Out In Africa South African Gay and Lesbian Film Festival
Encyclopedia
The Out In Africa South African Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (OIA) is a gay and lesbian
film festival
launched in 1994 to celebrate the inclusion, in the South African
Constitution, of the clause prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. The Festival set out to address the lack of visibility of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex individuals (LGBTIs
) in South African social and cultural life after decades of apartheid repression, to counter negative images of LGBTIs that prevail in traditional and religious communities, and to serve as a platform for discussion and debate about the situation of LGBTIs in a newly founded democracy.
The festival runs annually in Johannesburg
and Cape Town
, with smaller "satellite" film festivals in other towns as part of an outreach programme.
Films are sometimes followed by question and answer sessions or panel discussions after the screenings of select films. The festival runs for around 20 days each year, in either late September, October, or early November.
Local and international films and shorts are screened, ranging in genre from drama and comedy to documentaries. Many of the films shown have won multiple international awards.
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
film festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
launched in 1994 to celebrate the inclusion, in the South African
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
Constitution, of the clause prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. The Festival set out to address the lack of visibility of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex individuals (LGBTIs
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
) in South African social and cultural life after decades of apartheid repression, to counter negative images of LGBTIs that prevail in traditional and religious communities, and to serve as a platform for discussion and debate about the situation of LGBTIs in a newly founded democracy.
The festival runs annually in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
and Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, with smaller "satellite" film festivals in other towns as part of an outreach programme.
Films are sometimes followed by question and answer sessions or panel discussions after the screenings of select films. The festival runs for around 20 days each year, in either late September, October, or early November.
Local and international films and shorts are screened, ranging in genre from drama and comedy to documentaries. Many of the films shown have won multiple international awards.