We have the answers –
what are the questions?

Do we all have to die?
How much does a man cost?
Where do Russia’s homosexuals go?
In what way are drawings allowed to exaggerate?

This year’s Pink Apple Film Festival will not only present over 90 films, but also some answers to these questions. Again Pink Apple will not only be all about films, but also about stories and their backgrounds. Do you remember the first kiss between two men on US television? Because it wasn’t in “Dawson’s Creek” or in “Queer as Folk”. It was Homer Simpson who felt the lips of another man on his own lips in front of an American audience. This was in 1990, and Homer did not become gay because of it. But it is not surprising that it is two comic figures that were allowed to turn towards Sodom. A lecture in Frauenfeld in the context of the Special “Comics out!” will deal with the issue of homosexuality in “The Simpsons”.

In the last few months, the recent conflict between Russia and the Ukraine has pushed a hotly discussed Russian issue aside: the law amendments by the Russian leaders supporting the discrimination against gays and lesbians by the state and in the society. This discussion, however, has not only brought up hideous facts. For the first time in the history of the Olympic games, important figures in World politics have mentioned the rights of lesbians and gays. But after the Olympics in Sochi the World’s media have been focussing on other issues. We, however, will be looking – in the context of our Special “Homophobia in Russia”.

While in the EU discussions about laws banning prostitution in order to protect women are going on, once again nobody is talking about male sex workers. However, in Switzerland, sex for money between men is as common as in other countries. Six films and a Pink Talk will focus on issues about callboys, hustlers and escorts.

Five years ago, an evangelical politician from Zurich warned against homosexuality because he claimed it was bad for one’s health. Gays would commit suicide far more often than heterosexuals. In a way the man was right, at least concerning the outcome, but not the cause. In fact, the suicide rate for youths experiencing sexual attraction to men is shockingly high. We are convinced that watching gay and lesbians films will lower this risk! Not only have we defined suicide as a main topic for this year under the motto “The Last Way Out”, but we have also compiled a short film programme to promote the acceptance of gays and lesbians in schools.

One would probably not expect to find transvestites in the mountains of Albania. In fact, this expression is quite misleading, even if there is a grain of truth in it. For when no suitable man can be found, women can become leaders of their clans. But they must swear to stay virgins for as long as they live. Their reward is being allowed to play the role of a man in society, with all its concomitant privileges. The Bulgarian photographer Pepa Hristova will take a closer look at this phenomenon in her slide show.

And yes, apart from all the main topics they will here again: the beautiful, the sad, the funny, the thought-provoking ones. The shocking, the cheerful, the absurd ones. The lesbian, the gay and the indefinable ones. The short and the long films. Browse the programme book, let yourself be swept away by the variety of ideas, from which captivating stories have been created throughout the whole world.

One thing we definitely know after 16 festivals: The figures in our films have become more complicated. Their sexuality is no longer the cause of all their problems, but simply their lives and all their fears, troubles and needs. The characters are no longer mere representatives of a sexual minority, but most importantly human beings experiencing happiness and unhappiness just like everyone else. And you can be there with them!

Your Pink Apple team