The Side By Side lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (lgbt) film festival has left its home city of St Petersburg after four years, relocating to Moscow. The move follows the passing of a local law in St Petersburg that bans anybody from presenting lgbt people as normal. Strictly speaking, it only applies to material that can be viewed by minors, but it is already being aggressively applied. Sergey Kondrashov, a straight, married man from the city, is currently facing jail for speaking out in defence of a lesbian friend.
Holding an lgbt film festival in Russia has always been difficult. It has toured through several cities and has been banned in most, with only Novosibirsk offering a warm welcome. In response to these problems, this year's festival will have an anti-censorship theme, a choice that may draw in new allies but is unlikely to win it friends in government. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has already spoken favourably of the St Petersburg law and is considering rolling it out across the country.
In this difficult context the festival, which is supported by several European embassies, aims to change attitudes in Russia by drawing on the positive experiences of neighbouring countries. It has a strong record of screening independent films from around the world, enabling Russian attendees to see something truly different.
This year's festival will be held 26-29 April.
