FIRE!!, the LGTBI film festival in Barcelona, will recover I feel strange, the lesbian film starring Rocío Durcal and Bárbara Rey in 1977 directed by Enrique Martí Maqueda. "The film was lost, but we have managed to recover it in a film library and we will screen it on June 9 in Girona cinemas. Afterwards we will celebrate a lesbian and queer friendly party in the Vol room", explained the director of FIRE!! , Antoine Leonetti, during the presentation of the festival, which will be held between June 8 and 18.
I feel strange, shot during the times of the uncovering, it is considered the first Spanish film with a lesbian theme. It tells the story of Laura, played by Durcal, who flees from an abusive husband to take refuge in the house of Marta (Rey), a star with whom she begins an affair. Durcal disowned the film and did not even want to see the final cut. It was the last interpretation of him. After I feel strange, which was the highest grossing film of 1977, he withdrew from the cinema and dedicated himself exclusively to the song. Instead, she Rey has stated that she feels "proud" to have participated in the first Spanish film with openly gay content.
Beyond this tribute to the pioneers of LGTBI cinema, FIRE!!, which reaches its 28th edition, will screen a selection of 61 premiere titles, 30 feature films, eight documentaries and 23 short films, which will be offered in person at the French Institute of Barcelona or online at Filmin. The programming will kick off with David Wagner's Eismayer, starring Gerhard Liebmann, which tells the true story of a tough Austrian army officer who fell in love with a young soldier.
Alejandro Marín stood out three years ago by directing the series written by Bob Pop Maricón perdido. Now, Marín has thrown himself fully into production and will premiere on FIRE!! I'm loving you madly, which recounts a mother's struggle to defend the rights of her gay son in Seville in 1977. The film features performances by Ana Wagener, Omar Banana and Alba Flores, who will attend the presentation in Barcelona.
For the closing session, the LGTBI film festival has programmed Chrissy Judy, a film by Todd Flaherty shot in black and white, which delves into the story of a young New York drag queen who is forced to reinvent himself when his best friend and coworker leaves you. In addition, the festival will screen Pornomelancolia, the fourth film by the Argentine Manuel Abramovich, which was controversial at the last edition of the San Sebastián festival.
Leonetti has explained that "it's harder to find good movies about women", but FIRE!! has selected some interesting titles such as Petit mal, where the director Ruth Caudeli resorts to autofiction to explain the problems of a polyamous relationship between three women. Caudeli has shot with Silvia Varón and Ana María Otálora with whom she forms a stable trio in real life.
FIRE!! It will also propose a round table on The creators of LGTBI series, allies of queer visibility, which will have the participation of the playwright Guillem Clua, creator of the successful series Smiley. Among the parallel activities, the FIRE!! Lab, a laboratory to promote the work of new creators such as Alba Cros and Nora Haddad, who thanks to this initiative have shot the documentary Alteritats, which collects the experiences of four generations of lesbian women in Catalonia and which will premiere in this new edition of FIRE!!
