The GAZE International LGBT Film Festival Dublin (typeset as GAZE and formerly known as the Dublin Lesbian and Gay Film Festival) is an annual film festival which takes place in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

each Bank Holiday weekend in late July and early August. Founded in 1992, it has become Ireland's largest

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

film event, and the country's biggest LGBT gathering aside from Dublin Pride.

Premise

GAZE's organisers seek out educational and entertaining LGBT cinema which members of the Dublin

gay community The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a common culture and ...

may not have had the opportunity to view elsewhere. The programme also includes films by gay artists which don't contain gay themes, and films which have inspired or are inspired by gay artists.

History

The festival began life as the Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in 1992, founded by Yvonne O'Reilly and Kevin Sexton; it was held in the Irish Film Centre. Over 3,500 people attended in 2006, the last year before the rebranding as GAZE. The Dublin Lesbian and Gay Film Festival was renamed GAZE in 2007. Over 4,000 people attended the 2007 festival, the 15th. In 2007, the festival acquired a new director in Michele Devlin, the programmer of the

Belfast Film Festival The Belfast Film Festival is Northern Ireland's largest film festival, attracting over 25,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1995, the festival has grown to include the Docs Ireland international documentary festival, as well as an Audi ...

. An updated version of ''

The Picture of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is a philosophical novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical '' Lippincott's Monthly Magazine''.''The Picture of Dorian G ...

'' by Oscar Wilde, with the story set in New York in the 1980s, was one of the programme's highlights. The 2008 event, the 16th, lasted from 31 July until 4 August and included screenings at Dublin's Project Arts Centre and the Winding Stair, alongside its usual venue the

Irish Film Institute The Irish Film Institute (IFI; ), formerly the Irish Film Centre, is both an arthouse cinema and a national body that supports Irish film heritage. The IFI presents film festivals, retrospectives and curated seasons, along with independent, ...

. GAZE 2009, the 17th festival, took place over five days at the Light House Cinema in Smithfield from 30 July until 3 August. An HBO remake of the classic documentary ''

Grey Gardens ''Grey Gardens'' is a 1975 American documentary film by Albert and David Maysles. The film depicts the everyday lives of two reclusive, upper-class women, a mother and daughter both named Edith Beale, who lived in poverty at Grey Gardens, a ...

'', starring

Drew Barrymore Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, director, producer, talk show host and author. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a ...

and

Jessica Lange Jessica Phyllis Lange (; born April 20, 1949) is an American actress. She is the 13th actress to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, having won two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award, along with a Screen Actors ...

, received its European premiere when it opened the festival on 30 July. Over sixty-seven films, including premieres, documentaries and shorts were featured at the event. GAZE's 23rd programme was announced on 25 July 2015, with screenings taking place from 30 July to 3 August at the Light House Cinema. In 2017, the Gaze Film Festival celebrated its 25th year of sharing movies, documentaries, and short films about the LGBTQ community, taking place at the Light House Cinema from 3 August to 7 August. The festival kicked off with the world premiere screening of documentary The 34th: The Story of Marriage Equality in Ireland, telling of the quarter-century fight for – and achievement of – a transformation in Irish society's relationship to its LGBT members, in which the LGBT community, including GAZE, participated – one that culminated in the 2015 Irish Marriage Referendum. Almost 12,000 people were expected to attend the 2017 festival event. Former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Mary McAleese Mary Patricia McAleese ( ; ga, Máire Pádraigín Mhic Ghiolla Íosa; ; born 27 June 1951) is an Irish activist lawyer and former politician who served as the eighth president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. She is an academic ...

attended and spoke at the event. The 2018 Gaze Film Festival ran 2–6 August at the Light House Cinema, and included a side programme, Gaze on Tour, promoting Irish productions.

Organisation

The festival is collated and overseen by a programmer or director, answerable to a voluntary board, and supported by a range of volunteers. Major sponsors include

Dublin City Council Dublin City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Dublin in Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. Until 2001, the council was ...

, the

Arts Council of Ireland The Arts Council (sometimes called the Arts Council of Ireland; legally ga, An Chomhairle Ealaíon) is the independent "Irish government agency for developing the arts." About It was established in 1951 by the Government of Ireland, to encour ...

and Accenture.

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaze (Film Festival) 1992 establishments in Ireland Annual events in Ireland Film festivals in Ireland LGBT film festivals LGBT events in Ireland LGBT-related mass media in Ireland Recurring events established in 1992 Summer events in the Republic of Ireland LGBT festivals in Europe

Premise

History

Organisation

See also

References

External links