Chairperson's Welcome

On behalf of the board of GAZE I'm delighted to introduce you to this year's festival programme and invite you to join us for five days and nights of unforgettable cinematic experiences this summer. It's our 31st edition and we're celebrating our dirty thirties by moving back to our traditional dates over the August bank holiday weekend which means an extra day of screenings, more opportunities to spend whole days im- mersed in LGBTQIA+ stories from Ireland and around the world, and more thrilling late nights together with the lights off.

Festival Director Greg Thorpe and the fantastic programming team have cast their gaydar wide and uncovered an extraordinary line-up which will make your breath catch and your heart soar. You'll want to gossip about gay spies and howl about lesbian werewolves once you've had a chance to go through the programme and discover what's in store.

While days and nights at the cinema are at the heart of what GAZE does, and we're delighted to be returning to our valued partner venues at the Light House and Irish Film Institute again this year, we're excited that the festival is also stretching its wings and exploring new directions. Iconic queer performer David Hoyle will perform his latest spectacular The Ten Commandments to accompany his appearance in Hedda, and we'll follow up the Hidden Cameras documentary Music Is My Boyfriend with a sweaty gig of their infectious queer pop. This year's GAZE brings a new collaboration with Project Arts Centre to screen Ungentle written by Huw Lemmey of Bad Gays, and the luxe surroundings of the Stella in Rathmines will be a perfectly decadent setting for the 1923 film version of Oscar Wilde's Salomè.

We're delighted to work with Neuro Pride Ireland to help us move towards better access at GAZE, including a relaxed screening of our Irish Shorts, and to renew our collaborations with aemi and the Iris Prize on spe- cially curated shorts programmes. We also begin new relationships with Queer Lisboa and Red Umbrella Film Festival to bring vital and daring new voices and stories to our screens. I want to give huge thanks to Accenture and the Arts Council for their enduring and generous support, without which GAZE would be impossible, as well as all the other sponsors, embassies and funders who ensure we can continue to support new artists, reach new audiences, and connect with the LGBTQIA community in all its diversity. A big shout out to our long-standing Festival Friends as well as those of you who will become a Friend this year for the first time: your dedication as supporters and audiences is a crucial part of who we are.

Massive thanks and best wishes to the whole festival team including Greg, James, Alice, Patrick and Julian, as well as all our festival volunteers, and especially to our new Festival Manager Jenni Little who has recently joined us - welcome Jenni! Thanks to the whole GAZE board - it's a total pleasure and privilege to serve alongside you and I'm honoured to have taken on the role of Chair this year. And a huge thanks to the film makers and audience: you're the reason we do this, and we hope you find much to enjoy and inspire in this year's festival. See you in the dark.

Tom Creed
Chairperson