GAZE 2025 - A summer of queer cinema: "Whether you’re here for the politics, the pleasure or the pure cinematic brilliance, GAZE 2025 invites you to dive in" in

As Ireland marks 10 years of marriage equality, and Pride celebrations light up the island throughout June and July, GAZE International LGBTQIA Film Festival returns to keep queer culture centre stage all summer long. With an expanded seven-day run from July 29 to August 4 at the Light House Cinema and Irish Film Institute, the 33rd edition of GAZE promises its most ambitious programme yet.

This year’s line-up offers an exciting mix of global queer cinema, groundbreaking documentaries, riotous animation and bold storytelling. Among the early highlights is the Irish premiere of Strange Journey:

The Story Of Rocky Horror, a loving tribute to the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2025. Directed by Linus O’Brien, son of Rocky Horror creator Richard O’Brien, the documentary dives deep into the misfit magic of the film’s legacy and the global queer community it built.

Documentary I’m Your Venus brings powerful emotional weight, revisiting the life and unsolved murder of Venus Xtravaganza, the iconic performer immortalised in Paris Is Burning. Directed by Kimberly Reed, the film unites Venus’ biological and ballroom families in an urgent call to justice, while celebrating her impact as a trans pioneer.

On the lighter side, the animated feature Lesbian Space Princess delivers cosmic chaos and camp comedy. Set in the glittering universe of Clitopolis, it follows a shy lesbian princess teaming up with a non-binary pop star to rescue her ex-girlfriend from the clutches of the Straight White Maliens. Directed by Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese, the film anchors a new strand of queer animation at the festival.

Lesbian Space Princess

Closing the festival on August 4 is Dreams In Nightmares, a genre-bending dramedy by Shatara Michelle Ford. This internationally co-produced feature follows three Black queer women on a wild, intimate and politically charged road trip across Trump’s divided America, blending humour with deep emotional truths and vibrant resistance.

Beyond these headline screenings, GAZE 2025 will feature over 100 films from around the world, including international features, shorts, premieres and hidden gems. The festival will also spotlight archival cinema, lesbian classics, Irish language queer films, HIV activism and fresh trans narratives. A new partnership with Bród na Gaeltachta, Ireland’s first rural Gaeltacht LGBTQIA+ community arts festival and Pride, based in Donegal, further strengthens GAZE’s connection to diverse Irish queer voices.

A major event leading into the festival takes place on June 24, when GAZE and the Irish Film Institute will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Ireland’s Marriage Referendum. With support from LGBT Ireland, this special evening will include the official launch of the 2025 festival programme, a preview screening of Hot Milk and a return to Making History, Anna Rodgers’ moving short documentary that captures the emotion of that historic vote.

Hot Milk, directed by Rebecca Lenkiewicz and based on Deborah Levy’s acclaimed novel, stars Emma Mackey as Sofia and Irish screen legend Fiona Shaw as her mother Rose. Set during a sun-soaked Spanish summer, the story traces the fraught relationship between mother and daughter as Sofia finds herself falling for Ingrid, a local seamstress played by Vicky Krieps. With themes of queer love, memory and escape, Hot Milk offers a rich and layered portrait of desire and family ties.

Making History, originally created in collaboration with GAZE during the 2015 referendum, will open the evening. At just three-and-a-half minutes long, the short manages to capture the joy, relief and raw emotion of that pivotal day in Irish queer history.

So whether you’re here for the politics, the pleasure or the pure cinematic brilliance, GAZE 2025 invites you to dive in. Tickets are already on sale for select titles, and the full programme drops June 24 at the Irish Film Institute. Join us for a summer of celebration, resistance and queer brilliance.

• GAZE runs from July 29-August 4. gaze.ie