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 →
With so many queer spaces, bars, clubs, live venues, theatres, and cinemas closed for much of the year, and festivals cancelled or reimagined as virtual editions, we asked some of friends, including prominent culture makers and performers, to tell us their favourite LGBTQ+ art or events of 2020. Get in touch via social media using... Continue Reading →
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 →
A gay Brooklyn teenager (The Inheritance’s Samuel H. Levine) charts his own sexual awakening and the complexities of his Russian Jewish family in documentarian Eric Steel’s narrative debut Minyan. The work of James Baldwin is certainly in the zeitgeist again as, much like Tomasz Jedrowski's brilliant debut novel Swimming in the Dark, Giovanni’s Room provides... Continue Reading →
According to the Institute on Disability, “If people with disabilities were a formally recognized minority group, at 19% of the population, they would be the largest minority group in the United States.” They would, in fact, be the largest minority group in the world, but in terms of representation, among many other issues, the world... Continue Reading →
“They always forget the ones who were first,” someone says in voiceover in Joe Castel’s remarkable documentary, Nelly Queen: The Life and Times of José Sarria. After watching this essential record of an important life in the LGBTQ+ community, I doubt anyone will forget him. Sarria’s list of accomplishments include establishing the Imperial Court System,... Continue Reading →
With Taiwan passing the first Marriage Equality Law in Asia in 2019, it’s exciting to delve into LGBTQ+ stories from a historically conservative society going through such immense changes. Ming-Lang Chen’s The Teacher (Wo De Ling Hun Shi Ai Zuo De) follows a young Civics teacher name Kevin (Oscar Chiu) who meets an older factory... Continue Reading →
What is it about remote fishing villages that are so romantic? The gorgeous vistas of the windswept ocean... the hardscrabble men with their windswept hair... the way everyone wears enviable cable-knit sweaters... the extra likelihood of being caught in the rain together...? The remote fishing village in The Strong Ones (Los Fuertes) is in Chile,... Continue Reading →
One of the best films so far at this year’s Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ Film Festival is Dramarama, a sweet comedy about five drama club friends getting together for one last murder-mystery dinner party before they all go off to college. It’s an unconventional teen flick, one where the characters are largely resistant to change instead... Continue Reading →
UPDATE: Indican Pictures will release Gossamer Folds in select theaters on August 12th 2022 and on VOD on August 23rd 2022. Director Lisa Donato’s Gossamer Folds focuses on the heartwarming friendship between two Kansas City suburban neighbours in 1986. When his parents decide to move the family away from the city in an attempt to... Continue Reading →
