Queer Porto – International Queer Film Festival is back at Batalha Cinema de Cinema, Casa Comum of Reitoria da Universidade do Porto and Passos Manuel, for its 11th edition, between 4th and 8th November. With a total of 40 films, the festival has today announced its full programme. In addition to the eight fictions and documentaries that make up the Official Competition and the eight Portuguese short films of the Casa Comum Award, Queer Resistance is back, now as a permanent section of the festival. Panorama offers the opportunity to discover three recent fictions from the international circuit, while Queer Focus, under the title ‘Nothing More Queer than Nature’, continues the curatorial line that the festival has developed around Queer Ecologies. The Opening Film is the Porto premiere of Two Times João Liberada, by Paula Tomás Marques, and the Closing Film is Hot Milk, by Rebecca Lenkiewicz, both titles coming from the last edition of the Berlinale. In a Special Screening, the Portuguese documentary Outlasting – Living Archives of Older Queers, by Ana Cristina Santos and Nuno Barbosa, will be screened. And in tribute to Daniel Pinheiro, the festival's programmer who passed away last January, Queer Porto is dedicating a Carte Blanche to him, with four films that marked his 10 years working for Queer Lisboa and Queer Porto.

 

OFFICIAL COMPETITION

The festival believes that its current programme reflects today's reality. A world that is mirrored in the films selected for this edition. Films that look at reality and denounce it, sometimes offering us the beauty that still springs forth, at great cost. A cinema sometimes perplexed by what it sees around it: the meteoric rise of the far rights, with its spread of LGBTQIA+phobia, anti-migrant rhetoric, false puritanism and dubious morals, which are rapidly contaminating our societies. Between fiction and documentaries – and with a special focus on the themes of family and trans identities – the Queer Porto Official Competition crosses various geographies, from Mexico to Italy, from France to Malaysia, passing through Lebanon and Brazil. Territories of many stories of migration and diaspora, of sexual and reproductive health, of a search for ways of being. Some of the highlights of this section are the Catalan fiction Away, a film about helplessness and the deconstruction of the heteronormative, starring Mario Casas, which will be attended in Porto by director Gerard Oms. Also in fiction, arriving from Critics' Week of the latest Cannes Film Festival, Love Letters, by Alice Douard, skilfully explores the whirlwind of personal and bureaucratic experiences surrounding lesbian motherhood that its protagonists go through. In the documentary format, Mexican trans director Kani Lapuerta follows his protagonist Karla over several years in Niñxs, a work that, instead of reacting to the prevailing agenda of hatred, decides to write its own, in a didactic and joyful way. Another documentary is Queer as Punk, a portrait of Faris and her punk band in Malaysia, where conservative traditions and dominant religious extremism further condemn an already criminalised community. This year's Official Competition jury is composed of transdisciplinary artist Aura da Fonseca, producer and filmmaker Catarina de Sousa, and RTP producer and director Adriano Nazareth. The prize consists of the acquisition of screening rights by RTP, worth €3,000.

 

CASA COMUM AWARD

The 4th edition of Queer Porto's Casa Comum Award once again presents an eclectic selection of queer short films made in Portugal in 2025. Four films produced in Portugal and another four in an international context, such as Portuguese filmmakers working in Germany, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, are in competition. The Insect Graveyard by Alex Simões, Erasure by Fá Maria and The Immovable Structure by Juliana Julieta are being premiered nationally. Highlights include the documentary The Insect Graveyard, by visual artist Alex Simões, who makes his directorial debut here, and the fiction film Flying Carpet, the third short film by director and producer Justin Amorim, with a screenplay co-written by Francisco Mira Godinho and cinematography by Leonor Teles. The Insect Graveyard explores grief and childhood through a choral approach and multiple formal approaches, even incorporating performance as a narrative device. Flying Carpet is a courageous approach to the biggest case of institutional paedophilia in Portugal, focusing on the fictional story of a teenager who tries to free himself from a merciless reality. Two works that could not be more disparate in their formal proposals, perfectly reflecting the diversity and quality of the eight short films in competition – from the most classic narrative structure to pure experimentalism. Together, these films offer reflections and representations on grief, family, (dis)belonging in the context of immigration, obsessive love, sexual awakening, gender identity, the relationship between the queer body and technology, institutionalised abuse and activism/protest, revealing different perspectives on our world. The jury for the Casa Comum Award is composed of Anabela Santos, cultural communications advisor at the University of Porto, Jorge Peixoto Freitas, clinical psychologist and psychotherapist, and Telmo Fernandes, activist and researcher in sociology and psychology. The award, worth €500, is sponsored by the Reitoria da Universidade do Porto.

 

OPENING FILM 

Premiered worldwide last February at the Berlinale, in the new competitive section Perspectives, Queer Porto opens with Two Times João Liberada, by Paula Tomás Marques. Cinema within cinema, the story follows João, an actress from Lisbon, who stars in a historical biographical film about Liberada, a young gender dissident persecuted by the Inquisition. In her first feature, Paula Tomás Marques revisits her premise of rewriting history through a queer lens and doing justice to its figures, going back to past times, namely reinterpreting and reappropriating gender dissident figures persecuted or tried during the Inquisition, as she had already done in her short films When We Dead Awaken (2022) and Dildotectonics (2023). Made with almost no finantial support, this is also a film imbued with a strong sense of community, bringing together a group of trans artists and performers, such as June João (also co-writer), André Tecedeiro, Jenny Larrue, Alice Azevedo, Caio Amado, Eloísa d'Ascensão and Tiago Aires Lêdo, who offer a powerful dimension of identity and autofiction to a work that is already a landmark in Portuguese cinema. Two Times João Liberada will be released in Portuguese cinemas in 2026.

 

CLOSING FILM

Hot Milk marks an astute directorial debut for Rebecca Lenkiewicz, a British playwright and screenwriter known for her work on films by Pawel Pawlikowski, Sebastián Lelio, Maria Schrader, Steve McQueen and others. Adapted from the novel of the same name by South African author Deborah Levy, the film follows Rose (Fiona Shaw) and her daughter Sofia (Emma Mackey) on a trip to the scorching heat of the Spanish summer to consult Gómez, an enigmatic healer who may hold the key to Rose's mysterious illness. But Sofia, until then trapped by her mother's condition, begins to lose her inhibitions as she is drawn to the magnetic charm of a fellow traveller, Ingrid (Vicky Krieps). Sofia's growing freedom becomes unbearable for her controlling mother, threatening to break the fragile bonds that unite them. Presented in competition at the last edition of the Berlinale, Hot Milk is an enigmatic, tense film that envelops its trio of excelling actresses in an emotional landscape of both resentment and denial, as well as desire and freedom, translating into cinema both the cerebral and emotional aspects of its original text.

 

SPECIAL SESSION

Although ageing is one of the most striking characteristics of contemporary European societies, as a theme it has not attracted the best of attention in our society. And when it comes to queer people, ageing is still considered exceptional and bears witness to different dimensions of struggle: against pathologisation, religious and state repression, invisibility and loneliness. Outlasting – Living Archives of Older Queers, co-directed by Ana Cristina Santos and Nuno Barbosa, stems from the TRACE – Tracing Queer Citizenship over Time research project, dedicated to producing an analysis of LGBTQIA+ ageing, ageism and age-related policies in Southern Europe. The documentary follows a group of citizens from Central and Southern Europe: their individual struggles, the legal and cultural achievements of the societies in which they live, and the future they desire. The film will premiere at Queer Porto, in a Special Screening, attended by directors Ana Cristina Santos (Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra) and Nuno Barbosa (Department of Communication and Art, University of Aveiro).

 

PANORAMA

Three recent titles from the international festival circuit: the same dynamic that runs through this year's Panorama proposals. Three works of fiction that share this relationship with that other person who sometimes fulfils and nourishes us, and sometimes restricts and silences us, forcing us to take a step towards our personal freedom. For Cabo Negro, the acclaimed Moroccan writer and filmmaker Abdellah Taïa drew inspiration from stories of young Moroccans he followed on Instagram, which helped him create the characters of Soundouss and Jaâfar, a queer girl and boy who meet in a luxurious villa in the seaside resort that gives the film its name, owned by Jonathan, Jaâfar's North American lover. In his latest fiction film, Taïa shows how queer youth assert and invent themselves, against family, state and religion, searching for a place of their own. Coming straight from the latest edition of the Cannes Film Festival and a nearly sold-out screening at Queer Lisboa 29, Harry Lighton's British film Pillion is presented as a national premirere. Adapted from Adam Mars-Jones' novel Box Hill, this debut feature with magnificent performances by Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård is a psychodrama with intelligent touches of humour, a risky dive into the gay world of fetish and BDSM, focusing mainly on the dynamics between master and submissive, seeking to understand whether love is possible within this strict hierarchy made up of imbalances between the parties. A Danish production, Sauna, by Mathias Broe, also a first feature, tells the story of Johan, a receptionist at a sauna in Copenhagen who one day meets William, a trans boy, with whom he begins a love affair. As this relationship proves transformative for both of them, it is put to the test daily by a society governed by rigid prejudices about gender, love and identity, but also by misguided judgments about love.  

 

CARTE BLANCHE TO DANIEL PINHEIRO

The history of Queer Porto, which had its first edition in 2015, is also the history of Daniel Pinheiro's relationship with this festival, when, in that same year, he curated the Closing Party that took place at Maus Hábitos, bringing together an eclectic cast of artists and performers. A gesture that, from day one, helped define Queer Porto. It is in Porto, Daniel's city – where he also passed away last January – that the festival pays him a more than fair and heartfelt tribute, in the form of Carte Blanche. The choice of this Carte Blanche is based on a simple premise: a set of films that the festival team witnessed Daniel's enthusiasm for, films they discussed together, films that left their mark on him as a programmer for Queer Lisboa and Queer Porto. To present each of the screenings, composed of films never before seen at Queer Porto, the festival challenged a group of people, part of Daniel's personal and emotional circle, to join in this tribute. Thus, Blue, by Derek Jarman, will be presented by artist and lecturer Laetitia Morais along with curator, researcher and performance artist Xavier de Sousa; Fluidø, by Shu Lea Cheang, will be presented by cultural economist and lecturer Fátima São Simão along with visual artist Sérgio Braz d'Almeida; Terror Nullius, by Soda Jerk, will be presented by multidisciplinary artist Flávio Rodrigues, and Passion, by Maja Ray Borg, will be presented by Samuel Guimarães, who works at the intersection of education, landscape and theatre. 

 

QUEER RESISTANCE

The programme that last year crossed the editions of Queer Lisboa and Queer Porto on a cinema of resistance in politically and socially troubled territories is back at both festivals this year with a set of new titles. The current growth of the far right in Western democracies, calling into question democratic principles themselves, in addition to the setback it represents for the rights won by minority communities – whether queer, racialised, migrant, precarious, among other groups – made it extremely important for the programming team to elevate Queer Resistance to section status. Not only as a vehicle for promoting these films, but also as a platform for denouncing and raising awareness. Thus, in Porto, a free screening will be dedicated to Palestine, with the screening of the short film programme ‘No Pride in Genocide’, curated by the international collective Queer Cinema for Palestine. The programme consists of works whose aesthetic, narrative and inventive diversity evoke Palestinian culture and its place in history, its diaspora, and inevitably the criminal genocide taking place today in Gaza.  

 

Two documentaries and a fiction complete the programme in Porto. The festival's selection of documentaries takes us to Eastern Europe, with two films in which performative creation is not merely a weapon of expression, but a form of survival. With a strong focus on mental health issues and how they are the result of complex personal and family equations, Kristina Nikolova's In Hell with Ivo introduces us to one of these rare personalities, the Bulgarian performer and composer Ivo Dimchev. Set between Sofia and New York, the documentary reveals Ivo's weaknesses and strengths, the political clash with his parents in Bulgaria, and his creative process. Through all this, Ivo works and lives with an ever-growing desire to seek peace within an increasingly adverse external context. Scheduled at Casa Comum on 5th November at 6pm, the screening will be followed by a conversation with Ukrainian performance duo Sasha and Boji (mofo collective), Cristina Planas Leitão, artistic director of the Materiais Diversos festival, and Aura da Fonseca, transdisciplinary artist.

 

Arriving from Ukraine, the documentary Queens of Joy was born out of the friendship between director Olga Gibelinda and Diva Monroe, one of the country's oldest drag queens, active since the 1990s. Following the experiences of Diva – who now identifies as a trans woman – and two other drag queens, Marlene and Aura, the documentary shows the importance of the spaces where they perform, which take on a new dimension in a context of war. 

 

Premiering at this year's Rotterdam Film Festival, Iran brings us the fiction The Crowd, Sahand Kabiri's debut feature, a courageous film shot in Tehran about the importance of community and networks of affection among young people, while celebrating rave culture, a fundamental place for meeting, sharing and expressing identities. Following the screening of the film on 6th November at 10pm at Passos Manuel, we will be in conversation with Luísa Cativo – DJ and podcaster at Câmara Magmática – and her guests about these same issues, now in the context of Porto nightlife. 

 

QUEER FOCUS: NOTHING MORE QUEER THAN NATURE 

The Queer Focus of this edition of the festival, entitled ‘Nothing More Queer Than Nature: Esquisitar the Discourse in the Natural Sciences’, returns to a theme that has been present in recent editions of the Lisbon and Porto festivals: the intersection of queer theories and experiences with nature and environmental issues. Perhaps not so different from the Queer Resistance programme, because it is also about resistance when we talk about climate change and extinction, and the constant aggression of human beings towards nature. A Queer Ecology, which deconstructs heterosexist and patriarchal prejudices in science – particularly in biology – is the focal point of Queerying Nature, by Belgian artist Aline Magrez, where these new and important concepts intersect with artistic practice. Holding Back the Tide is a fun but serious look at how oysters are an integral part of New York culture, and what their extinction in those waters means in economic and symbolic terms, in a screening attended by North American director Emily Packer and producer Trey Tetreault. Finally, we are introduced to one of those rare and captivating figures, Colombian Brigitte Baptiste, a trans woman and ecologist. Brigitte’s Planet B, by Santiago Posada, shows how Brigitte has challenged scientific and social conventions, which here intersect with her ideas about politics and reflections on her personal life, in a skilful portrait that gives us some hope about the direction of this planet. 

 

And because it is important to be in community and there is much to process and celebrate, the festival's night-time programme opens with a party at Bar of Soap on 4th November and closes with another at Passos Manuel on 8th November.

 

Tickets for the screenings at Batalha will be on sale from 21st October at BOL and at the box office (in person). Tickets for the screenings at Passos Manuel will go on sale on the day of the screening, one hour before, at the box office (in person). The screenings at Casa Comum are free of charge, subject to room capacity.  

 

Queer Porto 11 is supported by, among others, ICA – Instituto do Cinema e do Audiovisual, Câmara Municipal do Porto / Ágora, as well as important partnerships such as those established with FLAD, the Spanish Embassy, the Australian Embassy and the Dutch Embassy, Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) and Pousadas da Juventude, among other public and private entities.

 

The complete program of Queer Porto 11:

 

OPENING NIGHT

Two Times João Liberada, Paula Tomás Marques (Portugal, 2025, 70’)

 

CLOSING NIGHT

Hot Milk, Rebecca Lenkiewicz (UK, Greece, 2025, 92’) 

 

SPECIAL SCREENING

Outlasting  – Living Archives of Older Queers, Ana Cristina Santos, Nuno Barbosa (Portugal, 2025, 56’)

 

OFFICIAL COMPETITION

Gen_, Gianluca Matarrese (France, Italy, Switzerland, 2025, 104’) 

If You Are Afraid You Put Your Heart into Your Mouth and Smile, Marie Luise Lehner (Austria, 2025, 88’) 

Mea Culpa, Patrick Tass (Belgium, 2024, 72’) 

The Nature of Invisible Things, Rafaela Camelo (Brazil, Chile, 2025, 91’) 

Love Letters, Alice Douard (France, 2025, 96’)

Queer as Punk, Yihwen Chen (Malaysia, Indonesia, 2025, 88’)

Away, Gerard Oms (Spain, The Netherlands, 2024, 100’) 

Niñxs, Kani Lapuerta (Mexico, Germany, 2025, 86’) 

 

CASA COMUM AWARD

The Insect Graveyard, Alex Simões (Portugal, 2025, 20’)

Raw+Porous, Ágata de Pinho (Portugal, 2025, 20’) 

Erasure, Fá Maria (UK, Germany, 2025, 16’)

The Immovable Structure, Juliana Julieta (Portugal, USA, 2025, 6’) 

Mishaps in Spacetime, Caio Amado Soares (Germany, 2025, 12’)

Those Who Move, Stephanie Ricci (Portugal, Brazil, 2025, 20’)

Flying Carpet, Justin Amorim (Portugal, 2025, 29’) 

Winners, Edgar Gomes Ferreira (Switzerland, 2025, 20’) 

 

PANORAMA

Cabo Negro, Abdellah Taïa (France, Morocco, 2024, 75’) 

Pillion, Harry Lighton (UK, 2025, 106’)

Sauna, Mathias Broe (Denmark, 2025, 105’) 

 

CARTE BLANCHE: Daniel Pinheiro

Blue, Derek Jarman (UK, 1993, 79’)

Fluidø, Shu Lea Cheang (Germany, 2017, 77’)S

Passion, Maja Ray Borg (Sweden, Spain, 2021, 95’)

Terror Nullius, Soda Jerk (Australia, 2018, 54’) 

 

QUEER RESISTANCE

The Crowd, Sahand Kabiri (Iran, 2025, 70’)

In Hell with Ivo, Kristina Nikolova (Bulgaria, USA, 2025, 80’)

Queens of Joy, Olga Gibelinda (Ukraine, France, Czechia, 2025, 90’)

‘No Pride in Genocide’ (Queer Cinema for Palestine):

a tangled web drowning in honey, Tara Hakim, Hannah Hull (Canada, 2023, 10’)

Abgad Hawaz, Robin Riad (Canada, 2024, 2’)

Aliens in Beirut, Raghed Charabaty (Lebanon, Canada, 2025, 17’)

Blood like Water, Dima Hamdan (Palestine, 2023, 14’)

Don’t Take My Joy Away, Omar Gabriel (Lebanon, 2024, 7’)

I Never Promised You a Jasmine Garden, Teyama AlKamli (Canada, 2023, 20’)

Out of Gaza, Seza Tiyara Selen, Jannis Osterburg (Germany, 2025, 9’)

Palcorecore, Dana Dawud (Palestine, 2023, 6’)

 

QUEER FOCUS: Nada Mais Queer que a Natureza: Esquisitar o Discurso nas Ciências Naturais

Brigitte’s Planet B, Santiago Posada (Colombia, 2025, 87’)

Holding Back the Tide, Emily Packer (USA, 2023, 77’)

Queerying Nature, Aline Magrez (Belgium, 2023, 64’)

 

TALKS

Talk with Aura da Fonseca, Cristina Planas Leitão and Sasha Malyuk & Boji Ro (Queer Resistance)

Talk with Luísa Cativo and guests (Queer Resistance)

 

FESTAS

Welcome Party, Bar of Soap

Farewell Party, Passos Manuel