Queer Lisboa – International Queer Film Festival is back to Cinema São Jorge and Cinemateca Portuguesa between the 18th and 26th September. In an edition that celebrates three decades dedicated to promoting queer film and culture in Portugal, the festival has announced the first highlights of its 30th edition. Two Special Screenings have been revealed, alongside six feature-length fiction films and documentaries as part of the Panorama section, out of competition.

At Cinema São Jorge, the Portuguese premieres of two highly anticipated films from the latest Cannes Film Festival will be screened during the festival’s first weekend. “Bitter Christmas”, by Pedro Almodóvar, is a film in which the veteran Spanish director draws inspiration from his own life and work to build a seductive game of autofiction, featuring multiple characters and intertwining stories, in yet another display of his inimitable visual opulence. “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” (pictured above), Jane Schoenbrun’s (“I Saw the TV Glow”) third feature film and her definitive breakthrough, arrives in Lisbon already with a reputation as an iconic queer slasher. Starring Hannah Einbinder (from the series “Hacks”) and Gillian Anderson (“The X-Files”), the opening film of the Un Certain Regard section at the French festival and winner of the coveted Queer Palm has won over both critics and audiences alike.

The Panorama section, dedicated par excellence to highlights from the international circuit as well as documentaries on queer culture, unveils a line-up of six titles. In “Barbara Forever”, winner of the Teddy Award at this year’s Berlinale, Brydie O’Connor paints a multifaceted portrait of legendary American feminist filmmaker Barbara Hammer (1939–2019), who revolutionised the language of queer cinema with her experimental and intimate approach. Claude Loir, a former figure from the French gay porn film industry who, now in his eighties, looks back on the ups and downs of his life, is the subject of another documentary, the moving “A Very Good Boy”, directed by Sébastien Lifshitz (“Bambi”), whose extensive body of work is a regular feature at the festival.

“Jim Queen”, one of the most hyped animated films at Cannes, directed by the French duo Marco Nguyen and Nicholas Athané, is a light-hearted tribute to the queer community and the bear subculture, centring on a sexual icon and influencer of the Parisian gay scene whose life is turned upside down when he contracts a strange virus that transforms gay men into… heterosexuals. Another highly anticipated title is “Blue Film”, the second feature film by the young American director Elliot Tuttle, a daring exploration of the world of cam boys, fetishism, and paedophilia, bringing together two intense performances by Reed Birney and Kieron Moore in a cleverly crafted, closed-set drama.

Having won over the Queer Lisboa audience with his first feature film, “Futur Drei”, German-Iranian filmmaker Faraz Shariat returns to Cinema São Jorge with “Prosecution”, winner of the Audience Award in the Panorama section at the latest Berlinale. In this contemporary thriller, Shariat offers a sharp critique of the racism perpetrated by the far right and the many shortcomings of the judicial system in Germany. At last, another highlight is “Maspalomas”, by the Basque directing duo Jose Mari Goenaga (“80 egunean”) and Aitor Arregi, another of the most acclaimed recent films in the neighbouring country: the story of Vicente, aged 76, who, after suffering a stroke, must swap his life in Gran Canaria with his partner for a care home in northern Spain. Both films will be screened in the presence of their directors during the festival’s first weekend.

This year, the programming team for Queer Lisboa and Queer Porto considered 1.027 films, 678 of which were received as submissions. The Queer Lisboa 30 retrospective will be announced later this month. The full festival programme will be announced in early September, and that of Queer Porto 12 in early October.

FILMS ANNOUNCED FOR QUEER LISBOA 30:

SPECIAL SCREENINGS
 

Bitter Christmas, Pedro Almodóvar (Spain, 2026, 112’)

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, Jane Schoenbrun (USA, Canada, 2026, 112’)

PANORAMA
 

Barbara Forever, Brydie O’Connor (USA, 2026, 102’)

Blue Film, Elliot Tuttle (USA, 2025, 85’)

Jim Queen, Marco Nguyen, Nicolas Athané (France, 2026, 85’)

Maspalomas, Jose Mari Goenaga, Aitor Arregi (Spain, 2025, 109’)

Prosecution, Faraz Shariat (Germany, 2026, 113’)

A Very Good Boy, Sébastien Lifshitz (France, 2026, 87’)