Fridae

The Love and Pride Film Festival is the first festival here dedicated to feature films of LGBT interests. But publicity by its organiser Golden Village is discreet and minimal.

Fridae's Muscle Maiden, Alvin Tan, fails to pass off as a contestant for Ms Body Fitness but still manages to file his report on Muscle War 2008.

The Singapore Lyric Opera presents Verdi's famed opera La Traviata from Jan 25 to 29, 2008 at the Esplanade Theatre. Fridae talks to gay Australian director Stephen Barlow about the work.

While expressing his frustration at being pigeonholed as a gay actor, the British comedian-actor-novelist also criticised those who heap praise on straight actors for their "bravery" in playing gay roles.

Fridae's coffee connoisseur, Alvin Tan, confesses to being addicted to top-rated Korean drama The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince which brings homosexuality into spotlight - briefly, before expectedly reverting to a conventional hetero coupling.

First Love of The Happy Prince is a showcase of the works of Koichi Imaizumi who helmed First Love, which played to sold out screenings at the Hong Kong Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in November. Fridae speaks to the director, music composer Hiroki Iwasa and actor Hiroshi Murakami.

Jodie Foster, who's known to be fiercely private, thanked her "beautiful Cydney" at an award ceremony - a move seen by the media as coming out.

Fridae talks to Leona Lo, a male-to-female transsexual writer and entrepreneur in Singapore. The author of From Leonard to Leona had recently made the news for offering to conduct gender diversity workshops for a club that had asked her to leave.

Are your TV signals loud and queer? There are more openly gay characters on Singapore TV now than ever before. These days, you can't switch on the TV without seeing at least one openly queer character everyday.

Johann S. Lee, author of Singapore's first gay novel, Peculiar Chris, finally publishes his second work. Reviewer Ng Yi-Sheng confesses why he hates and loves the book.