British Council takes five new LGBTQIA+ films global as Gen Z backs the big screen for cultural influence

Five Films For Freedom, the British Council's global LGBTQIA+ short film programme, is set to return from 18 March with five powerful new stories from filmmakers in the UK, Mexico, Brazil, Vietnam and France. 

Now in its 12th year, the initiative - delivered in partnership with BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival - makes the films available to audiences worldwide for free, using cinema as a tool of cultural connection in places where LGBTQIA+ visibility can still be difficult or risky. 

The five films will be available to stream from 18-29 March 2026 via the British Council’s digital platforms, and on BFI Player in the UK. 

The programme launches at a time when LGBTQIA+ rights remain unrecognised in dozens of countries, and when visibility itself, whether on screen or in public life, is increasingly contested.  

In over 60 countries, same-sex relationships remain criminalised. Five Films For Freedom offers visibility where it is still denied. 

Since 2015, the films have received nearly 29 million views, reaching audiences in more than 200 countries. 

Its return comes as recent British Council research underlines the enduring power of film for younger audiences. In a survey of 2,500 people aged 16–24 across the UK, 38% said film and television will have the greatest global cultural impact over the next decade - almost double the 22% who said the same of digital content creators. 

Around the world, Five Films For Freedom is also becoming a catalyst for real-world conversation and community engagement. In Brazil, the programme will be presented to a conference bringing together 55 Pride Parades from across São Paulo state, alongside a major public screening in the iconic Largo do Arouche square – a historic and symbolic space for the LGBTQIA+ community.  

In New Zealand, the films will tour through community screenings nationwide, reaching audiences far beyond major cities.  

In Europe, the programme will be showcased through two special presentation events organised by the UK chair of the Group of Friends on LGBTI Rights at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, using cinema to open dialogue on LGBTQIA+ rights and visibility at an institutional level. 

Organisers say that influence makes representation on screen more important than ever, particularly as LGBTQIA+ communities face legal rollbacks, censorship and rising hostility in parts of the world. 

Briony Hanson, Director of Film at the British Council, said: "Gen Z still sees film as the most powerful cultural storyteller. At a moment when LGBTQIA+ rights and visibility are being challenged in many places, we're asking people everywhere to watch, share and talk about these films. In places where queer lives are being pushed out of public view, every stream is a small act of visibility." 

Kristy Matheson, Director of BFI Festivals, said: "These stories move across borders instantly. They show everyday courage, tenderness and identity, and when they're seen globally they create connection in places where representation still really matters. The five films will be available to stream for free worldwide via the British Council's digital platforms and on BFI Player in the UK.” 

This year’s five films:  

I Hate Helen  

Directed by Katie Lambert (UK – 7 minutes)  

Priya hates Helen. She hates her in the canteen. Hates her in science. Especially hates her at swimming. Mostly, Priya hates the way Helen makes her feel. A short film about the tidal wave of gay lust some girls feel in school and letting those feelings just wash over you. 

Rag Dolls  

Directed by Amy Adler (USA / Mexico – 12 minutes) 

Married couple Rosalinda (born with spina bifida) and Diana (who has cerebral palsy) navigate life in Puebla, Mexico, where disability intersects with discrimination and poverty. Abandoned by family, underserved by government support systems, and facing persistent homophobia, the women have built a life centred on mutual care and protection. Observing a single ordinary day, the film follows their routines, a romantic date, and moments of reflection on their enduring love. 

Room 206 

Directed by Laurie Bisceglia (France – 16 minutes)  

After undergoing gender-affirming surgery, Clair no longer cares what the world thinks. Reclaiming his body becomes a path toward self-recognition for the first time in his life. This documentary accompanies him not only through physical change, but towards emotional renewal and a new beginning. 

Sweat (Mô Hôi) 

Directed by Edward Nguyen (Vietnam - 15 minutes) 

On the eve of leaving rural Vietnam, farm worker Hung prepares to illegally cross the border in search of refuge abroad. Defined by routine and labour, his final day with Hoang, a fellow worker, reshapes his understanding of desire, intimacy and selfhood. 

Theo 

Directed by Monica Palazzo & Joana Galvão (Brazil -15 minutes) 

Brazil, 1986. During the World Cup, seven-year-old Theo quietly navigates school life while defying rigid gender expectations. Between silence and rebellion, they begin inventing their own way of existing. 

This year’s directors:  

Katie Lambert (I Hate Helen, UK) 

Katie Lambert is an English woman interested in behaving badly, making mistakes and trying to make them look beautiful. Sometimes those interests coincide with film making. She runs MrMr Films with Martha McGuirk. 

Amy Adler (Rag Dolls, USA/Mexico) 

Amy Adler is a visual artist and filmmaker based in Los Angeles. She has had solo exhibitions at museums and galleries worldwide, including the Hammer Museum and MOCA Los Angeles. Her short film Tear Jerker (2016) screened internationally and won the Audience Award at Tampa Bay International LGBT Film Festival. Adler is a 2021 Guggenheim Fellow, a 2024 Sundance Screenwriters Intensive Fellow, and Professor of Visual Arts at UC San Diego. 

Laurie Bisceglia (Room 206, France) 

Laurie Bisceglia is a French director and photographer living in Paris. Her studies initially led her to work as an assistant director, which enabled her to work on many film sets. Over time, her vision of the world sharpened and a visceral need to expose its flaws emerged. She initially decided to do this through photography, in which she was self-taught, and later through the moving image. From 2020 onwards, she became involved with associations fighting for women’s rights, shooting portraits of inspirational women and reports on demonstrations and related events. At the same time, she developed her personal projects. In 2024, she completed the photographic series Chambre 206, selected as part of the Off des Rencontres de la Photographie d’Arles for the Prix Révélation de la SAIF. 

Edward Nguyen (Sweat (Mô Hôi), Vietnam)  

Edward Nguyen is a Vietnamese-American writer-director based between New York and Austin. His work centres around cross-cultural queerness, displacement, and urban isolationism. Inspired by queer and slow cinema auteurs, his works seek to challenge traditional structural powers and question how we construct a sense of “self” in the present. A recent Yale University graduate and the director of Mồ Hôi (Sweat), he is a semi-finalist of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s How We Heal Shot Films Lab and is currently working on a short film revolving around a Vietnamese construction worker’s journey through cruising. 

Monica Palazzo (Theo, Brazil)  

Monica Palazzo is a Brazilian production designer, director and teacher whose work bridges poetic design, research and storytelling. She has directed the shorts Páginas de Menina, Trilogia, Mãe do Ouro and the immersive 360° film Dilema, developed through her PhD in Visual Poetics at the University of São Paulo (completed 2024). Across a 24-year career focused on fiction for film and series, she has worked on features including Para Minha Amada Morta, Smoke Master and Meu Casulo de Drywall. Her work has screened at festivals including Cannes, Berlin, Frameline and NewFest, and she teaches in São Paulo at Centro Universitário Belas Artes and the Academia Internacional de Cinema. 

Joana Galvão (Theo, Brazil) 

Jo Galvv studied professional communication on a full athletic scholarship in West Virginia, USA. She later pursued psychology and neuroscience (BA and MSc) in Germany, followed by a PhD in cognitive innovation (UK and Australia) through a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship funded by the European Commission. She also completed a BA in Literature at the University of São Paulo (USP), including a semester abroad supported by the Canadian government’s Emerging Leaders in the Americas Program (ELAP). A Berlinale Talents alumna and Bravo Film Lab Fellow, she now develops independent creative projects in literature and film. 

Find out more about Five Films for Freedom. 

Watch the trailer here.