The festival that was received so warmly during the pandemic makes its first appearance with no restrictive measures in Limassol on 21 November and prepares for a comeback in Nicosia on 25 November 2022. This marks the third edition of Queer Wave, the Cyprus LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, which is this year once again supported by NiMAC [Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre, Associated with the Pierides Foundation].
During Queer Wave 2022, Cyprus’s LGBTQ+ audiences and cinema lovers will be reunited to enjoy a carefully curated programme of short and feature films: festival hits as well as works by new voices from the international queer cinema scene. As always, this year’s selection offers visibility to a wide spectrum of LGBTQ+ realities, through works of fiction, documentary and animation. The selected films include five works by Cypriot filmmakers, two of which are local premieres. Beyond screenings and discussions with filmmakers and other guests, the festival will incorporate a rich lineup of parallel events with local queer artists at its core.
Queer Wave’s aim is to give a platform to films which are often absent from other cinematic happenings in Cyprus, and to encourage freedom of expression for the LGBTQ+ community and its friends. The festival stood out as one of the 20 finalists at the 2021 Commonwealth Youth Awards, amongst 1000 projects from 43 countries. Over the past year, Queer Wave has also participated at three other queer film festivals in Europe, thus establishing a newly-formed communication channel between these festivals and Cyprus.
As a prelude to the start of this edition, a launch event will be hosted at the Rialto Theatre on 21 November, marking Queer Wave’s very first appearance in Limassol. Tickets for the launch event and a very special screening are already on sale on the Rialto website [link].
Queer Wave 2022 will be taking place 25 November - 04 December in the old town of Nicosia. Theatro Polis OPAP (opposite the Old Powerhouse) will serve as the primary venue for the festival, while screenings will also be held at the Goethe-Institut Cyprus within the buffer zone and Shakespeare House on the occupied side of Nicosia. The lineup of parallel events will be held exclusively at Cyprus’s very promising and newly-opened queer space, Sessions (6 Sapfous Street).
The full programme will soon be announced on the festival’s website [queerwave.com].
You can follow Queer Wave on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter: @queerwavecyprus
Facebook Events:
Queer Wave 2022: [https://fb.me/e/2l7uUdH9T]
Launch Event at the Rialto Theatre: [https://fb.me/e/3cjVa3KBT]
Supported by:
The Youth Board of Cyprus
The Representation of the European Commission in Cyprus
The European Parliament Office in Cyprus
NiMAC [Nicosia Municipal Arts Centre, Associated with the Pierides Foundation]
Theatro Polis OPAP
The Rialto Theatre
Sessions
Goethe-Institut Cyprus
British Council
The embassies of Finland, Italy, Spain, Belgium and the U.S.A.
The British and Australian High Commissions
UNFICYP
Queer Collective CY
Accept - LGBTI Cyprus