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BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival opens with Layla by Amrou Al-Kadhi
Al-Kadhi’s debut feature will open the festival on the 13th of March, while Lady Like by director Luke Willis closes BFI Flare on the 23rd of March
The BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival announced today that its 38th edition will open with the European premiere of Layla by director Amrou Al-Kadhi. The deeply moving and personal movie — which recently premiered at the Sundance Film Festival — tells the story of Layla (Bilal Hasna), a drag queen who unexpectedly finds love with Max (Louis Greatorex). However, when their intoxicating romance starts to crack slowly, both have to face uncomfortable truths about their identities and relationships.
With the announcement of the opening film also came the revealing of the closing gala of the BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival. On Saturday, the 23rd of March, director Luke Willis will close the festival in a highly glamorous, intimate, and heartbreaking way with his Lady Like. The feature follows drag queen Lady Camden, aka Rex Wheeler, who gained international fame after participating in RuPaul’s Drag Race season 14. Lady Like shows — among other things — Lady Camden’s journey to success and how Rex is forced to face his troubling childhood.
The BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival takes place throughout London between the 13th and 23rd of March. The full lineup will be revealed on the 13th of February.