Preview: The Palace International Film Festival

The Palace International Film Festival, Bristol’s LGBTQIA+ film festival, will be happening on 08 – 12 September at new arts hub, Bricks at St Anne’s House. Experienced through multi-disciplinary performances, workshops and panels from local Bristol and international LGBTQIA+ artists, PIFF celebrates the individual and collective identities that we share through the power of queer culture.

Experience the pop-up outdoor cinema every evening; indulge in the variety of queer cinema through over 100 short and feature-length films; revel in a night of chaos and dance with live DJs and performances at their club night; dive into the immersive 3D metaverse of queer virtual reality and take part in the panels and workshops where conversations are created and experimentation is elevated.

“The postponement of our previous edition due to the pandemic has only strengthened our programme and given us more meaning than ever to stitch together our LGBTQIA+ communities during a time of identity fragmentation. It is time for the LGBTQIA+ community to create a safe(r) space physically and digitally for our communities to come together once again” – Harry Silverlock, PIFF Creative Director

To open the film festival Wig in a Box Promotions, Bristol’s drag collective, presents Drag Kids (Dir: Megan Wennberg), accompanied by performances and a panel with the likes of Clare Lowe, Dis, Romeo de la Cruz and Jersey. The special feature presentations continue with a partnership with QTIBIPOC film collective, Kiki Bristol, who will present their chosen feature film, Pariah (Dir: Dee Rees), accompanied by a Kiki POC panel. Special spotlights are, Queer Japan (Dir: Graham Kolbiens) and No Hard Feelings (Dir: Faraz Shariat), with a special closing performance by Sarahsson.

As part of Film Hub North’s New Directions fund, PIFF have curated an archive film exhibition, Queer and Indecent, exploring the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 which partially decriminalised sex between men, and its influences and effects over the following decades. The exhibition highlights the historical lack of access to public spaces and services that queer people have experienced and continue to face. Simultaneously, it is a celebration of queer space, community, and expression amidst adversity. Queer and Indecent exhibition runs from 3rd-15th September, at Bricks RELAY space, St Anne’s, 12pm-5pm.

A queer film festival wouldn’t be a queer film festival without a party! PIFF is pleased to present a stellar line-up of the UK’s most innovative queer DJs and producers. Sheffield-based producer and DJ Diessa makes wild excursions melding footwork, techno, bass, jungle and ambient, whilst Candy HurtZz? will blast out a druid club and eco-grime caster of rave magick, they and their sound are the mud-mixed-with-bubblegum that seeps from the gaps. The enticing music line-up is supported by performances by Bouys Bouys Bouys, Swansea’s best vore poet and Sarahsson who embodies harmony-within-dissonance.

“It’s like bubblegum mixed with mud […] mmm mud.” — Candy HurtZz?, DJ

Workshops that challenge heteronormative ideas include a queer ballet class where bodies and identities that are non-traditional in the world of ballet can break classical rules and express who they are. If audiences are passionate about producing their own film projects but have little or no budget then they are invited to join the DIY queer filmmaking class led by Rob Eagle and Paul Samuel White. Inspired by slugs? Join Vix Williams, and their interactive installation that employs UV-reactive slime as a tactile medium to combat anxiety and gives us a place where we can play, connect and collaborate. Lastly, local queer poet, writer and community activist T.S. IDIOT shares their thoughts on queer joy and what that means to us in a collaborative creative poetry writing workshop.

For more information and tickets visit PIFF