"""Life for homosexuals in small towns is difficult. It's easier to be gay in Chueca or a big city."". The statement is by Andres Fernandez-Rubio, journalist and director of Campillo, yes I want it, a documentary which begins today 13th Madrid International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. An event expected to attract around 15,000 people, where over 100 films will be screened until November 9th.
The demands in this edition have changed: "Today, gay cinema goes beyond clichés, comedies, eroticism and AIDS. Production is diversified and offers very diverse works at an international level", explains Lucas Casanova, director of the festival. A good example is Campillo, yes I want it. "It tells the story of a town called Guadalajara Campillo de Ranas. Its mayor, Francisco Maroto, is gay. When the gay marriage law was passed, there were PP mayors who tried to boycott it. Then, the mayor of Campillo declared: 'I'm getting married.'‘ A small gay community has settled in this city, living peacefully with their fellow villagers. It's an example of integration," Casanova says.
When LesGayCineMad was founded in 1996, its aim was to be "a tool for social change." The festival director emphasizes the need to continue to educate through film. "When people ask me if LesGayCineMad still makes sense in a country where gays and lesbians are legally equal, I say yes. Why legal equality is not social equality. Women have had the right to vote in Spain for almost a century. But a couple of years ago, the law on domestic violence had to be passed to protect them. Furthermore, Lesbian couples over 30 remain invisible"".
One of the festival's highlights features a woman. A retrospective of experimental and dissident feminist cinema is planned. Barbara Hammer (Hollywood, 1939). "It's important to show stories about lesbians. They have no rights or freedoms, and until their voices are heard in society, we will continue to need lesbian cinema," says Hammer. He observes: "I once had to show my films to some policemen. They said it was child pornography. In Superdyke, two children appear. I explained to them that the naked woman is their mother and that the film is about natural rituals.".
Other stars of the festival will be Bruce LaBruce and his gay zombie film Otto, and Tom Gustafson and his musical Were the world mine.
Among the successes of the LesGaiCineMad festival is that of having been the launch pad for films that have been screened in cinemas on the Spanish commercial circuit such as Fucking Amal or Goldfish memory. "Our focus is on first-time directors and short films," says Casanova. "On a European level, one or two specialized distributors have emerged. And Spain has been no exception. Karma Films and Vertigo have included many gay titles in their catalogs because their quality meets their rigorous selection criteria. But the relationship with theater owners remains difficult. It seems they're afraid this material will reach theaters.".
Translation by Antonio Rotelli of the article published in El.Pais on October 30, 2008: http://www.elpais.com/articulo/madrid/escaparate/lesbianas/elpepiespmad/20081030elpmad_11/Tes