FilmPride - LGBTQIA+ Film Festival

Brighton’s cultural calendar is shifting again as the FilmPride - LGBTQIA+ Film Festival joins the official Brighton Fringe programme for the first time this year. It is a change that brings this long-standing fixture of the city’s queer scene into a wider spotlight. Since 2019, the festival has operated as a volunteer-run initiative, focusing on stories that often sit outside the mainstream commercial film circuit. This year, the event is hosted at The Actors, maintaining its connection to the local community spaces that have supported it since its inception.

The programme kicks off on 17 May 2026 with a special screening of the documentary 3,000 Lesbians Go to York. Following this opening, the festival unfolds over the course of the week with six distinct thematic strands of short films. The selection process for this edition has been curated to offer a retrospective look at the festival's recent seasons. The films chosen explore themes of identity, resistance, and lived experience, spanning a variety of formats including international narrative shorts, documentaries, experimental works, and animation. According to festival director Deborah Espect, the aim is to present a selection that reflects the current moment.

In terms of accessibility and representation, the festival maintains a focus on intersectional voices, specifically highlighting work from neurodivergent and disabled filmmakers. It is a space designed for the LGBTQIA+ community and anyone interested in queer cinema. While the specific pricing for tickets is currently listed as 'To Be Confirmed', there is an option to book tickets online, which suggests that the screenings will be ticketed events. If you are planning to attend, it is worth keeping an eye on the booking portal as the dates approach to confirm the final costs and secure your spot.