Tom of Finland among global LGBT films for Cape Town

The Cape Town International Film Market and Festival, taking place from 12 to 21 October at the V & A Waterfront, will be a celebration of film from across the world, with a focus on inclusion and diversity.

Best of all, this year’s outing will feature a strong LGBT presence. For the first time, this section will have a special jury deciding on the Best LGBT film Award at the festival.

The jury will have a wide range of films to choose from, including offerings from India, Finland, Denmark, Brazil, France, and the USA.

In the highly anticipated Tom of Finland, award-winning filmmaker Dome Karukoski brings to screen the life and work of one of the most influential and celebrated figures of twentieth century gay culture, Touko Valio Laaksonen, the Finnish artist known for his stylised highly masculinised homoerotic fetish art.

Gudmundur Arnar Gudmundsson’s brilliant Heartstone is the touching story of teenage boys Thor and Christian who experience a turbulent summer as one tries to win the heart of a girl while the other discovers new feelings toward his best friend. This is a deeply personal coming-of-age-film, described by the director as, “a story of brotherhood, self-acceptance, strong girls and the importance of family”.

Part of the Nordic selection of LGBT films, Nils-Erik Ekblom’s drama, Screwed, tells the story of Miku and Elias, who find themselves and each other during a summer in the Finnish countryside. With the film, Ekblom aimed to show an uncensored version of the daily life of a young Finn on the brink of adulthood, who also happens to be gay.

LOEV, one of the first gay films from India, will see director Sudhanshu Saria in attendance. The film is a love story; a weekend trip between friends takes a sudden turn, making them each question what love is and what it means to them.

There are also two German LGBT films; the coming out drama Jonathan, which has won 33 International awards at various film festivals, and Center of My World, based on the 1998 bestselling novel by Andreas Steinhöfel.

Several other cutting-edge features will also be screened including: Body Electric (A low-key Brazilian coming-of-age tale), The First Girl I Loved (Seventeen-year-old Anne falls in love with Sasha, the most popular girl at her LA public high school), and Boulevard Voltaire (The story of three gay couples in Paris, 48 hours before the famous terrorist attacks on Friday, the 13th of November, 2015).

Many of the films’ directors are in attendance and will take part in Q&A’s after the screenings. For the complete lineup and screening times, visit the Cape Town International Film Market and Festival website.