In a year of setbacks for LGBTQ+ rights, GAZE 2025 reminds us why queer stories matter more than ever

In 2015, Ireland made history by becoming the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote. It was more than just a win for LGBTQ+ rights – it marked a profound shift in national identity. In casting our ballots, we weren’t just voting for love. We were actively choosing to move beyond the grip of Church control, toward a more open, inclusive and secular society. Ten years on, that decision remains a source of national pride and a reminder that progress is something we must choose, repeatedly, in every generation.

Over the past decade, Ireland has embraced that progressive turn. And while the fight is far from over, we’ve managed – at least so far – to resist some of the more virulent forms of anti-trans rhetoric and reactionary politics that have taken hold in the US and UK.

But progress is not a guarantee. Around the world, a regressive wave of far-right ideology is gaining ground, and Ireland is not immune. We’ve seen its signs: the targeting of migrants, disinformation around trans healthcare, attacks on queer people in our streets. If we don’t stay vigilant, the gains of the last decade can be undone just as quickly.

LGBTQ+ rights are under relentless attack across the globe. In the US alone, over 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced under Trump, targeting everything from drag performances to book censorship and gender-affirming healthcare. Just this month, the Trump administration cut funding for the LGBTQ+ youth-specific option of the national suicide prevention hotline, condemning it as promoting “radical gender ideology,” forcing the closure of this vital service. The Trevor Project warned that this move would deeply harm vulnerable queer young people by removing a crucial, evidence-based support system amid a surge of anti-trans legislation and Pride Month celebrations, yet the administration has shown little care or empathy for these youth.

Across Europe, Hungary and Poland have enshrined homophobia and transphobia into law through constitutional changes and relentless anti-queer propaganda; recently, Hungarian police banned LGBTQ+ Pride events and peaceful assemblies while permitting a far-right hate group to march on the same day, despite multiple court rulings in favour of Pride organisers. This crackdown follows a 2021 ban on public LGBTQ+ expression and constitutional amendments prioritising “child protection” over fundamental rights, prompting sharp international condemnation from EU member states. In Uganda and Ghana, draconian new laws have criminalised LGBTQ+ existence outright. At the same time, a global retreat in corporate and philanthropic funding for queer causes has left many grassroots organisations, including vital arts and culture festivals, dangerously underfunded and vulnerable.

It’s in this moment of uncertainty that the GAZE LGBTQIA+ International Film Festival returns to Dublin, with more resonance than ever. And it does so without a major corporate sponsor for the first time in years – a stark reflection of the very global withdrawal it now stands against. “This year’s festival, more than any other, feels like a statement of resistance,” said Festival Director Greg Thorpe at the programme launch on June 24. “Funding and sponsorship to LGBTQ+ organisations is being cut globally… and we’re not immune.”

Yet in spite of these challenges – or perhaps because of them – GAZE 2025 has programmed its most expansive, provocative and politically urgent line-up in years. As Ireland marks the tenth anniversary of Marriage Equality, GAZE insists on queer visibility not just as celebration, but as culture, memory, defiance and hope.