Nice Rainbow Festival 2023

 

The month of May brings with it the Nice Rainbow Festival from May 17th to May 21st, 2023.

 

As a connection with International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia, the LGBTQIA of the Côte d’Azur in Nice is offering numerous fun and educational events over those days to promote the values of inclusiveness, respect, and diversity with the help and guidance of various local associations and businesses committed against discrimination and human rights.

This International Day on May 17th refers to the decision made by WHO (World Health Organization), to not consider those of us in the LGBTQ community as having a mental illness because of who we are around the globe.

 

With that, the Nice Rainbow Festival has been organized by the LGBTQIA Côte d’Azur Centre.

The LGBTQIA Centre is an association that for more than 10 years has been receiving visitors with questions about their sexual orientation and gender identity, and accompanies and guides LGBTQIA people and their loved ones in their access to rights, health, discrimination, rejection, violence, or assault. 

 

The popularity of the LGBTQIA Côte d’Azur Centre brings people together and helps those with concerns discover a normal way of life for themselves and carries the demands that advance respect, solidarity, and equality in France.

Over these following days, a number of events will take place, with the main event happening on Saturday, May 20th at the Nice Rainbow Village at Jardin Albert 1er in Nice.

This is a free event, and open to everyone will offering a sense of belonging in a playful environment. There will be round table discussions, workshops, drag queen shows, dance, and sports activities in a carnival type of atmosphere brought to you by a number of highly regarded local associations and businesses.

Check the LGBTQIA Côte d’Azur Centre Facebook page for more event listings as they become available.

Queer Palm 2023

 

The selection of films has just been announced for the upcoming Queer Palm as part of the prestigious Cannes Film Festival this year.

Along with that, as part of the jury this year there will be Catherine Corsini, Justine Triet, and Monia Chorki with the fabulously talented Cameron Mitchell of Hedwig and the Angry Inch fame as President of the Jury.

For Queer Palm 2023, there will be 11 feature films and 7 short film formats. Notably already, Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet, and The Return, a new film by Catherine Corsini (who was the president of the Queer Palm jury in 2022) about a mother and her two daughters who experience their first emotions during a vacation in Corsica.

Attention will also be geared towards, The Idol, the new series - presented out of competition at the festival - by Sam Levinson, the creator of the series Euphoria.

As a reminder, the last Queer Palm was awarded in 2022 to Joyland, the sublime Pakistani film by Saim Sadiq about the romance between a man in the midst of questioning and a transgender dancer. This year's jury is composed of the versatile John Cameron Michell (Shortbus), director and actress Isabel Sandoval (Brooklyn Secret), actress Louise Chevillotte (À mon seul désir), Belgian filmmaker Zeno Graton (Le Paradis, in theaters May 10) and critic Cédric Succivalli.

See you on May 16th for the opening of the Cannes Film Festival!

Here is the full list of films (in French) for the Queer Palm 2023:

Feature Film Category:

• Anatomie d'une chute de Justine Triet

• Le Retour de Catherine Corsini

• The Idol de Sam Levinson

• Le Temps d'aimer de Katell Quillevéré

• How to Have Sex de Molly Manning

• Simple comme Sylvain de Monia Chokri

• Rosalie de Stéphanie di Giusto

• Levante de Lillah Halla

• Conann de Bertrand Mandico

• Un Prince de Pierre Creton

• Xiao Bai Chuan de Zihan Geng

Short Film Category:

• 27 de Flóra Anna Buda

• Strange Way of Life de Pedro Almodóvar

• Daroone Poust de Shafagh Abosaba & Maryam Mahdiye

• Bolero de Nans Laborde-Jourdaa

• Stranger de Jehnny Beth & Iris Chassaigne

• J'ai vu le visage du diable de Julia Kowalski

• Mast-Del de Maryam Tafakory

 

LGB Fest in Nice

 

The sisters are doing it for themselves.

This weekend, from May 5th to 7th, the second edition of the LGB Fest will be a 100% female musical event featuring twelve female artists who are either locally known in the region or have a degree of international fame.

Additionally to the concerts taking place, there will also be a number of events over the three days to enjoy.

In a world seemingly dominated by men in the music industry, LGB Fest is doing its best to bring awareness of new artists and also shine a stronger light and balance to showcase what these talented women can accomplish.

An array of musical styles will be represented from rnb to house, techno, neo-soul, progressive rock, dance…you name it.

For the Friday opening, you can find Lazuli, Enchantee Julia, Siloh, and Roxie.

On May 6, Alys LF (Venus Club), Globale Industrial Culture, and Helena Hauff.

The weekend entertainment ends on Sunday with Vanille, PÖ Olympe4000, and Vicky R.

This LGBTQ+-friendly event will also be eco-friendly and with activities between and during the shows such as workshops, games, artisans, et al.

Doors open on Friday at 8:30 pm, and on Saturday and Sunday at 6 pm.

Further information can be found here on Instagram.

 

Get your tickets asap here at LGB Fest.  

City of Nice - Highly Rated for LGBTQ Marriages

 

Nice has recently been rated as one of the top regional capitals in France to celebrate the most “marriages for all”.

 

The municipality is pleased to announce that Nice is "the example in (its) fight against homophobia".

More than 700 LGBTQ marriages have been celebrated in Nice in the past ten years, for a total of 70,000 in France. As soon as same-sex marriages became legal in the country, Nice, the capital of the Alpes-Maritimes became one of the French cities that celebrate the most marriages. 

In 2013, 6% of these unions were performed in Nice, the second city after Paris, a few months after the law was passed in Parliament. Nearly one marriage in 10 in Nice in 2015 was from the LGBTQ community.

Before the law came into effect in France, the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi (UMP), seemed on the fence about the subject. In Nice-Matin (13/01/13) he had "confirmed his opposition to the opening of marriage for homosexuals". As a deputy, he had even voted against it. Four months later, he said he was now "delighted" to be one of the first mayors to celebrate the legality of same-sex marriage in France.

Since the early 1990s, the city of Nice, along with other cities up and down the regional coastline has slowly come to realize the importance of the LGBTQ community. This in many ways has been spearheaded because of the large tourism boards, realizing how strong of an impact our money can be anywhere we travel in the world.

With Nice being one of the top-rated places in France to get married as members of the LGBTQ community, it signals this to be a safe destination and acceptance as a whole, all the while feeling very second nature in our lives.