DIVINE QUEER FILM FESTIVAL 8 – In Turin from 17 to 19 May

Turin, the city of culture, history, incredible contradictions and always the fulcrum of Italian queer movements, returns to host the Divine Queer Film Festival, the independent queer cinema festival with an international scope, steeped in activism for rights and against every discrimination, ready again this year to tell the stories of courage, determination and struggle. Now in its eighth edition, the festival has chosen for years to take place in the Barreira district of Milan, in the spaces of the community hub of Via Baltea 3, to explore the fluctuating themes of gender identities, disabilities and migrations even in less mainstream places using cinematographic language to break down the discrimination linked to them. Cinema thus becomes an opportunity for information, communication and training on topics that still today (and especially today) become the subject of prejudice and marginalization. Entrance to the screenings is free, without architectural barriers and the films are subtitled in Italian and for deaf audiences. THE FESTIVAL OPENS WITH THE PERFORMANCE OF FILO SOTTILE AND THE FILM RED SHOES – THE BOSS’S SON The opening evening of Friday 17 May, which coincides not by chance with the International Day against Homo-Lesbian-Bi-Transphobia, will see on stage at 8.30pm Filo Sottile, an artist who uses writing and theater as a work of political militancy by assembling words, reflections, perspectives and songs, with his performance entitled Volano gli stracci. Followed, at 9.15pm, by the screening of the film Red Shoes – The boss’s son, the true story of Daniela Lourdes Falanga, a trans woman, the only daughter of a Camorra boss who, going through countless obstacles, suffering and many humiliations, manages to become the person he has always wanted since childhood. The protagonist will be present in the room together with the director Isabella Weiss. THE FESTIVAL DEDICATED TO PIPPA BACCA Pseudonym of Giuseppina Pasqualino di Marineo, Pippa Bacca was an Italian artist who embarked on the path of performance art in 1997. On 8 March 2008, on the occasion of the International Day of Women’s Rights, she together with Silvia Moro for the performance ‘Sposa in viaggio’, with which she wanted to hitchhike across 11 countries affected by armed conflicts, wearing a wedding dress to promote peace and trust. The destination to reach was Palestine: Pippa Bacca and Silvia Moro crossed Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Bulgaria to arrive in Turkey on 20 March 2008. In Istanbul the two artists separated: on that occasion, Pippa Bacca was raped and killed by a man who had given her a lift, convicted four years later. Pippa Bacca’s femicide shook Italian and Turkish public opinion and always brings attention to the issue of male violence against women and war, brutally current issues that we try to deconstruct with our commitment, the films chosen and the collateral activities . This year’s coordinated image, created by Vito Raimondi, depicts a detail of Pippa Bacca washing the feet of a midwife in Belgrade, during the “Bride in travel” performance in March 2008 on a background that recalls ties, the journey between distant places but connected to each other by the horrors of wars, against a colorful background that recalls the green of hope. The documentary I fell in love with Pippa Bacca by director Simone Marinetti will be screened on Saturday 18 May at 9pm and offers an accurate reconstruction of the performance “Brides in travel”, underlining the pacifist aspect of union and communication between various people. One of Pippa’s sisters will be present in the room. THE CLOSING EVENING The final evening of Sunday 19 May, starting at 7.30 pm, will see the screening of the film Nicola – Mussels, Kebab & Coca Cola by the director from Bari Antonio Palumbo, which tells the story of Antonio, a director short of ideas until he has a vision of Saint Nicholas, patron saint of the city, who asks him to make a film about his true story, taking the opportunity to undertake a long journey in the footsteps of the myth, wandering amidst a melting pot of cultures and popular traditions, colors and religious rigour, united together with the aim of outlining a sacred figure which has also become a consumerist model. THE DEBATE The Italian political situation we are experiencing, composed of large and continuous restrictions on freedoms, self-determination and human rights, combined with the growing number of feminicides and the increasingly consistent attack on the right to abortion, not only did it inspire the choice of Pippa Bacca as the figure to dedicate this edition of the Divine Queer Film Festival to, but it highlighted the need to discuss and listen to the voices of those who personally suffer discrimination and oppression. On Saturday 18 May, at 6.00 pm, the debate led by the activists of Non Una di Meno Torino will be an opportunity for discussion, who will delve deeper into the themes listed above and will deal with the impact of language in the violence of gender and violence and language in the press. THE COMPETITION The 17 films in competition, coming from Albania, Belgium, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Holland, Tunisia, Hungary and the USA, will be screened on the afternoons of Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th May. THE PRIZES Four prizes for the films in competition. The awards ceremony will take place on Sunday 19 May at 8.15pm. Prize jury – composed of the Turin artist and director Monica Affatato, the set designer, costume designer and protagonist of the film “Le Favolose” Antonia Iaia, the activist and honorary President of the Maurice GLBTQ Gigi Malaroda, the visual artist, photographer and videomaker Deka Mohamed, by the Director of the Higher School for Linguistic Mediators of Turin Unicollege Giosu� Prezioso. Public award – vote in the room. Divine Award is awarded by the artistic direction of the Divine Queer Film Festival. The prizes were created by Artemista, Stranaidea’s day center for disabled people. To the awards listed above, we add the Arci/Ucca Award, awarded both by the Turin section of Arci, to which the Taksim association (promoter of the festival) is affiliated, and by UCCA – Union of Arci Film Clubs. The prize will be awarded on Friday 24 May 2024 at the MalaErba space of Anomalia Teatro, in via Verres 4 in Turin, with the presence of representatives of the associations, but the winning award-winning film will be announced during the awards ceremony on Sunday 19 May. CROWDFUNDING The Festival, the result of voluntary work, wants to continue to allow all interested people to access the screenings free of charge. With the crowdfunding campaign on Produzioni dal Basso we want to raise the funds that will be used to guarantee free access to all screenings, support the costs of subtitling in Italian and for deaf people, travel and accommodation costs for directors guests, the amounts relating to the SIAE. By contributing to the fundraising campaign you will support the Divine Queer Film Festival and for a donation it will be possible to receive a reward between the Divine bag, a unique piece of social craftsmanship created by Artemista or a fabulous brunch in via Baltea. To contribute to crowdfunding by bank transfer or PayPal, the data is available on the site at this link: