As 2024 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 this eclectic selection and discover something new to revel in. We would love to hear your own LGBTQ+ highlights of 2024, so join the conversation via our social media channels—including Bluesky @TheQueerReview.com, Instagram @TheQueerReview, and Facebook—using the hashtags #TheQueerReview2024 and #TheQueerReview
Dedicated in loving memory of Cecilia Gentili (January 31st, 1972 – February 6th, 2024)
James Kleinmann
Founder & Editor – The Queer Review. Actor. Filmmaker.
Corpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema by Caden Mark Gardner and Willow Catelyn Maclay published by Repeater
Not only is Corpses, Fools and Monsters an immaculately researched chronicle that traces the history and evolution of the trans image on film, from the first flickers of a projector up until the present day, it is also a richly pleasurable and stimulating read. With an impressive scope, trans film experts Caden Mark Gardner and Willow Catelyn Maclay take in international, underground, and major studio movies, along with documentaries, television and now largely forgotten or overlooked works. The writers channel their knowledge and passion for cinema, along with their robust criticism and informed takes, into a lucid, lively and fascinating read, including succinct but vital and insightful societal and film industry contextualization. Gardner and Maclay recognize that certain films can be simultaneously appreciated and problematic as they examine the wider impact that screen portrayals of trans characters and documentary subjects have had, whether deeply harmful or driving things forward.
Like Vito Russo’s The Celluloid Closet before it, this is an essential book for anyone with an interest in LGBTQ+ film and it deserves a place on any film lover’s bookshelf. I came away with a long list of works that I wanted to revisit in a new light or to see for the first time. I also felt excited about the possibilities of where we go from here.
Future of Us by Our Lady J featuring New York Gay Men’s Chorus
A song that I’ve returned frequently this year, Our Lady J’s Future of Us, is a breathtaking, revelatory journey from existential anxiety and the darkest depths of despair for humanity, that inevitably and movingly leads to the only way out: love, light, and hope. It’s a stirring, healing anthem for our times. As a writer, Our Lady J has worked on television series such as Pose, Transparent, and American Horror Story, and her talents as a storyteller shine through every moment of this this monumental track. It is there in her evocative lyrics and in the drama and emotion of her mesmerizing delivery of them. That she is supported by the voices of the New York Gay Men’s Chorus makes this work all the more potent. NYGMC also outdid themselves this year with their rehearsal video riffing on the viral “Holding Space/I am in Queer Media” Wicked press tour interview with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande by Tracy E. Gilcrest.
Follow James Kleinmann on Instagram @JamesKleinmann & Bluesky @JamesKleinmann.com. Visit his official website.
Vera Drew
Filmmaker. (The People’s Joker)
Castration Movie Anthology Part I – directed by Louise Weard
So I will start by saying that I am biased because I cameo in this film, but even if I didn’t I would highlight it because I have felt for years now that Louise Weard is the most interesting trans filmmaker working right now. The most vulgar, bombastic, and (somehow) horniest third of what Willow Catelyn Maclay calls “The Three Headed Hydra of Edgy Doll Cinema” (a mythical beast that myself and Alice Maio MacKay are also a part of), Louise is making art that most trans people would be too afraid or have a false sense of self-importance to ever make. Mercilessly DIY and shot entirely on consumer grade Hi-8 tape, the movie follows a Vancouver sex worker named Traps who seeks a back alley orchiectomy. Clocking in at four and half hours, Weard takes you hostage inside a fearless odyssey into the more humbling, messy, and beautiful parts of modern queer life. Grey market DIY hormone therapy. Functional alcoholism. Golden showers. T4T sex. 4chan. An amazing soundtrack by Aoife Josie Clements/Ravine Angel. Cameos from me, Alice (T Blockers, Carnage for Christmas), Rook from Black Dresses, Lea Rose Sebastianis and Nate Wilson (The All Golden), and Cricket Arrison (Wham City Comedy, Chomp). With shades of early Harmony Korine, the murky realism of Tobe Hooper, and the politics and humanity of a conversation you’d have at 3am with your best trans friends, this is what I’ve been craving from queer indie cinema my entire life.
Follow Vera Drew on Bluesky @veradrew22.bsky.social & Instagram @ veradrew22. Read our exclusive interview with Vera Drew about making The People’s Joker and our ★★★★★ review of the film. The People’s Joker is now streaming on Mubi and available on VOD, Blu-ray, DVD, and VHS from Altered Innocence.
Drew Droege
Actor. (Queer) Writer. Comedian.
Cole Escola’s Oh, Mary! on Broadway
This year I have been tremendously inspired by Cole Escola, a brilliantly delicious devil, and Oh, Mary!, a masterfully stupid gut-buster. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing it twice – it’s even better the second time because it’s impossible to digest the 80-minute onslaught of hilarity in just one sitting. It’s a wild queer magical salad of lunacy that brought me necessary delight. Read our ★★★★★ review of Oh, Mary! and our exclusive interview with actress Bianca Leigh.
Follow Drew Droege on Blueskey @drewdroege.bsky.social and Instagram @Drew_Droege. Visit his official official website. Drew Droege can currently be seen in Luca Guadagnino’s Queer playing in US theaters nationwide from A24. Read our exclusive Queer interview with Drew Droege.
Jelani Alladin
Actor. (Frozen on Broadway, Fellow Travelers, The Walking Dead: World Beyond)
Alok – directed by Alex Hedison
The most compelling queer thing I’ve seen this year is Alex Hedison’s short film Alok , a portrait of Alok Vaid-Menon featuring Dylan Mulvaney and Chani Nicholas which premiered at Sundance in January and which I got to see at NewFest in New York. I think that Alok is the definition of a genius and a healer. A person who, on a deeply intellectual and spiritual level, is able to understand, reckon with, and illuminate the multitudes of complexities within humanity. All with charm, humor, style, and poise. Alok for President of the world!
Follow Jelani Alladin on Instagram @jelanialladin. Read our exclusive interview with Jelani & his Fellow Travelers co-star Noah J. Ricketts.
Zackary Drucker
Artist. Director. Producer. (The Stroll, The Lady & the Dale, Queenmaker, April & Amanda)
Dopamine Books – queer literary organization
In its first year in publishing, Michelle Tea and Beth Pickens launched Dopamine Books and released one indelible queer book after another. Among them, a visionary masterpiece of talking plants and sexy humans, New Mistakes by Clement Goldberg, a fever dream of vivacious trampery, How to Fuck Like a Girl by Vera Blossom, Sluts: An Anthology, and “a Dopazine“—like Dopamine, but a zine, get it?!—by an indispensable writer of our time, Maggie Nelson.
Follow Zackary Drucker on Instagram @ZackaryDrucker. Visit her official website. Read our exclusive interview with Zackary & her The Stroll co-director Kristen Lovell. Her latest film, April & Amanda, will receive its world premiere at Sundance 2025.
Bruce LaBruce
Filmmaker. Writer. Photographer. Artist.
Femme – written & directed by Sam H. Freeman & Ng Choon Ping
Released in the UK at the very end of 2023 and in the US in March of 2024, the British film Femme, written and directed by Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping, has to be one of the most astonishing queer films made in the last decade, a kind of queering, if you will, of Michaela Coel’s TV series I May Destroy You (2020). Drag performer Jules (a star turn by Nathan Stewart-Jarret) gets queer-bashed by a gang of far-right thugs after she reads them to filth for their trans/homophobic harassment, particularly Preston (a steamy George Mackay), the hottest and most skinhead-iest of the bunch, who had cruised her earlier on the street. Jules’ revenge trip ricochets between righteous anger at homophobes and her thug-lust, unleashing her sexual fetish for danger, and her masochism. But it doesn’t stop there! Jules begins to perform masculinity in real-life situations as expertly as she performs femininity on stage. The film is deliciously suspenseful and unpredictable not only because of the life-threatening situations Jules embroils herself in, but also because of the sexual and moral ambiguities the characters enact, switching dynamically back and forth between top and bottom, sadist and masochist, oppressor and oppressed, masculine and feminine. It’s a thriller that perfectly captures the zeitgeist of contemporary queer sexual politics.
Follow Bruce LaBruce on Instagram @BruceLaBruce & Bluesky @brucelabruce.bsky.social. Bruce LaBruce’s latest feature, The Visitor, will receive its US premiere in Brooklyn on February 21st, 2025 featuring a Q&A with LaBruce hosted by Brontez Purnell.
Shakina
Actor. (Problemista, Difficult People, Transparent) Writer. Director (Quantum Leap) Founder – Musical Theatre Factory (MTF).
National Anthem – directed by Luke Gilford
It’s been a tough time for queers in Middle America, but the theatrical release of National Anthem earlier this year shined a bright, loving light on the communities of resilience and survival forged by LGBTQ+ folks on the rural fringes of the country. A tender drama set within the queer rodeo circuit, National Anthem is the first major theatrical movie I can remember seeing that stars an out trans actress (the iconic Eve Lindley) as the love interest, opposite dreamboat Charlie Plummer—the chemistry is cute and the intimate scenes are hot, hot, HOT! Nonbinary superstar Mason Alexander Park also soars in their Independent Spirit Award-nominated performance. The film is Luke Gilford’s feature directorial debut, and he also co-wrote the screenplay with David Largman Murray and Kevin Best. I can’t wait to see more queer stories from this team! Read our exclusive interview with National Anthem filmmaker Luke Gilford and actor Charlie Plummer.
Follow Shakina on Instagram @shakeenz and Bluesky @shakeenz.bsky.social. Visit her official website.
Chase Joynt
Non-fiction Filmmaker. (Framing Ages, No Ordinary Man) Writer. (Vantage Points)
Some Strange Music Draws Me In by Griffin Hansbury published by Daunt
Griffin Hansbury’s latest novel is without a doubt the most energizing, surprising and gorgeously articulated book of colliding and conspiring trans narratives I’ve encountered all year. The project is awash in razor-sharp and insightful gender politics and beautifully rendered relationships and emotional terrains that will stay with you long after reading.
Follow Chase Joynt on Instagram @chasejoynt & visit his official website.
Taylor Mac
Actor. Playwright. Performance artist. Director. Producer. Singer-songwriter.
Hurray for the Riff Raff
I’ve become a huge fan of Hurray for the Riff Raff. The new album, The Past is Still Alive, digs deep and shows that the more niche we are in our expression, desires, and experiences, the more insight we give to the whole.
Follow Taylor Mac on Instagram @taylormacnyc. Visit the official Taylor Mac website. Read our exclusive interview with Taylor Mac about the HBO documentary, Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music, with Emmy-winning costume design by Machine Dazzle directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman now streaming on Max.
Bianca Leigh
Actress (Oh, Mary!, Transamerica)
Cole Escola’s Oh, Mary! on Broadway
This time last year, as we prepared to go into rehearsals for the Lortel run of Oh, Mary!, none of us could have imagined a Broadway transfer. “Camp” plays, as a rule, were not produced above 14th Street. Plays with tragic ends for their homosexual characters, perhaps, but joyously queer and triumphant stories were strictly downtown. Not anymore. Mary has broken that particular glass ceiling, as well as box-office records, and Cole’s brilliant script is no longer being categorized as anything but the work of comedic genius it is. I am so grateful to be a part of it.
Follow Bianca Leigh on Instagram @bianca_leigh2000 & Bluesky @biancaleighactress.bsky.social. Read our exclusive interview with her about starring in Oh, Mary! on Broadway which is now booking through June 28th, 2025.
Jonathan Burke
Actor. Singer. Dancer. (Harlem, The Inheritance, Choir Boy, CATS: “The Jellicle Ball”).
Justice Smith
Aside from being a part of the revolutionary production of CATS: “The Jellicle Ball” at PAC NYC, I was truly inspired this year by the work of Black queer actor Justice Smith, who starred in two films in 2024, Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow and Kobi Libii’s The American Society of Magical Negroes. I am constantly inspired by the way in which Justice lives his life authentically as a queer man, but also maneuvers between playing roles that are and aren’t queer. He is a constant reminder that you should never let anyone put you in a box, always pushing the boundaries of what it means to be a Black queer person in this world.
Follow Jonathan Burke on Instagram @itsjonathanburke. Read our exclusive interview with Jonathan Burke about his TV series in development, Not Looking.
Matt Cain
Author. (The Madonna of Bolton, The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle, Becoming Ted)
The Betrayal of Thomas True by AJ West published by Orenda Books
This historical thriller is set in the queer underworld and molly houses of Georgian London. It opens as innocent, hapless Thomas moves to the city and meets Gabriel, a carpenter leading a double life as a guard in the most popular molly house. Gabriel’s trying to uncover a traitor who’s passing on the mollies’ secrets to a pair of bigoted, bloodthirsty judges – and Thomas is drawn into the intrigue.
The Betrayal of Thomas True is an immersive, illuminating and exceptionally entertaining novel. The lead character is adorable, Gabriel is seriously hot, and you’ll be rooting for their forbidden love to make it. The book will also make you feel proud – or even prouder – of our community’s rich cultural history. As the mollies are fond of saying, ‘Always together!’
Follow Matt Cain on Instagram @mattcainwriter & Bluesky @mattcainwriter.bsky.social Visit his official website. Matt’s latest novel, One Love, published by Hachette in the UK & Headline Review in the US is available now.
Todd Verow
Filmmaker. (Frisk, You Can’t Stay Here).
MIX NYC
This year saw the triumphant return of MIX NYC (the New York Queer Experimental Film Festival, one of the oldest LGBTQ+ film festivals in the world). Now more than ever, we need festivals that honor truly out-there queer cinema made by artists and filmmakers who have no interest in making “content” or money or becoming part of the mainstream.
Amusement Park (Parque de Diversões) – directed by Ricardo Alves Jr.
Another example of the resurgence of New Queer Cinema was the Brazilian film Amusement Park (Parque de Diversões) directed by Ricardo Alves Jr. A beautifully shot, nearly wordless celebration of cruising and anonymous sex that doesn’t shy away from showing real explicit sex and (spoiler alert) has the best use of a Blondie song in a film ever (not a small feat.)
Follow Todd Verow on Instagram @ToddVerow, Bluesky @toddverow.bsky.social, & Facebook. Visit his official website. Todd’s Verow’s latest feature, Memorabilia, co-directed with the late Charles Lum, will receive its US premiere at the United States Super 8 Film & Digital Video Festival in February, 2025.
Jen Markowitz
Filmmaker. (Summer Qamp) Producer. (Canada’s Drag Race)
Will & Harper – directed by Josh Greenbaum
Will & Harper really bridged the gaps between authenticity in the trans narrative and the well-meaning folks out in the world who have never had the pleasure or honor of spending time with a trans person. By centering Harper Steele’s experiences, the film became more so about curiosity and compassion than anything related to queerness. It really was a testament to the magic that can happen when people from different worlds seek to connect and understand one another. And the film had an amazing young queer producer in Samantha Apfel. Her presence is an important reminder that amplifying voices within the community can place marginalized stories on the bleeding edge of authenticity. Read our ★★★★★ Will & Harper review from TIFF.
Follow Jen Markowitz on Instagram @jen.markowitz. Read our exclusive interview with Jen Markowitz about Summer Qamp from its TIFF world premiere. Watch Summer Qamp on Peacock (US) and Superchannel (Canada).
Marc Thompson
Activist. Lead Commissioner DoItLondon.org. Co-founder Prepster.info. Co-curator BlackAndGayBackInTheDay. We Were Always Here podcast host.
Mr Loverman, BBC
The TV adaptation of Bernardine Evaristo’s 2013 book Mr Loverman was profoundly moving and deeply affirming. Watching Barrington Jedidiah Walker’s story brought to life on screen felt like witnessing a part of our shared history and identity finally given its due spotlight. Barry’s journey—a 74-year-old Antiguan Londoner navigating love, family, and truth—resonates on so many levels, especially in its portrayal of the tensions between cultural expectations and personal authenticity.
The adaptation brilliantly captures the humour, warmth, and complexity of Evaristo’s novel. What struck me most was how it honours the love story between Barry and Morris, presenting it with dignity and tenderness. It’s rare to see older Black gay men portrayed so vibrantly, with all their flaws, fears, and desires intact. As someone who has fought for visibility and representation, seeing this story unfold on screen feels like a victory for all of us.
The show doesn’t just entertain—it challenges and uplifts. It shines a light on how love, even in its most hidden forms, can be a revolutionary act. Watching Mr Loverman reminded me why we fight: for stories like this to be told, for our lives to be seen, and for love to be celebrated in all its beauty.
Revolutionary Acts: Love and Brotherhood in Black Gay Britain by Jason Okundaye published by Faber
Jason Okundaye’s Revolutionary Acts holds a special place in my heart. Being one of the seven men featured was both an honour and a deeply personal experience. Jason has created something rare and vital—a celebration of Black gay brotherhood as a revolutionary force. His storytelling feels like an act of love, weaving together history, personal testimony, and critical analysis to illuminate our shared struggles and triumphs.
What resonates most for me is how Jason captures the quiet power of community, care, and solidarity among Black gay men. As someone who has lived and witnessed the realities this book describes, I can attest to the authenticity of its insights. It’s not just a book about survival; it’s a book about thriving, about finding joy and freedom even in the face of systemic adversity.
Reading Revolutionary Acts felt like revisiting my own journey while also being introduced to new, untold stories. Jason’s ability to centre love—not just romantic love, but the transformative love between friends, brothers, and chosen family—reminds us of what truly sustains us. For anyone who wants to understand the beauty and resilience of Black gay lives in Britain, this book is a revelation.
Follow Marc Thompson on Instagram @marct_01. Read our exclusive interview with Marc Thompson about creating & co-curating BlackAndGayBackInTheDay. Listen to his podcast We Were Always Here.
Todd Stephens
Filmmaker. (Edge of Seventeen, Swan Song)
Idlewild by James Frankie Thomas published by The Overlook Press
This was the best book I read all year. I still can’t get it out of my head! Set in a 9/11-era Quaker private high school in NYC, it’s every flavor of queer imaginable wrapped up in a delicious tale that’s both hilarious and a total gut-punch.
Follow Todd Stephens on Facebook.
Guillermo Díaz
Actor. Director. Co-host Unpacking the Toolbox podcast. (Scandal, Bros, Party Girl, You Can’t Stay Here)
Ron Athey
Ron Athey is a queer performance artist who is associated with extreme body art and extreme performance. There is an out-of-this-world feeling when you attend one of his shows. Sound, music, movement, religious symbolism, desire, sexuality and audience participation are all at play and used to an extent that I had never experienced before in a space like this. He was a revelation for me in the summer of 2024 when I attended one of his mind-blowing performances at MURMURS in California.
Follow Guillermo Díaz on on Instagram @guillermodiazreal. Listen to Unpacking the Toolbox. Read our exclusive conversation between Guillermo Díaz and filmmaker Todd Verow about their collaboration on You Can’t Stay Here.
Daniel “Dusty” Albanese
Photographer. Filmmaker.
Queer as Folklore: The Hidden Queer History of Myths and Monsters by Sacha Coward published by Unbound.
It’s incredibly exciting as a queer person when someone creates something you have always wished existed. This is for me—with my decades-long fascination with gender and mythology—what Sacha Coward has done with his new book, Queer as Folklore. Bringing a queer perspective to folklore, this meticulously researched book explores history and cultural iconography while being fun and accessible. A great addition to your library!
Follow Daniel “Dusty” Albanese on Instagram @DustyRebel and Bluesky @dustyrebel.bsky.social. Visit his official website.
Jenni Olson
Queer film historian. Writer. Archivist. Filmmaker.
Sabbath Queen,
My top film of 2024 is without a doubt Sandi DuBowski’s miraculous new documentary Sabbath Queen. Truly an incredible queer film — more than 20 years in the making. Queer Israeli-American Rabbi Amichai Lau-Lavie (and his genius drag alter ego Rebbetzin Hadassah Gross) standing up for ceasefire and preaching the message of peace, says what everyone needs to hear right now and gives hope in a way that is utterly inspiring.
Follow Jenni Olson on Instagram @JenniOlsonSF & Bluesky @jenniolsonsf.bsky.social. Visit her official official website.
L Morgan Lee
Tony-nominated Actress. Director. Artist.
MJ Rawls & Giselle Byrd
Because so many of these lists tend to highlight people who are already being celebrated on countless other mainstream platforms, I’d love to take the opportunity to uplift two women whose work has personally moved me this year and who may not have received the shine that they deserve.
MJ Rawls is a Chicago-based playwright and artist, whose short play, This Whiskey and Me, was part of the the 5th Annual Black Trans Women at the Center Festival this fall. This piece was virtually presented by Portland Center Stage and Long Wharf Theater. In a time where our voices are so rarely seen with scripts written and directed by us, this play was a breath of fresh air. In it we meet DeeDee, a woman alone in a bar with nothing but a jukebox and shelves of…”spirits” to unpack. I had the honor of acting in this piece and have to say, Rawls’ words were personal, well-crafted and felt so natural to wrap around. She created a ride of laughs, hurt, sex, fine men, music, discovery, and freedom…and I certainly hope the piece continues to live on.
Giselle Byrd just had her first-year anniversary as the executive director of The Theater Offensive in Boston, which presents liberating art by, for, and about queer and trans people of color. She holds the distinction of being the first Black trans woman to lead a regional theatre company in the United States. In November, I attended the opening night of artist, Letta Neely’s play, Pulling It All Into the Current, at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and it resonated so deeply to witness Giselle’s leadership being respected and championed by so many in the Boston community. It is clear that she values the work and time of the team around her and I can’t wait to see what gems lie in store for her and The Theater Offensive.
Follow L Morgan Lee on Instagram @lmorganlee. Visit her official website.
Jiz Lee
Non-binary porn performer. Author. (Coming Out Like a Porn Star)
The Digital Revival of Christopher Lee’s Early Trans Porn Films
Two long-lost trans porn films by the late filmmaker Christopher Lee (1964-2012) have been digitized for streaming thanks to a collaboration between producer/editor J. Zapata of the Christopher Lee Legacy Project and PinkLabel.TV. Alley of the Trannyboys (1998) and Sex, Flesh in Blood (1999) were the first trans-directed adult films showcasing trans men with cis male, female, and other trans masculine partners. Lee’s death and the designation of his assigned gender at birth on his death certificate, rather than his self-identified gender, was the impetus behind California’s “Respect After Death Act” which was passed in 2014. His legacy lives on in the work of generations of trans and queer adult filmmakers. Discovering his gothic hardcore film Sex Flesh in Blood was a formative experience for me and an inspiration behind my own involvement in porn. I appreciated how he resisted censorship and created films for our community.
Remembering Trans Porn Star Apollo Moon
“I wish I could hug every trans person in the world right now and tell them I love them.”
~ Apollo Moon (1998-2024)
I’d also like to pay respect and remembrance of a young adult film star, Apollo Moon, who passed away at age 26 on December 1st of this year. He was an adult creator and performer at studios like CrashPadSeries and Transnificent, and was the first trans man hired by Brazzers. He talked openly about his experiences on his social media channels and will forever be remembered as a hero and important role model to many, especially other young trans men of color.
Follow Jiz Lee on Instagram @JizLee & Bluesky @jizlee.bsky.social. Visit their official official website. Coming Out Like a Porn Star: Essays on Pornography, Protection, & Privacy edited by Jiz Lee is available now.
Arthur Dong
Oscar-nominated filmmaker. Author. Curator. (Coming Out Under Fire, Licensed To Kill, Family Fundamentals).
Gedde Watanabe in East West Players production of Pacific Overtures
I first experienced the talents of actor Gedde Watanabe in the 1976 Broadway production of Pacific Overtures. He was captivating as the nimble “boy in the tree” in this groundbreaking production, which featured an all-Asian cast, drag, Kabuki, and Stephen Sondheim’s music, while offering a sharp critique of the Western incursion into Japan during the 19th century. Nearly five decades later, in 2024, Watanabe shone once again in a revival of Pacific Overtures praised by the Los Angeles Times as “vivid, exuberant, and provocatively resonant” and one of this year’s theatrical highlights. Produced by East West Players in Los Angeles, the nation’s longest-running Asian American theater company, the production featured Watanabe as the Shogun’s Mother, delivering a delightfully wicked rendition of “Chrysanthemum Tea.” Congratulations to Gedde Watanabe on overcoming the Long Duk Dong/Sixteen Candles controversy and forging an incredibly versatile and prolific career!
Follow Arthur Dong on Instagram @arthurdongfilm. Visit his Deep Focus Productions official website. Read our exclusive interview with Arthur Dong. On December 31st, 2024, Kino Lorber will release the 3-Disc Blu-ray Arthur Dong Collection showcasing ten films from the director, including bonus features and an essay by Alonso Duralde.
Elizabeth Purchell
Queer film historian & programmer. Filmmaker (Ask Any Buddy)
Rep screening series & Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers starring Holly Woodlawn
This was a year of incredible and rare rep screenings, some of which I had a hand in putting together. Some favorites were Hisayasu Sato’s Muscle in 35mm at Anthology Film Archives (a collab between Adam Baran and myself as part of his Narrow Rooms series); She-Man: A Story of Fixation, Glen or Glenda, Windows, Daddy Dearest, and Suburban Dykes and Safe is Desire at IFC Center (as part of my and KJ Shepherd’s Cruising the Movies series); Summer Vacation: 1999 at BAM as part of Newfest’s Queering the Canon series; the Nathaniel Dorsky and Jerome Hiler retrospective at MoMA; the Paul Morrissey retrospective at the Roxy; the Robert Beavers retrospective and Essential/Unessential Warhol series at Anthology Film Archives. I’m also very proud to have gotten the lost Holly Woodlawn film, Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers, new distribution at my last job at the beginning of the year before being laid off shortly after, and to watch as that film has made the rounds and played the queer festival circuit over the course of the year.
Follow Elizabeth Purchell on Instagram @schlockvalue & Bluesky @schlockvalue.bsky.social. Visit her official website.
Shine Louise Houston
Queer adult filmmaker. (The Crash Pad, Camera and I) Producer. (CrashPadSeries.com) Curator. (San Francisco PornFilmFestival, PinkLabel.TV) // Any pronouns.
Agatha All Along
It’s so queer! If this had been made in the 90s, all the women would have been young and white. It would have been a totally different show. There’s queer tension, but it doesn’t jump the shark. And Patty LaPone!
Follow Shine Louise Houston on Bluesky @shinelouise.bsky.social & Instagram @shinelouise. Visit her official website.
Jeremy Atherton Lin
Author. (Gay Bar, Deep House)
Sam Ashby’s Sanctuary at San Mei gallery, London
At San Mei gallery in London, Sam Ashby’s film Sanctuary played on a loop within a red and black pentagonal wooden structure; entering felt like slipping inside a warm butthole. Shot on 16mm in queer domestic spaces and buzzing, bright, arid foothills of the American West, Sanctuary sits intimately with people who communed with or follow Peter Christopher Purusha Androgyne Larkin (1934-1988). They ruminate on the former monk’s vision of erotic spirituality and sacred fisting. The film’s beginning and end are nearly invisible; it becomes its own divine cycle, putting me in mind of the ouroboros, a symbol of eternal renewal depicted by a serpent creature swallowing its own tail. How moving and quietly astonishing to behold gay elders and young genderqueer folk sharing their ways through the world. At a time when it’s tempting to totally withdraw from society, Sanctuary provided a reminder of how breaking away can open up euphoric unions with others seeking the true and the deep.
Follow Jeremy Atherton Lin on Instagram @jeremyathertonlin. Visit his official website.
Daniel Lismore
British fabric sculptor. Designer. Campaigner. “England’s Most Eccentric Dresser”, Vogue.
I think Yasmin Finney was sensational as Elle in third season of Heartstopper. Boy George, Trinity Tristan and Pandemonia’s paintings were a hit this year and Elton John’s Devil Wears Prada musical was epic. I also liked most of Lady Bunny’s anti-war posts on Instagram and loved Amanda Lepore live on stage.
Follow Daniel Lismore on Instagram @daniellismore, Facebook, & TikTok @daniellismore. Visit his official website DanielLismore.com. His book, Be Yourself, Everyone Else is Already Taken, is available now.
Alexis Gregory
Playwright. Performer. Producer. Director.
Greek Expectations – An Evening with Soulla at Soho Theatre, London
My LGBTQ+ cultural highlight of 2024 was seeing the Queen of Palmers Green, and Internet sensation Soulla, make her Soho Theatre debut. Soulla – a creation of actor, writer, and stand-up comic Alex Theo – has already made waves as an online sensation and with her live gigs, providing outrageous glimpses into her life as a North London Greek matriarch. The Soho Theatre show, Greek Expectations (what else could it be called?!) went next level. Soulla took us on a ride through family ups and downs, identity, and the trials of being true to yourself. It was a hilarious, surprising, and moving meeting of the epic and the everyday in this suburban goddess’ life. To quote the woman herself….‘I BLOODY LOVED IT!’
Follow Alexis Gregory on Instagram @alexis.gregory. Visit his official website.
Misia Butler
Actor. (Kaos)
Mason Alexander Park’s The Pansy Craze
Seeing Mason Alexander Park perform their wonderful The Pansy Craze, a cabaret-exhibition-essay on the history of the “pansy”, at the Underbelly Boulevard in London was such an emotional experience for me. Beautifully performed, they sang tearjerkers and anthems in between explorations of the history of the queer community and how a changing public mindset was not as linear as we like to believe.
Follow Misia Butler on Instagram @misiabutler. Read our exclusive interview with Misia Butler about his role in Kaos which is now streaming on Netflix.
Sam Zelaya
Actor (Wendell & Wild).
The History Boys by Alan Bennett – 20th anniversary production
The History Boys has always been one of my favourite plays. I was so excited to see it on its 20th anniversary tour and it did not disappoint. The themes are as relevant as ever and the cast did an amazing job bringing new life to the already iconic roles. It’s hard to pick a standout performance but it meant so much for me to see a trans actor (Teddy Hinde) in the cast, as the film played a big part in my own gender journey.
Follow Sam Zelaya on Instagram @samzelaya97. Read our exclusive interview with Sam Zelaya.
Lío Mehiel
Artist. Actor. (Mutt, In the Summers) Filmmaker.
Model Home by Rivers Solomon published by MCD
Model Home is, by far, one of the best books I have ever read. The less you know about it, the better. Seriously, as soon as you’ve finished reading this go buy it on Bookshop.org! Solomon is an expert writer, able to capture the contemporary consciousness that loops and spirals and refuses to accept just one truth. On the surface it’s a literary suspense novel, or maybe a contemporary haunted house story, but in its essence, it is a queer book in both form and content that shines a light in the darkest rooms of the human soul and says, it’s okay, it’s okay, you are loved, you are lovable.
The book tackles themes of mental health and generational trauma, racism and segregation, and queerness and neurodivergence. The book is for mature readers.
Follow Lío Mehiel on Instagram @lio.mehiel. Visit their official website liomehiel.com.
Timothy Ware-Hill
Writer. Filmmaker. Actor. Activist. (Cops and Robbers).
God Is Good – written & performed by Jeremy Pope – directed by C Prinz
The short film God is Good, written by and starring Jeremy Pope and directed by C Prinz, explores the intersection of Blackness, queerness and religion. It’s a power “come to Jesus” story of self-acceptance, told through musical vignettes in spoken word.
Actor & playwright Douglas Lyons
A Black queer actor and playwright I’d like to acknowledge is Douglas Lyons who wrote Table 17, a heartfelt romantic comedy starring Tony-winner Kara Young, which follows an ex-couple who reunite for the first time in two years since breaking off their engagement. It won two Audelco Awards this year, including Best Playwright.
Follow Timothy ware-Hill on Instagram @timothy_warehill. Read our exclusive interview with Timothy Ware-Hill about his Peabody Award-winning & NAACP Image Award-nominated short film Cops and Robbers, streaming now on Netflix.
Mufseen Miah
LGBTQ+ Activist. Podcast co-host Queer Talk.
Queer as Folklore by Sacha Coward published by Unbound
A unique deep dive into the secret queer origins of mythological creatures. Sacha’s debut book is full of unusual tales and intriguing analysis on demons, unicorns, witches and lesser-known beings. Queer as Folklore highlights just how often LGBTQ+ people have been demonised by society over time, whilst also celebrating how these symbols have shaped our culture through social reclamation. One of my favourite reads of 2024 and a book that will proudly adorn any bookshelf with its beautiful merman cover.
Unicorns – directed by Sally El Hosaini & James Krishna Floyd
With strong performances from leads Nish Patel and Ben Hardy, and a gripping story of love and responsibility, this film was extremely enjoyable to watch when it popped up on Netflix this year. Unicorns doesn’t shy away from tackling homophobia in all forms, from the complex disapproval of South Asian family members to homophobic violence from inside and outside our community. Definitely one to watch.
Follow Mufseen on Bluesky @mufseen.bsky.social & Instagram @mufseen. Website.
Alex Smith
Co-director MIX NYC
Cecilia Gentili’s Red Ink
There are two albums that I’ve been listening to a lot and that I am grateful for: Stampede by Orville Peck and Mood Swings by Richard Cortez. My year was all about MIX NYC, the Queer experimental film festival. Highlights of the year include the 15th anniversary screening of the film Community Action Center by A.K. Burns and A.L. Steiner, and of course the festival itself. In particular the filmmakers who shared such bold personal work, the drag performances by Sweaty Eddie and Esther the Bipedal Entity, and especially the closing night party that spanned three floors with film, installation, dance, and sex. However, what comes first to mind when I think of 2024 is Cecilia Gentili’s one woman show Red Ink, as well as her wake. They were the most joyful and devastating moments of the year.
Follow Alex Smith on Instagram @alexsmithxix.
Blake Pruitt
Filmmaker. Editor. (A House is Not a Disco) Activist. Co-director MIX NYC.
in the interval – directed by æryka jourdaine hollis o’neil
in the interval by æryka jourdaine hollis o’neil is one of the most stunning, emotional, intelligent, innovative, personal experimental short films I’ve seen in a while, and among my favorite films of the year. We programmed it at this year’s revival of MIX NYC Queer Experimental Film Festival. æryka describes the film as “both an intimate family portrait and a cinematic collage of Black and trans collective memory and (be)longing, meditating on themes of safety, bodily autonomy and generations of compounding loss across time and media.” I’ll be thinking about it for a long time.
Follow Blake Pruitt on Bluesky @blakepruitt.bsky.social & Instagram @blakedeadlynyc. Visit his official website.
Willow Catelyn Maclay
Film critic. Writer (Corpses Fools & Monsters)
I Saw the TV Glow – directed by Jane Schoenbrun
Trans people have been waiting for a film like I Saw the TV Glow. This harrowing poem of dysphoria captured the disembodied intensity of an identity flickering beneath the surface but buried underneath layers upon layers of repression. Owen knows who he is, but he’s afraid to look inside himself. Many trans people felt seen watching his struggle and it’s worth wondering if the message in the film will only grow with more tragic urgency as many government bodies across the globe seek to limit the medical and social possibilities of trans people.
Follow Willow Catelyn Maclay on Instagram @WillowCatelyn, Bluesky @willowcatelyn.bsky.social & Patreon. Corpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema co-written by Caden Mark Gardner and Willow Catelyn Maclay is available now published by Repeater Books.
Alice Oseman
Writer. Creator of Heartstopper.
I Saw the TV Glow – directed by Jane Schoenbrun
It was a spiritual experience watching I Saw the TV Glow. It’s about being trans, but not really understanding that you’re trans. The word trans is never used in the film, but that’s what the film is about. I went to the premiere in London, which was full of queer and trans people, and I feel like we all had a communal crying session. It’s one of the most beautiful queer movies I’ve ever seen.
Follow Alice Oseman on Instagram @aliceoseman. Visit her official website. Read our exclusive interview with Alice Oseman & Heartstopper executive producer Patrick Walters. Seasons 1-3 of Heartstopper are streaming on Netflix now.
Sav Rodgers
Filmmaker. (Chasing Chasing Amy) Founder: Transgender Film Center
Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr – directed by Kimberly Reed
Short films are often overlooked in year-end “Best of” round-ups, but Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr is well worth anybody’s time. I had the pleasure of watching it as a jury member at Palm Springs ShortsFest, where we presented it with the Best Documentary honor, solidifying its Academy Awards eligibility.
Now shortlisted for the 97th Academy Awards, Kimberly Reed’s illuminating short documentary is an extraordinary film that shines a spotlight on the inner workings of the American political machine and the way the media can stoke the flames of misinformation and ignorance. Its artistic merits embody what documentary filmmaking is supposed to be. Throughout this film, the filmmaker captures insightful character moments that sum up everything wrong with U.S. politics with a simple camera movement or well-timed cut. This documentary is a brilliant testament to the resilience of the human spirit, the foolish decisions made by those who purport to represent us in government, and that despite fascistic efforts, trans people will never be erased from public life.
Follow Sav Rodgers on Instagram @savrodgersfilm & Bluesky @savrodgers.bsky.social. Chasing Chasing Amy is now available everywhere movies are rented or sold. Read our Chasing Chasing Amy review.
Jonathan McCrory
Executive Artistic Director – National Black Theatre. Director. Producer. Creative Doula.
Luther: Never Too Much – I love the way this film explores his life and shares his brilliance, along with the things holding him back. It was so amazing to gain an insight into a mind, life and passion of this musical genius. Also so know how much he cared for the experience of the audience. A must-watch.
Beyonce Bowl – If you saw this you know there is know explanation needed. This was a flawless, detailed orientated, and creative explosion on the TV screen and is worth watching over and over again. What a gift is it to have her level of artistry still in the game.
The Gathering: A Collective Sonic Ring Shout: This was a show that happened at the Kennedy Center’s Opera House and was one of the biggest shows that I have ever produced and/or directed. With an 80-person orchestra, a 48-person choir, and seven musical acts, this was a moment. So excited for the making-of documentary that will be coming out in 2025 so folks can learn more about all the magic that went into making this special moment happen.
Native Son 101: A power list curated by Native Son featuring some of the most influential gay, queer and same-gender-loving Black male figures in America. I love how this list helps to shine a spotlight on this community and help us to get to know and learn about some hidden figures who are doing the work to help brighten up and heal this world.
Colman Domingo: What a year this man has had with the projects, the expression of artistry and the fashion. He is a powerful Renaissance man and it will be amazing to see how he opens more doors, not only for himself but for the community, with the 2025 Met Gala launching the Superfine: Tailoring Black Style exhibit. Watch our exclusive interview with Colman Domingo on the red carpet at NewFest’s 36th Annual New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival where he was honoured with the NewFest 36 Voice & Visibility Award.
Follow Jonathan McCrory on Instagram @jaymc86 and Facebook. Visit his official website. Read our exclsuive interview with Jonathan McCrory.
Glenn Gaylord
Filmmaker (I Do, Leave It on the Floor). Senior Film Critic – The Queer Review.
English Teacher, created by Brian Jordan Alvarez – Season 1, Episode 8 (FX/Hulu)
At then end of class, Eddie (Blaise Reyes), a student, approaches our title character Evan Marquez (show creator Brian Jordan Alvarez) and asks for some advice. What ensues is the most surprising, hilarious, so so wrong yet so so right, generation gap revealing, catch you completely off guard exchange on queer issues I heard all year:
EDDIE: Mr. Marquez, can I talk to you for a second?
MARQUEZ: Uh, yeah. What’s up Eddie?
EDDIE: I’ve been having some thoughts…
MARQUEZ: Oh, my God. Suicidal. You want me to call somebody?
EDDIE: No, no, it’s about my…orientation. I guess you would call it. And…I think I’m gay. And I know that you’re gay. And I thought maybe you could help me, or, like, talk me through how to tell the people in my life. Cause…this is all just so new and scary, and…could really use some support.
MARQUEZ: WHAT??!!! You’re scared to come out? It’s 2024. Just go in the hall and say, “I’m gay.” I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be mean. Like, I can’t help you with this. This is…I grew up in the ‘90s. That was different. Just go and get advice from kids your age. I mean, if you want somebody to talk to, go talk to one of the many out gay kids at this school, you know?
EDDIE: Yeah. Okay.
MARQUEZ: But be careful. Don’t talk to one of those nonspecific queer kids, who may or may not be doing it for clout. Those people are mostly straight. Don’t tell anybody I said that.
EDDIE: Yeah.
MARQUEZ: You’re gonna want to find, like, a real gay person. Like, classic gay vibes. You know. Queeny. You know. Should be easy to identify. Don’t tell anybody I said that. Somebody your age. They’ll help you more than me. I think. But great, great. Thanks, very good. I’ll see you later. Bye.
Follow Glenn Gaylord on Instagram @Glebborama & Bluesky @glenngaylord.bsky.social. Visit his official website.
Bright Light Bright Light
Singer-songwriter. DJ.
ANIMAL – a new queer bar in Brooklyn
I’m always thrilled when I see new queer spaces pop up in the city, especially with the reality of how hard it is to stay afloat as a business renting a commercial space in New York these days. The team behind ANIMAL have done an absolutely incredible job of creating a gorgeous space with amazing servers, super diverse and eclectic music programming (both live DJ and playlists in the day) and a vibe that is both sexy and welcoming. I love this space both at night – when it becomes a packed dance floor that really nods back to old NYC nightlife – and during the day when the light bounces off the huge disco ball under the main bar’s skylight. ANIMAL is a very welcome addition to NYC’s queer nightlife and I’m so happy to see it thrive.
Follow Bright Light Bright Light on Bluesky @brightlightx2.bsky.social & Instagram @BrightLightx2. Visit his official website. His latest album, Enjoy Youth, is available now.
Dr Emily Garside
Writer. Researcher. Contributor – The Queer Review.
Wicked – directed by Jon M. Chu
Wicked is not a “queer film” on the surface, but for me—an aging Millennial musical theatre fan—the film version felt like a queer homecoming. Wicked has, of course, always been a musical for the outsiders- Elphaba is an icon for all those who feel “different” and after 20 years of loving the musical, hearing Cynthia Erivo proudly declare she didn’t want the Wizard to “degreenify” her at the end of the film, was something I now felt in my 40-year-old queer heart that I never did as the 20-year-old who first saw Wicked: I’m OK just as I am, I don’t need you to change me, I like my difference. Revisiting that musical I’d loved as a baby-queer, now with a queer woman in the lead role, alongside a gay leading man, in the biggest movie musical in years—when you put that alongside a musical about a green girl that made the queer musical theatre kids of the 00s feel seen—that feels magical. It’s not always the overtly queer films that make us feel seen, sometimes, it’s the things that speak to us, or the representation they offer behind the scenes. Sometimes it’s a beautiful intersection of both.
Follow Emily Garside on Instagram @emigarside & Bluesky @emilygarside.bsky.social. Visit her official website. Her latest book, Gay Aliens and Queer Folks: How Russell T Davies Changed TV is available now published by Calon.
Chad Armstrong
Writer – The Queer Review. Editor – Cultural Binge.
The Wicked press tour
The Wicked press tour has been a source of non-stop queer joy. From the “insufferable” (Ariana Grande’s word, not mine) closeness of the two leads, to the zeitgeist defining ability to “hold space”, the fashion explosion of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana’s outfits and the universal adoration of Jonathan Bailey’s nuclear powered charm. And all in support of a film warning about the evils of fascism and propaganda. Wicked has always been queer-coded, but this film version put its rainbow-loving, ruby-slippered feet forward for all to see. All credit to the legendary Stephen Schwartz for writing this masterpiece. Few lyrics in musical theatre have defined the fear and determination of “coming out” so powerfully as “Too long I’ve been afraid of losing love, I guess I’ve lost. Well, if that’s love, it comes at much too high a cost.” Thanks to Tracy E. Gilchrist, we are all, on some level, “in queer media” now.”
Follow Chad Armstrong on Instagram @culturalbinge & @ChadLDN, & on Bluesky @culturalbinge.bsky.social & @chadldn.bsky.social. Visit his theatre review site Cultural Binge.
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.
Sarah Snook in The Picture of Dorian Gray at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, London
I’ve been lucky enough to have seen some great live performances this year – The Pet Shop Boys at The Royal Opera House, A Chorus Line at Sadler’s Wells, and West End productions of Hello Dolly!, Stranger Things and Waiting for Godot.
But the standout for me was Sarah Snook in The Picture of Dorian Gray, at the Theatre Royal Haymarket – the very theatre where Oscar Wilde premiered his much-loved plays, A Woman of No Importance and An Ideal Husband.
Adapted and directed by Sydney Theatre Company’s artistic director Kip Williams, this reimagining of Wilde’s classic novel employs technical wizardry to tell a familiar tale in a way that feels totally fresh.
This Dorian uses Snapchat filters to combat the signs of ageing, but like his famous portrait, they can’t protect him forever. Snook really throws herself into the part – and all the other parts. She’s on stage the whole time, playing multiple characters and interacting with herself on large video screens.
It’s a physically demanding, emotionally intense performance, and one which blew me away. I wasn’t alone. As soon as the show was over, the entire audience were on their feet. Wilde would be proud. Performances of The Picture of Dorian Gray are scheduled to begin at Broadway’s Music Box Theatre on March 10th, 2025.
Follow Paul on Twitter @PaulBurston & Instagram @PaulBurston1. Visit his official website. Paul Burston’s memoir We Can Be Heroes is available now.
Monét X Change
Drag artist. (Winner of of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars season 4) Singer. (Grey Rainbow Vol. 1) TV host. (The Pit Stop) Podcast host. (Sibling Rivalry, Monét Talks)
Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire created by Rolin Jones
Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire on AMC+ is so good. It’s so gay and so unapologetically queer. The whole cast is great and I love that there is a Black male lead and a Black supporting actress. I am so impressed by what Rolin Jones is doing with the show. I’ve always loved vampires and the vampiric arts! When I was a kid I would watch Sabrina the Teenage Witch and I always wanted to be either a witch or a vampire! It’s definitely a piece of queer culture that I think has really turned the party. It’s number one on my list.
Follow Monét X Change on Instagram @monetxchange. Visit her official website. Tickets are on sale now for the tour of Life Be Lifin’, Monét’s one-person show directed by BenDeLaCreme.
Johnnie Ingram
Co-creator We’re Here on HBO/Max & Swiping America on Max
This election year was rough for the advancement of LGBTQ equality. However, there are many amazing folks out there bringing joy, talent, and hope to help get us through it all. Here are some highlights and folks lifting me up when things get low. Thank you to:
Brian Derrick for oath.vote and keeping me optimistic and calm during a wild and emotional election.
TheGayAssPodcast and Eric Williams for making me cry-laugh in the WORST LA traffic.
Alex Hedison’s documentary short film, Alok, for capturing the heart and self-expression of Alok Vaid-Menon and sharing it with the world.
Eric Cervini’s (very gay) book club for inspiring me to read (and/or listen to) more queer stories.
Jonathan Bailey’s iconic “Drink Your Milk” collaboration with Fellow Travelers and Loewe in support of his LGBTQ charity organization – The Shameless Fund.
Nicky Doll’s defiance during the most iconic Olympic opening ceremony and showing the world drag is love.
Bob the Drag Queen – finally getting to see them get their flowers on tour with Madonna, appearing on Doctor Odyssey, and filming an entire season of Traitors on Peacock, all while writing the book Harriet Tubman Live in Concert! I’m just so proud of you and your endless talent, Bob, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.
Lastly, this year our series We’re Here was not picked up for a fifth season on HBO, but not without winning almost every single award in television. I couldn’t be more proud of our team and what we were able to accomplish, the stories we were able to tell and document during a time when it feels like the world turned its back on our community. We are so proud and look forward to carrying the torch forward in 2025 and continuing the fight for equality.
Follow Johnnie Ingram on Instagram @johnnieinstagram. Watch our exclusive We’re Here season 4 interview with co-creators Johnnie Ingram & Steve Warren.
Owin Pierson
LGBTQ+ mental health, travel, lifestyle & AAPI influencer.
IGLTA LGBTQ travel convention – Osaka, Japan
The highlight I’d love to shoutout is the IGLTA LGBTQ travel convention that happened in Osaka, Japan. It was the first LGBTQ travel convention of its kind to be held in Asia! It was a huge accomplishment and so great for community and networking brands and media around the world and in Japan.
Follow Owin Pierson on Instagram @owinpierson.
Justin Teodoro
Artist. Illustrator.
Peggy Mercury
Located in Kent Barns, Connecticut, Peggy Mercury is a multi-category boutique and gallery space founded earlier this year by my two dear friends James Boehmer and Greg Fricke. Peggy Mercury was born from their love of fashion, beauty and art, and is an ode to the visionaries who have influenced them, from the art collector doyenne Peggy Guggenheim and her idiosyncratic style, to the heydays of retail spaces like Barney’s New York, when shopping was not only fun but an experience of discovery and whimsy. Peggy Mercury is a curation of James and Greg’s favorite items in beauty, accessories, art, and objects, and, as both James and Greg have exceptional taste, everything they choose is special, beautiful and unique.
Stepping into Peggy Mercury brings a smile to your face. The space is bright and spacious with colorful fixtures and decor. A large pair of playful sunglasses (an ode to Guggenheim’s own signature set), life-size Fisher Price ‘Little People’ figurines, oversize wire hangers à la pop artist Claes Oldenberg, decoupage collages of fashion magazine tears: these are just some of the detailed ingredients James and Greg bring together in their stylized potpourri mix. Peggy Mercury is also where James and Greg champion their community of friends whose creative work is at the forefront. There is the graphic Peggy Mercury logo art designed by Böhmer Studio that emblazons t-shirts and sweatshirts, the covetable jewelry and ceramics of Andrew Vetterlain, selected vintage denim pieces with hand embroidery by Sharmane Baker and the in-house line UnRavelled for Peggy Mercury of knitted bags and objects d’art designed by Kim Gibbs, just to name a few. I was lucky to be a part of this collective, illustrating the namesake character Peggy Mercury and hand painting the mural on the bathroom walls, an illustrated ode to the icons and beauties of our fashion dreams.
I love that through Peggy Mercury James and Greg have not only made their dreams come true but have also created something that allows people the space to “challenge, elevate, and grow”. Peggy Mercury invites you to play and experiment with its makeup and accessories to create your own definition of beauty. And it gives you the opportunity to discover covetable brands that merge art with fashion and make things that are really unique and special compared to today’s mass market world. As Greg perfectly sums it up: “Peggy Mercury is a love letter to the institutions and references that permitted us to dream unapologetically. It’s a home for those who question their worth in a world that never tries to understand them, for those who have struggled, disguised, or made themselves smaller to find a seat at the table.”
Follow Justin Teodoro on Instagram @justinteodoro. Visit his official website.
Ryan A White
Documentary filmmaker. (Raw! Uncut! Video!, Big Sur Gay Porn)
A behind-the-scenes day on AORTA films’ Haunted
My queer highlight of 2024 was visiting the set of AORTA films’ upcoming erotic horror film, Haunted, directed by Mahx Capacity from a script by Carmen Maria Machado. Based in Brooklyn, AORTA produces super sexy, independent, community-minded pornography that features a gorgeous array of queer bodies and identities. Sex-positive, body-positive, innovative, beautifully shot and starring some of the hottest LGBTQIA+ performers in the industry – this is the kind of erotic filmmaking that will expand your mind and your libido!
When I heard that AORTA was making horror porn, I reached out about filming some behind-the-scenes material for a new documentary that Wohler Films has in the works. Unfortunately, my creative partner Alex Clausen couldn’t make the trip, but our pal Tyler Jensen was game to help us document the kinky, spooky fun. Our best day was spent in a dark, humid basement in Philadelphia where Mahx Capacity and cinematographer Rooster Ray were shooting a creepy ghost hunting scene with performers Iris Eclipse, Daphne Fox, and Calba. I won’t spoil anything, but let’s just say that the sexy paranormal investigators encounter a ghostly presence that shows them how to squirt their own ‘ectoplasm’…
A summer storm was brewing outside, and the non-air-conditioned basement was oppressively muggy and uncomfortable – the type of environment that could easily have been a major turn off. But, Mahx is a remarkable filmmaker who creates a safe, sensual, and joyous atmosphere on-set. Despite everyone’s obvious physical discomfort, the cast and crew were having a blast – and there were moans of pleasure intermingled with spurts of slumber party giggles between takes. The energy was absolutely infectious and I felt truly honored to witness the magic of AORTA films in action! Haunted is cumming soon. Don’t miss it!
Follow Wohler Films Instagram @wohlerfilms & Bluesky @wohlerfilms.bsky.social. Visit the Wohler Films official website. Watch our exclusive interview with Ryan A White & Alex Clausen.
Caden Mark Gardner
Freelance film critic with a focus on queer & trans representation. Writer. (Corpses, Fools and Monsters)
With Corpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema being published in July, it has been gratifying to screen works and be involved with the filmmakers who made this book possible. Whether it was Mirha-Soleil Ross (Gender Troublemakers), Cary Cronenwett (Maggots and Men), Isabel Sandoval (Lingua Franca) being directly involved in the Q&As or screening the works of Alice Maio-Mackay (T Blockers) and Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw the TV Glow), it was extremely gratifying showing these films to audiences eager to watch works centered in the book. My co-author Willow Maclay and I were both privileged to work with Vera Drew on the extras release of The People’s Joker, which remains one of my favorite official releases of 2024. Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow and Theda Hammel’s Stress Positions along with watching more works by Louise Weard and Henry Hanson to me show a broader, varied range of trans-made cinema that I find gratifying in that when we started our book, we never could have predicted these films being out there and getting an audience. Many of these films fly in the face of the previously banal discussions of past years that feel anchored by the notions of “good representation” versus “bad representation”. I think our book outlines that these discourses led by well-meaning folks, mostly not in film culture or cultural criticism, ignore that a film like Funeral Parade of Roses ends just like Oedipus Rex, but most trans people love that movie and see it as a masterpiece. Let us see ourselves, our stories, but stop insisting we sand off the edges. Now more than ever, people need to see the truth of our image and our narratives.
After the US general election, in San Francisco we screened Rosa von Praunheim’s I Am My Own Woman, a German-language film on Charlotte von Mahlsdorf’s life dealing with growing up with a Nazi father (that she would later kill), being trans in the surveillance state of East Germany, and forming community among other queer people. It ended up being the perfect kind of film to watch in the election postmortem.
Beyond tooting my own horn about the book and trans films that popped off this year, I’d like to shout-out just how queer Love Lies Bleeding is from its hot sex scenes between Kristen Stewart (our generation’s James Dean) and Katy M. O’Brian to using Patrick Cowley’s dreamy, horny electronic music to Patrick Califia’s Macho Sluts being one of the best set props of any movie this year. Daniel Craig’s yearning William S. Burroughs stand-in, William Lee in Queer is a career-best performance, while Mike Faist and Josh O’Connor’s unexpected kiss in Challengers was a moment that felt unending in all the right ways.
Perfume Genius’s score to Zia Anger’s My First Film.
2024 flopped for most of us but thanks for the memories of brat summer, Charli XCX.
Very Delta is the only reason to use YouTube these days.
When I hop-skipped between gay bars in Chicago where one played Cynthia Erivo’s “Defying Gravity” and the other one had the 2016 camp classic “Ram Ranch” by Grant MacDonald. I was forever altered from that night.
Nose Candy, the fragrance podcast with Maddie Phinney and Chloe Coover, became my favorite podcast to listen to which is mainly these two ladies, one lesbian and one trans, breaking down their favorite perfumes. Sounds like this could not possibly work in the audio medium of podcasting but trust, it’s great.
I caught up on Interview with the Vampire television series and goodness, its presence has been long missing in self-serious prestige TV since HBO’s True Blood had Denis O’Hare as the gay vampire villain.
Somebody Somewhere was such a gift.
The John Waters exhibit at the Academy Museum was one of the main highlights of book tour travel. So divine, in the beatific sense because Waters and Divine each had stained glass window art of them in the entrance of the exhibition. I’m pretty sure taking pictures of that exhibit accounts for 90% of my photos that I took in Los Angeles.
The great work put out by home media label Altered Innocence, and I am not just saying that because I was involved with Le Beau Mec (think of a gay adult film that is just like John Rechy’s City of Night but primarily takes place in France) and The People’s Joker.
Seeing Holly Woodlawn on the big-screen in Scarecrow in a Garden of Cucumbers in Chicago.
Seeing Bruce LaBruce’s No Skin Off My Ass, Hustler White, and Super 8 1/2 on both the big screen and also certain adult websites because streamers are cowards.
Re-reading Gary Indiana (and also getting into works I had not yet encountered until after his passing like the profane novella Rent Boy) and buying a whole book of Kevin Killian’s Amazon reviews, which is just a delightfully perverse tome of seven-hundred-something pages.
Lypsinka in Toxic Femininity (as directed by Chloë Sevigny) was a great reminder of what a legend she is.
In my research for the book I came across the incredible illustrations of cross-dresser Vicky West for Drag Magazine. Her illustrations were of fantasy, politics, social commentary, and are quite stunning. MATTE put out a collection of her art this past year called I Was a Girl co-edited by the legendary trans photographer Mariette Pathy Allen. Anyone interested in “the scene”, particularly of New York’s drag and trans scenes in the 70s and 80s, must seek this out.
All roads to trans studies lead back to Susan Stryker and the collection of her writing, When Monsters Speak: A Susan Stryker Reader (edited by McKenzie Wark), is an essential buy. I and many others would not be here without Stryker.
Follow Caden Mark Gardner on Instagram @corpsesfoolsandmonsters. Corpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema co-written by Caden Mark Gardner and Willow Catelyn Maclay is available now published by Repeater Books.
The Queer Review 2024 – LGBTQ+ highlights of the year compiled by James Kleinmann, Founder and Editor – The Queer Review
Get in touch via social media using the hashtag #TheQueerReview2024 and #TheQueerReview on Bluesky @TheQueerReview.com, Instagram @TheQueerReview, and Facebook to share your own favourite LGBTQ+ culture and events of the year.