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 →
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 →
As the groundbreaking, Grammy-winning rapper, singer, and songwriter Lil Nas X was about to embark upon his first tour last year, Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Carlos López Estrada and Zac Manuel were brought on board to document it. The co-directors were present to capture both the dazzling show itself—and the fans' poignant reaction to it—as well... Continue Reading →
Last night at the 35th annual New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival, filmmaker Todd Haynes was honoured with the NewFest Queer Visionary Award for his remarkable career to date. The award was presented to Haynes by his friend and fellow New Queer Cinema director Tom Kalin who spoke with him on stage at the SVA in Chelsea... Continue Reading →
2024 update: Variance Films and LD Entertainment will release National Anthem in select theaters on Friday, July 12th, expanding wide on Friday, July 19th, 2024. Growing up in Evergreen, Colorado, some of filmmaker and photographer Luke Gilford's most vivid childhood memories are of being at the rodeo with his father, who was a member of... Continue Reading →
Writer-director Andy Vallentine follows up his stunning 2021 short, The Letter Men, with another weepie, the narrative feature The Mattachine Family. Beautifully shot and acted, this is a glossy yet moving exploration at the meaning of family. It's available to stream US-wide as part of NewFest's 35th New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival until October 24th... Continue Reading →
With regressive politicians in the United States seeking to implement legislation targeting queer and especially trans youth, including bans on gender affirming health care, participation in sport, bathroom use, book bans, and even forbidding the mention of the words "gay or trans" in schools, the loud voices of bigoted adults often overpower the kids themselves.... Continue Reading →
When Roger Ross Williams met Saúl Armendáriz, better known as Cassandro, for a 2016 documentary he was directing for The New Yorker—The Man Without a Mask—the filmmaker immediately knew he'd found the subject of his first scripted narrative feature. Making the move from amateur wrestling in El Paso, Armendáriz became a Mexican-American icon with the... Continue Reading →
Not for the easily offended, or those lacking a sense of humour, Dicks: The Musical—which opened the Midnight Madness section of the 48th Toronto International Film Festival last night—is a delectably outrageous, endlessly kooky, and thrillingly depraved instant queer cult classic. Some movies feel like they are actively trying to achieve cult status, Dicks never... Continue Reading →
Following last year's Charcoal (Carvão), Brazilian filmmaker Carolina Markowicz returns to TIFF for the world premiere of her captivating sophomore feature Toll (Pedágio) and to receive the festival's Emerging Talent Award. Maeve Jinkings in Carolina Markowicz's Toll (Pedágio) which receives its world premiere at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival. Courtesy of TIFF. Luis Armando... Continue Reading →
