The increase in popularity shows the demand and necessity to keep queer stories on screen
BY ELLA GAUCI, IMAGE BY MILLIE TURNER
BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival (19-30 March) saw a 6% increase in attendees compared to the 2024 Festival, with half of these cinema-goers being new to BFI Flare. This increase in popularity reflects the growing desire to see more LGBTQIA films on screen portraying diverse and inclusive stories from around the world.
The festival saw 56 features, one series and 81 shorts from 41 countries at screenings at the iconic BFI Southbank. Of these, BFI Flare hosted 34 World Premieres, 18 International Premieres, seven European Premieres and 47 UK Premieres.
Andrew Ahn’s The Wedding Banquet opened BFI Flare with its gloriously sapphic story, and the International Premiere was attended by cast members including Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, Kelly Marie Tran, Han Gi-Chan and Joan Chen.
This year’s BFI Flare also marked the 11th year of their #FiveFilmsForFreedom in partnership with the British Council. This digital initiative presents five films from the BFI Flare programme for free to audiences globally. Early viewing figures showed that the campaign attracted over 2.2 million views, allowing audiences across the world to come together to show solidarity with LGBTQIA communities in countries where freedom and equal rights are limited.
Audiences delighted in watching films like Shatara Michelle Ford’s Dreams In Nightmares, Divine Sung’s Summer’s Camera and Yu-jin Lee’s moving comedy Manok.
BFI Flare 2025 also saw industry talks with superstars like Wicked’s Bowen Yang and Hot Milk director Rebecca Lenkiewicz. The festival also saw the return of the BFI NETWORK & BAFTA Mentoring programme in partnership with BFI Flare, offering another six talented UK-based writers, directors and producers the opportunity to grow professionally by equipping them with the necessary tools, connections and mentoring to help them thrive.
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