30 years ago, in September of 1995, lesbians from all over the world, together with thousands of other women and queers, went to Beijing, China, to attend the 4th UN World Conference on Women and the NGO-Forum. They created the biggest lesbian visibility campaign in history. In 2020, during the global lockdown due to the Covid19 pandemic, South African filmmaker and LGBTIQ+ activist Beverley Palesa Ditsie reconnected online to some of the activists from around the world who were behind the campaign. Ditsie created the inspiring and charming film “Lesbians Free Everyone” – a document of international queer solidarity and friendships that have lasted for over 25 years. It was Ditsie herself who addressed the plenary of heads of states and governments 1995 at the 4th World Conference on Women. Thereby she was the first openly lesbian woman ever to do so at such a high level at the United Nations. On March 12th, 2025, “Lesbians Free Everyone” was screened at the arthouse cinema Votiv Kino in Vienna, Austria. It was organized by Frauen*solidarität together with Grüne Andersrum Wien, the LGBTIQ+ Task Force of the Vienna Green Party. The screening was followed by an online Q&A with Beverley Ditsie and moderated by Frauen*solidarität’s deputy chairwoman and former politician Ulrike Lunacek.
This video is a slightly edited version of the Q&A session. Please excuse the sometimes “frozen” appearance or very fast movements of Beverley Ditsie due to technical problems. The audio file, however, is without faults.