A forgotten corner of Sydney's entertainment history is being celebrated at this year's Sydney Festival, as the late Black queer cabaret sensation Nellie Small is brought back to the stage though Send For Nellie. The performer began her career in the 1920s before developing her vaudeville act as a drag king. She became so adored,... Continue Reading →
The Pet Shop Boys have a key place in pop music through the 80s, 90s, and 00s. With hits like "Go West", "Left to My Own Devices", Rent", and "Absolutely Fabulous" becoming queer anthems, their synth-pop lit up gay club dancefloors and inspired generations of LGBTQ+ artists (with Russell T Davies' hit TV series taking... Continue Reading →
Zeno Graton’s debut feature The Lost Boys (Le paradis) isn’t just a prison relationship drama, it’s a look at a group of boys struggling to become men in a system designed to restrain them. Joe (Khalil Gharbia) is three weeks away from freedom. Having served six months at a youth detention centre, he is starting... Continue Reading →
If you’re a queer person of faith, or have Christians in your life, then 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture is a must-see film to add to your watchlist. Filmmaker Sharon “Rocky” Roggio fascinatingly breaks down the Biblical texts often used to attack the LGBTQ+ community by digging into a fateful mistranslation back in 1946... Continue Reading →
Isla Roberts is what you would call "a character". The octogenarian at the heart of the loving documentary Isla’s Way, is quick with a joke and a raucous laugh, but as the camera lingers and director Marion Pilowsky pushes, it becomes clearer why we are here. Pilowsky doesn’t just want to hear Isla recount her... Continue Reading →
Luke Evans and Billy Porter deliver powerful performances in writer-director Bill Oliver’s gay divorce drama Our Son. Bringing to mind classics like Kramer vs Kramer and the more recent Marriage Story, Our Son adds the well-observed specificity of middle-class gay city life into the fraught mix. Gabriel (Porter) and Nicky (Evans) have a seemingly picture... Continue Reading →
Giuseppe Fiorello’s sun-drenched film Fireworks (Stranizza d'amuri) captures the essence of young queer summer love in the 80s. Impromptu dips in natural creeks; basking in the nighttime heat; the colours of fireworks lighting up the sky. The glorious visuals make the aggressive local culture and homophobia just a bit more bearable until Fiorello is ready... Continue Reading →
It’s almost as if a committee of queer people got together and designed the perfect Penélope Cruz film. Make her a glamorous, chain-smoking mother in the 70s (The hair! The fashion! The bright orange kitchens!) who is fiercely devoted to her trans son. Make her a little bit “crazy” and a little bit “sad”—we want... Continue Reading →
Nate Dushku's gay erotic thriller Birder may not be particularly thrilling, or erotic, but it does provide an abundance of nudity on screen. Think of it as The Talented Mr. Strip-ley. Kristian Brooks (Michael Emery, who put me in mind of James Norton with the voice of Jonathan Groff) is a drifter, lurking around campsites... Continue Reading →
Sunflower opens with two sharp images. The first, follows a young man walking through fields of the titular flowers in bloom. The second, focuses on a group of school boys beating up a gay kid on a deserted playground. It is unclear whether they are the same person. This coming out story isn’t some sugarcoated... Continue Reading →
