LGBTQ+ Film and Cinema in London: BFI Flare and Cinemas for a Date

BFI Flare: what it is and when it happens

The BFI describes BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival as one of the most significant and longest-running LGBTQIA+ film festivals in the world. The 40th edition ran from 18 to 29 March 2026 at BFI Southbank and on BFI Player, with 31 world premieres across features and shorts, and 65 features and 62 shorts from 47 countries. It added a strand called Treasures, which celebrates the history of LGBTQIA+ films, alongside three existing strands: Hearts, Bodies and Minds. In 2026, tickets went on sale to BFI Members on 24 February and to everyone on 26 February.

The previous edition, the 39th, ran from 19 to 30 March 2025. The BFI reported 29,831 audience attendances across BFI Southbank screenings and events and BFI Player, with BFI Southbank audiences up 6 per cent, half of them new to the festival, and 92 per cent occupancy. Wikipedia says the festival began in 1986 as Gay's Own Pictures, was the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival from 1988 to 2014, and has been BFI Flare since 2014; it began as a season of films at the National Film Theatre.

The BFI pages we read did not give dates for the next edition. The last two editions ran in mid to late March, so plan for that, but wait for the BFI to publish dates before booking travel. The BFI Player page for the 2026 edition said films could be watched from anywhere in the UK, with rentals priced at £3.50 and a free section of interviews from past BFI Flare events, which could be one way to share a festival film from two different addresses.

• BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festivalfestival

  BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, SE1

  The 40th edition ran 18–29 March 2026 at BFI Southbank and on BFI Player; the BFI gave no dates for the next edition on the pages read.

BFI Southbank as a date

BFI Southbank is at Belvedere Road, SE1 8XT. Its page says it has four screens open seven days a week and a box office open 11am–8.45pm. It lists £4 cinema tickets for ages 16–25 and a BFI Member offer of priority booking from £44. It does not give a standard ticket price on the page read, so check the programme. Wikipedia says the venue is sited below the southern end of Waterloo Bridge and that the National Film Theatre was relaunched as BFI Southbank on 14 March 2007. The BFI's own getting-here and access pages returned an error to our fetcher, so check them, or TfL, for stations and step-free routes.

Two things at BFI Southbank cost nothing: the BFI Mediatheque, described as the world's biggest film and television archive, free at BFI Southbank, and the Reuben Library, which the BFI says is available to everyone, free of charge. The site also lists the BFI Riverfront restaurant, the BFI Bar and a café, and a link to access information for disabled visitors and carers. Outside Flare, the BFI's home page lists the BFI London Film Festival for 7–18 October 2026, which is a general festival rather than an LGBTQ+ one.

• BFI Southbankcinema

  Belvedere Road, South Bank, SE1

  Four screens, box office 11am–8.45pm, £4 cinema tickets for ages 16–25, and a free Mediatheque and Reuben Library.

Between festivals: the Rio and Pink Palace

The Rio Cinema at 107 Kingsland High Street, Dalston, says it is a registered charity (number 277415) and a company limited by guarantee. Its site marks the cinema's 50th anniversary and lists memberships, an Opportunities page and subtitled screenings for d/Deaf audiences. Its footer links to an Accessibility page that we did not read, so check it for step-free access. Wikipedia traces the site to 1909 as the Kingsland Palace, says Paul Theodorou renamed it the Rio in April 1976, and says a local working group had made it a cooperative community cinema by April 1979. It records that the building was listed Grade II in 1999 and that a second screen opened in December 2017.

The Rio's own page calls Pink Palace its regular queer lo-fi film club. On 4 October its programme listed Pink Palace screenings on Wednesday 7 October, Thursday 8 October, Thursday 15 October, Wednesday 21 October, Thursday 22 October and Thursday 29 October, plus Queer Horror Nights, a screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show with a live shadow cabaret cast on Saturday 31 October. Those dates will have passed for later readers; the pattern to look for is a recurring club night rather than a one-off. We did not find Pink Palace ticket prices on the pages read. Its phone line is listed as answered 2pm–8pm daily.

• Rio Cinemacinema

  107 Kingsland High Street, Dalston, E8

  A registered charity that lists Pink Palace as its regular queer lo-fi film club, with screenings on several Wednesdays and Thursdays in October 2026.

Repertory and independent cinemas that suit a first date

The Prince Charles Cinema, at 7 Leicester Place, WC2H 7BY, lists 35mm and 70mm shows, sing-along shows, movie marathons and screenings with introductions and Q&As in its programme menu, and Wikipedia describes it as a repertory cinema. The page does not say what the two figures in each pair mean, though its membership page gives members £8 weekday matinees. Wikipedia says it opened on 26 December 1962.

Its membership page lists an annual membership at £15, a lifetime membership at £60 and a concession annual membership at £12.50, available only at the box office. Members get one discounted ticket per screening, with a minimum £2.50 discount, 15 per cent off drinks and snacks, £8 weekday matinees and regular £1 screenings, though the complimentary tickets that come with Lifetime memberships cannot be used for special events such as sing-alongs, marathons, double or triple features or Q&As. Access is mixed: the downstairs screen is step-free by a ramp from the bar, while the upstairs screen is 20 steps from the foyer, and the cinema says it cannot provide wheelchair access throughout the building.

The Phoenix Cinema in East Finchley says on its own site that it offers accessible screenings, including closed captions, audio description and relaxed screenings, as well as Watch With Baby sessions; its screens are named Picturedrome, Coliseum, Neon and Rex. Wikipedia says the building was built in 1910 and opened in 1912 as the East Finchley Picturedrome, is one of the oldest continuously running cinemas in the UK, is run as a charity and was listed Grade II in 2000.

Genesis Cinema's site lists Whitechapel and Bethnal Green options and describes itself as repeatedly voted the best cinema in the UK. It lists several bars and cafés, a membership page and Bar Trash, which it describes as a celebration of cult and curious cinema hosted, in Genesis's words, by queer film fanatic Token Homo and friends, with tickets from £3.50 plus fees, for adults 18 and over only.

• Prince Charles Cinemacinema

  7 Leicester Place, WC2

  Described by Wikipedia as a repertory cinema annual membership is £15 and the downstairs screen is step-free by ramp.

• Phoenix Cinemacinema

  East Finchley, N2

  Lists closed-captioned, audio-described and relaxed screenings and a membership scheme; Wikipedia says it is charity-run and opened in 1912.

• Genesis Cinemacinema

  Whitechapel and Bethnal Green, east London

  Lists Whitechapel and Bethnal Green options, several bars and cafés, and Bar Trash cult-film nights hosted by a queer film fanatic, as Genesis describes it.

Queer East and other festivals

Queer East describes itself as a cross-disciplinary festival that showcases LGBTQ+ cinema, live arts and moving image work from East and Southeast Asia and its diaspora communities. Its about page gave its seventh edition as 1 May to 6 June 2026, so that edition has finished, and the pages read gave no dates for the next one. It says it was established in response to a lack of Asian representation on the big screen, onstage and behind the scenes. Its home page lists BFI Southbank and Genesis Cinema as venues, and its about page says it works in venues across London.

The Barbican's cinema page lists Pay What You Can Cinema Screenings, Relaxed Screenings and Parent and Baby Screenings among its series. It did not list a queer strand on 4 October, so treat it as a place to check, not a given.

How a cinema date works

Most of the cost in a cinema date is the ticket, and the places above show how much it varies. A membership only repays itself if you will go back. The Prince Charles annual membership is £15, and BFI membership starts at £44 for priority booking.

A film gives you a shared thing to talk about afterwards, and the useful question is where that talk happens. The BFI lists a bar, a café and a restaurant. The Prince Charles gives members 15 per cent off its bar and kiosk, and Genesis lists several bars and cafés. Screenings with an introduction or Q&A, which the Prince Charles lists, add something to discuss without you having to supply it.

Before you go

• Check showtimes and prices on the cinema's own site. Prices here are as listed on 4 October 2026, and programmes, including Pink Palace dates, change.
• For access, read each cinema's own page. The Prince Charles upstairs screen is 20 steps from the foyer and the cinema says it cannot provide wheelchair access throughout the building, the Phoenix lists accessible screenings, and BFI Southbank links to access information for disabled visitors and carers.
• BFI Flare dates for the next edition had not been published on the BFI pages read. Usual timing is March, but wait for the BFI's announcement before booking travel.
• Add booking fees to the budget: the Prince Charles lists a 75p online booking fee per ticket, and Genesis lists fees on top of its Bar Trash ticket price.

Questions people ask

When is BFI Flare?

BFI Flare usually runs in March at BFI Southbank. The 39th edition ran 19–30 March 2025 and the 40th ran 18–29 March 2026, at BFI Southbank and on BFI Player. The BFI pages we read did not give dates for the next edition, so check the BFI before booking.

Where is BFI Flare held?

BFI Flare is held at BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XT. In 2026 the BFI also made festival films available on BFI Player, from anywhere in the UK, with rentals priced at £3.50 and a free section of interviews from past BFI Flare events.

Is there a regular LGBTQ+ film night in London?

The Rio Cinema in Dalston calls Pink Palace its regular queer lo-fi film club. Its programme on 4 October 2026 listed Pink Palace screenings on six dates through 29 October. Genesis Cinema also lists Bar Trash cult-film nights hosted by a queer film fanatic, as it describes the host.

How much does the Prince Charles Cinema cost?

The Prince Charles Cinema lists its ticket prices by screening time and day, plus a 75p online booking fee per ticket, so check the current prices on its site. Annual membership is £15, with members getting £8 weekday matinees and regular £1 screenings.

Is there an LGBTQ+ film festival in London besides BFI Flare?

Queer East is a festival of LGBTQ+ cinema, live arts and moving image work from East and Southeast Asia and its diaspora. Its seventh edition was listed as 1 May to 6 June 2026, and its home page lists BFI Southbank and Genesis Cinema as venues.