Welcome to the 2026 edition of Prishtina Queer Festival
The 4th edition of the Prishtina Queer Festival returns to reflect on memory, intimacy, and the transformative force of queer existence. We gather in a world shaped by systems of power that attempt to enforce excluding norms through control, fear, and surveillance. Yet, queer life persists, breaking through these systems, exposing their absurdity, and growing vibrant new life directly from their ruins and the wounds they have inflicted.
This year’s festival invites us to turn toward the silences, secrets, and histories that have shaped our identities. From Besfort Syla’s intimate exploration of grief, family, and masculinity at the Hajde Foundation to the groundbreaking launch of “No one can change your identity – Not even war”, the first publication to center the experiences of queer folks during the war in Kosovo — we insist on telling stories that have never been told publicly before. Intimacy becomes our political resistance; memory becomes our radical compass.
Against oppressive structures and technological control, we reclaim space with unapologetic camp and high-energy defiance. For the first time ever in the Balkans, the legendary drag performance collective CHOKE HOLE takes over the iconic, brutalist ruins of Salla e Djegur (Burnt Hall), bringing an exclusive queer lens to the machismo world of wrestling. Through film at Kino Armata, featuring Natalie Musteata and Alexandre Singh’s dystopian love story Two People Exchanging Saliva, Korab Jashari’s The boy I was, animated shorts from GOBELINS Institute Paris and a panel discussion that Slaps the Systems of Oppression with human rights activists, sociologists and founders of queer platforms we challenge the status quo and imagine futures beyond surveillance and isolation.
Taking it one step further, hands-on and practical workshops on Cybersecurity with a queer focus, and Anti-Surveillance makeup, we’re creatively reclaiming what it means to be us online.
Complemented by an electrifying musical lineup featuring New York’s Andrew Makadsi, London’s James Indigo, and standout local and regional artists, this edition is a celebration of queer resilience and collective joy. Join us as we reclaim our stories, transform ruined spaces, and dance toward horizons of liberation.
