If you’re a queer person of faith, or have Christians in your life, then 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture is a must-see film to add to your watchlist. Filmmaker Sharon “Rocky” Roggio fascinatingly breaks down the Biblical texts often used to attack the LGBTQ+ community by digging into a fateful mistranslation back in 1946... Continue Reading →
Isla Roberts is what you would call "a character". The octogenarian at the heart of the loving documentary Isla’s Way, is quick with a joke and a raucous laugh, but as the camera lingers and director Marion Pilowsky pushes, it becomes clearer why we are here. Pilowsky doesn’t just want to hear Isla recount her... Continue Reading →
Luke Evans and Billy Porter deliver powerful performances in writer-director Bill Oliver’s gay divorce drama Our Son. Bringing to mind classics like Kramer vs Kramer and the more recent Marriage Story, Our Son adds the well-observed specificity of middle-class gay city life into the fraught mix. Gabriel (Porter) and Nicky (Evans) have a seemingly picture... Continue Reading →
Giuseppe Fiorello’s sun-drenched film Fireworks (Stranizza d'amuri) captures the essence of young queer summer love in the 80s. Impromptu dips in natural creeks; basking in the nighttime heat; the colours of fireworks lighting up the sky. The glorious visuals make the aggressive local culture and homophobia just a bit more bearable until Fiorello is ready... Continue Reading →
It’s almost as if a committee of queer people got together and designed the perfect Penélope Cruz film. Make her a glamorous, chain-smoking mother in the 70s (The hair! The fashion! The bright orange kitchens!) who is fiercely devoted to her trans son. Make her a little bit “crazy” and a little bit “sad”—we want... Continue Reading →
Nate Dushku's gay erotic thriller Birder may not be particularly thrilling, or erotic, but it does provide an abundance of nudity on screen. Think of it as The Talented Mr. Strip-ley. Kristian Brooks (Michael Emery, who put me in mind of James Norton with the voice of Jonathan Groff) is a drifter, lurking around campsites... Continue Reading →
Sunflower opens with two sharp images. The first, follows a young man walking through fields of the titular flowers in bloom. The second, focuses on a group of school boys beating up a gay kid on a deserted playground. It is unclear whether they are the same person. This coming out story isn’t some sugarcoated... Continue Reading →
Writer-director Nicholas Anthony’s debut feature, shot entirely on iPhone 13 Pro Max, takes us into the mind of Max (Bronte Charlotte), a woman in Melbourne on the verge of turning 30. A struggling writer, she’s hit a wall where her youthful enthusiasm and drive have been worn down by rejection. As she tries to live... Continue Reading →
Who has power of you and what do you want to say to them? That's the bold and tantalizing question at the heart of Jeremy Goldstein's Truth to Power Café directed by Jen Heyes, which made its United States premiere this month as part of Lincoln Center's second annual Festival of Firsts. For Goldstein, a... Continue Reading →
As the groundbreaking, Grammy-winning rapper, singer, and songwriter Lil Nas X was about to embark upon his first tour last year, Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Carlos López Estrada and Zac Manuel were brought on board to document it. The co-directors were present to capture both the dazzling show itself—and the fans' poignant reaction to it—as well... Continue Reading →
