he Berlin Film Festival celebrated its fiftieth anniversary in February this year, and although there was criticism of the “take-over” by stars, and a decline in the quality of films - the public attendance at the cinemas showing the over 300 films exceded all records.

Some of the better films at the Berlin Film Festival may be down your street in the next months or at the London LGBT Festival.

Paragraph 175  (awarded Panorama Prize and also Teddy Best Doc Film) which was directed by the same team who gave us The Celluloid Closet, deals with with the experiences of (now) elderly men and women who suffered under the Nazis. Using interviews illustrated with film from the time to bring the situation to life, it is at times harrowing. Since the Nazi version of the anti-homosexual law was German federal law until 1969 these are biographical episodes told by people who lived their much of their lives in the shadow of the Nazis – even after 1945. None of them ever received compensation since Germany’s constitututional court held the Nazi law to be justice.

A well-made film which should be seen by all with any pride and interest in “the community”.

Funny Felix – a French film - covers in an amusing and socially critical way the journey of a young man through France. He is half Arab and discovers he is HIV+  and in the search for an identity sets off to look for his father in Marseilles. He discovers that biological fathers are not necessary to be a self-confident gay. The film was awarded the Siegessäule (German Gay/Lesbian Mag) Readers Prize

A film which will appeal to many and puzzle others since it beyond their ken is Segunda Piel (Second skin). This spanish film tells the story of a married man in conflict with himself and in love with a man. The ending is illogical but the film is welcome since it does not make the process appear easy and brings out the problems caused allround when men are pressured by society into marriages.

When an audience following a film in a foreign language laughs long and loud – and in the right places as did the audience in Berlin - then the film is very funny. Dream Kitchen (Ireland) is a highly amusing short film about a young man who comes home with important news to a father stubbornly repairing the car, and a mother cursing around the kitchen. He imagines the situation if he tells them, “I am gay.” – and they are happy about it. Very funny!

Set in the US Asian community the Chutney Popcorn story covers the problems which arise when a lesbian in a committed relationship offers to help her infertile hetero sister by bearing a baby for her. Both amusing and interesting for the insight into the general problem and into the Asian community.

Rosa von  Praunheim’s latest film The Einstein of Sex deals in an imaginative and straight forward way with the life of Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld.

A film which will be of interest to human rights activists is the feature length doc-film Long Nights Journey into Day (USA/ZA)  which was awarded the Peace Film Award of the Heinrich Böll Foundation. and the reader’s prize of one of  Berlins major newspapers the Berliner Zeitung.

If you’re looking for a film that is hilarious (but non-gay) then go see My Mother Frank (Australia). Set in a Irish Catholic situation it looks for the first half like a mother-son situation comedy – but it changes ...

Colin de la Motte-Sherman