Wayne Clews talks to Brian Robinson, programmer of this year's touring Lesbian and Gay Film Festival

It's the time of year again when the denizens of the big smoke do their bit for the cultural health of the nation by sending out a choice selection of queer cinema to enlighten us provincial types. This annual treat has now been running for 16 years and, this year, is perhaps the most ambitious programme to date fresh from its most successful run ever in London.

"What we look for are films that reflect different aspects of lesbian and gay experience," explains Brian Robinson, the person responsible for compiling the festival. "But they have to be interesting and entertaining in themselves. Just because a film has got a gay subject doesn't mean it's good enough for the festival.

In the old days we always used to talk about the 'lesbian at the bus stop' film and we were grateful for any kind of gay sub-text because that was often all we could find, particularly for lesbian films, but what's really gratifying this year is that there's a really wide range of films, many of them with big budgets, that really work as works of art.

A film like L.I.E. [Long Island Expressway] may not seem an obvious choice for a lesbian and gay festival but it raises a huge number of issues. We used to see a film festival as part of the politics of representation, we wanted positive role models for lesbian and gay men because there weren't any but, luckily, 16 years down the line, there's a wealth of lesbians and gay men on the screen."

A probing study of masculinity, loneliness and sexuality featuring the criminally under-rated British actor, Brian Cox, L.I.E. opens this year's festival. Other highlights include Bruce Weber's Chop Suey (pictured), a brooding meditation on beauty and obsession, which Robinson rates highly: "It's like a scrap-book of Weber's influences, a really wonderful film."

The honours of the closing night movie go to Kissing Jessica Stein, a rare example of Hollywood tackling lesbianism unapologetically.

One of the most important features of the festival has always been their strong commitment to short films; a chance to see the big name directors of tomorrow today. This year the bill is headed by a retrospective of the work of the highly esteemed Belgian film-maker Bavo Defurne billed under the rather beguiling title of Dreaming of Boys and a chance to see the new short film by Jamie-But I'm A Cheerleader-Babbit.

After a record-breaking season in London, it would seem the Lesbian and Gay Film Festival has truly come of age, as Robinson points out: "This year the quality has been superlative all across the board and the tour really represents the creme de la creme of the festival."

The Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, June 6-10.

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