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11th Pink Life QueerFest

May - November 2022
Festivals and workshops*: ANKARA, AYDIN, DENİZLİ, DİYARBAKIR, ISTANBUL, IZMIR
* Within the scope of the project, the Aydın, Denizli, Diyarbakır and Izmir legs of the Festival are supported.

ANKARA - Pink Life Association

and affiliates

AYDIN - LGBTI Solidarity
DENİZLİ - LGBTI Families Group
DİYARBAKIR - Keskesor İnitiative
IZMIR - 18 Haziran LGBTI+ Solidarity Association

Pink Life QueerFest is organised every year since 2011 to diversify the physical spaces where queers and artists can come together freely and safely, and to strengthen the bond between the queer community in Turkey. The festival, being the first and only queer film festival in Turkey continues to pave the way by visiting different cities and countries. In its 11th year, the festival visited more cities, get together more with queers in different cities, and organised screenings and events tailored to their needs.

Pink Life QueerFest, acting as an important organisation in the field of freedom of expression in Turkey, continues its activities despite censorship, bans and oppression. It sets out with the idea that tolerance and respect are the way to an inclusive democracy,
prejudices can be overcome with unifying elements like art, and
social representation is important as well as legal representation.

The Festival celebrated its 10th anniversary with the conference entitled "Queering the Film Culture", and completed its activities appearing as a guest at the Aks International Minorities Festival in Karachi, Pakistan, after its annual Istanbul and Ankara screenings.

In its eleventh year, Pink Life QueerFest began its journey from local communities. Starting from May, the festival was held in Aydın, Denizli, Diyarbakır, and Izmir respectively. After the screenings and workshops in these cities and the bonds established with local queers, the festival met its followers from Istanbul and Ankara.

Pink Life Association

Turkey's first trans rights association, the Pink Life Association is established on 30 June 2006 in Ankara. Pink Life Association provides direct support and produce projects related to issues such as social exclusion, discrimination against trans people, hate crimes, violence, and continues its public advocacy on the above topics in the national and international arena.

The Association continues its advocacy activities both in the Turkish parliament and on the international level for the inclusion of gender identity and sexual orientation phrases in the Constitution and ending discrimination, and ensures that the necessary materials reach the parliamentarians in Turkey.

Pink Life Association provides free consultancy on law, education, health and gender adjustment processes. It is in solidarity with
rights-based organisations and activists operating in all these areas. The Association organises the “Trans Camp” where trans people from Turkey come together to talk about their problems and seek solutions. In addition, it has established a "clothing bank" named after
Dilek İnce, who was killed during her fight against gangs in Eryaman. Dilek İnce Clothing Bank supports LGBTI+ people in need
-especially the ones in prison- by sending garments every three months.

Pink Life Association also organises the Pink Life QueerFest, Turkey's first LGBTI+ films festival. While the festival draws attention towards the discrimination and violence faced by LGBTI+ individuals in Turkey, it also creates a platform for discourse of queer theory and art.

This page is published on 21 December 2021.
Last update: 7 June 2022