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INTRODUCTION 

Want to start a new film festival?

Perhaps you’re just interested in sharing queer films or wondering if film is the right industry for you after that physics degree?

Maybe you just really like watching LGBTQ+ cinema and want to know more about the ecosystem around it.

No matter your background, this workshop will explore these topics by telling the story of how Queer Wave came to be.

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STRUCTURE

Topics that will be discussed include:

-    Why start a film festival?
-    The importance of sharing queer cinema in public.
-    An introduction to Queer Wave: the Cyprus LGBTQIA+ Film Festival
-    Practical examples on how to organise, set up and grow a festival at a healthy pace
-    What makes a festival queer?
-    Queer film programming: curation as care
-    What else can we queer in the industry? It’s not just the films, but also how we make them.

The session will conclude with an open discussion + Q&A with the audience on their topics of interest. 

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REGISTRATION

The workshop is aimed at filmmakers, producers, curators/programmers, organisers, distributors, etc.  

To register, please complete this online form by 12:00 noon (GMT+7) on Wednesday 20 November. Confirmation for those selected to participate in the workshop will be sent on 21 November. 

Please note that the workshop instructor will be connecting virtually from Europe; as such, online participation for non-Hanoi practitioners is also an option.

Language: English.

There is no entry fee for the workshop, however participants are responsible for any costs incurred from attending.

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER 

Diego Armando Aparicio Elia (b. 1993) is a Cypriot-Salvadoran film professional. He is the founder and artistic director of Queer Wave: the Cyprus LGBTQIA+ Film Festival. He graduated in physics from Imperial College London in 2016 and entered the film industry gradually, after serving on the jury for Giornate degli Autori at the Venice IFF in 2018. He went on to assist the Giornate programming team as pre-selector for five editions. Since 2019 he has worked in the production and direction departments for several international co-productions, including feature films and limited series that have premiered in Venice, the Cannes Critics’ Week and the Karlovy Vary IFF. He is an alumnus of the Atelier for Young Festival Managers, the Future of Film Festivals Forum, the Global Cultural Relations Programme and Developing Your Film Festival. In 2021 he was one of 20 finalists worldwide shortlisted for the Commonwealth Youth Awards. He was part of the selection panel for the LUX Audience Award in 2022 and served on the jury for the Berlinale Teddy Award in 2024. He is a member of the European Film Academy.

Queer Wave is the Cyprus LGBTQIA+ Film Festival. The festival was born through a pilot edition online in 2020, to address the need to experience community during times of isolation. Its long-term goal is to celebrate, empower, challenge and stimulate - within and beyond queer circles, creating ripples through cinema and the arts. Since the end of its 5th edition in 2024, Queer Wave has delivered over 200 local premieres of LGBTQIA+ titles from all over the world. While the majority of its activities take place in Nicosia, Queer Wave has taken up space south and north of the green line, within the buffer zone, and outside the capital, with the aim of bringing communities closer together - one film at a time.