Indonesia hosts gay film fest

A worker sets posters of the Q! Film Festival at a gallery in Jakarta. -- PHOTO: AFP

JAKARTA - A GAY film festival hailed as the biggest in Asia and the only one in the
Muslim world kicks off in Indonesia on Friday, hoping to draw 15,000 viewers to
screenings and fringe events.
In its ninth annual edition, the Q! Film Festival will showcase 150 films from more
 than 20 countries including France, Japan and the Philippines, highlighting such
 issues as gay rights and HIV/AIDS.
Festival director John Badalu said organisers do not expect public opposition but prefer
 to keep the event low-key due to the 'stigma against gays' among conservative
sections of the mainly Muslim population.
'We don't want to publicise the event in the mainstream local media as they're still very
conservative,' Mr Badalu said.
Social networking sites such as Twitter are abuzz with chat about the event, however,
signalling it has already achieved one of its chief aims - to 'let people know that the
 queer community exists in Indonesia', he added.
Indonesian Muslims are often categorised as 'moderate' but such generalisations,
 favoured by Western diplomats, upset religious and other minorities who have to endure
 the daily opprobrium of Islamic conservatives. -- AFP