The festival that was received so warmly during the pandemic makes its first appearance with no restrictive measures in Limassol on November 21 and Nicosia on November 25. This marks the third edition of Queer Wave, the Cyprus LGBTQIA+ Film Festival.

During Queer Wave 2022, Cyprus’ LGBTQ+ audiences and cinema lovers will be reunited to enjoy a carefully curated programme of short and feature length films including festival hits as well as works by new voices from the international queer cinema scene. As always, this year’s selection offers visibility to a wide spectrum of LGBTQ+ realities through works of fiction, documentary and animation.

The selected films include five works by Cypriot filmmakers, two of which are local premieres. Beyond screenings and discussions with filmmakers and other guests, the festival will incorporate a rich line-up of parallel events with local queer artists at its core.

Queer Wave’s aim is to give a platform to films which are often absent from other cinematic happenings in Cyprus, and to encourage freedom of expression for the LGBTQ+ community and its friends. The festival stood out as one of the 20 finalists at the 2021 Commonwealth Youth Awards, among 1,000 projects from 43 countries. Over the past year, Queer Wave has also participated at three other queer film festivals in Europe, thus establishing a newly-formed communication channel between these festivals and Cyprus.

A launch event will be hosted at the Rialto Theatre on November 21, marking Queer Wave’s very first appearance in Limassol. Tickets for the launch event and a very special screening are already on sale on the Rialto website.

Then, the official Queer Wave 2022 Festival will take place from November 25 to December 4 in the old town of Nicosia. Theatro Polis OPAP will serve as the primary venue for the festival, while screenings will also be held at the Goethe-Institut Cyprus and Shakespeare House in northern Nicosia. The line-up of parallel events will be held at Cyprus’ newly-opened queer space Sessions (6 Sapfous Street) and the full programme will soon be announced on the festival’s website (queerwave.com).

Queer Wave 2022 Festival

Cyprus’ LGBTQIA+ Film Festival. November 25-December 4. Various locations in Nicosia. November 21. Rialto Theatre, Limassol. 8.30pm. www.queerwave.com