Amnesty International UK is teaming up with the East End Film Festival this year to support the festival’s biggest and boldest ever programme of LGBTI (LGBT) films.

On Thursday 5 July, the Hackney Picturehouse will screen the London Premiere of the award-winning film Call Me Kuchu. The film explores the struggle faced by Uganda’s LGBT community and focuses in part on the murder in 2011 of LGBT activist David Kato.

Afterwards, there will be a question and answer session with the directors of the film, Katherine Fairfax Wright and Malika Zouhali-Worrall, and the Jamaican LGBT activist Maurice Tomlinson. Tomlinson was the inaugural recipient of the David Kato Vision & Voice Award.

The annual award goes to an individual who demonstrates courage and outstanding leadership in advocating for the rights of LGBT people. Tomlinson is an LGBT activist and lawyer, who had to flee his home in Jamaica because of death threats and currently resides in Canada.

On Friday 6 July, the renowned American entertainer and LGBT activist Lea DeLaria will host a panel discussion at Amnesty headquarters in Shoreditch entitled Organising Prides in Hostile Environments. Before the discussion there will a screening of documentary Homo@LV which looks at the complex history behind organising Pride in Riga, Latvia

On the panel will be Maurice Tomlinson; one of Riga Pride’s founders and the chair of Mozaika, Kristine Garina; Sam Dick, the Head of Policy at Stonewall; and Emily Gray, Amnesty International’s researcher on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

The two events serve as a curtain-raiser to World Pride.

Kim Manning-Cooper, Amnesty International LGBT rights campaigner, said:

“We're delighted this year to be teaming up with the East End Film Festival on their screenings of LGBTfilms from around the world, and to work with them on a series of events which will highlight the importance of human rights for those in the LGBT community.”

The 11th East End Film Festival (EEFF) runs from 1-8 July.

The festival offers a six-day packed programme of features, documentaries and shorts, plus film-focused discussions, live music, and industry events in venues throughout London’s East End. For more information visit www.eastendfilmfestival.com

Call Me Kuchu won the Teddy Award for Best Documentary at the Berlin International Film Festival.