Side By Side (film Festival) - Background and Concept

Background and Concept

Having begun in the late 1980s, the Russian gay and lesbian rights movement came to very little by mid-90s. By the 21st century, neither a human rights movement nor a LGBT community as a group of people, united by common values and conscious of the shared cultural and historical fate, had been formed. Started in 2006, the Gay Pride Movement strengthened the disagreements between different LGBT groups and with society at large. Moreover, it did not pursue the goal of establishing a cultural space.

At that time LGBT culture was developing fast in the West, also in the area of art cinema. In 1977, the first LGBT- film festival Frameline was held in San Francisco. Ten years later in 1987, a special LGBT film award was created at the Berlin International Film Festival. Over time, LGBT film forums have become an integral part of cultural life in Western societies. A great number of festivals, visited by thousands of people, run every year, and the most prestigious of them have their own gay award.

Side by Side Film Festival emerged, on the one hand, in the wake of the world-wide traditions, and on the other, as a response to the urgent needs of the Russian LGBT community. The organizers strived to create an open cultural space for the self-development and reflection of the LGBT community while at the same time exposing the problems of the LGBT community known to the general public by building a positive dialogue between the minority and the majority, deconstructing myths and stereotypes, helping to change the public opinion and develop understanding, acceptance and tolerance. According to the organizers this is one of the ways to overcome hate, discrimination and violence towards LGBT people.

The festival program consists of three main sections, all of them with corresponding awards: feature, documentary and short film. Films are selected from the previous season’s film forums and through application process. The non-competition program includes a variety of events: unique retrospective screenings, exhibitions, photo competitions, book presentations, concerts, workshops etc. The screenings are usually followed by a discussion or lecture to reflect issues raised by the film and to discuss how they are projected in contemporary Russian society. Every event hosts special guests, well-known international and Russian experts in the field of art, sociology, psychology or human rights. They form a jury which selects the award winners in all three categories. The festival visitors can also vote for their own favorite for the Audience Award.

The film festival actively seeks to attract volunteers during events. Over the years the film festival has been supported by the Berlin International Film Festival’s Teddy Award, Kyiv International Film Festival Molodist, Goethe-Institut, the Danish Cultural Institute, the Swedish Film Institute, Heinrich Böll Foundation, Time Out journal, among others.