On Wednesday, June 1st 2002 at 1pm, federal officials and LGBTQ+ activists will hoist the rainbow flag on the first Pride flagpole on federal land, in Christopher Park in the heart of the Stonewall National Monument in New York City's historic Greenwich village. This will be the first permanent rainbow flag to fly on federal... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: Netflix Is A Joke rising stand-up comedy star Robin Tran “I try to be my own hero”
Often edgy, always fiercely intelligent and hilarious, stand-up comedy rising star Robin Tran is performing in Los Angeles this week as part of Netflix Is A Joke: The Festival. Named one of Just For Laugh’s New Faces of 2021, her comedy frequently deals with her identity as an Asian trans lesbian and her experience of... Continue Reading →
33rd annual GLAAD Media Awards to honour Wilson Cruz & Judith Light in New York
This Friday, May 6th, GLAAD—the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization—will honour award-winning actor, producer, and activist Wilson Cruz with the Vito Russo Award at its 33rd annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York. The Vito Russo Award—named after the writer, GLAAD founder, and ACT UP activist who pushed open the door for news and entertainment industries to... Continue Reading →
TV Review: Heartstopper ★★★★
At first glance, Alice Oseman's beautifully heartwarming Heartstopper which launches today on Netflix, based on her hit graphic novels, feels like a throwback to much-loved 90s British films about gay teens like Beautiful Thing and Get Real. Although this series does share much of the feel-good quality of those movies and a similar focus on... Continue Reading →
Mardi Gras Film Festival 2022 Review: Invisible ★★★1/2
Country music and heartbreak are natural bedfellows, but T. J. Parsell’s documentary, Invisible (originally titled Invisible: Gay Women in Southern Music when it premiered at Outfest 2021), shows us just how much queer heartache has gone into this enduringly popular genre. From the women in country, folk, and blues who were never given a shot... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: director April Maxey & cinematographer Melinda James on their Sundance Grand Jury Prize nominated short film Work
Writer-director April Maxey's Work was one of the queer highlights at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, where it received its world premiere and was nominated for the Short Film Grand Jury Prize. Inspired by her own personal experience, Maxey set out to reevaluate the misconceptions and stigma surrounding sex work. The film, developed at AFI’s... Continue Reading →
Mardi Gras Film Festival 2022 Review: Mayfly (Efímera) ★★★1/2
Luis Mariano García’s Mayfly is utterly endearing. A coming-of-age story, sprinkled with magic realism that steps over many of the clichés to deliver a charming take on a well-worn genre. Emillia (Danae Reynaud) is a serious, studious high-schooler with her eyes on the prize of a place at a prestigious architecture school. In the library... Continue Reading →
Chase Joynt’s Framing Agnes among LGBTQ+ Award Winners at Sundance 2022
Chase Joynt's Framing Agnes was among the LGBTQ+ winners at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival—announced on Friday January 28th—honored with both the NEXT Innovator Award and the NEXT Audience Award. “This film simply grabbed me, taking me on a ride, questioning and re-questioning what was "real"," commented NEXT juror, Transparent creator Joey Soloway. "What an... Continue Reading →
Sundance 2022 Film Review: Am I OK? ★★★1/2
With a screenplay by Lauren Pomerantz (SNL, The Ellen DeGeneres Show), wife and wife co-directors Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne refashion the romcom by placing a platonic female friendship at its centre. Now both in their early thirties, Lucy (Dakota Johnson) and Jane (Sonoya Mizuno) have been best friends since high school. It's become comfortable... Continue Reading →
Sundance 2022 Film Review: Mars One/Marte Um ★★★★
Writer-director Gabriel Martins' sophomore feature, Mars One (Marte Um), which world premiered on the opening night of Sundance 2022 and is part of the festival's World Cinema Competition, focuses on a Black working-class family in Contagem, Brazil, the Martins, as the far-right extremist Bolsonaro prepares to take office. One of the many pleasures of the... Continue Reading →