Pierre Le Gall’s debut feature film, Du fioul dans les artères, was the winner of the 12th edition of Queer Porto – International Queer Film Festival; the film premiered at the most recent Cannes Critics’ Week, where it won the Queer Palm Révélation award.

 

In the words of the jury for the Official Competition – the writer and lawyer Joana Ferraz, the programmer and producer Joana Gusmão, and the curator and professor Juan Luis Toboso – it is “a film that portrays the rarity of finding beauty in a world of ugliness and oppression; a love story that reflects social prejudice, yet manages to fill us with hope”. The prize consists of RTP acquiring the screening rights, worth €3,000.

 

The jury also awarded an honourable mention to Something You Should Know About Me, by Andy Fidoten. The film, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, is a sweet and entertaining romantic comedy created by a predominantly trans team that blends live action and animation to tell the story of a young cartoonist and his evolving feelings for his best friend. The director and lead actor, EJ Marcus, took to the stage at the Batalha Centro de Cinema to receive the award.

 

At the same festival, the documentary What Will I Become?, by Lexie Bean and Logan Rozos, won the Audience Award, which was accepted by Lexie Bean on the closing night. The film explores the vulnerability of the trans men’s community, telling the story of two young trans men from the US who took their own lives. 

 

The documentary Abril de Helena, by Maria Moreira and Victor Hugooli, won the Best Portuguese Short Film Award, whilst Semeei Vermelho, by Sofia Afonso, received an honourable mention. In this 5th edition of the Portuguese Short Film Competition, the festival screened ten short films, which were judged by researcher and lecturer Diogo Nóbrega, master’s student Lia Chaves, and director Mariana Bártolo. The prize, worth €500, is awarded by the Rector’s Office of the University of Porto.

 

With a programme heavily focused on the themes of adolescence and support networks, as well as lesbian and feminist cinema, and given the impact of the two screenings of Portuguese short films, the festival team highlighted throughout the event the excellent standard of contemporary queer cinema, in particular the impressive range of the 2026 ‘harvest’ of new films, which led to two of the three sessions being sold out, namely those featuring Garance and La Bola Negra.

 

On the closing night, held on Saturday 7 November, which featured a screening of the feature film Seis Meses en el Edificio Rosa con Azul by the Mexican director Bruno Santamaría Razo, the organisers announced that more than 2,100 people attended the 28 screenings at Queer Porto, the festival’s highest attendance to date (a 20% increase on the figures from 2025), in an edition that welcomed 31 national and international guests, the majority of whom were filmmakers.

 

—

QUEER PORTO 12 AWARD WINNERS

OFFICIAL COMPETITION

 

BEST FILM

Du fioul dans les artères, Pierre Le Gall (France, Poland, 2026, 91’) 

“In a bleak industrial wasteland of labour exploitation and masculinity, we witness two fireflies falling in love with one another. A film that portrays the rarity of finding beauty in a world of ugliness and oppression; a love story that mirrors social prejudice, yet manages to fill us with hope.”

 

SPECIAL MENTION

Something You Should Know About Me, Andy Fidoten (USA, 2026, 85’)

 

“A delicate and entertaining portrait of the artist as a young man, a story that offers a glimpse into the inner world of a trans community, portrayed with humour and sensitivity. An intimate journey of self-discovery, in which the freedom to love oneself is an essential part of becoming who we truly are.”

 

AUDIENCE AWARD

What Will I Become?, Lexie Bean, Logan Rozos (USA, 2026, 87’)

 

PORTUGUESE SHORT FILM COMPETITION

 

BEST PORTUGUESE SHORT FILM
Abril de Helena, Maria Moreira, Victor Hugooli (Portugal, 2026, 20’)

 

“For the sensitivity with which the film explores the intimacy of a family undergoing change, revealing to us the fundamental importance of a network of care and love. With Abril de Helena, we are compelled to watch. We cannot look away.”
 

SPECIAL MENTION

Semeei Vermelho, Sofia Afonso (Portugal, 2026, 15’)

 

“In recognition of the intensity of its aesthetic vision and the skill with which the actors were directed, we have awarded an honourable mention to Semeei Vermelho.”