We are proud to announce that this year we will be partnering with the 22nd London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, and have been awarded official ‘online partner’ status by the British Film Institute - organisers of the event.

So what does this mean for QS? Over the next few weeks we’ll be publishing over 150 hand-picked stills from films and documentaries showing at the festival on the QueensSpeech.com homepage. Everytime you load the page you’ll see a new image capturing the essence one of the movies.

The first of the Centrepiece Screenings is Parvez Sharma’s A Jihad for Love, a landmark film in the ongoing debate about the nature of true Islam, Islamophobia and homophobia. Sharma’s film introduces individuals who are gay and proud followers of Islam. Their powerful and moving testimonies challenge our perceptions of Islam and the idea that the struggle for gay rights has been won, reclaiming the term ‘Jihad’ from its adopted meaning of holy war, back to its intended meaning of religious struggle.

We’re both really excited about the festival and are looking forward to watching many of the new ground breaking independent lesbian and gay films from around the world. There will also be some classics playing, such as Cabaret, Desperately Seeking Susan and and Les Biches.

Desperately Seeking Susan - Iconic tale of intangible female obsession, ripe for a queer re-evaluation.

Derek - Artist Isaac Julien’s fresh and fascinating reinvigoration of Derek Jarman’s legacy.

The Chinese Botanist’s Daughter - Tragic but beautiful tale of two women in love in rural China.

You can view the entire film schedule, and book tickets at BFI’s official LLGFF website.