Lesbian Leaders in the ’30s Republican Spain + queer short films

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Romancero Books with the support of the Office for Cultural and Scientific Affairs of the Spanish Embassy in London, AC/E Programme for the Internalisation of Spanish Culture presents the VI London Festival of Queer Spanish Culture Book Launch + Queer Shorts Screening Lesbian Leaders in the ’30s Republican Spain – Mujeres Libres y feministas by Isabella Lorusso in conversation with Jorge Gárriz Lesbian Leaders in the ’30s Republican Spain by the Italian journalist and writer Isabella Lorusso, is a work of oral history that gathers the first-hand testimonies of Spanish women who militated within the POUM and the anarchist movement during the 1930s, in the years of the Popular Front and the Spanish Civil War. Through these women's own voices, Lorusso reconstructs a period of intense political and social upheaval, giving space to memories long overshadowed by official historiography — among them the experience of Lucía Sánchez Saornil, the openly lesbian poet who co-founded the anarcho-feminist organisation Mujeres Libres, one of the era's clearest examples of a lesbian woman occupying a position of political leadership. The book stands as a vivid testament to a generation of women who fought simultaneously against fascism and for their own emancipation, and whose radical vision of freedom — sexual, social and political — continues to resonate today. Cinema Mentire presents: Será Inmortal: Latin American Shorts on Queer Memories and Archives Queer memory erased and recovered, religious and pagan rituals, archives, Catholicism, and sodomy. Across Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay, these works trace how those who refused to conform have navigated the machinery of repression. Through the lens of these filmmakers, memory becomes an archive of survival, desire and a site of political resistance. From intimacy and performance to street protest and historical testimony, the programme brings together distinct generations across Latin America. Together, these seven shorts confront silence to assert that those who resist will not be forgotten. Popsicles Dir. Gloria Camiruaga | Chile | 1984 | 5 min. A group of girls recite Hail Mary while licking popsicles until they discover plastic soldiers in the ice. Given the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Chile at the time, the combination of the sensual and the playful creates a biting commentary. Muerde sin miedo Dir. Cristóbal Guerra | Puerto Rico | 2025 | 11 min. In this modern, queer retelling of an Antillean legend, a message from the heart of the islands awakens ancestral revenge in a couple. One day, amid passion, desire, and rage, the landscape’s wound compels them to repeat an act of the past. Playback Dir. Agustina Comedi | Argentina | 2019 | 15 min. Memories woven through unique footage where the actresses of Kalas Group resist trans genocide by turning the stage into a trench. Soy una lesbiana de este país Dir. Rocío Llambí Scirgalea | Uruguay | 2025 | 8 min. A photograph titled “Soy una lesbiana de este país” shows a hidden figure at its centre. A first-person quest unfolds through fragments of archives, geographies, eras, and personal accounts to locate the protagonist of that photograph. Fuego Dir. Jorge Bordello | Mexico | 2016 | 3 min. Illustrations mix with excerpts from Luis Felipe Fabre’s poems from Sodomía en la Nueva España , while fire and sounds of sex blend with sounds of protest, and blood is spilt against prosecution. Casa Particular Dir. Gloria Camiruaga | Chile | 1990 | 9 min. A documentary referencing a performance carried out in 1990 by members of the artistic duo Yeguas del Apocalipsis, formed by poet Francisco Casas and writer Pedro Lemebel. The film also includes testimonies from transvestites in the brothel, in bars and in surrounding locations. Será inmortal quien merezca serlo Dir. Nay Mendl | Cuba | 2024 | 19 min. Sergio, Ubaldo, Yolexquis, and Winston belong to different generations of the Cuban gay community. They reflect on a time during the Cuban Revolution when homosexuals were sent by train to concentration camps. Cinema Mentiré Cinema Mentiré is a pop-up film club bringing a taste of rare classic and contemporary Latin American films to UK audiences. https://www.cinemamentire.co.uk/ Event in English. Check the Festival's website to know about our other events: https://bit.ly/LFQSC26 Ticket link