.11. until 18.11. take place in Brno. Admission in both cities is 130 crowns (approx. 5.30 euros) per cinema ticket.