The politics of age and generation at the GAZE International LGBT Film Festival in Dublin

Abstract

Despite their global proliferation, queer film festivals, like film festivals more broadly, are somewhat understudied within the social sciences. This is despite scholarship within film studies that argues that they are significant sites of queer collectivity and sociality. This article examines queer film festivals as sites for the production of community and queer bonds. The authors argue that questions of age, temporality and intergenerationality are central to discourses of community mobilized by festival organizers. The article draws on empirical material from a qualitative study of the GAZE International LGBT Festival in Dublin – which formed part of a larger comparative study of the cultural activist politics of queer film festivals in Europe. Ken Plummer has argued for a greater appreciation of the role of time and generation within sexuality studies. Age, temporality and intergenerationality emerged as important issues within interviews conducted with organizers and volunteers at the festival. The analysis of these issues focuses on three key themes: (1) GAZE as a site of intergenerational community; (2) GAZE as a site of remembrance; and (3) demography and the sustainability of the festival. The article argues that the festival provides a distinctive site of intergenerational queer bonds; and that despite the creation of transnational spaces and discourses, references to the nation and national identity remain central to bonding experiences at the festival.

The Power of Recognition: A Qualitative Study of Social Connectedness and Wellbeing through LGBT Sporting, Creative and Social Groups in Ireland

“…Perhaps, due to such experiences of homonegativity, heteronormativity and gendered assumptions, some respondents felt it was important for their wellbeing to be involved with an LGBT sporting, creative or social group [26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35]. This is consistent with Browne, Bakshi and Lim’s suggestion of such groups providing safe spaces [25].…”

“…LGBT sporting, creative and social groups seem to be affirmed by members for their promotion of the diversity of LGBT interests. The plethora of LGBT community groups established by, and for, LGBT communities attests to this [26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35].…”

“…The potential contribution of LGBT community groups in creating formal and informal safe spaces [25] and establishing and maintaining groups that potentially ameliorate the effects of minority stress [39,40,41] may, in part, explain the longevity and continued demand for such groups [26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,34,35]. This suggests that LGBT communities are pivotal in creating social networks and a sense of connection [9,16,36].…”

“…Perhaps such experiences account for the global proliferation of groups, established by and for LGBT communities, over the past 45 years [30]. These groups include: Frontrunners, established in 1974, with over 100 LGBT athletics clubs worldwide [31]; Various Voices, a biannual LGBT choir festival [32]; the Bingham Cup , an annual international rugby competition [28]; a plethora of LGBT film festivals [33]; an International Theatre Festival [34]; and the Gay Games [35]. In applying recognition theory to these contexts, it is possible to understand how such social solidarity contributes to the creation of supportive environments established by and maintained for LGBT communities [2,8,9,10].…”

The ‘long tail’ of event management research: evidence from the field’s main journals

“…For some, the interpretation of the boundary of the former is somewhat arbitrary and not inclusive of rigorous research on, for example, the political sociology or political economy of events (e.g. Binnie & Klesse, 2018;Trubina, 2019), the economics of events (e.g. Li, Blake and Thomas, 2013) or events history (e.g.…”