5 LGBTQ-themed films to watch at Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest 2024 in London this week

Brian Leonard
·3-min read
five people dancing on an industrial estate
five people dancing on an industrial estate

Since 2011, Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest has been an entirely volunteer-run organisation rooted in London’s queer creative scene. During their autumn festival, and throughout the year, the organisation showcases an eclectic mix of films, arts and events celebrating LGBTIQA+ stories from around the world, welcoming everybody.

Official partner Mama Shelter London Shoreditch is proud to offer an inclusive refuge and safe space for queer creatives, visitors and locals as, year on year, the festival celebrates established and emerging queer talent, giving a platform to new voices and ideas.

Here, we take a look at five intriguing films screening as part of the festival.

a person with wet hair peering through a window
(Image: Provided by Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest)

Stress Positions – Tuesday 17 September, 21:00, Rio Cinema

Theda Hamell joins Fringe! for the UK premiere of Stress Positions, her lockdown queer comedy of errors and a meditation on coming of age post 9/11 and being terminally online. As two queer friends are trapped together with their own whiteness in the wake of the George Floyd uprising, they are left with only two options, twink death or transition. Presented in collaboration with TGirlsonFilm and supported by Mama Shelter London Shoreditch.

a group of people dancing in an industrial park
(Image: Provided by Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest)

Underground Orange – Saturday 14 September, 20:00, Rio Cinema

Fringe! 2024 kicks off with the international premiere of Michael Taylor Jackson’s genre-bending, polyamorous Argentinian adventure with the filmmaker in attendance. A Californian backpacker in Buenos Aires falls into an am-dram group with far bigger schemes to undo America’s interference in the region including kidnapping the US ambassador.

two people with arms crossed standing in front of a picture of a topless person
(Image: Provided by Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest)

TOPS – Saturday 21 September, 18:15 Rio Cinema

Inspired by chaotic 1990s/2000s British reality TV, TOPS sees filmmaker Ames Pennington present their landmark faux-documentary. Playing an invasive TV presenter, Ames presents a satirical odyssey through the lives and homes of four unique individuals, exploring the question that defines transmasc experience, “What TOP did you wanna wear after TOP surgery?”

James Baldwin standing by a lantern
(Image: Provided by Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest)

James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket – Monday 16th September, 18:40, Genesis Cinema

To celebrate what would have been his 100th birthday, we look back on the life of James Baldwin with a screening of ‘James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket’ followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers. Part emotional portrait, part social critique, the film allows Baldwin to tell his remarkable story in his own words.

a person in a red outfit with face covered, partly by sunglasses; a still taken from one of the fringe films
(Image: Provided by Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest)

QAMERAD x Otherness Archive: Queer as Folk/lore – Sunday 15 September, 18:40, Genesis Cinema

Part of an ongoing collaboration between London-based Otherness Archive and Bali-based queer collective QAMERAD this series of short films and music videos look to elements of pre-colonial Indonesian folklore to shape their visions of queerness, embracing the mythical. Expect gender-bending fairies, reincarnated deer and queens of black magic.

Mama Shelter London Shoreditch is this year’s official hotel partner.

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