A list of links to openly accessible online studies of, or scholarly resources associated with, Queer Film Festivals
Dedicated with thanks to Skadi Loist, who, along with Ragan Rhyne, Ger Zielinski and others in the list below, is a continuing pioneer in this field
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Queer film festivals globally (1977–2012) [click here to see the full, interactive map]
The full, interactive, version of the above map, created by queer film festival scholar Skadi Loist (co-founder, with Marijke de Valck, of the Film Festival Studies Network, and one of the key team members at the new Film Festival Academy) shows 256 LGBT/queer film festivals existing globally since 1977. A pin with a dot inside shows a still existing festival, while an empty pin stands for a terminated festival. The historical development of the LGBT/Q film festival circuit is represented by color-coding, each color indicating a specific time period. I follow the four historical phases proposed by Ragan Rhyne in her PhD thesis “Pink Dollars: Gay and Lesbian Film Festivals and the Economy of Visibility” (2007). In the 1st phase (BLUE: 1977–1990) these festivals were established; the 2nd phase (GREEN: 1991–1996) was marked by building relationships between festivals and the commercial industry; in the 3rd phase (YELLOW: 1996–2001) the gay and lesbian film festival model proliferated globally, and in the 4th (RED: 2001–2006) major sponsorship links to television developed (Rhyne: 4-5). The current, final phase (VIOLET: 2007–2012) is largely characterized by network building.
Another great resource for queer film festivals is Wolfe Video’s LGBT Film Festival Guide on Facebook, organised by Jenni Olson. The page works like a feed for all the updates of over 170 queer film fests on Facebook. It’s a neat one stop shop for festival updates, and if you click to subscribe it shows up on your interests page without bombarding your feed with updates. You can also subscribe to updates on Twitter here. Or check out Jenni’s blog Butch.org.
- Chris Berry, ‘My Queer Korea: Identity, Space, and the 1998 Seoul Queer Film & Video festival’, Intersections: Gender, History and Culture in the Asian Context, Issue 2, May 1999
- Noa Ben-Asher, ‘Screening Historical Sexualities: A Roundtable on Sodomy, South Africa, and Proteus’,Pace Law Faculty Publications, 2005. Paper 589
- Kaucyila Brooke, ‘Dividers and Doorways [on the locational politics of Los Angeles’s Gay and Lesbian film festival]’, Jump Cut, no. 42, December 1998, pp. 50-57
- Phillip B. Cook, ‘Gay Sundance 2013: The Year Ahead in Independent Queer Cinema’, The Blog, Huff Post Gay Voices, January 17, 2013
- Michael Guillén, The Evening Class blog, 2006-present
- Mel Hogan, ’21 years of image & nation: legitimizing the gaze’, Nouvelles «vues» sur le cinéma québécois, no. 10, Hiver 2008-2009
- Jamie June, ‘Is it Queer Enough?: An Analysis of the Criteria and Selection Process for Programming Films within Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Film Festivals in the United States’, MA Thesis, University of Oregon, August 2003
- Alice Kuzniar, ‘Schwul-lesbisches Kino aus Deutschland’, in: Bildschön: 20 Jahre Lesbisch Schwule Filmtage Hamburg, ed. by Dorothée von Diepenbroick and Skadi Loist (Hamburg: Maennerschwarm Verlag, 2009)
- Hui-Ling Lin, Bodies in Motion: The Films of Transmigrant Queer Chinese Women Filmmakers in Canada, PhD Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2011
- Skadi Loist, ‘Precarious cultural work: about the organization of (queer) film festivals’, Screen, 52.2, 2011
- Skadi Loist and Marijke de Valck (2010). “Film Festivals / Film Festival Research: Thematic, Annotated Bibliography: Second Edition.” Medienwissenschaft / Hamburg: Berichte und Papiere 91 (2010). <http://www1.uni-hamburg.de/Medien//berichte/arbeiten/0091_08.html>. (19. May. 2010 (sections: 1. Film Festivals: The Long View; 2. Festival Time: Awards, Juries and Critics; 3. Festival Space: Cities, Tourism and Publics; 4. On the Red Carpet: Spectacle, Stars and Glamour ; 5. Business Matters: Industries, Distribution and Markets; 6. Trans/National Cinemas; 7. Programming; 8. Reception: Audiences, Communities and Cinephiles; 9. Specialized Film Festivals; 10. Publications Dedicated to Individual Film Festivals; 11. Online Resources; Contact / Bio), 2008
- Skadi Loist and Marijke de Valck, ‘LGBT / Queer Film Festivals’, Film Festival Research Network, last updated November 2012
- Skadi Loist, ‘Queer Film and the Film Festival Circuit’, In Media Res, September 14, 2010
- Skadi Loist, ‘Das Queer Cinema und die Bedeutung lesbisch-schwuler Filmfestivals: Monika Treut im Interview mit Skadi Loist’n: Bildschön: 20 Jahre Lesbisch Schwule Filmtage Hamburg. Eds. Dorothée von Diepenbroick, and Skadi Loist. Hamburg: Männerschwarm, 2009. pp. 12–20
- Skadi Loist and Marijke de Valck, ‘Film Festival Studies: An Overview of a Burgeoning Field’, in: Film Festival Yearbook 1: The Festival Circuit. Eds. Dina Iordanova and Ragan Rhyne. St. Andrews: St. Andrews Film Studies, 2009. pp. 179–215
- Scott McKinnon, ‘Taking the Word ‘Out’ West: Movie Reception and Gay Spaces’, Participations, Volume 7, Issue 2 (November 2010)
- Kelly McWilliam, ‘We’re Here All Week’: Public Formation and the Brisbane Queer Film Festival. Queensland Review 14(2), 2007:pp. 79-91
- Jenni Olson, ‘Film Festivals’, GLBTQ: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture. 2002. 24 February 2007
- Ricardo Peach, Queer Cinema as a Fifth Cinema in South Africa and Australia, PhD Thesis, University of Technology, Sydney 2005
- Renee Penney, Desperately Seeking Redundancy? Queer Romantic Comedy and the Festival Audience, PhD Thesis, University of British Columbia, 2010
- Mel Pritchard, ‘the big queer film festival list‘, QueerFilmFestivals.org
- Marc Siegel, ‘Spilling Out onto Castro Street’, Jump Cut No. 41 (May), 1997
- Amy Watson, Being Inappropriate: Queer Activism in Context, MA Thesis, Central European University 2009
- Gerald J. Z. Zielinski, Furtive, Steady Glances: On the Emergence and Cultural Politics of Lesbian and Gay Film Festivals, PhD Thesis, McGill University, August 2008
- Ger Zielinski, ‘On the production of heterotopia, and other spaces, in and around lesbian and gay film festivals’, Jump Cut, No 54, Fall 2012
- Ger Zielinski, ‘“Queer Film Festivals.” LGBTQ America Today: An Encyclopedia. Eds. John C. Hawley, and Emmanuel S. Nelson. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2009. pp. 980–984
- Ger Zielinski in Conversation with Stephen Kent Jusick, Executive Director of MIX Festival of Queer Experimental Film and Video, FUSE Art Culture Politics (summer issue, 2010), pp. 16-23
The collections of links to resources gathered here are curated by Catherine Grant (University of Sussex and Film Studies For Free). They are shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.
News of significant updates will be posted first at the GQC blog.
If you have suggestions for further links (including to studies in languages other than English), or further links categories, or, indeed, any offers of help with, or feedback about, the above, please email us at gqcproject[at]gmail[dot]com. Thank you.
