As 2023 draws to a close, we invite some friends of The Queer Review, including prominent creators, performers, artists, and activists to share the LGBTQ+ culture that has sustained, stimulated, moved, inspired, or brought them joy this year. We hope that you enjoy reading this eclectic selection and discover something new to revel in. We would love to hear your own LGBTQ+ highlights of 2023, so please get in touch via our social media channels—including Instagram @TheQueerReview, X @TheQueerReview, and Facebook—using the hashtags #TheQueerReview2023 and #TheQueerReview
James Kleinmann
Founder & Editor – The Queer Review. Actor. Filmmaker.
Sandyland with Sandra Bernhard, Radio Andy on SiriusXM
Radio has long been a passion of mine and Sandra Bernhard is a mistress of the medium, creating an intimate, relaxed and warmly inviting world with her weekly Sandyland on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy, a show that justifies the subscription fee alone. The queen of keeping it real and telling it how it is, Sandra’s freewheeling but intentional style makes this a delightfully unpredictable listen and no two editions are the same, yet it’s also reliably comforting, cathartic, and—as you’d expect—frequently hilarious. Her music choices are inspired and her singalongs that open each show are an energizing elixir.
Sandra pays the same loving attention to her callers as she does to her impressive and eclectic range of hand-selected guests. One highlight this year was her conversation with Lily Tomlin, they’ve known each other for years but rather than excluding us, it felt we were at a very special dinner party getting to kick back with them both. Her frank, fun and non-intrusive approach to interviews leads to some refreshing conversations that range from the minutiae of the quotidian to the philosophical, and take in some of today’s most urgent issues. Regular guests include satirist and Abortion Access Front founder Lizz Winstead and comedian Judy Gold (whose off-Broadway show Yes, I Can Say That! directed by BD Wong was another queer highlight this year). Sandra is equally compelling whether relaying a detailed tale about discovering that the chicken that she has just trudged home from Whole Foods is rotten or giving her take on the week’s current events. Stimulating, uplifting, and illuminating, it’s like spending an hour catching up with your smartest and funniest best friend, and I feel better about myself and the world when the show comes to a close. My time in Sandyland is always one of my favourite hours of the week. Sandyland airs live on Radio Andy Thursdays at 1pm ET. Sandra Bernhard: Easy Listening runs at Joe’s Pub December 26th – December 31st, 2023.
Other aural pleasures this year included Jake Shears’ stunning sophomore solo album, Last Man Dancing, a vibrant house party of pure dance pop euphoria that progresses into darker, more menacing delights as the record wears on. Plus there was a string of super sexy and enticingly playful earworms from avant-garde indie popster Boy Radio. He’s clearly feeling himself on these new tracks—his first since 2019’s Pop That—and the feeling is infectious. In terms of film, the year got off to a thrilling start with a duo of docs at Sundance, D. Smith’s Kokomo City and Zackary Drucker and Kristen Lovell’s The Stroll. Strikingly different in style, form and content, they both centre the voices and narratives of trans sex workers. NewFest’s Pride month open-air screening of The Stroll on the streets of the now hyper-gentrified Meatpacking District, the very location that the film explores the rich history of, was particularly memorable. One of my favourite hours of television came in the form of the gently devastating third episode of HBO’s The Last of Us, “Long, Long Time”, with beautifully delicate performances by Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett. While my favourite eight hours of TV came courtesy of Ron Nyswaner’s queer historical fiction epic Fellow Travelers on Showtime/Paramount+ with fine work by the entire creative team and cast, led by Matt Bomer, Jonathan Bailey, Jelani Alladin, and Noah J. Ricketts.
The rescheduling of Madonna’s Celebration tour means that I won’t be seeing her live until her Madison Square Garden shows in January, but I have to mention her impactful and poignant collaboration with The AIDS Memorial, footage of which has filled our social media channels with each new city that she visits. As the show reflects back on Madonna’s four-decade career that began just as HIV/AIDS was beginning to take hold of New York, one early sequence as she sings “Live To Tell”, sees a wall of video screens fill with around 300 photographs of some of the (40 million) lives lost to AIDS. Those featured include Madonna’s close friends such as artists Martin Burgoyne and Keith Haring, as well as queer icons like Sylvester, Cookie Mueller, Leigh Bowery, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Freddie Mercury. A powerful visual elegy that I’m looking forward to experiencing firsthand.
Follow James Kleinmann on Instagram @JamesKleinmann & X @JamesKleinmann.
Isabel Sandoval
Filmmaker. Actress. 2023 Queer Palm juror. (Lingua Franca, Under The Banner of Heaven)
Monster (Kaibutsu) directed by Kore-eda Hirokazu, Well Go USA
A surprising, riveting, and exquisitely tender film that recalls Kore-eda’s early masterpiece After Life. I remember turning to John Cameron Mitchell as the end credits rolled at our Cannes screening—and it didn’t hurt that Catherine Deneuve sat next to us—and saying, “We have our Queer Palm.”
Follow Isabel Sandoval on X @IsabelVSandoval & on Instagram @IsabelVSandoval. Three feature films by Isabel Sandoval—Señorita (2011), Apparition (2012), and Lingua Franca (2019)—will begin streaming on Criterion Channel in January, 2024.
John Cameron Mitchell
Actor. Filmmaker. DJ. Queer Icon. (Hedwig & the Angry Inch, Anthem: Homunculus)
SuperKnova
I learned about the Brooklyn-based trans singer/guitarist/songwriter SuperKnova this year at Provincetown, MA’s queer Washashore Music & Arts Festival. She blew me away with her slinky 90s rocker chick style, like if the 90s band Helium fucked the Breeders (who are name-checked on her killer single “Ava Gardner”) and their baby punched Smashing Pumpkins on the nose!
Follow John Cameron Mitchell on Instagram @johncameronmitchell.
Rasheed Newson
Author. (My Government Means to Kill Me) Writer. (Narcos, The Chi, The 100) Co-creator/EP. (Bel-Air)
Fellow Travelers created by Ron Nyswaner, Showtime/Paramount+
Period dramas are usually high-polished, frigid affairs with the storytelling restrained as if it were bound in a corset. Thank the queer gods of television that Fellow Travelers is hotblooded and bold. The eight-part miniseries explores the lives of lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals navigating the Lavender Scare of the 1950s in Washington, D.C.
What is revelatory about Fellow Travelers is that it doesn’t settle for presenting paper-doll heroes and villains. All the central characters are fully fleshed out, compromised, haunted people with messy lives and criminalized desires. You can feel them sweat—whether they’re being interrogated by one of Senator Joseph McCarthy’s underlings, or they’re having sex that looks like it might hurt in enjoyable ways. It’s liberating to watch.
Special kudos to Matt Bomer; Jonathan Bailey; Jelani Alladin; Noah J. Ricketts; and Erin Neufer for fearlessly portraying queer characters unshackled from the burdens of representation that dictate they only make likable decisions. At times you’ll want to yell at these characters. Yet, you’ll ache and lust for all of them, too. Fellow Travelers is seductive in its unflinching dimensionality and honesty. So go watch the series and read Thomas Mallon’s novel. This is historical fiction with a thumping pulse.
Follow Rasheed Newson on X @RasheedNewson, Instagram @rasheed.newson.author, TikTok @rasheednewson & Facebook. Visit his official website.
Murtada Elfadl
Culture Writer & Critic. NewFest & DOC NYC Programmer.
Kokomo City directed by D. Smith, Magnolia Pictures
Lush black and white imagery. Intimate frank confessionals. Kokomo City looks and unspools like no other documentary film this year. The cinematography adds a gorgeous style to the film that recalls art photography seen in fashion magazines. The four trans sex workers who are at the center of the narrative appear bold, vulnerable, angry, and beautiful, telling their stories with open hearts and sharp minds. First time filmmaker D. Smith accomplishes a heady mix of narrative and image that should assure her a bright future and long career.
Follow Murtada Elfadl on Instagram @murtada_e & X @ME_Says.
Drew Droege
Actor. Writer. Comedian.
Queer Actors in Queer Roles
Openly queer actors playing openly queer characters: Andrew Scott in All Of Us Strangers, Colman Domingo in Rustin, Trace Lysette in Monica, Jodie Foster in Nyad, Matt Bomer, Jonathan Bailey, Noah J. Ricketts, and Jelani Alladin in Fellow Travelers. Yes, this is great for visibility, but these performances are beautiful, nuanced, authentic, and among my favorites of the year.
Follow Drew Droege on Instagram @Drew_Droege. Visit his official official website. Drew is appearing as Ruth in Titanique at New York’s Daryl Roth Theatre until January 7th, 2024.
Jelani Alladin
Actor. (Frozen on Broadway, Fellow Travelers, The Walking Dead: World Beyond)
Fat Ham written by James Ijames & directed by Saheem Ali, Broadway
With exceptional writing by James Ijames and excellent performances from the full cast, Fat Ham on Broadway left me invigorated and pondering. It was unapologetic in its examination of queerness and its exaltation of liberation. It made me question my thoughts and perceptions about masculinity in ways no play in recent history had done before. When will it be safe to be soft? Equal parts humorous and emotional, the piece navigates the intersections of Blackness, queerness, and family in ways that are healing to trauma and circumstances of the world outside of our control. Romp and compassion packaged into a 90-minute cookout. I was so here for everything about it, particularly its imaginative presentation of living onward! A feast for the Black queer soul.
Follow Jelani Alladin on Instagram @jelanialladin & X @JelaniAlladin. Read our exclusive interview with Jelani & his Fellow Travelers co-star Noah J. Ricketts.
Bright Light Bright Light
Singer-songwriter. DJ. Cat daddy.
The Love Invention by Alison Goldfrapp
Alison Goldfrapp has been one of the coolest and most chic performers from the UK since she first met public attention guesting on Tricky’s 1995 album Maxinquaye. Watching her career unfurl and metamorphosize—from the giallo/macabre beauty on Felt Mountain, to the sizzling glam rock electro of Black Cherry and Supernature, and the STUNNING filmic Tales Of Us (my personal favourite)—I was not prepared for just how incredible an album made without her Goldfrapp counterpart Will would be. The Love Invention is my FAVOURITE album of this year, potentially last two years, and (Romy & Michele voice) it’s like, not even close. This album is a masterpiece in electronic pop: pulsating and throbbing, astounding electronic synth landscapes created by Alison, Richard X (ICON!) and James Greenwood. The production is so cool and so perfect it makes my brain do loops. It is the most beautiful electronic record I’ve heard in many, many years. I almost can’t cope with how much I love it. I’ve listened to it almost every day since it came out, and sometimes twice or three times a day if I’ve been on a train or plane.
Alison said in an interview “I feel sexuality, sex and desire transcend so many things” and it is so delicious to hear an album that feels like she is absolutely in control, absolutely at the top of her game, so many albums down the line. “Gatto Gelato” and “Fever” make my insides scream. “In Electric Blue” makes my heart smash and rebuild itself. This album brought so much beauty and hope to a year that has been so volatile and heavy. Thank you Alison, and all the writers and producers involved in this incredible work.
Follow Bright Light Bright Light on X @BrightLightx2 & Instagram @BrightLightx2. Visit his official website.
Devin Way
Actor. (Queer As Folk, Grey’s Anatomy).
Trace Lysette’s performance in Monica directed by Andrea Pallaoro, IFC Films
Monica is easily the best, most important and impactful movie that I’ve seen this year. Trace Lysette is out of this world in it and deserves to be the name on everyone’s lips this award season. Her talent and beauty is BEYOND and there is not one moment I haven’t looked at her (on or off screen) and thought, “Wow, this is a mega super star!” Read our exclusive interview with Trace Lysette about Monica.
Follow Devin Way on Instagram @thedevinway & X @thedevinway.
Zackary Drucker
Artist. Director. Producer. (The Stroll, The Lady & the Dale, Queenmaker: The Making of an It Girl)
Visual & performance artist Martine Gutierrez
Martine Gutierrez is our genius trans artist for the future. Her appearance this year in Sebastián Silva’s Rotting in the Sun was a hilarious self-satire and her genre-busting work is top notch perfection. In the words of my grandma, legendary queen Flawless Sabrina, “If she didn’t exist, we would have to invent her.” Read Drucker & Gutierrez in conversation for Document.
Follow Zackary Drucker on X @ZackaryDrucker & Instagram @ZackaryDrucker. Visit her official website. Read our exclusive interview with Zackary & her The Stroll co-director Kristen Lovell.
Bruce LaBruce
Filmmaker. Writer. Photographer. Artist.
Isaac Julien at the Tate Britain, London / General Idea at the Gropius Bau, Berlin
Two towering gay artists who have been creating groundbreaking and essential queer work for the past five decades, both of whom I can call friends and who have influenced my work, had major retrospectives at large art institutions in 2023, and they were both spectacular. I have loved Julien’s work ever since I saw his poetic fantasy docu-drama Looking for Langston (1989), about the Harlem Renaissance poet and activist Langton Hughes, and the brilliant and underrated Young Soul Rebels (1991), about the intersection of youth subcultures in 70s London. His ambitious, dazzling, and absorbing Tate exhibit, designed by David Adjaye, was composed of an atrium filled with stills from his films, poetry, sketches, and storyboards, and six passageways leading to rooms displaying seven of his films/installations.
In Berlin, AA Bronson, the last surviving member of the Canadian art collective General Idea, has mounted his favourite ever GI retrospective, which gives scope and perspective to their multi-disciplinarian, politically subversive work, much of it a response to the AIDS crisis: two of the original members of the collective, Felix Partz and Jorge Zontal, died of complications from the disease in 1994.
Follow Bruce LaBruce on Instagram @BruceLaBruce & X @BruceLaBruce. Bruce LaBruce’s latest book, The Revolution Is My Boyfriend, is now available for pre-order from Baron.
Matt Cain
Author. (The Madonna of Bolton, The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle, Becoming Ted)
Wild Things by Laura Kay, Vintage
I loved the first two rom-coms by British novelist Laura Kay but Wild Things made my heart sing. It opens with a New Year’s resolution to “Be More Wild” and becomes a tale of unrequited love on a queer commune in the countryside outside London. Like Kay’s previous novels, it has a great cast of characters, stirring lesbian sex, stacks of charm, and so much queer heart. Kay just gets better and better – and I can’t wait for her next book Making It in 2024.
Follow Matt Cain on Instagram @mattcainwriter & X @MattCainWriter. Visit his official website. Matt’s latest novel, One Love, will be published in January 2024 by Hachette in the UK & Headline Review in the US.
Jonathan Burke
Actor. Singer. Dancer. (Harlem, Not Looking; The Inheritance & Choir Boy on Broadway).
Rustin directed by George C. Wolfe, Netflix
The most impactful LGBTQ+ artistic offering this year was the Netflix film, Rustin, telling the widely unknown story of Bayard Rustin, an African American, gay, civil rights activist who was one of the main orchestrators of the 1963 March on Washington. It is so powerful and important to have a major motion picture about a queer Black icon being told by a group of queer Black artists, with direction by George C. Wolfe, a screenplay co-written and a story by Julian Breece, and starring Colman Domingo. The resilience of Bayard Rustin to rise above such adversity, not only as a Black man, but as a Black GAY man in the 1960s, in order to fight for universal civil justice, is an inspiration for all.
Follow Jonathan Burke on Instagram @itsjonathanburke & on X @itsjonburke. Read our exclusive interview with Jonathan Burke about his TV series in development, Not Looking.
Jen Markowitz
Filmmaker. (Summer Qamp)
The Stroll directed by Zackary Drucker & Kristen Lovell, HBO / I Am Sirat directed by Deepa Mehta & Sirat Taneja
Two documentaries made a huge impact on me this year: The Stroll, directed by Zackary Drucker and Kristen Lovell, and I Am Sirat, directed by Deepa Mehta and Sirat Taneja. Both highlight cross sections of the queer community that don’t often see the spotlight. In The Stroll, it’s a community of trans sex workers in New York City’s Meatpacking district. In I Am Sirat, it’s the life of a New Delhi based trans woman. Co-directed by their subjects, both of these films capture the joy, the struggle, and the mundane realities of existence in communities that are not often asked to tell their own stories. As we face daily threats of queer rights and histories being erased, it is more crucial than ever that we commit proof of queer existence to public record. And it speaks volumes of the queer and allied community’s commitment to elevating marginalized voices that Zackary Drucker and Deepa Mehta, both incredibly talented and decorated figures in the industry, have teamed up with their subjects as co-directors, allowing them to speak for themselves and authenticate their own portrayals.
Follow Jen Markowitz on Instagram @jen.markowitz & Summer Qamp on Instagram @summerqamp. Read our exclusive interview with Jen Markowitz about Summer Qamp from its TIFF world premiere.
Marc Thompson
Activist. Director TheLoveTank.info. Co-founder Prepster.info. Co-curator BlackAndGayBackInTheDay. We Were Always Here podcast host.
Pet Shop Boys Dreamworld Greatest Hits Tour / A Strange Loop by Michael R Jackson, Barbican London / Fellow Travelers created by Ron Nyswaner, Showtime/Paramount+
I’ve been a huge PSB fan since their first single, but had never seen them live. Two hours of all the hits, 10,000 gay men of a certain age singing the chorus to “Go West” and a light show to die for. It was the best party I went to this year.
A Strange Loop: Michael R Jackson’s ‘Big, Black, Queer-Ass’ musical, was exactly what it said on the tin. I saw the show three times on its London run and every time I uncovered layer after layer. A stunning achievement. And the final gospel number “AIDS is God’s punishment” had me laughing and ugly crying at the same time.
Fellow Travelers: I was really excited for a drama that explores the McCarthy witch-hunts and the Lavender Scare of the 1950s through a queer lens and this didn’t disappoint. Two epic love stories told against a backdrop of some of the most significant moments in American LGBTQ+ history. It’s unapologetically sexy, beautifully shot, and has great performances throughout. The final line from Matt Bomer had me in tears.
Follow Marc Thompson on X @marct_01 & Instagram @marct_01. Read our exclusive interview with Marc Thompson about creating & co-curating BlackAndGayBackInTheDay. Listen to his podcast We Were Always Here.
Billy Porter
Grammy, Emmy & Tony-winning performer. Actor. Singer. Director.
Black Mona Lisa / Touring / Duetting with Luke Evans
My queer highlights this year included new music, my album Black Mona Lisa, which was released November 17th on Republic Records. I was on tour in May, performing in 25 cities over five weeks. AND, Luke Evans and I do a duet, the ballad “Always Be My Man”, on the soundtrack of Bill Oliver’s Our Son. That’s two GAY, OUT above-the-title Hollywood NAMES singing a love duet in a major motion picture. Our Son is playing in select theaters now and available on VOD.
Follow Billy Porter on Instagram @theebillyporter. Visit his official website.
Todd Stephens
Filmmaker. (Edge of Seventeen, Swan Song)
Bobby Abate’s Homophile Inks
The artwork of Bobby Abate blew my mind this year. Seeing his Homophile Inks depicting life before Stonewall made me think of how far we’ve come and how we can never take our lives for granted.
Follow Todd Stephens on Facebook.
Matthew López
Tony-winning playwright. Filmmaker. (The Inheritance, Some Like It Hot. Red, White & Royal Blue).
A Small Light created by Tony Phelan & Joan Rater, NatGeo/Disney+
While not a series focusing primarily on queer lives, there was a strong storyline about the queer Dutch resistance fighters who were instrumental to the various successes of that movement against Nazi occupation. It was amazing to see the acknowledgment of the queer community’s fight against fascism. Overall a criminally under-appreciated series.
Follow Matthew López on Instagram @matthewmichaellopez. Matthew López co-wrote the book for the musical Some Like It Hot on Broadway now. His debut feature as writer-director, Red, White & Royal Blue, is streaming on Prime Video.
Arthur Dong
Oscar-nominated filmmaker. Author. Curator. (Coming Out Under Fire, Licensed To Kill, Family Fundamentals).
Madama Butterfly, Boston Lyric Opera
Out director Phil Chan took a bold approach in reinterpreting Puccini’s classic Madama Butterfly for the Boston Lyric Opera. Transporting the narrative to 1940s wartime America, the production unfolded against the backdrops of a vibrant San Francisco Chinatown nightclub and the harsh realities of an internment camp for persons of Japanese descent. There were no yellowface performances and the creative team was largely Asian American.
Phil, a ballet dancer, director, and choreographer, co-founded Final Bow for Yellowface, an organization committed to challenging stereotypes and eradicating racist depictions in the performing arts. Discussing his opera directorial debut in Madama Butterfly, Phil shared with Edge Media Network: “I just love being a fabulous homosexual! And so there are moments in the story that are a little bit queer. Our character Goro is the owner of the nightclub, and he is quite flamboyant. There is a little bit of queerness in this show that Puccini did not intend.”
Amidst 2023 year-end lists, the production has already garnered recognition as a top-ten classical music achievement by both the Washington Post, hailed as “a searing indictment of the American dream, and who’s permitted to live it,” and the Boston Globe, acclaimed for illuminating “a glaring spotlight on the period during World War II when the United States uprooted and incarcerated over 120,000 people of Japanese descent.” Here, I select Phil and BLO’s Madama Butterfly for The Queer Review’s annual highlights of LBGTQ+ cultural milestones and artists. Proud disclosure: I had the privilege of witnessing and contributing to Phil’s reimagined opera, serving as historical dramaturg and co-curator of an accompanying exhibition.
Follow Arthur Dong on X @arthurdongfilm & Instagram @arthurdongfilm. Visit his Deep Focus Productions official official website. Read our exclusive interview with Arthur Dong.
Julian Breece
Director. Producer. Screenwriter. (Harlem, When They See Us, Rustin)
Fellow Travelers created by Ron Nyswaner, Showtime/Paramount+
Showtime’s Fellow Travelers, is not just a historical drama; it’s a breathtaking epic in the truest sense of the word. Created by one of my screenwriter heroes, Ron Nyswaner, alongside producer Robbie Rogers, the series centers on the volatile love affair between married bureaucrat Hawk Fuller (Matt Bomer) and hopeless idealist Tim Laughlin (Jonathan Bailey), two gay men from vastly different backgrounds who meet at the height of the 1950s Lavender Scare. Their first encounter is meant to be a sexual one-off but fans out into a secret affair that spans decades—from the 1960s Vietnam War era to the AIDS crisis, chronicling the evolution of a relationship that’s throttled by the harsh social realities of the times. Bomer and Bailey are superior in their roles, and the chemistry between them is white hot from beginning to end.
What sets Fellow Travelers apart from similar gay narratives is its intentional examination of whiteness cis male gay experience while exploring the realities of sexual minorities of color with equal depth and tenderness. Hawk and Tim’s journey runs parallel to the beautifully drawn love story between two Black characters Marcus Gaines (Jelani Aladdin) and Frankie Hines (Noah J. Ricketts). Aladdin is a stand-out as Marcus, a masculine-presenting journalist who struggles with his attraction to proudly gender-nonconforming Frankie. Their relationship is threatened by the dual prejudices of race and homophobia and adds a rich, culturally necessary dimension to a narrative where representations of queer people of color are often flattened out or disappeared entirely. Their stories intertwine with Hawk and Tim’s, creating a rich tapestry that reflects the diversity and complexity of the queer experience.
Fellow Travelers is, at its core, a meditation on the American Dream – a dream not just of prosperity but of the freedom to lead an authentic life. What I find most refreshing about the series is how it delves into the devastating violence and terror queer people faced in the quest for equal rights but also luxuriates in the joys and pleasures of queer experiences. Nyswaner interweaves the stories of Hawk, Tim, Marcus, and Frankie, into an even greater love story—the love story between gay men, lesbians, trans and gender-nonconforming people who fought and continue to fight for our collective freedoms and dignity in this country. Fellow Travelers elevates that love story to the level of myth, something universal and true that makes it, in my opinion, the first truly gay epic we’ve seen on screen.
Follow Julian Breece on Instagram @julianbreece & X @julianbreece.
Cynthia Lee Fontaine
Drag artist. Performer. National Co-Chair – Drag Out The Vote. (RuPaul’s Drag Race seasons 8 & 9)
Brigitte Bandit’s drag activism
Drag queen and activist Brigitte Bandit is a huge inspiration to me, and so many others, because she represents the new generation and the moment for our queer community to stand up for our rights in Texas. I was proud to have her with me as we fought the anti-drag legislation in our state in partnership with GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign Texas, the ACLU Texas, and Trans Educational Network of Texas.
Personal highlights for me this year included appearing on the Brazilian soap opera Vai na Fe on Globo TV; presenting at the GLAAD Awards in NYC where I was reunited with our wonderful Drag Race season 8 winner Bob the Drag Queen; and co-hosting Binge Queens for Drag Race México with April Carrion. When it came to music, it was my first time recording a Cumbia song, “La de Mala Gente“, with local Austin queer artists Miguel St Michaels and Baibiboi, and I was honored to be a special guest singing live for Aqua in Houston and Austin.
Follow Cynthia Lee Fontaine on X @lee_fontaine, Instagram @cynthialeefontaine, TikTok @cynthialeefontaine, Facebook, & YouTube. Visit her official website. Cynthia will open for Tammie Brown’s Holiday Sparkle, December 22nd – 23rd, 2023 at The Vortex, Austin. Cynthia’s documentary, Barbette + Fontaine, will screen in Oklahoma, Delaware, and Paris, France in 2024.
Noah J. Ricketts
Actor. (Fellow Travelers, Frozen on Broadway)
All of Us Strangers directed by Andrew Haigh, Searchlight Pictures
I had the privilege of attending a private screening of Andrew Haigh’s All of Us Strangers in a 12-person theatre in New York. We all sat down not knowing what to expect and by the end there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. It’s an incredibly moving story that will make you reexamine life and all of your relationships. The acting is incredible, led by the amazing Andrew Scott. The diner scene will haunt me for decades. I just love this beautiful queer story.
Follow Noah J. Ricketts on Instagram @noahjrkts. Read our exclusive interview with Noah J. Ricketts & his Fellow Travelers co-star Jelani Alladin.
Guillermo Díaz
Actor. Director. Co-host Unpacking the Toolbox podcast. (Scandal, Bros, Party Girl)
The 18th annual Pornfilmfestival Berlin
My favorite LGBTQIA+ experience this year was attending the18th Pornfilmfestival Berlin where I was fortunate enough to have You Can’t Stay Here playing, my new movie directed by the extremely talented and unapologetic filmmaker Todd Verow. The atmosphere and festival audiences were incredible, and getting to watch some of the other work in the eclectic lineup and spend time with fellow artists there, such as the super controversial and provocative filmmaker Bruce LaBruce, was exhilarating and inspiring. I’m looking forward to Bruce’s new film The Visitor and I cannot wait to work with him one day. In the meantime, do yourselves a favor and seek out some of Bruce’s work including his new book, The Revolution Is My Boyfriend, out early next year.
Follow Guillermo Díaz on X @guillermodiazyo & on Instagram @guillermodiazreal. His latest film, You Can’t Stay Here, opens at New York’s IFC Center on January 5th, 2024. Listen to Unpacking the Toolbox.
Daniel “Dusty” Albanese
New York-based photographer & filmmaker.
Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music directed by Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman, HBO
I was immediately bewitched by Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music. In fact, hardly a day has gone by without it floating through my thoughts. Weaving 240 years of popular music and American history through a queer lens was absolutely transcendent and an extraordinary testament to the power of our endurance and community. Incredibly, directors Epstein and Friedman were able to distill a grueling 24-hour live performance into just 106 minutes and still capture the magic! Machine Dazzle’s maximalist costuming combined with Mac’s raw performance takes you on an epic journey that needs multiple viewings to fully unpack.
Follow Daniel “Dusty” Albanese on X @TheDustyRebel & Instagram @DustyRebel. Visit his official website.
Rain Valdez
Emmy-nominated Actress. Writer. Producer. (Razor Tongue, Transparent, Harley Quinn)
Candis Cayne’s Secret Garden, Advocate Channel
Candis Cayne’s Secret Garden is delightful and charming, reminiscent of fun shows like The Pee-wee Herman Show, with a unique twist, offering an imaginative world, captivating storytelling, and a comforting blend of education on plant growing and decorating that feels like the perfect dose of nostalgia and warmth that we all need right now.
Follow Rain Valdez on Instagram @rainvaldez, X @rainvaldez & Facebook. Visit her official website.
Łukasz Leja
Artist. Architectural designer.
I Could Not Believe It: The 1979 Teenage Diaries of Sean DeLear, edited by Michael Bullock and Cesar Padilla, published by Semiotext(e)
I Could Not Believe It starts with a scan of a handwritten note from the original diary that reads: “This book belongs to Tony Robertson [Sean De’s given name] – Please do not read it because if I find out, I will never talk to you again – and Mom or Dad, I will run away for good again!!” And, with the sense of intrusion, it guides exactly how it is supposed to be read – as someone’s private property and confessions, written for oneself, and not to be published.
The diary was discovered after DeLear died in 2017 and is a daily recollection of his life starting January 1st, 1979. It is a time capsule of the life of a 14-year-old kid in suburban Los Angeles. It’s not only a book in the literary sense, it’s also a historical artifact, an important voice of a queer teenager in the pre-AIDS post-Stonewall era.
DeLear spends most of his time thinking about, seeking, and having sex with men―often far older than him. He writes about his many crushes, blackmailing men for money, shoplifting gay porn, and dreaming of being a street hustler. But also about missing his grandma, wanting to own a waterbed, working at McDonald’s, his favorite music, bowling alleys, and the roller disco. It’s incredibly human.
Very little is written about the lives and bold sexuality of young queers. Most stories of this age revolve around a deep sense of shame and guilt, but that was not a central theme of DeLear’s narrative. His story gave me a deep empathy for the younger version of myself. I also think it’s very important to uncover forgotten queer stories and bring them into the conversation. I highly recommend it.
Follow Łukasz Leja on Instagram lukaszleja. Visit his official website.
Todd Verow
Filmmaker. (Frisk, You Can’t Stay Here).
The People’s Joker directed by Vera Drew / Rotting in the Sun directed by Sebastián Silva, MUBI
This was the year that the oh-so-serious, bloated super hero movie finally, slowly, fitfully, flop after flop, wheezed and coughed and with a (not camp at all) shrug died. Only to come back to vivid life once more with Vera Drew’s absolutely brilliant The People’s Joker. This movie does what no super hero movie has managed to do since Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder lit up the screen in Superman (1978) – it makes you believe. The People’s Joker is almost a perfect movie, where all the elements—the writing, directing, acting, the use of animation and effects—all work together to transport you to another world and make you feel something. Ahead of its 2022 world premiere, WB promptly issued a cease and desist when they should really hire Vera to take over their DC universe. Long live The People’s Joker! Altered Innocence will open The People’s Joker at IFC Center in NYC on April 5th, 2024 with additional theatrical engagements in North America to be announced.
Another highlight was Sebastián Silva’s Rotting in the Sun. A movie not afraid of sex or to show A LOT of cocks (and not fake ones either, I swear if I have to see one more fake-looking prosthetic penis…Free the peen!). Sexy, extremely funny, nasty, and ultimately emotional with Catalina Saavedra delivering the best performance of the year.
Follow Todd Verow on X @ToddVerow, Instagram @ToddVerow & Facebook. Visit his official website. Todd’s Verow’s latest feature You Can’t Stay Here opens at New York’s IFC Center on January 5th, 2024.
Jenni Olson
Queer film historian. Writer. Archivist. Filmmaker.
Bottoms directed by Emma Seligman, Orion Releasing / The Persian Version directed by Maryam Keshavarz, Sony Pictures Classics / Masc film series / Lifetime Guarantee: Phranc’s Adventures in Plastic
I’m grateful to have had some pretty great queer cinema experiences this past year. For being incredibly funny, smart and cinematically dynamic, my two top 2023 queer movie picks are Emma Seligman’s Bottoms and Maryam Keshavarz’s The Persian Version. They are both absolute must-sees. But also, as is so often the case for me as a queer film historian and archivist, I was more excited this year about old queer movies than new ones. The peak experience in this realm was co-curating (with film critic Caden Mark Gardner) a series for the Criterion Channel called Masc, which showcased a historical array of wonderful features, documentaries and shorts by and about trans men, butch dykes and gender non-conforming AFAB folks. We also screened the series in-person at the UCLA Film & Television Archive and the Brooklyn Academy of Music; and in January and February 2024 I’ll be presenting it at the Pacific Film Archive here in Berkeley where I live. Spanning the decades, the series celebrates the courageous queer visionaries who have blazed these trails and who continue to show the way forward and inspire us all.
The most satisfying aspect of pulling together the program though was helping to revive the amazing 2001 documentary, Lifetime Guarantee: Phranc’s Adventures in Plastic (which will be screening at the Pacific Film Archive on February 25th, 2024). Despite having won the audience awards at SXSW and Outfest, Lifetime Guarantee has remained essentially unavailable for the past twenty years. Only the shorter films are still available via the Criterion Channel series now, but I urge everyone to keep an eye out when Lifetime Guarantee is made available again. As I wrote in the program notes: “this heartwarming documentary about legendary Jewish butch lesbian folk singer Phranc is an irresistible portrait of a gender nonconforming hero navigating a world of Southern California straight lady homemakers while working her way to the top as a Tupperware salesperson.”
Follow Jenni Olson on X @JenniOlsonSF & Instagram @JenniOlsonSF. Visit her official official website.
Caden Mark Gardner
Freelance film critic with a focus on queer & trans representation.
Maggots & Men filmmaker Cary Cronenwett / T Blockers directed by Alice Maio Mackay / Flaherty Seminar / May December directed by Todd Haynes / Trace Lysette’s performance in Monica / RIP Terrence Davies
The Masc series, both online and in-person, which I co-curated with Jenni Olson was definitely a highlight. Especially discussing Maggots and Men with Cary Cronenwett. The term “radical filmmaking” often gets overused, but Cronenwett’s film truly is and he is one of the most unpretentious artists I’ve ever talked to about their work. It was incredibly humbling to be given a space to discuss a film that was extremely important to me.
Cronenwett’s work is so tied to trans and queer life of the 2000s and seeing contemporary trans performances and authorship in its many forms and genres also has me excited and inspired. Alice Maio Mackay’s T Blockers was a festival highlight and feels like a child of Gregg Araki’s Nowhere and Cheryl Dunye’s The Watermelon Woman, but told as a total genre film. It also shares as much with the work of John Carpenter as it does to New Queer Cinema. I cannot wait for other people, especially trans people to see this, because the resonance of the film’s message beyond fighting off transphobic parasites is something about the shared dialogue and history of trans film history and trans history. Additionally, I hope The People’s Joker manages to persevere against Big Hollywood Legal because this film is such a glorious, riotous work of a prankster. I cannot wait to see what Vera Drew makes next. I’ve seen a work in progress film by favorite Canadian trans filmmaker Louise Weard that I think will blow people’s socks off in its ambition and its confrontational disregard for trying to make their lead character likable (yet is still relatable).
Another highlight was the Flaherty Seminar that was set up this year in Saratoga Springs and the topic was Queer World Mending. I got to see trans filmmakers spotlighted like Angelo Madsen Minax and TJ Cuthand. But it was also a privilege to watch prints of the experimental shorts by pioneers like Edward Owens, Kenneth Anger, and Barbara Hammer. Pleasure was foregrounded with Hammer’s Sync Touch and Curt McDowell’s Loads playing in one program and both feel just as revolutionary and necessary to present, not just due to right-wing blowback against our communities, but also the fact that current cinema feels sucked dry of any sense of pleasure and sexual expression.
Todd Haynes’ May December on Netflix feels like Haynes at the height of his powers, it is as much attuned to the works of Paul Verhoeven and Curtis Harrington as more obvious influences like Almodóvar, Fassbinder, and Sirk. The script and direction are in a high-wire act of these clashing stories of outrage and tragedy that to me fulfills that John Waters idiom that one’s bad taste cannot exist without having good taste.
Trace Lysette’s performance in Monica feels aligned with Isabel Sandoval’s Lingua Franca in terms of even in living as trans women after getting your gender-affirming surgeries, there are still issues from both society and among family that fester or take these shifts that contain nuances that have often been absent in other trans narratives. So often we see characters at the start of their transition and that novelty has worn out for me as a narrative hook. Lysette’s performance is one of vulnerability but not victimhood. She has been through shit, having to reset her life and has built up a system within herself to survive with the way that trans lives are often discarded and disincentivized by society. Often the world does not stop to watch us move through life and live on our own terms and I hope those who have seen Monica were able to understand the significance in watching Lysette have this space as a performer just as much as Monica is able to have that space as a character.
Finally, in addition to the loss of Kenneth Anger, the death of Terence Davies has made me revisit his work and I think his earnestness, reference points, and romance feels so singular. I hope he knew how much his work meant to so many.
Follow Caden Mark Gardner on Instagram @corpsesfoolsandmonsters.
Jiz Lee
Non-binary porn performer. Writer.
The Cannoli Brothers directed by Ethan Folk & Ty Wardwell / Sex educator & filmmaker Deborah Sundahl
An absolute delight this year was The Cannoli Brothers by Buttermilk Films. It’s an explicit short gay food porn parody advertisement (got all that?) with “docking” and bawdy exploration of popular porn trends. I’ve had the pleasure of watching it in the theater at least a dozen times at film festivals and it makes the entire room laugh uproariously every time. It’s streaming online at HUMP and PinkLabel.TV, but if it’s at a festival near you: go!
I’d also like to pay respect to the late sex educator and filmmaker Deborah Sundahl who passed away this year. Debi was a leader in queer sex-positive culture, particularly for queer women in the 80s and 90s. She was the co-founder of On Our Backs magazine, one of the first adult magazines by and for lesbians, and later Fatale Media, the first lesbian-made porn studio. As a sex educator, Debi taught about female orgasm and ejaculation, and her books and movies remain some of the most popular resources. Author Desirae Embree wrote a fantastic obituary remembering Deborah Sundahl’s legacy for Autostraddle. Author and close friend Susie Bright wrote a beautiful post about Debi’s work with detailed memories and photographs. Debi’s legacy carries on in today’s generation of sex educators and adult filmmakers and will continue to inspire many more to come.
Follow Jiz Lee on X @JizLee & Instagram @JizLee. Visit their official official website.
Glenn Gaylord
Filmmaker (I Do, Leave It on the Floor). Senior Film Critic – The Queer Review.
JA’MIEZING – The Ja’mie Podcast by Chris Lilley
While All Of Us Strangers had me ugly crying and Bottoms revved up my Girl Power engines, my queer highlight for 2023 came in the form of the Ja’miezing podcast by that Aussie genius, Chris Lilley. I first discovered Ja’mie in Lilly’s 2007 sitcom, Summer Heights High, where she ruled the roost as queen of the Private School Girls. Lilley portrays her as a stuck up, self-involved, racist, horny, spoiled monster and time has only made her worse. The podcast catches up with Ja’mie as a 22-year-old aspiring influencer and hyper-sexualized lesbian (who occasionally gobbles the D!) who dispenses the worst advice to her “Ja’mieniacs” and regales us with her endless slights and traumas. Whenever Ja’mie starts a sentence with “No offense…” you know you’re in for something delicious and oh-so-wrong. Now in its fifth season and going as strong as ever, Lilley presents a new kind of queer character here, busting through taboos and daring to lack any redeeming qualities whatsoever. We relish her mean-spirited takedowns and self-victimization not because we want to be like her, but because she shines such an incisive light on humankind’s inherent narcissism. We love how specifically and voraciously Ja’mie’s lesbian appetite brings her endless joy or tears or whatever irrational response she may have to the events of any given day. She’s graphic, she’s awful, she’s unapologetic, and she’s Ja’miezing! Take a listen for yourself here or wherever you get your podcasts.
Follow Glenn Gaylord on Instagram @Glebborama. Visit his official website.
Paul Burston
Author. Curator & host of London’s LGBTQ+ literary salon Polari. Founder of the Polari Prize, the UK’s only book awards for LGBTQ+ writing.
FutureQueer by Alexis Gregory
“Sometimes I fear that the whole world is queer…”
So sang David Bowie on his 1993 single “The Buddha of Suburbia”. Methinks the gentleman protested too much. Bowie rose to fame as Ziggy Stardust – an androgynous, bisexual alien rock star who encouraged a generation of alienated outsiders to explore their sexuality. If the whole world had turned queer by 1993, Bowie would have been at least partly responsible.
In Alexis Gregory’s witty new performance piece, we’re 46 years in the future and Bowie’s fears have been realised. FutureQueer imagines a time when the whole world is queer. The starting point is Donna Summer’s landmark track “I Feel Love”, first released in 1977 but still very much “the sound of the future” – as Bowie’s collaborator Brian Eno famously said when the two worked together on Bowie’s Low album.
Armed with some vintage Donna Summer vinyl, Gregory envisages a world that belongs to us. The year is 2069. Voguing and lip-syncing are categories in the Olympics. There’s a statue of George Michael on Hampstead Heath. The UK has its first openly queer monarch – and Starbucks owns Pride.
Part speculative queer fantasy, part pop cultural commentary and meditation on disco music as a metaphor for survival, FutureQueer is a playful, provocative performance from the man who paid tribute to generations of queer activism in his earlier, critically acclaimed play Riot Act. Catch it if you can. Alexis Gregory will perform an extract of FutureQueer at Polari In Heaven, London on January 25th, 2024.
Follow Paul Burston on X @PaulBurston & Instagram @PaulBurston1. Paul’s latest book is the memoir We Can Be Heroes: A Survivor’s Story, published by Little A.
Chad Armstrong
Writer – The Queer Review, Cultural Binge.
Seann Miley Moore
It’s been a joy watching Seann Miley Moore not only queer up the revival of Miss Saigon in Sydney and Melbourne, but take every opportunity to queer up everything around them. Moore has used their voice to amplify queer Asian voices, celebrate queer excellence and all the while redefine a major musical theatre role. In a sometimes bleak year, Moore has been a disco ball of positive light.
Follow Chad Armstrong on X @ChadLDN & Instagram @culturalbinge & @ChadLDN. Visit Cultural Binge.
Ryan A White & Alex Clausen
Documentary filmmakers. (Raw! Uncut! Video!, Big Sur Gay Porn)
WQ:Docs 2023
LGBTQ-focused documentary film festivals are surprisingly few and far between, but for a second year, the folks at Wicked Queer programmed a wonderful series of queer non-fiction films for their fall festival WQ:Docs. For 10 days, Boston had the chance to celebrate a diversity of queer experiences through classics like Daniel Peddle’s The Aggressives, this year’s Berlinale Teddy Award-winner Orlando, My Political Biography, and other powerful films like Who I am Not, AKOE/AMFI: The Story of a Revolution, Break the Game, and Donna. And, there was even space for an evening of our porn-history documentaries Raw! Uncut! Video! and Big Sur Gay Porn. It was awesome. Here’s to more queer doc festivals in 2024!
Follow Wohler Films X @WohlerFilms & Instagram @wohlerfilms. Visit the Wohler Films official website. Watch our exclusive interview with Ryan A White & Alex Clausen.
Justin Teodoro
Artist. Illustrator.
Otis & Finn Barbershops, New York City
I first discovered Otis & Finn Barbershop as a client in 2018 when I was living in Long Island City. It had such a unique and special vibe. Definitely more fun and laidback than other traditional barbershops and without any of the pretension or attitude of a fussy salon. I immediately felt right at home there. And I always knew I’d leave with a great cut.
As I went from being a client to becoming friends with the owners (partners in business and life) Shawn Dixon and Kirk Riley, it was obvious that the shop’s ethos stemmed from them. They’d created a space that welcomes everybody and invites us all to be in the same space to hang, maybe enjoy a bourbon and most definitely start a conversation. That same sense of openness is felt in Otis & Finn’s roster of talented and charming barbers whom you can tell are each other’s chosen family.
Shawn and Kirk have built a community with Otis & Finn across their four locations between LIC and Brooklyn. I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with them over the years on different creative projects, from custom wallpaper art to special merch drops, like sweatshirts and tees. When they recently opened their newest location at 11-16 44th Ave in LIC, it was a no-brainer to continue that tradition. They invited me to hand paint a mural on the shop’s main wall. It’s a big space and it was a challenge but definitely a fun one in which I got to capture the love, energy and joy of the shop and infuse it into the spirit of the artwork.
When I get to work with friends it adds a little extra something special to the work. One of my first collaborations with Shawn and Kirk was creating their current store mascot, whom we “crowned” Dolly the BQE Pig. It was named as an ode to our favorite Dolly Parton and her everlasting philosophy of never punching down, giving back to her community, and accepting people as they are. It’s this charm and love to its beliefs that makes Otis & Finn Barbershop my favorite thing of 2023 (and beyond).
Follow Justin Teodoro on Instagram @justinteodoro. Visit his official website.
Dr Emily Garside
Writer. Researcher. Contributor – The Queer Review.
Russell T Davies’ return to Doctor Who
Davies is iconic in his queer TV legacy, giving us Queer as Folk, It’s a Sin, and Cucumber, to name a few. But he also made a very queer TV show, Doctor Who, a little bit more queer in 2005 when he took control of rebooting the series. There were same-sex couples, the omnisexual Captain Jack, and more. So when his return was announced, there were hopes of him queering the TARDIS once again. With the three 60th anniversary specials, all the signs for an inclusive Whoniverse are there. Firstly, Rose Noble (Heartstopper’s Yasmin Finney) is not only the first openly trans actor in Who, but Davies made her transness the thing that saved the day (and the Doctor!) in the first special. It also shows a trans teenager loved and accepted by her family (and the Doctor).
Meanwhile, in special two we got a hint of the Doctor being bisexual, and in special three, we were delivered camp on all levels, while the Doctor celebrated victory with their chosen family. And as The Doctor regenerated in the form of Ncuti Gatwa, we now have an openly queer actor in the title role for the first time. Overall, things are looking very queer in the Whoniverse and with Russell T Davies back in charge, the TARDIS feels like home again for queer fans. Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road airs at 5:55pm GMT/12.55pm ET/9:55am PT on Monday, December 25th on BBC One and BBC iPlayer in the UK, and on Disney+ outside the UK.
Follow Emily Garside on X @EmiGarside & Instagram @emigarside. Visit her official website. Her latest book, Gay Aliens and Queer Folks: How Russell T Davies Changed TV is available now published by Calon.
Yannik Zamboni
Fashion Designer. Founder maison blanche. Winner of Making the Cut season 3.
Falling in Love curated by Jean Paul Gaultier, Friedrichstadt-Palast Berlin
This year I was invited to the premiere of Falling in Love, a musical theater show at the Friedrichstadt-Palast in Berlin curated by Jean Paul Gaultier. I’m not usually into “kitsch” events, but this one blew my socks off, not only because the costumes and music were really interesting and appealing, but because the stagecraft and storyline was incredibly impressive too.
As I sat there surrounded by all the gays, drag queens, queer artists and my rainbow family, and watched this absolutely queer piece, I had goosebumps and tears of joy in my eyes. An evening with artists like Jean Paul Gaultier, Conchita Wurst and Matières Fécales/Fecal Matter. Just incredible. It was a moment of gratitude and joy that here, where I feel at home, I can be who I am and queer people like me are generally accepted and have rights. For this reason, this was the queer event of the year that I will certainly remember for a long long time. Read more about Falling In Love.
Follow Yannik Zamboni on Instagram @yannikzamboni & their “conscious, fair, Swiss made, slow, anti-fashion” clothing brand @maisonblanche.swiss. Visit the official maison blanche website.
Sav Rodgers
Filmmaker. (Chasing Chasing Amy) Founder – Transgender Film Center
Frameline: The San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival
Frameline, the longest-running queer film exhibition event in the world, celebrated their 47th edition this year. Over the course of 11 days, Frameline showed some of the best queer films of the year, held conversations with filmmakers, and held an Industry Day for attending professionals to connect and reflect on the state of Independent Queer Cinema.
Their 2023 lineup not only included Chasing Chasing Amy—which was the honor of a lifetime—but played Emma Seligman’s universally adored Bottoms, Aitch Alberto’s Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, and a 25th anniversary screening of Stephen Winter’s Chocolate Babies. Their programmers strike a great balance between new feature titles, retrospective screenings, and innovative shorts programs to offer their audiences an array of options that would satisfy any cinephile. LGBTQ+ film lovers should make the trip to San Francisco to attend Frameline at least once in their life.
Follow Sav Rodgers on Instagram @savrodgersfilm & X @filmhunk. Follow Chasing Chasing Amy on Instagram at @chasingamydoc & X @ChasingAmyDoc. Chasing Chasing Amy screens at Palm Springs International Film Festival on January 6th & 7th, 2024.
Jeremy Atherton Lin
Author. (Gay Bar, Deep House)
On Railton Road, Museum of the Home London
In the unshowy, friendly and surprising art of Ian Giles, queer archives (sometimes from the not-that-long-ago) are re-embodied. For instance, in the film After Butt (2018), a script based on interviews with the men who produced Butt, the seminal (and recently resurrected) “fagazine”, was read out by twelve younger queers. Their gently charismatic interpretations transmitted nuances of continuation and shift between generations. On Railton Road, created with playwright Louis Rembges, marked an ambitious departure. It’s something like a “real play”: longer, more formally intricate, performed live with music and astonishing puppets. But it retains a looseness, it’s pared-back and playful. Based on archives of a queer squat in Brixton, South London in the 1970s, it lays bare the fun and strife of attempted communal living. Interspersed is a play-within-a-play, Mr. Punch’s Nuclear Family, originally written by agitprop group the Brixton Faeries in felt-tip pen in 1975. On Railton Road was first performed in a scruffy venue near the actual squat. This year, it moved into London’s Museum of the Home, where its rambunctious three-week run added to the institution’s ever-expanding representations of ways of living. It arrived at a moment when queer domesticity seems to be on people’s minds — not just the cozy, but genuinely kooky.
Follow Jeremy Atherton Lin on Instagram @jeremyathertonlin. Visit his official website.
Michael Lamar Simeon aka Black Gay Comic Geek
Writer. Content creator.
Nimona directed by Nick Bruno & Troy Quane, Netflix / Fellow Travelers created by Ron Nyswaner, Showtime/Paramount+ / Red, White & Royal Blue directed by Matthew López, Prime Video
Based on the graphic novel of the same name by ND Stevenson, Nimona almost didn’t see the light of day. I loved this movie in which you get a gay story, a trans allegory, and an epic animated fantasy all in one. The world and lore of Nimona definitely needs and deserves to be expanded upon. Props to Netflix for enabling this great movie to be seen.
Showtime’s Fellow Travelers has some of the steamiest queer sex scenes I’ve ever seen. But it’s not just about the sex, the chemistry between the two leads Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey is incredible, as are their performances. Also, as a gay man in my 30s, learning about the Lavender Scare made this well worth watching.
I adored Casey McQuiston’s book Red, White & Royal Blue and adored Matthew López’s movie just as much. Nicholas Galitzine is perfectly cast as Prince Henry. I love this couple and hope that the movie gets a sequel.
Follow Michael Lamar Simeon on X @blackgaycomicG, Instagram @blackgaycomicgeek, TikTok @blackgaycomicgeek, & YouTube @BlackGayComicGeek.
Johnnie Ingram
Co-creator We’re Here, HBO/Max & Swiping America, Max
Kim Cattrall’s cameo in the And Just Like That… season two finale
I can’t believe this tumultuous year is already coming to an end, but if there is one thing in LGBTQ+ pop culture that melted my gay heart it was the 74 seconds of Kim Cattrall’s epic comeback performance as Samantha Jones in the And Just Like That… season two finale on Max! That 74 seconds was the best of 2023 by far and Kim’s genius performance was jam-packed with subtle nods of her unapologetic confidence, fierce fashion, sex appeal and most importantly unconditional love for her friends. The news of Samantha’s comeback broke during a very dark pride month when they were cancelling pride in conservative towns across the country, and I believe this moment helped save pride month. Well, at least it did for me! So in 2024, I’m going to put a lot of love and pride out into the universe in hopes it returns it in the form of more performances by Kim Cattrall as Samantha! Obviously if that happens you can probably guess what my 2024 favorite thing will be… (places phone onto chest). Read our exclusive We’re Here interview with Johnnie Ingram & his We’re Here co-creator Stephen Warren. Read our interview with Swiping America stars Krishnanand Kelkar & Ashleigh Warren.
Follow Johnnie Ingram on Instagram @johnnieinstagram.
The Queer Review 2023 – LGBTQ+ highlights of the year compiled by James Kleinmann, Founder and Editor – The Queer Review
Get in touch via social media using the hashtag #TheQueerReview2023 and #TheQueerReview on X @TheQueerReview, Instagram @TheQueerReview, or Facebook to share your own favourite LGBTQ+ culture and events of the year.