presentation
Organizer: Iniciatíva Inakosť
Do you need help? Struggling to embrace your queer identity and looking for psychological counselling? Or have you experienced discrimination for being an LGBTI+ person and would like advice on how to proceed? Or perhaps you’re considering marrying a partner from abroad, and you don’t know how it will impact your Slovak citizenship? All these topics are addressed by inPoradňa from Inicatíva Inakosť, which has been providing specialized counselling for LGBTI+ people and their families for several years. InPoradňa’s services will be introduced by a discussion at FFi, where a psychologist, a lawyer and social counsellors will explain all the different ways they can help you.
debate + DJ set · 180’
Organizer: PRIDE Košice a Saplinq, o.z.
East Slovakia is even more traditional and conservative than the “traditional and conservative Slovakia” we hear about from government press conferences, the benches of parliament or the pulpit. Most East Slovaks vote for parties that actually pride themselves on their hateful rhetoric against LGBTI+ people, competing to see who can trample on their rights the most.
How, then, do LGBTI+ live in families, communities and workplaces permeated with homo- and transphobic narratives? How much courage does it take to come out and live openly in the East? At this discussion, we’ll share our personal experiences (including some funny ones). After the discussion, stick around to enjoy a set by DJ Enby.
The discussion, an FFi accompanying event, is organized by Saplinq, o.z. and PRIDE Košice as part of the project PRIDEme do krajských miest 2024. Is it publicly funded via Fond na podporu umenia, Slovakia’s national fund for the arts
Discussion after the film screening Three Kilometres To the End Of the World
Organizer: SIGNUM – Dúhoví kresťania | SIGNUM – Rainbow Christians
In Slovakia since the 1990s, LGBTI+ Christians have regularly gathered to give each other encouragement and collectively experience their faith in God and His acceptance of their sexual orientations and gender identities. Slovakia’s public figures representing Christianity speak a great deal of God’s love and loving one’s neighbour, but when it comes to LGBTI+ people, they often prioritize their own idea of God’s truth.
Following the screening of the film Three Kilometres to the End of the World, the association SIGNUM – Rainbow Christians will hold a discussion on LGBTI+ people’s experiences in a rural Slovakia that remains dominated by local religious and traditional institutions, often based in fear of the unknown or other.
workshop
Organizer: People on Earth
Queer cross-stitch is an embroidery workshop where you’ll learn how to use the cross-stitch technique to create an embroidery of short quotes or small images. You can create your own original design or pick from the many we’ve prepared for you. You can then use your creation to decorate your clothes or backpack, or even frame it. All the workshop materials are upcycled and provided by us, so you don’t need to bring any with you.
lecture
Organizer: Iniciatíva Inakosť, inPoradňa
How to find a way to yourself? And how to tell those around you about your identity? Coming out is a key moment in LGBTI+ people’s lives, when they decide to openly live as they really are. It’s a multi-stage process. It starts with realizing your otherness and gradually coming to terms with your minority identity. Then it’s time to confide in your loved ones or wider community. At the inPoradňa lecture, a psychologist and social worker will explain what coming-out looks like and what can help us manage this process smoothly. They will explain where professional help can be found, what has proven successful in the coming-out process and what to avoid. They will also give time-tested practical tips on how to talk about LGBTI+ identity to family, loved ones, at school or at work.
Short foreword before each projection
Organizer: Združenie rodičov a priateľov LGBT+ ľudí | Association of parents and friends of LGBT+ people
Sure, coming out is something LGBTI+ people go through, but so do their parents, who need time and space to accept their children’s differences. Very meaningful work on this is being done by Slovakia’s Association of Parents and Friends of LGBT+ People, who raise awareness about such issues while connecting all sorts of different parents to help them understand their kids. At FFi, the Association will briefly present its activities before the screenings of films that portray queer people’s relationships with their parents.
Short foreword before each screening
Organizer: Dom svetla Slovensko | Lighthouse Slovakia
Before each screening of the film To Live, To Die, To Live Again, the civil organization Dom svetla Slovensko will give a short introduction detailing the experiences of HIV-positive people in Slovakia. They will also present their activities involving testing for sexually transmitted and bloodborne infections. And if the audience has any questions, the representatives of Dom svetla Slovensko will be happy to answer them.
Short foreword before each projection
Organizer: Združenie rodičov a priateľov LGBT+ ľudí | Association of parents and friends of LGBT+ people
Sure, coming out is something LGBTI+ people go through, but so do their parents, who need time and space to accept their children’s differences. Very meaningful work on this is being done by Slovakia’s Association of Parents and Friends of LGBT+ People, who raise awareness about such issues while connecting all sorts of different parents to help them understand their kids. At FFi, the Association will briefly present its activities before the screenings of films that portray queer people’s relationships with their parents.
cabaret & party
Organizer: Tepláreň
Let's enjoy life, music and being close together! Tepláreň is bringing a queer cabaret and party to the Šafko Club. The evening starts at 9:00 p.m. with the popular queer revue. With the luminary RadoStar hosting, the stage will shine with Spizy G, Laziza Vuitton, J.Singer, Jasmine RichArt, Madrid, Terez Frecerová, Erik Hearty, Ms Eternyx and Radek Horáček. The event continues after the cabaret as a party on the front stage. Lots of upbeat music awaits you, from pop and disco to house from DJs Italo Mario Italo, Kar'Ma and Vesnu. This event is only for those aged 18 and up.
Short foreword before each screening
Organizer: Dom svetla Slovensko | Lighthouse Slovakia
Before each screening of the film To Live, To Die, To Live Again, the civil organization Dom svetla Slovensko will give a short introduction detailing the experiences of HIV-positive people in Slovakia. They will also present their activities involving testing for sexually transmitted and bloodborne infections. And if the audience has any questions, the representatives of Dom svetla Slovensko will be happy to answer them.
Workshop
Organizer:
This event is aimed towards all LGBTI+ people thinking about starting a family, but also towards people who’d like to know more about this topic or share their own experiences. The workshop will provide a safe space for discussing sensitive issues, allowing participants to get valuable information right from experts and people with personal experience with LGBTI+ parenting. Space is limited, so please make the reservation on your cinepass.
Video presentation with discussion
Organizer: SIGNUM – Rainbow Christians
The association SIGNUM – Rainbow Christians invites you to a presentation of the Czech project Faith in the Colours of the Rainbow: Openly Discussing Themes of LGBT People From Church to Church and a discussion with its creator Tobiáš Frýdl.
Tobiáš has managed to gather a diverse range of people active in church institutions or Christian pastoral work, capturing on camera their thoughts on various issues concerning Christian institutions’ approaches to LGBTI+ people and their life situations. The event will include screenings of selected videos, and we will speak with Tobiáš about what motivated the project and his own experiences with acceptance within and outside of the church environment.
Space is limited, so please make the reservation on your cinepass.
Debate
Organizer: Živena Bratislava
The Bratislava chapter of Živena, Slovakia’s oldest women’s association, invites visitors of the Slovak Queer Film Festival to an interactive discussion dedicated to the issue of violence against women. The event will start with a basic overview of the phenomenon – the types and history of violence against women. This will be followed by a description of the personality traits characteristic of violent people, the forms of assistance that women in a violent relationship can turn to, and concrete ways to help such women. The speakers will acquaint visitors with the “circle of violence”, how to make an exit plan from a violent relationship, and how women’s safe houses work. They will also explain the basics of distance counselling for women who are victims of gender-motivated violence, as well as the legal terms vykázanie (protective order) and opakovaná viktimizácia (repeat victimization). What’s more, the discussion will describe how Slovakia’s legal system and society view women experiencing violence in their relationships.
The event’s speakers will be Judita Majerová – director and therapist at Bezpečný ženský dom Brána do života (the Gate to Life Women’s Safe House), Mária Víteková, counsellor at Poradenské centrum Alej (the Alej Counselling Centre), Ivana Klimentová – social counsellor and crisis communication expert from the civil association Možnosť voľby (Freedom of Choice), and Vladimíra Reinvart from the Coordinating-Methodical Centre at the Institute for Work and Family Research.
Debate
Organizer: Iniciatíva Inakosť, Platforma Otvorená Kultúra!
The Slovak Queer Film Festival in cooperation with the platform Open Culture! presents a discussion about positive forms of personal and civil resistance to intolerance and discrimination, namely in the form of artivism – a combination of artistic creation and civic activism. The discussants will focus on the importance of the courage to be open in culture and the arts, on ways to use art to convey personal and political topics, and on tools for living freely with a queer identity – in art and beyond. Moderated by Marek Hudec, the panel discussion will include Veroni Gyenge, Alexandra Támasová, Jakub Spevák and Gregor Valentovič.