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Festival coverage

Queer East

1 May – 30 May 2026

An expanded line-up this year means there's lots to look forward to at this festival celebrating LGBTQIA+ experiences from across the East. It includes some big name festival hits, classics from the archives, and gems you won't find anywhere else. The consistently high standard of previous line-ups suggests that attendees ready to explore have a good chance of finding something really special.

The festival runs from 1 to 30 May.

Other years (3)

Latest reviews

  • Montreal, My Beautiful
    Review preview for Montreal, My Beautiful

    Desire does not arrive here as a clean break from domestic life. It appears as a tremor inside it.

    Edin Custo · 3.5 out of 5
    Feng Xia lives a life of dutiful servitude to her husband, children and community of Chinese ex-pats. When she finally decides to put herself first, and explore the sexuality that she has long concealed, she meets the free-spirited Camille.
  • A Drop In The Ocean
    Review preview for A Drop In The Ocean

    When we crash against the bright surface, it is with the physical sensation that we have been in a different world.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    A documentary following two competitive freediving athletes. One is focused on breaking the deepest record in Asia, while the other aspires to claim the crown of Taiwan's top freediver. Both have received invitations to compete in the prestigious Blue Hole Vertical Blue Depth Competition.
  • Open Endings
    Review preview for Open Endings

    Director Nigel Santos intentionally plunges us into the middle of things.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    Four queer women in their 30s who are exes-turned-best-friends navigate adulthood, love, friendship, chosen families, and everything in between.
  • Raging
    Review preview for Raging

    Theo Lozada’s cinematography is crucial to the drama’s effect.

    Edin Custo · 3.5 out of 5
    A young man who witnesses a mysterious plane crash begins to confront his own trauma.
  • 3670
    Review preview for 3670

    3670 is particularly perceptive about the tragedy of not having one’s own native marginalised community.

    Edin Custo · 3.5 out of 5
    Cheol-jun has become close friends with many people, but he conceals the fact that he is gay from them. Contending with feelings of isolation and longing for deeper connection, he summons up the courage to explore Seoul's vibrant gay community.
  • A Useful Ghost
    Review preview for A Useful Ghost

    Not only ambitious – a term often used to damn films with faint praise – but successfully so.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
    March is mourning his wife Nat who has recently passed away due to dust pollution. He discovers her spirit has returned by possessing the vacuum cleaner. But to become a useful ghost, she first needs to get rid of the useless ones.
  • Cactus Pears
    Review preview for Cactus Pears

    Although writer/director Rohan Kanawade grew up in the city, there is a deep sense of authenticity about the village setting, and the whole film is handled with a rare degree of sensitivity.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    Anand, a 30-something city dweller compelled to spend a 10-day mourning period for his father in the rugged countryside of western India, tenderly bonds with a local farmer struggling to stay unmarried. As the mourning ends, forcing his return, Anand must decide the fate of his relationship born under duress.

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