The first thing I did when I realised my sexuality in my teens was go to a book shop and find a few books to read, I remember exactly the shelf in Waterstones book store, to the left as you walk in the door and right at the bottom so I had to sit on the ground and have a look through them all.  The second thing I did was attend the International Dublin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, now called Gaze.

Since then a year hasn’t gone by when I haven’t attended at least one film on show and most years I go to any number I can fit in.  As the years have gone by the standard of LGBT cinema has increased massively and the variety is wonderful, it truly is an international feast of films and I have always loved films, so what could be a better way to spend the August bank holiday weekend?

This year Gaze turns 20 and the festival returns to the Lighthouse cinema in Smithfield Square.  It’s a wonderful venue with a great atmosphere, especially when taken over by our colourful community.  The organisers will release the programme and event line up in a few weeks and are having some great giveaways via Twitter too so keep your eyes peeled.

With the anniversary in mind there will be a retrospective taking a look at the success of the festival over the past two decades.  The programme for 2012 promises to have the usual array of documentaries, shorts, independent features and will include Sexing The Transman from Buck Angel and All The Way Through Evening by Rohan Spong.

Festival programmer David Mullane has expressed his delighted at the standard of film that he has seen and also the amount of Irish submissions.  Of course the weekend is not only about the films but is a social event that should be in most people’s diaries every year, with musical performances and DJs set to make a great environment to just hang out and catch up with all those people you only run in to at Pride and Gaze.

So get your diaries out and mark the dates, August 02 – 06 will see the 20th annual Gaze film festival take place and us LGBTs take over Smithfield.  Keep an eye on Gaelick for updates on not only the programme but also the other great events happening around the city over that weekend.  It’s always a great weekend but the 20th anniversary should make 2012 extra special.