A new version of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray will be one of the highlights at the 15th international Dublin gay and lesbian film festival which begins on Thursday.
Wilde's big screen adaptation relocates the story from Victorian England to decadent 1980s New York amidst the high-stakes art market and the early years of Aids.
The festival showcase will kick off on Thursday and run for five days. It will be opened by director Mark O'Halloran at the capital's Irish Film Institute (IFI).
With a new name - Gaze - and new programme director Michele Devlin at the helm, this year's festival is packed with premieres, new independent features, documentaries, shorts, award winners and experimental films.
"We are confident you will be delighted with the fruits of our combined labour and encourage you to indulge yourself in a bank holiday weekend which will transport you from Temple Bar to Taiwan, India, France, America and beyond," Ms Devlin said.
Programme highlights include the award-winning documentary Red Without Blue.
Red Without Blue tells the story of twin gay brothers, one transsexual, and their divorced parents all coming to terms with each other.
The festival's closing film is The Bubble, which tells the tale of a gay romance set against the Israel/Palestinian conflict.
O'Halloran will address the audience at the festival's opening night. Widely acclaimed by critics, he won the Evening Standard British Film Award with his production Adam and Paul and his most recent film Garage picked up a prestigious accolade at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Garage was also screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight sidebar at the French event.
As an actor O'Halloran worked extensively at the Gate Theatre, Dublin and with the Lyric Theatre, Belfast, and Druid Theatre Company, Galway.
His play, The Head of Red O'Brien, was produced in Stockholm by Teatro Albino in 2003. Also attending the festival will be directors Rahman Milani, Lisa Gornick, Alan Grossman, Cine O'Brien and Tom Maguire.
Stars will include Fidel Taguinod and Louis Biedak along with producer Gal Uchovsky. Further information can be obtained by logging on to www.gaze.ie end