Torn from the Chain is one of our blocks of short films. At 6:00 p.m., we’ll be talking with Simon Bozzelli, the director of J’ador, a film set in the toxically masculine environment of young extremists that you can find in this block. And do you know what Slovak Mezipatra is called? It is Festival Inakosti and we will meet with our Slovak colleagues in the studio at 6:40 p.m.

We’ll meet with the Canadian director Bruce LaBruce in the studio on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. and we’ll discuss his film, Saint-Narcisse. And what’s new in the Haná region? We’ll find out at 6:40 p.m. when we’ll welcome guests from the Ollove collective from Olomouc. This city usually hosts Mezipatra echoes, but this year, you can watch anywhere, so don’t forget to recommend the festival even to your Moravian auntie. And at 7:15 p.m., Karel Vladyka (known as Just Karen) will welcome the protagonists of Trans* docuseries.

How did you like Cocoon? We will talk about the film live with director Leonie Krippendorff from our queer studio on Tuesday at 6:00 p.m., and there will be room for your questions as well. At 6:40 p.m. we will welcome our colleague Marcela Macháčková, coordinator of the Mezipatra in schools project. Why do we make films about intersexuality for pupils and how do they perceive them? At 7:15 p.m. we will remind you that Fortune favors the prepared. Despite the ubiquitous coronavirus, we must not forget about HIV, so in an interactive lecture by Robert Hejzák from the Czech AIDS Society, we will learn everything we need to know about PrEP.

On Monday, November 9, we will broadcast a live interview with director Daniel Nolasco about his film Dry Wind from our queer studio at 6:00 p.m. Have you seen his NSFW trailer yet? Take a look at Dry Wind and join the Q&A. At 6:40 p.m., we will welcome Viktor Heuman from Trans*parent to the studio. If you don't know Viktor yet, take a look at his profile in this year's docu-series Trans*. At 7:00 p.m., a panel discussion I’m Not a Homophobe, But… will begin, in which the host Bára Šichanová will talk to leading experts about minority stress.

Our Queering the Industry program about the audiovisual industry continues on Sunday. We’ll start at 1:00 p.m. with The Art of Shorts, a program where creators of short films from the main competition will share their successful strategies. At 2:00 p.m., we’re offering a panel about the situation at Czech primary schools, School of Queer Life. At 3:00 p.m., we’ll discuss the state of queer content at streaming platforms in Queer (tele)vision. And from 4:30 p.m., you can enjoy an interview with Leonie Krippendorff (the director of the excellent Cocoon) on how to find and depict the fears and desires of one generation in film. The interview will be hosted by Ryan Keating-Lambert from Movie Barf blog.

The second year of our Queering the Industry section, which examines the film industry from a queer perspective, begins on Saturday. At 2:00 p.m., we will broadcast a masterclass with a new queer cinema icon - Canadian author John Greyson (whose influential work we featured in the festival retrospective in 2007 and whose film Zero Patience will close the festival this year). At 4:00 p.m., we will talk to the organizers of queer film festivals in Eastern Europe and at 8:00 p.m. we will look into the world of online streaming platforms.

At Friday's Mezipatra LIVE at 6:00 p.m., we will welcome in the studio Faraz Shariat, the director of the opening hit, No Hard Feelings. This colourful story about conspiratorial closeness, trust and the need to belong deservedly won this year’s Teddy Award. It’s because the central question of the story is highly relevant – can a foreign country ever become a genuine home for the young protagonists? There will also be space for your questions, follow and ask during the live stream at our Facebook and YouTube

The 21st Mezipatra begins on Thursday, November 5! We are broadcasting the gala opening of the festival live at Moje kino LIVE at exactly 7:00 p.m. and will again be hosted by Zuzana Fuksová and Ivana Veselková from the Buchty show on Radio Wave. This time we exchange the Lucerna cinema for your couches and our studio. The opening film is the German hit No Hard Feelings. The colorful film about conspiracy, trust and the need to belong justly won this year's Teddy Award. You can buy tickets for the opening here and they are also valid for the subsequent party All for one! Buy something to appease the neighbors, because the party is at your house from 9 p.m. What does the launch of Mezipater look like in your home? What do you wear and what drinks will you serve? Tag us in your instastories!

An accompanying program for film professionals Queering the Industry will take place on the weekend of November 7-8. Discussion Queering online content will address the seemingly free virtual space and its specifics. The guests will be a Russian YouTuber, a journalist from PinkNews or the protagonist of a documentary produced by Stream. The How to make a festival, Eastern edition webinar will bring the experience of organizers of queer film festivals from Poland, Slovenia or Russia.

We invite you to the virtual gala opening of this year's 21st Mezipatra, which will happen live on Thursday, November 5, 2020 from 7:00 p.m. via the Moje kino LIVE platform. The ceremony will be moderated by Buchty (Ivana Veselková and Zuzana Fuksová from Radio Wave), the evening will continue with the premiere of the German film No Hard Feelings, followed by a party in the form of an online DJ set. Buy a ticket on GoOut.cz for CZK 100, which is valid for all three parts of the program. The event is English-friendly.