2020 Queer Feminist Film Festival
From 25-29 November 2020, the Queer Feminist Film Festival held its third annual festival. In 2020, QFFF acknowledged how COVID 19 further exacerbates the systemic violence and erasure experienced by LGBTQI+ persons and other marginalised groups of peoples. They hosted activities in areas situated on the periphery of the urban city centre which are poorly serviced and historically excluded such as the Cape Flats. QFFF piloted hosting virtually and in community across 5 different communities on the Cape Flats namely Manenberg, Khayelitsha, Lavender Hill, Paarl and Samora. In each community, QFFF resourced and supported through mentorship and profiling 5 community mobilisers and citizen journalists. For the first time in the festival’s history, QFFF resourced content creation for young Queer persons to tell stories about their lives and the lives of those in their communities and screened these films as headliners through the festival.
Another focus for QFFF in 2020 was wellness and psychosocial support services for our people. It is known that a national lockdown had many far reaching impacts on people’s lives including the mental health of many LGBTQI+ persons. In response, QFFF brought together a community of Black Queer Feminist Healing practitioners to provide services in community and online that centered indigenous and alternative forms of therapy. Therapies on offer included Queer traditional healing, African Feminist witchcraft, Art therapy and Antamu Body Movement. Looking ahead, we are planning to build on the lessons and approaches we implemented in 2020 by hosting nationally and including continental perspectives into the festival’s offering. Stay up to date with QFFF’s developments by following them at QueerFeministFilmFestival on Facebook and Twitter.
