Glasgay! 2011: The Films

This month sees the return of Scotland's annual celebration of gay culture: Glasgay! (15 Oct–12 Nov). The theme of 2011's festival is “representation” and asks if LGBT identities are really understood or effectively represented in modern culture. The film programme highlights the diversity of the gay community and seeks to offer different perspectives in an inclusive mix spanning the queer spectrum.

Included are documentaries that look at the work of two LGBT pioneers: Jackie Forster is featured in The Day That Changed My Life , which screens as part of Jackie Forster: From High Heels to Sensible Shoes (5 Nov, Glasgow Women's Library), an event honouring the legendary activist who founded UK lesbian publication Sappho and set up the Lesbian Archive; and the brilliant Jean Kilbourne is celebrated with a screening of her landmark film Killing Us Softly (27 Oct, CCA), which questions the representation of women in 70s US advertising.

Other highlights include Hollywood to Dollywood (20 Oct, Glasgow Caledonian University), which examines the impact of gay role models such as Dolly Parton, and We Were Here (1 Nov, GFT) adds a historical perspective, looking back at the dawn of the AIDS epidemic. There's also the cheeky Kink Crusaders (9 Nov, CCA), which lovingly profiles a beauty contest with a difference: The International Mr. Leather Contest. This annual celebration of male flesh and self expression started in the back of a Chicago bar and 30 years later draws thousands of participants from across the world. Boys on Film (30 Oct, GFT) makes a welcome return, highlighting the best gay shorts, this time looking ominously at the darker side of romance; British film Weekend (25 Oct, GFT) – already causing a festival stir – presents a thoroughly modern gay romance; and bringing lesbian cinema vividly to life is Gigola, a stylish thriller set in the Parisian underworld of the 1960s.

And for John Waters fans (and that's everyone, right?), there's an unmissable showing of the midnight movie classic Polyester (11 Nov, GFT). This shocking send-up of the suburban melodramas of the 60s is complete with replicas of the original “Odorama" scratch n sniff cards – smell the action as it happens on the screen!