I’ve often wondered what people really mean when they say, “They don’t make movies like they used to”. Are they talking about the scripts, directing, cinematography, subject matter, overall tone or something else? When I look back on films from the 1940s, for example, I often experience empty sound editing, flat staging, and tin-eared dialogue.... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: filmmaking duo Filipe Matzembacher & Marcio Reolon on their erotic thriller Night Stage “queer sex scenes can be very political & provocative”
Brazilian-Italian writer-director duo Filipe Matzembacher and Marcio Reolon made their feature debut in 2015 with the queer coming-of-age drama Seashore (Beira-Mar) which premiered at the Berlinale and went on to win three prizes at the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival. Their captivating 2018 sophomore feature Hard Paint (Tinta Bruta), exploring the double life of... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: Lesbian Space Princess filmmakers Emma Hough Hobbs & Leela Varghese “it all started with the title, we built the movie around it”
Following this week's world premiere of the hilarious animated scifi musical comedy epic Lesbian Space Princess in the Panorama section at the 75th Berlinale, the Berlin International Film Festival, the film's South Australian writer-director duo Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese speak exclusively with The Queer Review's editor James Kleinmann about bringing their shared vision... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: Drew Droege on playing a “judgy drunk queen” opposite Daniel Craig in Luca Guadagnino’s Queer
With Luca Guadagnino's intoxicating 1950s Mexico City-set feature Queer, based on the cult novel of the same name by William S. Burroughs, now playing in US theaters nationwide from A24, writer, actor, and comedian Drew Droege speaks exclusively with The Queer Review's editor James Kleinmann about taking on the role of "judgy drunk queen" John... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: Jonathan Anderson on his costume design inspirations for Luca Guadagnino’s Queer
On the red carpet at the 62nd New York Film Festival's North American premiere of Luca Guadignino's Queer, adapted from William S. Burrough's cult novel, fashion designer Jonathan Anderson spoke with The Queer Review about reuniting with the filmmaker following their collaboration on Challengers and his costume design inspirations for the 1950s Mexico City set... Continue Reading →
Gaypocalypse Now – Film Review: Queer ★★★★1/2
William S. Burroughs’ unfinished novella, Queer, tells the story of an alcoholic, junkie American writer named William Lee, who, while escaping legal issues in the States, finds himself among other expats in Mexico City circa 1950. He spends his time at a local watering hole or cruising for men in the streets. There he meets... Continue Reading →
Emmys 2024 FYC Exclusive Interview: Taylor Mac on his 24-Decade History of Popular Music “so much of queer culture has been erased – I wanted to make something so big it couldn’t be ignored”
In 2016, Taylor Mac performed a one-time-only, 24-hour immersive theatrical experience in front of a live audience at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn. The concert offered an alternative take on U.S. history, narrated through music that was popular from the nation’s founding to the present, with Mac transforming hourly by changing into elaborate, decade-specific costumes... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: Theda Hammel & John Early on Stress Positions “I’m talking about queerness in the way that I want to”
Following the short film My Trip to Spain, Theda Hammel and John Early continue their creative collaboration with the deliciously dark and hilarious 2020-set comedy feature Stress Positions, which world premiered at Sundance and was the closing night selection of MOMA's New Directors/New Films festival. As well as writing and directing, Hammel also serves as... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: filmmaker Sacha Polak & star Vicky Knight on Teddy Award-winning queer drama Silver Haze
Filmmaker Sacha Polak and actress Vicky Knight first collaborated on the acclaimed feature Dirty God about an acid attack survivor, which world premiered at Sundance in 2019 and saw Knight named a Breakthrough Brit by BAFTA and receive both Best Actress and Most Promising Newcomer nominations at that year's British Independent Film Awards (BIFA). Silver... Continue Reading →
Mardi Gras Film Festival 2023 Review: Wet Sand ★★★★
Georgian queer cinema is in the spotlight again with Elene Naveriani’s evocative Wet Sand, a heartbreaking look at the power of repression in a parochial community and the hate that lurks behind the faces we see everyday. Amnon (Gia Agumava) runs the local café, serving beers and meals to the locals. He’s a calm, stable... Continue Reading →
