Not one step back!

Since the start of the year, Casal Lambda has had new headquarters and additional new management staff. The team at the centre works to organise this FIRE!! film festival as well as many other projects. All these and other initiatives are necessary to enable the full socialisation of the LGBTI community.

Developments since last year’s festival include, on a positive note, the abolition of laws against homosexuality in India and, more worrying and closer to home, the presence in the Andalusian parliament of VOX, an extreme right-wing party determined to curtail the rights of LGBTI people. There can be little doubt that rise of the extreme right has enabled the attacks that have occurred in recent months, and which we strongly condemn. Moreover, more reactionary sectors of the Church also insist on “curing” homosexuality. In short, the present situation makes us all the more determined to rally behind the call Not one step back!

Fortunately, there have also been positive developments at home. These include the establishment of Barcelona LGBTI Centre in response to long-standing demands by our community. However, we repeat our most vehement condemnation of the fascist, homophobic attack that the centre received before it even opened. Nonetheless, we can only acknowledge the efforts made by various political groups that have governed Barcelona in recent years. Congratulations to everyone on this new victory for all citizens!

The historic memory must always leave an indelible footprint on our actions, without exception. We are also the product of a process and one of the most important rebellions of the twentieth century. We are the heirs of the Stonewall riots, which took place 50 years ago. And, although Stonewall was a collective triumph, an important leader also emerged at that time: Harvey Milk. We, the organisers of FIRE!!, hope to learn from Milk’s example, engaging in culture and working to spread hope. You will find huge supplies of hope in all the films on this year’s programme, designed, as every year, to make the world a better place. A world in which LGBTI people feel safe and where all their rights and freedoms are recognised and respected. Casal Lambda urges everyone to firmly defend all that we have achieved so far, and to repeat, as one, the call: Not one step back! 

Jordi Samsó, President of Casal Lambda