The 39th edition of BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival (19th – 30th March) has set Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Reolon’s erotic thriller Night Stage as its Closing Night Gala on 29th March and Shatara Michelle Ford’s road trip movie Dreams in Nightmares as a Special Presentation on 23rd March.
Night Stage which world premiered at Berlinale 2025, tells the story of an actor and a politician who begin a secret affair and discover they both have a fetish for having sex in public places. However, the closer they get to their dream of fame, the more they feel the urge to put themselves at risk. The filmmakers’ second feature Hard Paint received the Teddy Award for Best Film and the C.I.C.A.E. Jury Award for Best Panorama Film at Berlin International Film Festival 2018.
Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Reolon, Directors of Night Stage, said, “We are very excited for Night Stage to be featured as the closing film of BFI Flare, a festival that so warmly screened our previous film, Hard Paint. This will be one of the first screenings after its premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, and we can’t wait to see the festival audience’s reaction to this journey of desire and danger.”
Dreams in Nightmares follows three Black queer femmes in their mid 30s as they take a road trip across the Midwestern United States in search of their friend who has seemingly disappeared off the grid. An exploration of identity, Dreams in Nightmares stars Denée Benton (UnREAL, The Gilded Age) and Charlie Barnett (Russian Doll). Ford’s first feature Test Pattern received the New Generation Award at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards and the Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature at the New Orleans Film Festival.
Shatara Michelle Ford, Director of Dreams in Nightmares, said, “This is a major homecoming of sorts, as I came of age as a filmmaker in London, and the BFI holds a special place in my heart: it is where my unformed baby queer self spent the majority of my 20s; taking in all that BFI had to offer. This presentation is most fitting and I’m beyond thrilled to be sharing Dreams in Nightmares at BFI Flare.”