• The 25th annual Mezipatra queer film festival starts today in Prague.
• The opening ceremony at Lucerna Cinema will be hosted by Ivana Veselková and Karel Vladyka, also known as Just Karen.
• The festival will open with the French documentary The Beauty of Gaza (La Belle de Gaza).
• This year, the festival will showcase 25 feature films and 48 short films focused on LGBTQ+ themes.
• The weekend at Mezipatra will include an industry program and the main festival party.
• The Prague portion of the festival runs until November 14, followed by the Brno edition from November 15 to 22.

The opening ceremony of the Mezipatra queer film festival will take place tonight at Lucerna Cinema in Prague, hosted by well-known Radio Wave presenters Ivana Veselková and Karel Vladyka, also known as drag queen Just Karen. The evening will kick off with a screening of the documentary The Beauty of Gaza (La Belle de Gaza).

“The director honestly portrays the harsh reality of life for some queer individuals in Tel Aviv, especially Arab trans women, depicting their daily struggles and joys. This reminds us of the universal importance of human rights and highlights violations of them,” commented festival director Pavel Bicek on the choice of the opening film.

After the screening, guests can head to the nearby Swim Club for the opening party, Hot to Go, featuring DJs Dash, Demonika, and Youssef Motus.

A Total of 73 Competitive and Non-Competitive Films

The festival’s 25th edition is themed "Queer Liberates," celebrating liberation from the status quo and breaking stereotypes and binary worldviews. In Prague and later in Brno, the festival will present 25 feature films and 48 short films on LGBTQ+ themes. Ten feature films will compete for the main jury prize, and 41 short films will compete for the student jury prize.

Several international filmmakers will personally present their work at the festival. Acclaimed Argentine director Marco Berger will showcase a retrospective of his films. Brazilian director Marcelo Caetano will present his feature Baby (Baby), while documentary talents such as Tzeli Hadjidimitriou from Greece (Lesvia), Kata Oláh from Hungary (Narrow Path to Happiness), and Cameroonian journalist Appolain Siewe (Code of Fear) will also participate.

A Rich Program Beyond the Silver Screen

This year’s extensive supporting program includes discussions and lectures offering insight into the film industry. Titled Queering the Industry, the program will run on Friday and Saturday at the Anežka café in Prague. Thanks to collaboration with Duha for the Deaf, parts will be interpreted in Czech Sign Language. Topics will include the experiences of women filmmakers, the representation of queer characters in Central and Eastern European television, and queer filmmaking by deaf creators.

Once again, the festival features a carefully curated music program, culminating in a grand party on Saturday at Planeta Za and Pluto club, called Dual Switch. The diverse lineup will include a live concert by Alto Aria (Germany, Denmark), popular Prague DJs like Martyyyna, Surrealita, and takaDumm, as well as special DJ sets by Koruth and singer Amelie Siba.

Closing of the Prague Portion

The Prague portion of the festival will conclude on November 13 at Lucerna Cinema, with the announcement of awards for the best feature and best short film, followed by a screening of Reas (Reas) and a celebration at the Lucerna café. Winning films will be screened again on November 14 at Světozor Cinema. The festival will then move to Brno, where it will conclude on November 22 with an awards ceremony announcing the audience choice winner