Parallel to Antwerp Pride, there’s the Antwerp Queer Arts Festival (AQAF). It starts early, on 29 July and stops on 10 August, just in time for the Antwerp Pride festivities such as the parade.
This year’s theme is ‘Out of Focus‘, putting the spotlight on queer artists who don’t get much spotlight. But unofficially, AQAF pays extra attention to women.
You find the full calendar here.
So, what’s in it – especially – for (queer) English speaking women? The mini film festival. Cinema Cartoon’s in the Kaasstraat near the river Scheldt shows quite few queer films during AQAF.
Porn on Saturday
‘If Only For A Moment‘ on Saturday 4 August: “Astrid, a young artist, has turned her back towards the world and in a deserted landscape she works on a piece of land-art. Days pass and her loneliness becomes stifling, until one day she meets the eccentric geologist Emily. Quickly they form a deep connection. Far away from the real world, in a wild and beautiful landscape, they can make love, dream and philosophize carelessly; their lives seem temporarily idyllic.”
That evening at 10PM AQAF shows an array of Queer Porn Shorts. Yup. Get ready for queer feminist and uncensored porn.
Out of Focus queer shorts
On Sunday the 5th Cartoon’s shows a series of ‘Out of Focus’ queer shorts. Not only with and about women, but still.
Later that night ‘Taxi Stories‘ illustrates queer life through the lens of taxi drivers in Beijing (China), Hong Kong and Jakarta (Indonesia).
Experimental
This time at the Out of Focus Queer Space at Het Stadsmagazijn in the Keistraat, the hub of the festival, there’s an evening of ‘queer experimental shorts’, showing girl power at its best.
Letters and lesbians
Officially appointed City of Antwerp poet Maud Vanhauwaert organises a ‘Mega Literary Lez Fest‘ at ‘t Kwartier (Keistraat 11) with literary guests Maud Mulier, Hanna Bervoets, Maartje Wortel, Niña Weijers, Elske Van Lonkhuyzen and Gaea Schoeters. Understanding Dutch is a good idea though.
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