QUEERFILMNACHT

In the organizer's words:

Program:

February 13, 2025: Baby

a film by Marcelo Caetano

Brazil/France/Netherlands 2024, 106 minutes, original Portuguese version with German subtitles

18-year-old Wellington is released from a juvenile detention center. His parents have moved away during his two-year sentence and have left him no contact. Wellington has to fend for himself on the streets of São Paulo. He meets the 42-year-old sex worker Ronaldo in a porn movie theater. The experienced escort takes the young man under his wing and shows him the red light district, where Wellington also begins to work under the name "Baby". An ambivalent relationship develops between the two, characterized by closeness and care, but also by dependencies and latent dangers.

In the tradition of complex scene films such as "My Private Idaho" and "Sauvage", director Marcelo Caetano tells the authentic and captivating story of a queer coming-of-age in the sex worker milieu in "Baby". He approaches the characters and settings of his film without prejudice and with great empathy, celebrating the solidarity between the sexual outsiders without concealing the darker sides of the milieu. Newcomer João Pedro Mariano was awarded the Louis Roederer Foundation's Rising Star Award at the Cannes Film Festival for his portrayal of Baby. Bold and sexy queer cinema from Brazil!

March 13, 2025: Layla

a film by Amrou Al-Kadhi

UK 2024, 100 minutes, original English version with German subtitles

London in Pride month. Drag performer Layla performs at a dreary corporate event that has made queer-friendliness its motto for advertising purposes only. Here, of all places, Layla is flirted with by the young marketing expert Max. Although the two come from different worlds - Layla is non-binary, has Palestinian roots and lives in an exciting queer artist community; Max is gay, comes from a conservative British home and has mainly yuppie friends - a real love affair develops between them. But when Layla tries to adapt to Max's lifestyle in order to be more "compatible" with him, conflicts arise. Max begins to question himself and his privileges as a white cis man for the first time. Does their love even stand a chance?

What does it mean to love someone - and should we sometimes give up some of our own identity to do so? In "Layla", director Amrou Al-Kadhi - himself non-binary and a drag performer in London with Iraqi roots - tells a modern story of two people who find each other and discover something new about themselves precisely because of their cultural, social and sexual differences. A rousing plea to stand up for yourself and for each other - despite all (supposed) expectations!