Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis Uppsala Studies in Media and Communication 16 Curating Precarity Swedish Queer Film Festivals as Micro-Activism SIDDHARTH CHADHA Dissertation presented at Uppsala University to be publicly examined in Lecture Hall 2, Ekonomikum, Kyrkogårdsgatan 10, Uppsala, Thursday, 15 April 2021 at 13:15 for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. The examination will be conducted in English. Faculty examiner: Dr. Marijke de Valck (Department of Media and Culture, Utrecht University). Abstract Chadha, S. 2021. Curating Precarity. Swedish Queer Film Festivals as Micro-Activism. Uppsala Studies in Media and Communication 16. 189 pp. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. ISBN 978-91-513-1145-6. This research is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted at Malmö Queer Film Festival and Cinema Queer Film Festival in Stockholm, between 2017-2019. It explores the relevance of queer film festivals in the lives of LGBTQIA+ persons living in Sweden, and reveals that these festivals are not simply cultural events where films about gender and sexuality are screened, but places through which the political lives of LGBTQIA+ persons become intelligible. The queer film festivals perform highly contextualized and diverse sets of practices to shape the LGBTQIA+ discourse in their particular settings. This thesis focuses on salient features of this engagement: how the queer film festivals define and articulate “queer”, their engagement with space to curate “queerness”, the role of failure and contingency in shaping the queer film festivals as sites of democratic contestations, the performance of inclusivity in the queer film festival organization, and the significance of these events in the lives of the people who work or volunteer at these festivals. The thesis combines an ethnographic approach with post- structuralist discourse theory and insights from other fields, including the growing academic discipline of film festival research, to de-construct the entrenched meanings, representations and ideologies that are embedded in signifying practices performed at the festival. A recurring theme of this research is the way LGBTQIA+ persons living in Sweden find themselves abandoned and vulnerable in contemporary Swedish society. The thesis proposes that the queer film festivals become relevant through re-constructing the precariousness of LGBTQIA+ lives in Sweden, by engaging in various forms of micro-activism. The research describes how participants engage in micro-activist practices, bringing together people who become collectively aware that things can change. It unpacks the internal tensions between the various identity groups present at the festival, shows how these festivals struggle to construct a LGBTQIA+ community, and outlines the ways in which queer film festivals can be understood beyond the prism of identity politics. Through a detailed study of the two festivals, the thesis suggests a multi-faceted illustration of how micro-activism is performed in a post-rights society such as Sweden. Keywords: LGBTQIA+ Film Festival Queer Discourse Micro Activism Siddharth Chadha, Department of Informatics and Media, Media and Communication Studies, Kyrkogårdsg. 10, Uppsala University, SE-751 20 Uppsala, Sweden. © Siddharth Chadha 2021 ISSN 1651-4777 ISBN 978-91-513-1145-6 urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-432531 (http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-432531) Acknowledgements maiñ akelā hī chalā thā jānib-e-manzil magar log saath aate ga.e aur kārvāñ bantā gayā I set off alone towards my goal, but, people came along and it became a caravan! Majrooh Sultanpuri (1919-2000), avant-gard Urdu poet Composing the acknowledgements - the opening note of gratitude - is the time when the journey, that has culminated in this thesis, is close to completion. And there are so many on this caravan to whom I owe my sincerest gratitude, without whom this journey would not have been possible, lest completed. My first words of thanks are owed to my supervisor, Annika Waern. Not for custom, but for the sincerity, generosity, respect and love with which she guided me since the day she took me on as a doctoral student. In her, I found a ‘partner-in-crime’ who was always in on my madness. My unceasing change of plans, endless demands for supervision meetings, the last-minute editing requests, not once did she decline anything that I asked of her. She nurtured me to be independent and free as a scholar. It is indeed hard for me to imagine a better supervisor. Similarly, I cannot thank enough my co-supervisor Ylva Ekström, in who I not only found a wonderful mentor but a friend and a confidante. She wel- comed me and my family to settle into this beautiful country, helped me find a way every time I felt lost and supported me unconditionally through these long and sometimes arduous years. No words can be enough to express my gratitude towards her. I was also blessed to have found a teacher in Don Kulick through the final years of my doctoral education. Don’s brilliant scholarship was a constant source of inspiration for my own research. His writing workshop has moti- vated me to think about the writer that I wish to become. Don’s patient read- ings of my chapters, as well as his generous feedback were invaluable to mak- ing this thesis worth anybody’s time. I would also like to thank Nico Carpentier, my first supervisor, who invited me to do this doctoral research. I am grateful for his contribution to the incu- bation of this research. The years we worked together were instrumental to- wards my development as an academic, for which I am grateful. This doctoral journey was flag posted by three landmark seminars and I was extremely lucky to have found academic doyens who gave me invaluable feedback at different stages of this work. At my thesis proposal seminar, Jakob Svensson encouraged me to bring my work from high ceiling to a ground where everyone could engage with it. His encouragement prepared me to take on my fieldwork with openness and honesty. Half-way, I had the privilege of meeting Henry Jenkins, member of the Klingon empire and the undisputed leader of participatory research. The awe-inspiring conversations, followed by an insightful email discussion during the mid-term seminar were the golden nuggets I went back to, every time I was in need of some fresh ideas and in- spiration. For my final seminar, I had the providence of having my work re- viewed by Stina Bengtsson. And she gave me exactly what I needed before entering the last stage of this work - clarity and direction. To the three of them, I extend my sincerest gratitude. Several distinguished scholars read and commented on my work-in-pro- gress drafts during PhD masterclasses, academic seminars and workshops. I am grateful for the time they took to read and comment on my work. For this, I sincerely thank Felicity Coleman, Rico Lie, Jason Glynos, Henrik Örnebring, Skadi Loist, Alice Nemcova Tejkalova, Martina Ladendorf, Vaia Doudaki and Beybin Kejanlioğlu. This work would not have been possible without the support of the Depart- ment of Informatics and Media, and its able head, Jenny Eriksson Lundström. Her unwavering support during the doctoral process and constant encourage- ment provided me the strength to take on and complete this work. I specially thank our previous department head, Mats Edenius and the deputy heads, To- mas Eklund and Pär Ågerfalk for helping me through my doctoral education. A special thank you to Owen Eriksson in providing me with the support, and an office, I required from him as director of PhD studies at the department. I thank The Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund (Sylff), H F Sederholms stipendiestiftelse and Norlands Nation for their support to this project. For the past five years at the department, I found abode within the Media and Communication research group and I would like to thank all my MCS colleagues who gave me a shoulder to lean upon when needed, devoted time to help me find my ropes as a teacher, let me take them for granted in moments of crisis and helped me in every way they possibly could. Therese Monstad, for all her care and the open offer to scream at her if I so wished. Göran Svens- son for being a thoughtful and kind section leader. Michal Krzyzanowski for reaching out in the past few months. Amanda Lagerkvist for checking in on me whenever she had a chance. Daniel Lövgren for his camaraderie and com- ments on my thesis proposal seminar. Cecilia Strand for her compassionate patience every time I stepped on her schedules. Fabian Thorin, for jumping in to help me with teaching every time I asked. Marin Landahl for his warm con- versations. I would also like to thank some of our new colleagues, Matilda Tudor, Johan Lindell and Peter Jakobsson and look forward to our future in- teractions and work. My other place at the department has been with my colleagues at the Hu- man and Computer Interaction research group, who have supported me im- mensely with their time, space and conversations. I would like to thank Lina Eklund, Jon Back, Henrik Åhman, Helga Sadowski, Jasmine Zhu and Andreas Bergqvist for looking out for me during the final year of my doctoral work. During this doctoral process, I have had the privilege of working with some of the most efficient, helpful and gracious administrators who prioritized my work over their own and patiently dealt with me even when I made the vaguest of requests. Christian Sandström for his constant support with getting me all the material this work ever needed. Eva Enefjord and Eva Karlsson for ensur- ing every piece of administrative paperwork I needed, all the financial letters, signed ISPs, letters to the Migrationsverket and everything else was promptly taken care of.