Victoria Lomasko describes her experiences as a juror of the queer Side-by-Side-Filmfestival in St. Petersburg, which was interrupted several times by false bomb threats.

"When the organizers of the Petersburger LGBT film festival Side by Side invited me to serve on the festival jury, I agreed right away. I'm not a member of the LGBT community, but given what has been happening in Russia, the festival has become a political event, and being involved with it is a way of clearly expressing your civic stance.
As one of the organizers, Gulya Sultanova, told me,"This time, almost all the movie theaters [the festival approached] decided to support the film festival, despite the potential risks. And that's worth a lot." I found it difficult to share Gulya's optimism. I was certain that attempts would be made to disrupt the festival, and that trouble lay in store for organizers and festival goers." Victoria Lomasko


Language: English