In 2009 queer South African filmmaker Oliver Hermanus' debut feature Shirley Adams, which he made while still a student at the prestigious London Film School, premiered in competition at Locarno, with his subsequent film, Beauty (Skoonheid) winning the Queer Palm at the 64th Cannes Film Festival, where it played in the Un Certain Regard competition... 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 →
BFI Flare 2021 Review: The Obituary of Tunde Johnson ★★★★1/2
Tunde Johnson is a normal 17 year old boy. He’s Black; he’s gay; he loves his parents; and he’s been sleeping with the hottest guy in school, even though he’s dating Tunde’s best friend. Oh, and, no matter what he does, every night Tunde is murdered by the Los Angeles Police Department. And then he... Continue Reading →
BFI Flare 2021 Film Review: Sublet ★★★★
Veteran Israeli filmmaker Eytan Fox's outstanding new feature Sublet, co-written with Itay Segal, opens with the arrival of a jetlagged and disorientated fifty something gay man, Michael (The Inheritance's John Benjamin Hickey) to bustling Tel Aviv. He's a travel writer for The New York Times who has come to uncover the "real" city over a... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: David Färdmar on his gay breakup movie Are We Lost Forever “I wanted to challenge viewers to think for themselves”
Breaking up is hard to do as Swedish filmmaker David Färdmar explores in his brooding bittersweet debut feature Are We Lost Forever premiering in the UK and Ireland via Peccadillo Pictures on DVD, Blu-ray, and digital on Monday January 18th. When we first meet protagonists Adrian (Björn Elgerd) and Hampus (Jonathan Andersson) they're sitting up... Continue Reading →
Film Review: The Prom ★★★★
While Broadway remains dark after more than nine months, with the help of a little movie magic and an impressively detailed set (production design by Jamie Walker McCall), The Prom, lights up 42nd street once more and delivers a joyous, thoroughly uplifting movie musical where the dialogue scenes pop just as much as the song... Continue Reading →
NewFest 2020 Film Review: Sublet ★★★★
Veteran Israeli filmmaker Eytan Fox's outstanding new feature Sublet, co-written with Itay Segal, opens with the arrival of a jetlagged and disorientated fifty something gay man, Michael (The Inheritance's John Benjamin Hickey) to bustling Tel Aviv. He's a travel writer for The New York Times who has come to uncover the "real" city over a... Continue Reading →
64th BFI London Film Festival LGBTQ+ highlights
The 64th BFI London Film Festival (LFF) runs from October 7th-18th, and like many other festivals, Covid-19 restrictions mean that it's taking a different form this year. Given current circumstances the 2020 programme offers a reduced number of feature films, just 58, plus collections of short films and experimenta, but with an expanded reach across... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: New Queer Cinema digital pioneer Todd Verow on his latest feature Goodbye Seventies “all of my films have led up to this one”
Todd Verow's 1995 feature debut Frisk elicited strong reactions, resulting in a near riot, when it world premiered on as the closing night of the 19th San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival (now Frameline) at the iconic Castro Theatre, before going on to screen at Sundance, Berlin and Toronto. Based on Dennis Cooper's... Continue Reading →
