Despite its relatively short running time of just 53 minutes, or perhaps because of it, director Ben Anthony's made-for-television documentary Keith Haring: Street Art Boy, which premiered at NewFest, manages to cover a lot of ground. In fact a parallel emerges of a prolific artist with an intense creative drive, and the film's style which,... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: historian, activist & Instagram creator Blair Imani “being a Black queer Muslim woman in America today means being strategic about how I show up & when I show up”
Historian, activist, and public speaker Blair Imani is fast approaching an audience of 300,000 Instagram followers whom she educates on topics that centre women and girls, Black communities and LGBTQ+ folks through her regular bite-sized Learn O’Clock and Smarter in Seconds Reels features, while offering more in-depth lessons on Patreon. In 2017, Blair came out... Continue Reading →
Outfest Film Review: Nelly Queen: The Life and Times of José Sarria ★★★1/2
“They always forget the ones who were first,” someone says in voiceover in Joe Castel’s remarkable documentary, Nelly Queen: The Life and Times of José Sarria. After watching this essential record of an important life in the LGBTQ+ community, I doubt anyone will forget him. Sarria’s list of accomplishments include establishing the Imperial Court System,... Continue Reading →
Support the Frameline 2020 Fund
Since 1977 San Francisco's Frameline Film Festival has presented LGBTQ+ cinema to a ravenous audience each year. Ravenous? Yes, I meant it. The huge crowds packed into such iconic venues as the palatial Castro Theatre love cinema so much, they'll loudly cheer on what speaks to them. Conversely, you haven't lived until 1400 people hiss... Continue Reading →
Exhibition: Tom of Finland – Love and Liberation (House of Illustration, London) ★★★★
Tom of Finland (aka Touko Laaksonen) gets his first solo public exhibition in the UK with Love and Liberation at the House of Illustration. Featuring iconic images as well as previously unseen drawings from Tom of Finland Foundation’s collection, the exhibition forms part of the ongoing #TOMs100 celebration of his birth. Forty works on paper... Continue Reading →
34th BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival Highlights
The British Film Institute’s annual LGBTIQ+ film festival Flare is back this month with an exciting lineup of more than 50 feature films, including a few The Queer Review favourites. From March 18th-29th the festival will fill the BFI Southbank with queer cinema, discussions, parties and more. Things kick off with the Opening Night world... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: And Then We Danced filmmaker Levan Akin
Following its world premiere at Cannes in 2019 writer/director Levan Akin's gay coming of age drama And Then We Danced went on to enjoy a hugely successful international festival run, including showings at last month's Sundance, picking up awards in cities such as Chicago, New York and Montréal. The premiere in Tbilisi, Georgia, where the... Continue Reading →
MIX NYC Queer Experimental Film Weekend at Anthology Film Archives Nov 23-24th
This weekend in New York, MIX NYC presents a weekend of Queer Experimental Film Programming at Anthology Film Archives over two evenings. SATURDAY NOVEMBER 23rd: Program One: 7:15-8:30pm “Within There Runs Blood” presented by Eve Oishi and Marisa Hicks-Alcaraz This program represents the vision of two curators whose careers span twenty-five years, beginning with a... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: Trans Bodybuilding Documentary Man Made Director T Cooper
Author of seven novels including The Beaufort Diaries and Lipshitz Six, or Two Angry Blondes and the non-fiction book Real Man Adventures, T Cooper has had his writing appear in publications such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, Esquire, Harper’s and The Guardian. A graduate of Columbia University, he is currently a professor... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: Actor Mateo Oxley on Gay Footballer Play Target Man (King’s Head Theatre, London)
Mark Starling's new gay footballer themed play Target Man closes the King's Head Theatre's Queer Season in London later this month. Ahead of the production's limited six performance run, The Queer Review's James Kleinmann spoke with one of the play's lead actors Mateo Oxley about his role as England goalie Joel. Oxley also talks understudying... Continue Reading →