In 1977 a group of friends created A.K.O.E. – the Greek Homosexual Liberation Movement. The movement’s magazine – “Amfi” – and its offices at the legendary basement on Zalongou street, will become a place of refuge for the Greek LGBT community until 1990. AKOE and Amfi will be the first reference points for a community that is just beginning to gain conscience and organize. It will be a revolution for the right to exist, the right to happiness, the right to love. Its story is told for the first time. The film AKOE/AMFI - The Story of a Revolution (*Just to Sleep on their Chest...), had its world premiere at the 25th Thessaloniki InternationalDocumentary Festival on March 11, 2023. It was selected for the “Newcomers”International Competition section and won the Audience Award for a Greek film of over 50 minutes.

Directed by award-winning filmmaker Jay Bedwani (MyMother), Donna is an intimate and candid portrait of the inspiring trans activist, artist and performer Donna Personna. It follows her journey to live authentically as herself and to reconnect with her family. Donna Personna first hit the stage with the legendary Cockettes. Ecstatic lip-synching in San Francisco’s downtown bars is a far cry from Donna’s Baptist upbring in San Jose; now in her seventies, her siblings have never seen her perform or meet her authentic self. The documentary begins when Donna is offered a chance to co-write a play about an overlooked episode in queer history, the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot, in which transgender women Donna knew stood up against police harassment. She writes a character to be played by a young transgender activist. Praised for her writing and emboldened by her new friends, she heads out of the city to be reunited with her sister, Gloria. This revealing and uplifting film is beautifully observed by Bedwani and features mesmerising moments recalled by Donna in her emerging writer’s voice. Donna is a film that shows the strength that can be drawn from your community and proves: it’s never too late to find your métier and truly blossom. ‍

The Playland Café, Boston’s oldest gay bar, was established in 1937 and was a vital queer hub in the city until 1998, when rampant ‘urban renewal’ projects led to its closure. Demolished but never forgotten, it acted as a meeting ground for an exceptionally diverse crowd — throughout its lifespan, it featured acts from drag performances to DJ sets and was connected to Pride rallies and underground gay newspapers. As a gathering place for outsiders, it was also a target for police raids and zoning. Artist-filmmaker Georden West’s debut feature is an expressionist and very queer bricolage, focusing on an atemporal night in the renowned Playland Café. Following its employees and others who have haunted the space, weaving together a tapestry of personal and community anecdotes across the bar’s existence.