History

The Holebifilmfestival was organized for the first time in 2001, when a dozen LGBT-themed films were screened in the smallest cinema in Leuven. During the next few years the festival became more widely known and gained more visitors. More film screenings were organized and the festival moved to two larger movie theaters. After a few years screenings were started in other cities throughout the province of Flemish-Brabant, supported by the provincial government.

To celebrate the tenth anniversary, a grand opening night was put together for an audience of a few hundred people. Several Flemish celebrities took part in this event, that was dedicated to LGBT films. Specifically for this theme, a short film contest was organized, holebikort. This contest was the thread that bound the show together, and the audience was given the final word on the final score of the winners.

Because of the unhoped-for success of this contest, and due to the many international participants, it was decided to continue the initiative the following years, each time successfully. In 2023, the contest is organized for the 14th time.

These are the winners of the previous editions:

	Country	Film	Director
2021	Spain	Lo Efimero	Jorge Muriel
2020	United Kingdom	S.A.M	Eyre and Ely
2019	Spain	Cocodrilo	Jorge Yúdice
2018	Sweden	Löftet	Paula Gustafsson
2017	Belgium	Calamity	Maxime Feyers & Séverine De Streyker
2016	United Kingdom	Balcony	Toby Fell-Holden
2015	Germany	Schleierhaft	Tim Ellrich
2014	Spain	Moiré	Estefanía Cortés & Juancho Bañuelos
2013	France	Le maillot de bain	Mathilde Bayle
2012	Belgium	Kus me zachtjes	Anthony Schatteman
2011	Belgium	Hudûd	Federico Ariu
2010	Netherlands	Suikertrip	Sia Hermanides

There's also a full overview of all awards and nominees