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 →
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 →
Book Review: The Dangerous Kingdom of Love by Neil Blackmore ★★★★1/2
“Everything is about sex. Except sex, which is about power”—the quote, apocryphally attributed to Oscar Wilde—sums up much of the machinations at the heart of Neil Blackmore’s brilliant The Dangerous Kingdom of Love, a thrilling retelling of the later years of Francis Bacon’s life with the seductive frisson of Choderlos de Laclos’ Les Liaisons Dangereuses... Continue Reading →
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 →
Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart virtual reading with Laverne Cox, Jeremy Pope, Guillermo Díaz, Ryan O’Connell & Daniel Newman directed by Paris Barclay
ONE Archives Foundation, in collaboration with Invisible Histories Project, announced today a historic virtual reading of Larry Kramer’s largely autobiographical play The Normal Heart on Saturday May 8th at 5pm PT. Directed by Emmy Award-winner Paris Barclay, this new presentation will be the first time the Tony Award-winning play features a cast that is predominately BIPOC and... Continue Reading →
Recognized / Recognizability: LGBTQ+ Photo Archives & History – ONE Archives Foundation virtual panel April 7th
ONE Archives Foundation presents an online panel discussion on LGBTQ+ photography, history, and archives, Recognized / Recognizability: LGBTQ Photo Archives and History, moderated by Kaucyila Brooke. Taking place on April 7th at 5pm PT, the virtual panel will bring together Neal Baer, Zackary Drucker, Texas Isaiah, Kang Seung Lee, and Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell.... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
It’s A Sin builds on a long legacy of HIV/AIDS narratives
Russell T Davies' acclaimed five-part series It’s a Sin doesn’t exist in isolation. It stands on the shoulders of over 30 years of HIV/AIDS stories. From the very beginning the community used performance and storytelling to memorialize, and as a means of activism. This was in part because the links between the queer community and the... Continue Reading →
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 →
