But countries – and even cities within countries – differ enormously in their attitude to LGBTQI+ communities. Tigran Amiryan, head of the Armenian NGO Cultural and Social Narratives Lab, highlights challenges in the Eastern Neighbourhood region: “Visibility or representation of LGBTQI+ people, as well as women in the cultural space in post-socialist countries, continues to be under strong pressure from patriarchal perceptions and excessive masculinity. The important issue that should be discussed is not only the visualization of gays, lesbians or queer people in popular culture but also the reflection on the cultural past. For example, whether modern societies of post-Soviet countries are ready to accept the queer culture of the Soviet or pre-Soviet era. Cultural institutions rarely consider the LGBTQI+ community as full-fledged participants in the cultural past. The past itself is not subject to reinterpretation in this context. For example, the topic of Sergei Parajanov's (the famous Armenian film director and artist) homosexuality remains taboo until today. In the speech of museum workers and guides, to this day you can hear that "he was slandered and imprisoned under this article." Thus, it was not the article that was wrong, but the judges who considered Parajanov a homosexual.The second issue is that of the right to space. Public space in cities often excludes the LGBTQI+ community. Often, such places are repressed by the heteronormative city. For example, in 2012, the only gay-friendly club in Yerevan was blown up,29 after which there was a massive persecution of all representatives of the LGBTQI+ community who visited the place or publicly spoke out in solidarity with the founder of the club. Another example is a park in the city center (Komaygi or Children's park), where trans people usually gather. It has acquired the status of a "shameful place" on the city map. So, the city begins to break up into: "normal", "shameful", and "other". Queer Voices International Film Festival The LGBTQI+ and queer communities of Moldova are continuously silenced through structural and institutional violence, religious dogmas, and patriarchal traditional values. As a result, there is a lack of queer cultural discourse and a strong queer community in Moldova. Queer life is not discussed enough publicly through media or art as a means of portraying the community or personal stories. Nor are there any places where queer people or their allies can meet or engage in common activities. The Queer Voices IFF investigates exclusionary attitudes towards individuals of different sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, as well as socio-economic backgrounds, and presents portraits of individuals and communities that are working to promote solidarity, civil courage, and resistance to propaganda, corruption and discrimination in Moldova. Since 2017, Queer Voices has been working on establishing a safe, creative space where queer people can express their personal stories, ideas, visions, and experiment with different forms of arts. Queer Voices has brought queer film narratives to Moldova by screening films or by creating new content, and by organizing various events with the participation of artists and guests from the international queer scene. As a result of its work, there have been more than 10 short films and 3 art performances created by queer people, about their personal queer life stories, and about the struggles and beauty of being queer. Throughout these years the festival has contributed to building a queer community in Moldova. The festival is primarily organized with support from international donors, however, Queer Voices have a long-term partnership with state institutions and are widely disseminated in local media, which altogether provides more opportunities for the festival’s continuation and development. Source: Mariana Munteanu, Queer Voices International Film Festival. 29 http://gayarmenia.blogspot.com/2012/05/hate-crimediy-bar-in-armenia-capital.html 27