1. Coming Out Polish Style

“Coming Out Polish Style” is a unique documentary by Slawomir Grunberg and Katka Reszke which offers a rare look into the lives of gays and lesbians in contemporary Poland. The documentary explores the issue of gay and lesbian rights in a conservative society, which is undergoing a very dynamic transformation, allowing for more and more successful liberal changes. The documentary investigates the diverse and complex identity struggles involved in the process of ‘coming out.’ The filmmakers turn to Polish celebrities who are openly gay as well as follow young people from small towns who are still in the process of ‘coming out’, Grunberg and Reszke also register an interesting migrating phenomenon of gays and lesbians from peripheries of Poland emigrating to Warsaw as an open and gay-friendly place to live, the issue we would like to take further during our panel discussion at University College London with Dr Richard Mole and Prof Anne White, whilst debating gay and lesbian migration from Poland to the United Kingdom motivated by homophobia.

2.  Coming Out PS & Floating Skyscrapers as part of Play OUT

This year Play Poland Film Festival welcomes Play OUT (curated and launched by PLAY FULL!

Play OUT has been created to promote queer culture, further discussion about the importance of queer culture in arts and society and issues close toLGBTQ communities. At Play OUT we aim to be inclusive, open and as wonderfully queer as we can and want to!

Given the societal and political situation in Poland, we have chosen to launch our project alongside Play Poland Film Festival in London this year in bid to support Polish LGBTQ filmmakers as well as London based Polish LGBTQ communities, filmmakers and artists!

As part of Play OUT’s programme at Play Poland Film Festival in London this year, we are proud to present two events:

* The screening of the first openly gay feature “Floating Skyscrapers” by Tomasz Wasilewski, award-winning coming out drama about the aspiring swimmer Kuba who, in order to come to terms with his own feelings, needs to break away from confinements of his home and training routine as well as a relationship with his girlfriend, Sylwia. The film is showing as part of OUT at Clapham, a monthly LGBTQ film club at Clapham Picturehouse, on the 30^th October at 6.30pm.

* The screening of the extraordinary documentary “Coming Out Polish Style”, exploring gay and lesbian identities in contemporary Poland, from portraits of liberated Warsaw with the prevailing gay-friendly atmosphere and a growing LGBTQ community, through openly gay Polish celebrities to the lives of those in peripheries and their struggles coming out in the  very conservative, Catholic society.

The film will be followed by a panel discussion with Dr Richard Mole and Prof Anne White which will take the issues raised in the film further to include and explore the migration of Polish LGBTQ individuals to the United Kingdom, motivated by homophobia.

With these two events launching Play OUT, we are hoping to embark on many more queer adventures in the future, furthering debates relevant to LGBTQ communities, promoting queer art & culture and creating an open platform for LGBTQ communities to come together!