TLVFEST, Tel Aviv’s International LGBT Film Festival is a unique annual event taking place each June at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. The festival offers public screenings of films with no Israeli distribution, meetings with local as well as foreign filmmakers, panel discussions and special events. The impressive program includes many exciting films while aspiring to enrich and empower tolerance and pluralism in Israeli society. In addition to displaying worldwide cinema, the festival encourages Israeli original work, awarding Best Film in the competitive Israeli program and provides exposure and a public stage for local queer filmmakers. Furthermore, the festival run TLVFEST Movie Club, a monthly screening and other cinema related events throughout the year.

The first ever LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transexual) Film Festival in Tel Aviv was launched in 2006. The establishment of this festival originated in the desire to bring the best of worldwide LGBT cinema to local audiences. These films would otherwise never get theatrical, TV or DVD distribution and would then never be seen. The festival took place at the legendary Ha’ozen Hashlishit (Third Ear) in Tel Aviv and screened across 5 tiny theaters of 20-40 seats each. The festival opened with Greg Araki’s “Mysterious Skin”. Over 2000 attended the festival to sold out houses. In 2007, the festival moved to a bigger venue and took place at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. Till this day the festival remains at the same place– the only openly gay friendly cinema institution in Israel.

We believe that Israel should be based on freedom, justice and should ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex. TLVFest opposes all occupations and forms of violence and believes that peace should be fulfilled through justice for Palestine and Israel.

The festival is very happy to have had during its past 4 years acclaimed guests who support our event like: director Bruce LaBruce, actor/musician Jay Brannan (“Shortbus”), Wieland Speck, manager of the Panorama at the Berlinale and Teddy Awards initiator, Suzy Capo Manager of the Mix Brasil film festival, Ocean, Cheryl Dunye, Todd Verow, Gwen Haworth, Christian Petersen, Wayne Yung, Charles Lum, J?rgen Br?ning, Maria Beatty, Allan Brocka and many more.

Most every democracy currently has a LGBT film festival; it should be inconceivable for Israel not to enjoy the basic freedom to exhibit queer films. However, the current political climate directly affects our opportunities in gaining local financial support. We have repeatedly come up against obvious cases of homophobia in our search for media partners. Fashion companies, beverage, travel, beauty and their likes are reluctant to cooperate with us in fear of a boycott by religious groups.

With your support we hope to make the festival one of the most talked about cultural events of the year. An event that will send a clear message to the Tel Aviv city hall, the ministry of culture and all businesses and their partners, that they should support and invest in us and stop succumbing to religious and right wing terror.

Despite a free and liberal vibe in Tel Aviv, the LGBT community has to constantly face vicious campaigns by members of the Knesset and the government that throw preposterous accusations our way, that we cause earthquakes and should be treated in the same way they deal with bird flu, that LGBT internet sites of news, entertainment and dating are pornographic and should be censored and prohibited.

After so many years of wild incitement, the murder at the LGBT youth center that occurred on August 1st, 2009 showed us for the first time that we’re in the midst of a war for our lives.

The festival exists to make us stronger, its existence says we are here and we’re not going to anywhere. The festival’s artistic goal is to provide a rich cultural outlet to the community in a style no less than world class.