Time passes by so quickly that the Q! Film Festival is already entering the 4th year. Setting up something like a film festival was a piece of cake and we were having so much fun. But taking the festival to another level and maintaining it is another whole cake. Financial support is constantly a chunk of a challenge every year, human resource is another difficult investment to think of. We are grateful to all the institutions and people who are always there to show their support for the festival.

With the limited capacity and resources we have, we manage to showcase some of the classic gay films like the early Gus Van Sant’s and Pedro Almodovar’s films. Not to forget the historic Visconti’s Death in Venice. But the highlights of this year should be the documentary films. Although it is always a small section but there is the Nominated Academy Award Director Murray Nossel’s “Paternal Instinct” filmed over the course of 3 years of a gay couple’s struggle trying to have a child together with Julia Ostertag’s bizarre world of the transgender scene in Gender X.

The Sexual Diversity theme this year is to open our eyes that there are more than straight, gay and lesbian. There are many films talking about the “in-betweens”. Female are transforming into male and vice versa. Either it’s a feature length film, documentaries and short ones, mostly talking about the complexity of the sexuality in modern times.
 

As usual, apart from the film screening, the festival offers much more. A heated DISCUSSIONion on Homosexuality in Indonesian literature will feature some expert speakers. A campy Karaoke party with the karaoke video from young sleazy Indonesian filmmakers is definitely not to be missed. Photo Exhibition on “Body” will be in November featuring both professional and amateur photographers.
 

Q! Film Festival is the only gay and lesbian film festival in a predominantly Moslem country. We never really know for how long we can do the festival with all the constraints we have. Enjoy the festival while it’s still there for you!

John Badalu

Director