IFFR x Queer Cinema: The Non-Actor and Pink Narcissus 

On 21 January, LantarenVenster’s Queer Cinema and IFFR present a special evening featuring the dream-like queer cult classic Pink Narcissus (1971) and the intimate short film The Non-Actor (2025), with a sneak peek at queer highlights from the IFFR 2026 programme.

About the films

The Non-Actor 
United States – 2025 – Eliza Barry Callahan – 18 min.

Elliot is staying with her ex’s new girlfriend while attending a medical trial for her recent, unexplained loss of hearing. As she reconfigures her relationship with her (sonic) environment and herself, an intimate connection sparks between the two women. With captivating performances by Victoria Pedretti and Maya Hawke, this loose adaptation of director Eliza Barry Callahan’s semi-autobiographical novel The Hearing Test captures the uneasy process of letting go and embracing change with sensitive warmth.

Pink Narcissus 
United States – 1971 – James Bidgood – 67 min

In this dream-like queer cult classic, a young sex worker escapes into honey-sweet fantasies of self-love and sexual awakening. 

James Bidgood’s queer underground masterpiece and DIY aesthetic heavily inspired the campy visual language of iconic queer visual artists Pierre et Gilles, John Waters, and David LaChapelle, where handcrafted sets and artificial lighting create dreamscapes in which artifice becomes transcendent. Crafted in his tiny New York apartment and originally released anonymously in protest over creative differences, Pink Narcissus remained a subject of speculation until the 1990s, when James Bidgood was confirmed as its visionary creator. 

At once a milestone of experimental cinema and an icon of queer representation, this haunting meditation on desire and self-reflection remains as mesmerising today as when it first emerged.

About Queer Cinema
LantarenVenster’s Queer Cinema is a monthly movie night dedicated to showcasing the best of queer cinema. Queer Cinema celebrates the diversity and creativity of the LGBTQI+ community. Every month, Queer Cinema invites a different host from the queer community to collaborate on a screening. 

Schedule

• 18.45 – 19.15 Doors open

• 19.15 – 19.30 Introduction – Pink Narcissus & Queer Highlights from the IFFR 2026 programme
• 19.30 – 21.00 Screening The Non-Actor & Pink Narcissus