Queer Wave

🌺 Q***R WAVE 2026 🌺

The people behind Q***r Wave.

So much of what happens during the festival happens behind the scenes, and none of it would be possible without this team and our amazing volunteers.

Thank you for the long days, early mornings, last-minute fixes, endless running around, problem-solving, patience, energy and for always making it happen.

We couldn’t do Q***r Wave without you.

Here’s to the people who keep the festival going.

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🌺 Q***R WAVE 2026 🌺

We want to hear from you.

Now that Q***r Wave 2026 has come to an end, we’d love to know what you thought. Tell us what you enjoyed, what stayed with you, and what you’d like to see at the festival next year.

Fill out our feedback form by 12/10/2026 and you’ll also be entered into a draw to win one of two Q***r Wave goodie bags, featuring merch from this year’s edition: a tote bag, t-shirt, poster and stickers.

It only takes a few minutes, and your feedback really helps us shape what comes next.

Fill out the form here: https://forms.gle/NEVgM8RV1xnuQ6c48

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🌺 Q***R WAVE 2026 🌺

Ten days, so many films, conversations, parties, encounters and moments we’ll be carrying with us for a long time.

A huge thank you to everyone who came to Q***r Wave, filled the seats, stayed for the conversations, danced with us, explored the exhibitions and installations and made the festival what it was. The festival wouldn’t exist without you.

Thank you to our incredible team and volunteers for all the work, care and energy that went into making these ten days happen. From the first setup to the last screening, you were there for all of it.

Thank you to our supporters, partners and friends who continue to believe in what we’re doing and help us keep Q***r Wave going.

A special thank you to the Deputy Ministry of Culture, Department of Contemporary Culture for their support, and to NiMAC for welcoming us into the space and being such an important part of this edition.

And of course, thank you to all the filmmakers, artists, performers, speakers and guests who brought their work, ideas and stories to Q***r Wave.

🌺 We’re already missing it. See you next year. 🌺

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🌺 Q***R WAVE 2026 🌺

🏆AUDIENCE AWARDS 🏆

Over the past ten days, you watched, discussed, debated, laughed, cried, cheered and voted. With so many films across the programme, it’s always exciting to see which ones connected most with the Q***r Wave audience.

As you already know, there is no jury at Q***r Wave. The Audience Awards are chosen by you, those who filled our seats and shared these moments with us throughout the festival.

We announced the winners on our closing night yesterday and now it’s time to share them with everyone who couldn’t be there.

Here are the Q***r Wave 2026 Audience Awards in full:

🌴 Best Animated Short — TWO BLACK BOYS IN PARADISE by Baz Sells
💃 Best Documentary Short — THE JEZEBELS by Thanasis Tsimpinis
🛂 Best Narrative Short — ITALIANO by Mehdi Davachi
🎌 Best Mid-Length Film - Y**I DUMB BITCH by Mathieu Morel
🎼 Best Documentary Feature — A SONG WITHOUT A HOME by Rati Tsiteladze
👕 Best Narrative Feature — PLAINCLOTHES by Carmen Emmi

Congratulations to all the winners!

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🌺 Q***r Wave Day X 🌺

Our final day began with Trans Talks, facilitated by Garose & Tanya, bringing trans, non-binary and gender-expansive people together for an open roundtable discussion about navigating the world today. From politics and social expectations to work, relationships and everyday life, it was a space to share experiences, listen to each other and connect through what we have in common.

We then went back 100 years with The Girl in Tails, Karin Swanström’s 1926 silent comedy, presented at Q***r Wave to mark its 100th anniversary. The film follows Katja, who borrows her brother’s tailcoat for the prom, challenging the gender roles and social conventions of her small town along the way.

The day continued with Godspeed, Klāvs Liepiņš’ short film about memory, love and letting go, followed by Drunken Noodles, Lucio Castro’s intimate portrait of an art student discovering the possibilities, desires and encounters of New York City one summer.

We also announced the Audience Award winners for this edition of Q***r Wave. We’ll be sharing the winners in our next post, so stay tuned!

And then came our final screening, a sing-along Rocky Horror Picture Show, presented in collaboration with STYX Film Encounters, as a tribute to Tim Curry (1946–2026). The costumes came out, the dancing started, the audience joined in and, yes, we did the Time Warp again. The room became part cinema, part dance floor and one final celebration of everything Q***r Wave is about.

And that’s a wrap on ten days of Q***r Wave.

Thank you to everyone who came to the screenings, joined the conversations, visited the exhibitions and installations, danced with us, shared your stories, filled our spaces and made these ten days so special. Thank you to all the filmmakers, artists, guests, partners, volunteers and everyone who helped make this edition happen.

We can’t wait to be back next year. Until then, keep making space, keep connecting and keep watching films.

Photos by: Angelos Charalambous petsua

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🌺 Q***r Wave Day IX 🌺

Day IX began with The Book Club, a critical thinking workshop where George Rallis explored the rich history of q***r horror through their own research, bringing film and philosophy together.

The programme continued with our eighth shorts programme, Unity in Community, a collection of documentaries exploring ecology, sport and s*x positivity, looking beyond shared passions to ask what brings communities together. The screening was followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Thanasis Tsimpinis, whose film Jezebels was part of the programme.

We then screened Andro, Dominik Gasser’s documentary about Georgian q***r, non-binary protest and performance artist Andro Dadiani, whose work transforms urban spaces into stages of resistance against state and church oppression. This was followed by A Song Without Home, Rati Tsiteladze’s 2026 feature following Adelina, a young transgender woman who escapes years of confinement in Georgia and begins a new life in Vienna, exploring exile, belonging, freedom and the complex bond between a mother and daughter.

Our final screening of the day was Pillion, Harry Lighton’s film following Colin, a shy traffic warden whose encounter with Ray, a charismatic leather-clad biker, opens the door to an unexpected world of desire, devotion and B**M.

And then it was time for this edition’s closing party with trashyourgender: Wh*rticu/ture. The catwalk became a space for everyone, anyone, but not for no one, with voguing, self-expression and a whole lot of attitude. The music took us somewhere else entirely, and we danced the night away, closing Q***r Wave with the energy it deserved.

Nine days of films, conversations, encounters, performances and community. Thank you to everyone who joined us, filled the rooms, shared the space and made this edition what it was. See you one last time this year today for our closing programme!

Photos by: Angelos Charalambous petsua

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🌺 Q***r Wave Day VIII 🌺

Another packed day at Q***r Wave, with a full programme and even fuller rooms.

Day VIII began with our seventh shorts programme, Family Ties, a collection of five films looking at the complicated, tender and sometimes messy relationships that come with family. As the programme says, families aren’t always easy to get along with, but we have a soft spot for these ones. And we think you will too.

Then you filled every seat, and the venue, for Bearcave, making it one of the most attended screenings of Q***r Wave, if not the most. Stergios Dinopoulos and Krysianna Papadakis’ film follows Argyro and Anneta, childhood best friends in a remote Greek mountain village, as a final adventure to the legendary Bearcave brings buried secrets, unexpected betrayals and feelings that have always existed beneath their friendship to the surface.

We then moved into Tea Party, a performance by Tanya, Melina Koutsofta, Mikaella Falekkou and Noutsa Poulouzasvili. Drawing on a world where elegance was a form of discipline and social rituals shaped expectations, the piece used waacking to explore power, desire and the ways the body performs, resists and reimagines the roles placed upon it.

And then the music took over. Electrika got us started before NANA took over the decks for the afterparty. The room filled with dancing, energy and plenty of euphoria, and we kept going late into the night.

Another huge day at Q***r Wave, with films, performances, conversations, full houses and a dance floor that refused to slow down

Photos by: Angelos Charalambous petsua

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🌺 Q***r Wave Day VII 🌺

Installations, screenings, discussions and blind dates.

Day VII of Q***r Wave kicked off with our sixth shorts programme, Lady Friends, a collection of films exploring connection and longing, and the bonds that bloom between women across distances shaped by race, class and time.

We then moved into our second feature of the day, Blue Film, Elliot Tuttle’s 2025 film from the United States, which was preceded by Student, Andrea Martinez Dorr’s 2026 short from Argentina. Blue Film follows q***r cam performer Aaron Eagle as a $50,000 offer leads him to an anonymous client and an unexpected confrontation with his past, bringing memory, trauma, identity and desire to the surface.

Between screenings, the festival continued outside NiMAC, with discussions, encounters and blind dates bringing people together, while visitors explored the installations, caught up with friends and spent time in the festival space.

Another full day of q***r cinema, conversations, unexpected connections and everything in between!

Photos by: Angelos Charalambous petsua

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🌺 Q***r Wave Day VI 🌺

Day six began with our fifth shorts programme, The New Era, a vibrant collection of films celebrating the joys, honouring the resistance and imagining the future for trans people to come.

We then continued with Carmen Emmi’s 2025 feature film Plainclothes. The film follows Lucas, a young police officer whose undercover encounter with Andrew develops into an unexpected and intimate connection, forcing him to navigate the tension between duty and desire.

Throughout the day, people stopped by the festival space to visit the exhibitions and installations, meet friends, have conversations and simply hang out. It was beautiful to see the space filling up and people enjoying everything the festival has to offer, both on and off screen.

Another day of films, conversations, encounters and community at Q***r Wave.

Photos by: Angelos Charalambous petsua

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🌺 Q***R WAVE 2026 🌺

Are you ready for the time warp? We’re closing this year’s Q***r Wave with a special sing-along screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show!

🗓️ Sun 27 Sep ⏱️ 21:30
📍 NiMAC

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Jim Sharman | 98’ | United Kingdom, United States | 1975 | EN | EN

Put on your fishnet stockings, apply some extra lipstick, and prepare for an evening full of glitter, madness, and unforgettable songs. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is not just a movie, but a cult phenomenon that has been turning cinemas worldwide upside down for decades.

The respectable couple Brad and Janet experience car trouble on a stormy evening and seek help at a mysterious country house. There, they meet the flamboyant scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter, who drags them into a bizarre world full of seduction, experiments, and eccentric characters. What begins as an innocent evening soon turns into a wild night where truly anything is possible.

Screening as a tribute to Tim Curry (1946–2026)

In collaboration with STYX Film Encounters

Never been to a Rocky Horror screening before? Don’t worry! We’ve got you covered.

👉 Swipe to find out what to expect…

🎟️ Book your tickets via the link in bio.

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ROCKY HORROR 101

This isn’t your usual movie night. Expect costumes, callbacks, dancing, props, and plenty of audience participation.

Here are a few things to prepare you for this experience!

Let’s do the Time Warp again!

👠 Dress up
📣 Shout at the screen
💃 Do the Time Warp
🍚 Bring props
🖤 Embrace the chaos

Ready to learn the rules?

👠 RULE #1: DRESS UP

Frank. Magenta. Columbia. Rocky.

Or just… your most fabulous self.

Glitter encouraged.
Fishnets encouraged.
Inhibition discouraged. 💋

📣 RULE #2: TALK TO THE SCREEN

At a Rocky Horror sing-along screening, the audience doesn’t just watch the film — we talk back to it.

Throughout the movie, there are traditional audience responses, jokes and one-liners shouted at specific moments. These are called callbacks.

For example, when Brad appears, you might hear the audience shout:

“ASSHOLE!”

And when Janet appears:

“SLUT!”

There are dozens of others, and diffe