I amsterdam - Best Rose-Colored Views

Celluloid Heros
A handy place to duck into when it's raining, Amsterdam has loads of cinemas dotted round town (directly commensurate with the rainfall, perhaps?). Unsurprisingly, for a city with a hefty chunk of lesbigay citizens and visitors, your chances of catching some rose-tinted celluloid are high - if a lesbian/gay film is released, it'll eventually end up playing in Amsterdam.

Pretty in Pink
Even better are the numerous dedicated film events for Sapphic cinéastes. Every first Thursday of the month is the Film Café at the COC community centre. This cosy, informal evening opens its doors at 8pm for snacks and drinks, followed by the movie at 9. It's programme is very girl-friendly, featuring favourites like Tipping the Velvet and If These Walls Could Talk II. 

'Summer Lovin'…'
When summer comes round, open-air cinemas bloom all over the city; particularly pleasing is the Pride film festival on the Nieuwmarkt during the first week of August. They show a programme of feelgood films suitable for sultry summer nights. Very convivial.

Pink Film Days
But the biggest and best event on the pink film calendar is Roze Film Dagen ('Pink Film Days') a rather fabulous fest that tours the country with a selection of its best offerings before ending up in 'the 'Dam' in December for ten days chock-a-block with the best lesbian and gay film from around the world. Taking place in the Cinerama, Balie and Cavia, there are themes (last years was 'Embrace Your Dark Side'), top-notch guests (like Lynn Breedlove of legendary grrl-grroup Tribe 8) and movies of every type: features, shorts, glossy, low-budget. Plenty of 'em are in English - and many that aren't have English subtitles. Best of all, there's always an extremely popular opening party.

Transgender Film Festival
Queer theorists and alt.types should keep their eyes peeled for the biennial Transgender Film Festival (there's one this May). Also Balie-based, it's a five day fest which pulls in guests of an astonishing international calibre: they've had  Judith 'Jack' Halbestrom, as well as Warhol darling Holly Woodlawn. Movies are the main thing here, but there are excellent satellite lectures, discussion panels and performances.

Addresses
De Balie: Kleine-Gartmanplantsoen 10
Website: www.debalie.nl
Tel: +31 (0)20 55 35 100

COC
Address: Rozenstraat 14
Tel: 020 626 30 87
Website: www.cocamsterdam.nl

Email: info@cocamsterdam.nl
Trams: 13, 14, 17 (Rozenstraat)

Filmhuis Cavia
Address: Van Hallstraat 52 I
Tel: +31 (0)20 6811419
Website: www.filmhuiscavia.nl
Trams: 10, 3, 18

Filmmueum Cinerama
Address: Marnixstraat 400, Amsterdam
Tel: +31 (0)20 623 7814
Website: www.filmmuseum.nl
Trams: 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 10

Nieuwmarkt
Trams:  4, 9, 14, 16, 24, 25
All Metros going to Central Station