Exclusive Interview: Ailey director Jamila Wignot “I wanted the film to feel like an epic saga in the way that his dance works do”

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 →

July 23, 2021 0

Exclusive Interview: Jeffrey Friedman on his Oscar-winning decades-long filmmaking partnership with Rob Epstein

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 →

June 23, 2021 2

TV Review: Pride ★★★★★

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 →

May 18, 2021 0

LGBTQ+ highlights at Hot Docs 2021

North America’s largest documentary festival, Hot Docs, will present its 28th annual edition online at hotdocs.ca from April 29th to May 9th 2021, available for audiences across Canada to stream. With over 200 films from 66 countries in 12 programs, 50 per cent of the directors in the festival lineup are women. “Documentaries are vitally... Continue Reading →

April 23, 2021 1

It’s A Sin: Dr Emily Garside’s guide to the HIV/AIDS narratives to read & watch next

Dr Emily Garside's guide to which HIV/AIDS narratives to read and watch next after Russell T Davies' acclaimed series It's A Sin. There is a vast array of work to choose from. Since the beginning of the AIDS pandemic those affected began telling their stories, both as an act of memorial, remembering those the government... Continue Reading →

March 29, 2021 0

SXSW Online 2021 Film Review: Disintegration Loops ★★★★

As someone who has lived in Manhattan throughout the pandemic, the black and white shots of the vacant city streets and landmarks which open David Wexler's Disintegration Loops—world premiering at SXSW Online 2021—struck me as one of the most evocative works I've seen so far that captures a sense of what being here was like... Continue Reading →

March 24, 2021 0

BFI Flare 2021 Film Review: Rebel Dykes ★★★★★

Harri Shanahan and Sian Williams' feature documentary Rebel Dykes, which receives its world premiere as part of the virtual 35th BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival running March 17th to 28th and its Australian premiere at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival on Friday March 19th, is a rousing, celebratory, and considered examination of London's rebel... Continue Reading →

March 17, 2021 1

BFI Flare 2021 Film Review: Cured ★★★★

Patrick Sammon and Bennett Singer's riveting feature documentary Cured, which had its world premiere at Outfest and screens this month as part of the virtual 35th BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival, examines the fascinating chapter in queer history that saw gay liberation activists successfully overturn the US psychiatric profession's classification of homosexuality as a... Continue Reading →

March 4, 2021 0

BFI Flare 2021 Film Review: I Am Samuel ★★★★

Peter Murimi's I Am Samuel, part of the 35th BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival March 17-28th 2021, is an intimate portrait of Samuel, who lives in Nairobi, Kenya, and his partner Alex. Shot in verité style, the documentary opens with footage of the two men visiting a beauty spot, a waterfall in a forest,... Continue Reading →

March 3, 2021 0

Sundance 2021 Film Review: Flee ★★★★

Jonas Poher Rasmussen's remarkable Flee world premiered at Sundance 2021, winning the festival's World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for Documentary. As the film opens a caption tells us that this a true story and that some of the names have been changed to protect the subjects' anonymity. In present day Copenhagen, Denmark we meet 36... Continue Reading →

February 15, 2021 1