An exciting new weekend festival is coming to Cardiff this summer. LezDiff, the new arts and film festival set to take place between the 8-10 July at The Queer Emporium and the Chapter Arts Centre. The weekend is set to be full of seminars looking back on the history of lesbian literature and screenings of top short films created by lesbians across the whole LGBT+ community.
The festival has said it is entirely inclusive to participants, actively encouraging transgender lesbians, bisexual women and queer women from "all sections of society" to get involved and feel included in the celebrations. The festival began development in 2021, after chair of the festival, Rachel Dax, approached a group of women about the creation of a Welsh festival dedicated to showing lesbian stories.
According to organisers, mainstream lesbian film releases tend to be period dramas directed by men with straight women playing the main roles and say almost nothing about what it means to be a real lesbian in the 21st century. In a statement on the website, organisers said that the festival came to fruition due to the lack of lesbian-specific media being available.
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It said: "Even at LGBTQ+ film festivals, there never seem to be enough lesbian films shown to feel satisfied by the end. Although there are significantly more lesbian characters in TV than in film, they generally seem to get killed off shortly after they form a solid lesbian relationship – and although there is room for the occasional character death in a good story, it would be great to see more stories with lesbians thriving rather than dying.
"There are more women now identifying as lesbians, bisexual or queer, yet fewer opportunities than ever for them to come together en masse. The only other lesbian festivals in the UK seem to involve camping and caravanning which works for some, but not others. So having a lesbian film and arts festival in an arts centre would mean that women who haven’t previously been able to attend/access lesbian festivals could do so. A shared desire to discover and better understand lesbian lives, experiences and issues from all areas of UK society and the wider world. Because wouldn’t it be epic?"
Film director, founder and chair of LezDiff, Rachel Dax, said: “I am hugely proud and excited that the first LezDiff Festival is happening in Cardiff this Summer. This is a much-needed opportunity for lesbian, bisexual, queer and gender non-conforming women, and their allies, to gather together to enjoy film, theatre, literature and music made by and for them, with authentic representation of their diverse lives.”
More information and tickets can be found via the festivals website here.
