Ukraine Diary: Kyiv hosts Ukraine’s first-ever L.G.B.T.Q. film festival.
nytimes.comThis is one in an occasional series of dispatches about life amid the war in Ukraine. KYIV, Ukraine — On a gray and rainy afternoon, about 35 people settled into velvety red seats in a small and stuffy underground movie theater.
Two carried rainbow umbrellas. When the lights went down, the cartoon images that flashed on the screen were a reminder that this was a unique moment in time: a soldier preparing for war — then kissing another soldier of the same sex.
The sold-out screening, a Ukrainian queer short film retrospective, was one of dozens held in Kyiv as part of the country’s first-ever queer film festival.
A landmark event in its own right, the seven-day event, which ends Wednesday, also took place during a war — one that rights advocates said has increased visibility and acceptance of the L.G.B.T.Q.
