13 must-watch films at this year’s BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival
Check out Boys Don’t Cry, Madfabulous and Black Burns Fast at the 2026 BFI Flare Film Festival. (BFI)
The BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival is back for 2026 with a programme overflowing with queer talent, spanning upcoming feature-length hits, powerful debuts, and moving LGBTQ+ stories from all around the world.
The 40th BFI Flare begins on 18 March and runs through to 29 March, at the BFI Southbank. As well as films, there’s plenty of events to partake in, from Heartstopper Forever!, a talk with Alice Oseman, to a screen talk with Russell T Davies.
Here are 13 of the films you should catch at the LGBTQ+ film festival:
Big Girls Don’t Cry
Through the eyes of a teenage girl in early 2000s New Zealand, Big Girls Don’t Cry charts burgeoning desire over the course of a summer holiday. Sid (Ani Palmer) spends her days ignoring her father and perusing online chatrooms. The 14-year-old is adrift, caught between childhood and adolescence; she’s desperate to locate her identity.
When she becomes enamoured with a group of older teens, Sid begins to navigate her burgeoning desires. Paloma Schneideman, who was mentored by filmmaking legend Jane Campion, arrives with this engrossing debut. It’s sure to be one of the highlights of the festival, especially after it screened to critical acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival.
Find out when Big Girls Don’t Cry is screening at BFI Flare here.
Black Burns Fast
The Closing Night film of BFI Flare is Sandulela Asanda’s directorial debut, a portrait of queer identity in a prestigious South African boarding school. Black Burns Fast charts the sexual awakening of nerdy 17-year-old Luthando (Esihle Ndleleni). She’s set on good grades until the arrival of rebellious new girl Ayanda (Muadi Ilung).
The pair begin a clandestine romance. With Ayanda, Luthando gets a taste of the freedom she craves. Though as jealousy threatens to rear its head, Luthando’s exciting relationship and the bond she has with her family are put under threat.
Find out when Black Burns Fast is screening at BFI Flare here.
Hunky Jesus
The Opening Night film of BFI Flare, Hunky Jesus, is a documentary chronicling the legacy of the San Francisco chapter of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The group, an order of queer and trans ‘nuns’, are serving their communities while redefining spirituality.
The radical documentary shines a light on the origins of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence movement in 1979 and its historical significance, including their role during the AIDS crisis. The movement continues today, and the film captures the colourful 2023 festival, sitting down with some of the group’s key members.
Find out when Hunky Jesus is screening at BFI Flare here.
ìfé (The Sequel)
Director Pamela Adie’s Ìfé is regarded as Nigeria’s first lesbian film. Released in 2020, the film shone a spotlight on queer life in Africa despite censorship issues. Now, the filmmaker returns with the feature-length film ìfé (The Sequel), which reunites with the beloved queer characters.
Adaora (Gbubemi Ejeye) and ífé (Uzoamaka Aniunoh) have seemingly moved on after their intense love story, each in a separate committed relationship. However, when they reconnect in a chance meeting, they cannot ignore their lingering bond. The waves of their love come crashing down, and they’re left to decide if love is worth risking everything.
Find out when ìfé (The Sequel) is screening at BFI Flare here.
Julian
Cato Kusters’ feature debut, executive produced by Close’s Lukas Dhont, follows a Belgian couple’s fight for marriage equality. Adapted from Fleur Pierets’ acclaimed memoir, the film follows the true-life love story of Fleur (Nina Meurisse) and Julian (Laurence Roothooft).
As their connection deepens, the pair begin thinking about next steps, including marriage. This is where the 22 Project, named after the number of nations where gay marriage was legal in 2017, was created. However, not everything is plain sailing, which leads them to question whether the power of love is enough to overcome anything.
Find out when Julian is screening at BFI Flare here.
Lunar Sway
In Nick Butler’s offbeat comedy, Lunar Sway, the mother-son connection is one of emotional chaos. The film charts Cliff, a bisexual man who watches life pass him by in a small town named Mooncrest, shocked when a woman (Gilmore Girls’ Liza Weil) arrives claiming to be his mother.
His birth mother lures him into a dubious world of con-artist tricks. It may be morally wrong, but the excitement of this new world gives Cliff a new sense of belonging. The film also stars Big Little Lies’ Douglas Smith and Heated Rivalry’s Kaden Connors.
Find out when Lunar Sway is screening at BFI Flare here.
Madfabulous
Celyn Jones’ Madfabulous is a historical drama all about the fabulous life of Henry Paget, 5th Marquess of Anglesey (Callum Scott Howells). Set in the late 19th century, Henry’s love of flamboyant fashion and extravagant behaviour sets him apart. This unlikely British aristocrat flounced past society’s notions of class, gender and decorum.
Howells, who got his breakout with It’s A Sin, breathes exuberance into this riotous historical figure. The film charts Lord Paget as he squandered his multi-million-pound inheritance on a lavish social life while racking up massive debts (around £70 million today).
Find out when Madfabulous is screening at BFI Flare here.
Satisfaction
The blue ocean and the stunning white architecture of the Greek Isles serve as the backdrop for the poignant psychological drama Satisfaction. The film boasts impressively bristling performances from The Brutalists’ Emma Laird and Dunkirk’s Fionn Whitehead as British composers Lola and Philip.
Satisfaction flits between the start of their romance at a London film school and their haunting, present-day struggles. Slowly, the film unravels the silent rift that has torn these two music lovers apart. On a search for self-discovery, Lola meets Elena (Zar Amir Embrahimi) on a nudist beach. This connection ignites a new lease of life in Lola, which leads to a confrontation with Philip about their relationship.
Find out when Satisfaction is screening at BFI Flare here.
The Serpent’s Skin
Do you love horror? With lesbian goths and bloodthirsty monsters, The Serpent’s Skin may be the perfect film for you. Alice Maio Mackay’s trans-led rip-roaring queer horror aligns the director as an exciting voice in independent trans cinema.
The Serpent’s Skin follows trans teen Anna (Alexandra McVicker) as she runs away from home, meeting goth tattoo artist Gen (Avalon Fast) and their goth-adjacent found family. As she gets to grips with tattooing ink into skin, she accidentally releases a demon who embarks on a killing spree. What unfolds is a tale of lesbians, supernatural powers, and dark underworlds.
Find out when The Serpent’s Skin is screening at BFI Flare here.
To Dance is to Resist
Julian Lautenbacher’s film spotlights two Ukrainian dancers who seek freedom in the shadow of Russia’s invasion. To Dance is to Resist sees Lautenbacher chart the lives and artistic pursuits of dancers Jay and Vol’demar as they face personal struggle and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In Kyiv’s underground queer scene, Jay and Vol’demar wrestle with the reality of everyday life when their queer identities and relationships aren’t legally recognised. An intimately lyrical documentary, To Dance is to Resist shows the clash of the personal and political with urgency.
Find out when To Dance is to Resist is screening at BFI Flare here.
Out Laws
In June 2022, Friedel Dausab filed a lawsuit against the Namibian government. He set out to protect people like him who were unfairly suffering under anti-LGBTQIA+ laws. Lexi Powner and James Lewis’ film chronicles the valiant battle of a gay Namibian man who took it upon himself to change things.
Out Laws is a reminder that the fight for LGBTQ+ equality in the world is far from over. The film also tracks Friedel as he traces the history of homophobia in the Global South to Tudor-era laws.
Find out when Out Laws is screening at BFI Flare here.
We Are Pat
In the 1990s, Julia Sweeney’s Pat was a beloved character on Saturday Night Live. The androgynous figure may have sparked laughter, but with We Are Pat, director Rowan Haber reflects on Pat’s legacy today. The documentary invites trans comedians to recreate and reclaim Pat.
The character was built around defying gender norms, which was oddly comforting to Haber. With so little non-binary representation on screen, Pat was an accidental icon. We Are Pat seeks not to erase Pat’s character, but to recontextualise and transform them into an emblem of empowerment.
Find out when We Are Pat is screening at BFI Flare here.
What Will I Become?
Lexie Bean and Logan Rozos’ What Will I Become? sets out to explore the vulnerability of the transmasculine community. The film traces the lives of Kyler Prescott and Blake Brockington, two trans boys who died by suicide: “two high-profile examples of approximately 50% of trans boys in the USA who did not survive a suicide attempt.”
While reflective in tone, What Will I Become? also endeavours to uplift the LGBTQ+ community. The film highlights the joy prevalent in the transmasculine community, with the directors delving into their personal experiences to inform interweaving narratives of identity.
Find out when What Will I Become? is screening at BFI Flare here.
The 40th BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival takes place from 18-29 March at BFI Southbank.
