In 2010 Side by Side LGBT International Film Festival will move beyond the confines of the Russian North West and into other regions across the Federation. Staggered throughout the year are four three-day film festivals stretching as far as Siberia. The regional program will be a rich mixture of documentary, features and shorts providing audiences with the opportunity to view films from the October 2009 Side by Side LGBT Film Festival which took place in Saint Petersburg. To run alongside film screenings is a strong discussion programme. Issues concerning coming out, discrimination, rights of LGBT people, same sex families and transgender will be tackled. A panel of invited experts, yet to be announced, are to participate. "Levels of homophobia in Russian society remain incredibly high," stated festival founder Manny de Guerre, "and to take Side by Side to other towns and cities where intolerance and hatred towards LGBT people are openly and violently expressed is an imperative."

In Saint Petersburg Side by Side itself has faced an uphill struggle against city authorities. In 2008, the first Side by Side film festival was disrupted in a major way due to closure of venues by city authorities on the eve of the event. Organisers were forced to conduct festival proceedings at a secret undisclosed location. In Summer 2009 when Side by Side's film and discussion program was included in a citywide event, Festival of Festival's held in Saint Petersburg's two leading and centrally located cinema halls – Rodina and Dom Kino – organizers were again pressured to pull screenings from the schedules. Whereas screenings from Rodina (a State owned cinema hall) were removed, screenings went ahead on the condition Side by Side's visual presence was reduced.

In spite of the atmosphere of coercion and threat Side by Side has persevered and in 2009 the second attempt to hold the film was made. The festival met with much greater success. Running from 23rd October to 31st October, 2009, 22 films were screened along with 10 panel discussions in 8 different locales across the city. The jury, comprising of leading experts in their field, included Professor Dr. Igor Kon, Art Director of OPEN CINEMA film festival Tamara Larina, human rights activist Nina Tagankina, Director of AHOI Culture Mahide Lein and Director of INOEKINO Sergey Baidak. Competition categories were Best Social Film, Best Enlightening Film, Best Film Representing Human Value and Audience Award. The festival garnered the support of several local businesses including Bukvoed (a large book chain store) and Ladybird (a women's taxi company) as well as international cultural organization including the Goethe Institute, Danish Institute and foreign consulates: British, American and Sweden included. In the region of two thousand people attended this years festival. "It was an outstanding achievement and an unprecedented event in Russian history," noted festival Director Gulya Sultanova: "A fifth of the festival attendees were non-LGBT people. A clear indication that Side by Side is able to stimulate dialogue and raise important LGBT issues with society at large."

Side by Side remains committed to human rights advocacy, the propagation of a tolerant society where sexual minority groups and individual freedom and choice are both respected and protected. In the coming year we aim to go further forward building on the many successes of 2009.

If you are interested in keeping updated on events, leaving your opinion or donating and helping to change LGBT history in Russia visit the official site at http://bok-o-bok.ru/default.asp?lan=1

Side by Side is now currently accepting film and video submissions to be presented during the film festival. If you have work about lesbians, gay men, bisexual, intersex and/or transgendered people and would like to have your work presented as part of the Side by Side project, please visit http://bok-o-bok.ru/filmmakers.asp?pid=36&lan=1 for submission instructions.

Mission
Side by Side Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) International Film Festival aims to establish free open cultural spaces in which homosexual and transgendered persons are able to affirm, question and extend their identities. We call for the elimination of all forms of discrimination and inequality based on sex, gender, sexual orientation, sexual identity, gender identity and gender expression. Through the medium of high-quality, intelligent film we seek to create a forum for discussion with society at large dismantling myths and obsolete stereotypes that continue to hamper the development of the LGBT community in Russia. By generating a positive dialogue we endeavor to facilitate change, fostering respect of human rights of LGBT persons and fundamentally bringing about greater tolerance and broader acceptance of sexual minority groups within Russian society today.