‘Love Lies Bleeding’ Brussels Premiere Marred by Homophobia, Toxicity and Violence: ‘Things Spun Wildly Out of Hand’

Chaos reigned at the Brussels premiere of “Love Lies Bleeding” on Saturday, after a barrage of homophobic and misogynistic comments during the screening led to a mass walkout followed by retaliatory protests and a police response. More than 60 queer women stormed out of the regional premiere once the screening turned toxic, while screening organizers claim at least three instances of physical violence.

“Things spun wildly out of hand,” attendee Elina Fischer tells PvNew. Calling their experience “traumatic and horrible,” Fischer adds: “We were afraid for our lives, because the kinds of people who say such things during a film screening are the kinds of people who assault us. So we got scared and had to get out.”

After premiering to critical acclaim out of Sundance and Berlin, Rose Glass’ A24-produced thriller has yet to secure distribution in Francophone Europe – making the recent screening at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF) a galvanizing one-night-only event that pulled in two markedly different audiences, polarizing them to disastrous effect.

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While the Brussels fest has built a reputation on boisterous screenings animated by ribald interaction – with a smart aleck vibe akin to “Mystery Science Theater 3000” and a loyal audience that leans male and geeky – a younger, queerer, more female-skewing crowd flocked to the Saturday premiere for the chance to see Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian ignite on the big screen (though the stars were not in attendance). Unfortunately, sparks flew in the 1,400-seat auditorium as well.

Attendees tell PvNew that the screening’s erstwhile irreverent commentary soon curdled into more disturbing – and, more to the point, legally dubious – extremes once the film’s same-sex romance took the forefront. Love scenes were met with homophobic heckles and jeers, while an instance of sexual coercion drew applause.

Festival representatives corroborate this account, but insist that the ugliness came from a small segment of the crowd. “10 people out of 1,400 is already 10 too many,” says BIFFF press chief Jonathan Lenaerts.

The attendees outlined some the screening’s worst moments as part of a longer statement they shared with PvNew: “We know the difference between standard jokes and lesbophobic insults and commentary. When audience members applaud during [what we feel to be] a rape scene, when they pantomime masturbation and catcall the actresses on screen by shouting ‘get naked,’ ‘she wants cock,’ ‘disgusting,’ and ‘dirty dykes’ at the slightest scene of lesbian intimacy, once spectators stand up to leave the theater or ask for respect, only to be booed, insulted and physically assaulted, and once dozens of lesbians leave the theater in tears, dirtied, degraded and shocked, we can’t speak of a ‘good-natured’ atmosphere.”

The first walkouts began at around the 20-minute mark, while others from the queer community stayed in to push back against the audience commentary. Both parties confirm that some altercations turned from verbal to physical as tempers flared — though the question of instigation leads to predictably contrasting responses. Still, both would agree that the rise in hostility gave way to a similar rise in invective, leading to barbs with a hateful bite.

“once we stood up, we started hearing insults directed at us,” says an attendee who goes by Næ Palm. “It became something much nastier. Violent. We were overwhelmed, crying and we said to each other that this wasn’t normal.”

Such heated language fueled a growing exodus – eventually seeing somewhere between 60 and 80 attendees regrouping in the cinema lobby. There, the young viewers began to push back en masse.

In lieu of admission refunds, the protesters pushed against the very event – asking that the show be cut short. When festival organizers opted against that request, the incensed attendees became more vocal in their protests, looking to interrupt the screening from the outside before local law enforcement arrived to break up the demonstration.