Patrick Sammon and Bennett Singer's riveting feature documentary Cured, which opens the fall season of PBS' Independent Lens on Monday October 11th, examines the fascinating chapter in queer history that saw gay liberation activists successfully overturn the US psychiatric profession's classification of homosexuality as a mental illness. Using archive photographs and video footage, recently discovered... Continue Reading →
Harri Shanahan and Sian Williams' feature documentary Rebel Dykes, which receives its Los Angeles premiere at Outfest LA 2021 on Saturday August 14th (also screening virtually August 15th-17th), is a rousing, celebratory, and considered examination of London's rebel dyke subculture of the 1980s and its legacy. The film's punky, DIY aesthetic captures the anarchic spirit... Continue Reading →
Jeffrey Schwarz, the Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker behind Vito, I Am Divine, and Tab Hunter Confidential, returns to Outfest this month for the world premiere of his latest feature, Boulevard! A Hollywood Story. The fascinating film unearths the little-known attempt by actress Gloria Swanson to stage an original Broadway musical based on the movie she is... Continue Reading →
Emmy-winning director Jamila Wignot's Ailey, a compelling and moving portrait of a towering figure in modern dance, Alvin Ailey, world premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. "Unlike many documentaries about artists, Ailey gives us a substantial insight into his creative process", writes James Kleinmann in his five... Continue Reading →
Angelo Madsen Minax's remarkable documentary feature North By Current—which world premiered at the 2021 Berlin Film Festival, had its US premiere at Tribeca and plays Outfest LA on Sunday August 15th—sees the filmmaker return from Brooklyn, New York to his rural Michigan hometown where his Mormon family is dealing with an unthinkable tragedy. Minax's infant... Continue Reading →
The 2021 Lower East Side Film Festival (LESFF) lineup of US and international features and shorts will screen in-person at New York's Village East Cinema (proof of vaccination required) from Thursday July 8th until Monday July 12th and virtually online from Thursday July 8th until Sunday July 18th. The 11th edition of the annual festival... Continue Reading →
This Pride Month the Criterion Channel is showcasing the Oscar-winning work of filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman with the eight film collection, Pride and Protest. In 1977, Friedman, who was working as an assistant editor in New York, was struck by the power of queer filmmakers putting queer lives on screen when he encountered... Continue Reading →
BAFTA-nominated British filmmaker Edgar Wright's debut feature documentary, The Sparks Brothers, about his favourite band, Sparks, which opens in theaters Friday June 18th, offers a fascinating insight into the lives of the enigmatic bandmates and siblings, Ron and Russell Mael and their creative process, which has resulted in 25 albums over their five decade career... Continue Reading →
Emmy-winner Michael Barnett's compelling feature documentary about transgender teen athletes Changing the Game, which launches on Hulu on Tuesday June 1st 2021, had its world premiere at Tribeca back in 2019, going on to be a hit at LGBTQ+ festivals across the US and internationally, winning audience awards at both Frameline and Outfest. The film... Continue Reading →
Taking viewers on a journey through LGBTQ+ history, politics, and everyday life in the USA from the 1950s up until the present day, the ambitious six-episode docuseries Pride, which premiered on FX on Friday night and has begun streaming on Hulu, builds into something powerful, stirring, and monumental. Each episode is helmed by a different... Continue Reading →
