Russian LGBT film festival visits Siberia
St. Petersburg, Russia's Side by Side LGBT International Film Festival went on the road to Siberia in May.
Films were shown in Novosibirsk May 19-22 and in Kemerovo May 20-22.
The screenings went off without incident. Last year in Kemerovo, officials tried to stop the festival by pressuring host venues, organizers said.
Danish documentary filmmaker Iben Haar Andersen attended this year's events and discussed her film "Hello, My Name Is Lesbian."
Side by Side's Gulya Sultanova said: "We have defended our right to hold open and free cultural LGBT events. We have been able to screen LGBT films to the public and discuss complex social issues. We will continue working in this manner in order to bring around change and (show) that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are not to be feared or despised, but (are) ordinary people who are in need of acceptance and equal rights."
