2025/09-10-11 Our Story (october)

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Massimadi.Brussels: Mapping out our resources in challenging times
Our Story

From canonical works to the most experimental creations, and from mainstream entertainment to politically engaged narratives, OUR QUEER STORY invites you to explore the rich history of LGBTQIA+ cinema. It seeks to examine the complex relationship between the queer community and the moving image, which has served as both a space for emancipation and an instrument of discrimination. Accompanied by presentations or short contextual introductions, the OUR STORY events are intended for a broad audience as well as for viewers eager to reclaim their own cinematic memory.

OctobER : OUR STORY: Massimadi.Brussels: Mapping out our resources in challenging times

The Massimadi Brussels Festival of Black LGBTQIA+ films and arts from Africa and its diasporas celebrates its 10th edition at CINEMATEK on October 3rd and 4th.

In the current context, sociopolitical tensions reveal a troubling rise in hostile discourse against inclusion, diversity, and, more broadly, the concept of a cohesive society (I Don’t Know Who You Are). Black and queer communities are once again at the center of multiple attacks: discriminatory legislation (Sacred Lies, Civil Truths), anti-immigrant rhetoric (L’Échappée), a rollback of fundamental rights, and persistent electoral inequalities (gender gap). These issues are not isolated. They reflect a global climate in which democratic principles are being weakened.

In the face of this reality, we, as stakeholders in Black and queer movements, wish to reaffirm our role in the social fabric. Our goal is not systematic opposition, but the patient construction of a shared future. Every day, women, men, non-binary, queer, and racialized individuals work behind the scenes to ensure the smooth functioning of our institutions: in schools, hospitals, and social services. Their work, though often made invisible (Brother Outsider), is nonetheless essential. These individuals are not on the margins. They are at the core. They deserve recognition, respect (Clashing Differences), and visibility. In this period of uncertainty, it is urgent to rethink our social contract in light of the lived realities of all members of society (I Don’t Know Who You Are). For a robust democracy cannot exist without equality, dialogue, and representation.

Our commitment is simple: to participate actively in this re-foundation, in a spirit of responsibility and openness.

In collaboration with