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Documentary Competition 2024

I Trust You

Susana and Nélida met in their youth in a convent, fell in love and abandoned their calling. The two built a home together, adopted 3yo Erika, and lived a happy life on the family farm. But in 2006 the two were charged with murder and were sentenced to 20 years in prison, in what became a sensational media event, combining nuns, lesbians, jealousy, rivalry, prejudice, politics, corruption and parenthood. Many things happened since then – Nelida came out as a trans man, and is now Daniel, Erika is 24yo and visits her parents in prison, while they still plead innocence.
Director Agustin Toscano who has been following the couple since 2019, is bending the rules of documentary cinema and brings to the screen a humane drama of a family behind bars. He combines documentary filmmaking with professional acting and adds original musical pieces, and most importantly – he does not judge his subjects in any way.
This is an original and forceful piece of cinema.

Warm Film

Two young Serbian actors get an offer to play in a gay movie with daring sex scenes. They are torn between the need to make a living and be famous and the fear of being notoriously labelled. The two begin to research how this subject was treated throughout the history of Serbian, and before that, Yugoslavian, cinema. What was the meaning of queer representation on screen?
“Warm Film” is a fascinating and surprising journey through the history of queer cinema in Yugoslavia and post-Yugoslavia region, from the days of the silent movie to the present, especially given the modern rise of nationalism and LGBTphobia in Eastern Europe.

Two of the films discussed in “Warm Film” will be screened during the TLVFest: “Life and Death of a Porno Gang” (2009) and “Marble Ass” (1995).

A House is Not a Disco

A documentary that goes behind the scenes of Fire Island Pines, an upscale neighbourhood in the popular queer beach town of Fire Island, that had become an international hot fantasy, when the first gay porn films were filmed on the beach there, back in the 60’s.
Back in the day, when it was still illegal to be gay, men used to come to these beaches to enjoy carnal desires and lives free of inhibitions and conflicts. Half an hour ferry ride from New York, Fire Island is still a sanctuary for gay men, even more than half a century later.
Actor Brian J Smith (“Sense8”) in his debut film captures the joy as well as the tension between the Island’s residents and the frequent visitors from the “Big Apple”. The film follows the social changes that had taken place in the past decades, since gay men began to arrive at the small, quaint seaside town. Global warming also plays its part as the beach is slowly disappearing.
The result is a piece of history, seemingly of a very specific place, but it’s also a reflection of the entire queer culture. This is a film about a true paradise, wild nature, vibrant characters, the AIDS epidemic and its long-lasting effects, social activism and also a few eccentric types.

Trans Memoria

Victoria examines her past in order to understand her gender affirming process and what it is that defines her as a woman.
After losing her best friend Meryl, with whom she went through transition, she shares the pain with Athena and Aamina, who are both in the process of transitioning themselves. Together, the three women explore who they were before and who they are today, listening to the ghosts of the past, the giggles of today and the whispers of the future.
“Trans Memoria” is a personal, honest and deep piece that deals with the results of losing someone close and with life itself through the transgender experience. Heroines’ journey goes through Thailand and France, old video diaries, and illuminates the friendship of three women with unique internal lives.

In association with the Embassy of Sweden

Summer Qamp

“Summer Qamp” is a documentary following a group of young LGBTQ people in an idyllic summer camp by a lake in Alberta, Canada, where the young campers enjoy the traditional camp experience, but in a safe and accepting environment.
Camp fYrefly is stationed deep in a green forest and is a summer refuge for teens on the LGBTQ spectrum, far from a hostile environment, in a place where they can give fly to their queerness and their gender identity.
The film invites the viewers to meet the guides as well as the young campers, all of whom are willing to share the challenges they face and what had led them to this particular camp in remarkable and moving honesty.

In association with the Embassy of Canada

Lesvia

Since the 70’s lesbians from all over the world have been drawn to the island of Lesbos, the birthplace of the famous ancient Greek poet Sappho. They find refuge on the wild beaches that are void of tourists, next to small traditional fishermen villages. The women create their own environment that does not align with the conservative mind set of the nearby villagers and brings forth tensions. Some lesbians decide to relocate to the village and start a new community, hotels and businesses that cater to the lesbian crowd, which makes the locals feel like their home had been invaded and turned upside down.
Filmmaker Tzeli Hadjidimitriou, a Lesbos native and a lesbian herself, directed an immersive experience about 40 years of love, community, conflict and gentrification.

1.11 – An introduction by Dr. Amal Ziv 

In association with the European Union

Opening Ceremony & “The Belle from Gaza

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Opening Ceremony of the 19th TLVFest: The Tel-Aviv International LGBTQ+ Film Festival

19:30 – Cocktail sponsored by

20:30 – Opening Ceremony with performance by Galina Port de Bras
& TLVFest Honorary Awards.
Afterwards, screening with the Lead Actresses in attendance.

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During the filming of her previous movie, director Yolande Zauberman heard a story of a young transgender woman who fled from Gazza after death threats based on her gender identity and came to Tel Aviv to live as her true self. Several years later Yolande Zauberman returns to Tel Aviv to look for her. While searching for the mysterious young woman she meets several Palestinian and Israeli trans women, some doing sex work and some other temp jobs, all of them reaching for their dreams in their own way.
The film “The Belle from Gaza” is a celebratory hymn to women who fight daily on that ever so dangerous line between Gaza and Tel Aviv just so that they could be themselves. “The Belle from Gaza” is a brave cinematic piece that puts a mirror in front of reality and offers images of struggles for self acceptance in a sad reality that is all conflict and oppression.

Two more movies by Yolande Zauberman are screened at the festival.

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