Every year we scour the world’s film festivals and receive many hundreds of submissions from around the globe. And every year we are surprised and delighted by what we find, whether it’s popular, big budget entertainments or compelling and insightful documentaries. This year's Festival is a testament to the continuing creativity and engagement of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender filmmakers with our largest ever programme. When a Pope feels the need to speak out against you then you know that your community is making an impact. When President Obama signs up to a programme of LGBT rights you feel a cautious optimism. The fact that both things have happened in recent months shows we need to keep on fighting against prejudice. Our Centrepiece screenings are a welcome return for Festival favourite Monika Treut with her latest feature Ghosted, fresh from its world premiere in Berlin and a powerful new drama from Mexico, Burn the Bridges by Francisco Franco. Activism is a key part of this year's Festival reflected in a visit by Cleve Jones, Harvey Milk's assistant and creator of the Aids Quilt. Aids activism features in some key films: Fig Trees; Darling! The Pieter-Dirk Uys Story; Pedro (MTV biopic on Pedro Zamora); Sex Positive; and Out in India. We’ve also linked up with the Stonewall organisation to present an anti-homophobic bullying film competition.