Merlinka Festival

Last updated

International Queer Film Festival Merlinka
Merlinka-festival.jpg
Location Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Belgrade, Serbia
Podgorica, Montenegro
Founded2009
LanguageInternational
Website www.merlinka.com

The International Queer Film Festival Merlinka or Merlinka Festival is an annual LGBT-themed film festival which is annually organized in Belgrade (since 2009), Sarajevo (since 2013) and Podgorica (since 2014). The Belgrade edition is organized in the Belgrade Youth Center during the second week of December, and it lasts for five days. The Sarajevo and Podgorica editions are organized in January and February of each year, with the former being organized in the Art Cinema Kriterion, and the latter being organized in the PR Centre. The festival was founded in 2009 by the Gay Lesbian Info Centre and Belgrade Youth Center. It screens feature, documentary and short films from all over the world that deal with gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, intersex and queer issues. [1]

Contents

The festival was named after Vjeran Miladinović Merlinka, a transgender sex worker and actress who was murdered in 2003. She is best known for her role in the Teddy award winning film Marble Ass directed by Želimir Žilnik. The festival was established to promote LGBT art and culture. In 2014, the festival produced a theater play about Vjeran's life, Merlinka's confession, directed by Stevan Bodroža. Merlinka is the only active film festival to be annually organized in several countries.

Awards

The Festival awards the Dorothy's slipper award for the best short film. Until 2012 the festival awarded prizes for the best feature and documentary film.

YearFilmGenreCountry
2009 Otto; or Up with Dead People FeaturedFlag of Germany.svg  Germany
2010Tools 4 FoolsShortFlag of the United States.svg  United States
2010 The Big Gay Musical FeaturedFlag of the United States.svg  United States
2010FamiliensacheDocumentaryFlag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland
2011Frischluft-TherapieShortFlag of Germany.svg  Germany
2011 Weekend FeaturedFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
2011East Bloc LoveDocumentaryFlag of Belarus.svg  Belarus
2012I've Only Just BegunShortFlag of Russia.svg  Russia
2012 Gayby FeaturedFlag of the United States.svg  United States
2012I Am a Woman NowDocumentaryFlag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
2013CamioneroShortFlag of Cuba.svg  Cuba
2014Through The Mirror

I call it love

Short

Short

Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines

Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon

201509:55-11:05, Ingrid Ekman, Bergsgatan 4BShortFlag of Sweden.svg  Sweden
2016Open WoundFeaturedFlag of Serbia.svg  Serbia
2016 Strike A Pose DocumentaryFlag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
2016DoveShortFlag of Greece.svg  Greece
2016TransitionShortFlag of Serbia.svg  Serbia
2017 BPM (Beats per Minute) FeaturedFlag of France.svg  France
2017Queercore: How to Punk a RevolutionDocumentaryFlag of Germany.svg  Germany
2017Fish CurryShortFlag of India.svg  India
2017Quiero decirteShortFlag of Serbia.svg  Serbia
2018 Hard Paint FeaturedFlag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
2018 Tranny Fag DocumentaryFlag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
2018WholeShortFlag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria
2018Two of Every KindAnimatedFlag of Israel.svg  Israel
2018SisakShortFlag of India.svg  India
2018ZidShortFlag of Serbia.svg  Serbia
2019 This is not Berlin FeaturedFlag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
2019Until Porn Do Us PartDocumentaryFlag of Portugal.svg  Portugal
2019Dante vs. Mohammed AliShortFlag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands
2019Butterflies in BerlinAnimatedFlag of Italy.svg  Italy
2019SupportShortFlag of Serbia.svg  Serbia
2019FicusShortFlag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia
2019CrocodileShortFlag of Spain.svg  Spain
2020 Summer of 85 FeatureFlag of France.svg  France
2020Maria LuizaDocumentaryFlag of Brazil.svg  Brazil
2020FabiuShortFlag of Austria.svg  Austria
2020CarrouselAnimatedFlag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
2020Prom NightShortFlag of Serbia.svg  Serbia
2020SnakeShortFlag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia
2020Let there be colourShortFlag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina
2020I'm not gayShortFlag of North Macedonia.svg  North Macedonia

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Bosnia and Herzegovina may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female forms of same-sex sexual activity are legal in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples.

COLAGE is an organization created in 1990 by the children of several lesbian and gay parents and guardians who felt a need for support.

<i>The Pink Mirror</i> 2006 Indian film

The Pink Mirror, titled Gulabi Aaina in India, is an Indian film drama produced and directed by Sridhar Rangayan. It is said to be the first Indian film to comprehensively focus on Indian transsexuals with the entire story revolving around two transsexuals and a gay teenager's attempts to seduce a man, Samir. The film explores the taboo subject of transsexuals in India which is still much misunderstood and ridiculed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vito Russo</span> American historian and LGBT activist (1946–1990)

Vito Russo was an American LGBT activist, film historian, and author. He is best remembered as the author of the book The Celluloid Closet, described in The New York Times as "an essential reference book" on homosexuality in the US film industry. In 1985, he co-founded the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), a media watchdog organization that strives to end anti-LGBT rhetoric, and advocates for LGBT inclusion in popular media.

Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival, the New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival, and the Inside Out Film and Video Festival, in launching the North American Queer Festival Alliance, an initiative to further publicize and promote LGBT film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frameline Film Festival</span>

The Frameline Film Festival began as a storefront event in 1976. The first film festival, named the Gay Film Festival of Super-8 Films, was held in 1977. The festival is organized by Frameline, a nonprofit media arts organization whose mission statement is "to change the world through the power of queer cinema". It is the oldest LGBTQ+ film festival in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Theater Offensive</span> LGBT+ theatrical organization in Boston

The Theater Offensive is a Boston-based theatrical organization dedicated to the production of queer works. The Theater Offensive was founded in 1989 by Abraham Rybeck "to present the diversity of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender lives in art so bold it breaks through personal isolation, challenges the status quo, and builds thriving communities." The Theater Offensive mounts and produces festivals and individual productions by national and local queer performers, and also serves as a development environment for new theatrical work. In addition, The Theater Offensive works to build community through education, outreach, and political activism.

Transparent is a 2005 documentary film written, directed, and produced by Jules Rosskam. Its title is a play on the words “trans” and “parent” implying the invisibility of transgender parenting in society today. The documentary follows 19 transgender men from 14 different states who have given birth to, and in most cases, gone on to raise, their biological children and the challenges they face while transitioning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Side by Side (film festival)</span> Annual international film festival in Saint Petersburg, Russia

"Side by Side" Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival is an international film festival that seeks to explore the issues of homosexuality, bisexuality and transgender (LGBT) through art cinema. Since 2008 it has taken place every autumn in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In addition, various special events are held almost every month, and since 2009 film showings and discussions have also been conducted in other parts of Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gay Lesbian Info Centre</span>

Gay Lesbian Info Centre is a lesbian, gay and bisexual rights charity in the Serbia. It was formed in 2009 by Predrag Azdejković, Serbian gay journalist, Blogger and writer to promote LGBTQ right through media, culture and art, to collect information on LGBT human right and violation of LGBT human rights, recognise and promote good practices regarding promotion of LGBT human rights and cooperate with media, media associations, cultural organizations and government institutions.

PJ Raval is a queer first-generation Filipino-American filmmaker known for his documentary films about underrepresented subcultures and identities within the LGBTQ+ community. Raval is a Guggenheim Fellow, a Robert Giard Fellow, a member of the Producers Guild of America, and the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Sciences. Raval was named one of Filmmaker's 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2006 and was a featured creator in the 2010 Out 100. Today, he lives in Texas and is an associate professor of the Department of Radio-Television-Film at the Moody College of Communication in the University of Texas at Austin.

Chennai has LGBTQIA cultures that are diverse concerning- socio-economic class, gender, and degree of visibility and politicisation. They have historically existed in the margins and surfaced primarily in contexts such as transgender activism and HIV prevention initiatives for men having sex with men (MSM) and trans women (TG).

Ronni Lebman Sanlo is the Director Emeritus of the UCLA Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center and an authority on matters relating to LGBT students, faculty and staff in higher education. She recognized at an early age that she was a lesbian, but was too afraid to tell anybody. Sanlo went to college then married and had two children. At the age of 31, Ronni came out and lost custody of her young children. The treatment toward the LBGT community and her rights as a mother are what gave Sanlo the drive to get involved in activism and LGBT politics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antony Hickling</span> French film maker and actor

Antony Hickling is an English independent film maker, actor, writer and voiceover actor.

The following list is a partially completed compilation of events considered to have a profound effect on the welfare or image of Tamil sexual minorities. The use of bold typeface indicates that the event is widely considered to be landmark:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Predrag Azdejković</span> Serbian gay activist and journalist

Predrag Azdejković is Serbian LGBT human rights activist, journalist, writer, film and theater producer. Azdejković is director of Gay Lesbian Info Center, director of Merlinka festival, editor in chief of Serbian only gay magazine Optimist, producer of several short films and documentaries and several award-winning theater plays that all are dedicated to LGBT population. He is a member of Journalists' Association of Serbia.

Vjeran Miladinović, also known as Merlinka, was a transgender sex worker and actress best known for the 1995 film Marble Ass, directed by Želimir Žilnik. Merlika identified as both gay and a crossdresser, and is believed to have been the first openly trans person in the Balkans.

References

  1. Merlinka – International Festival of LGBT Films Archived 18 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine , Belgradian, December 2014.