A Case in Transformation: Gender Bender Festival, from Cinema to Dance

This article examines the interdisciplinary festival Gender Bender, based in Bologna, Italy. Since its first edition in 2003, the festival has centered cinema as its core discipline, and from 2014, it introduced a new key section dedicated to contemporary dance. This case study investigates the shift in the festival’s programming, which is now more focused on dance than cinema, and explores the potential for dual positioning within both the film festival circuit and contemporary dance networks. The analysis examines key factors that led to the film section’s initial centrality and explores the curatorial motivations behind the programming shift towards dance, along with the cultural policy framework affecting cinema and live arts. Drawing on archival materials from the Cassero LGBTI+ Center’s community archive, known as the Centro di Documentazione Flavia Madaschi (Flavia Madaschi’s Center for Documentation), as well as interviews with the festival’s artistic and organizational directors, this study traces the historical background of cultural activism at Cassero and investigates the evolution of the festival’s programming. It highlights Gender Bender’s broader diffusion within LGBT and queer film festivals and its identity-related developments in the contemporary dance landscape.