Exclusive Interview: Outfest LA 2021 spotlight artist Justice Jamal Jones on How to Raise a Black Boy “I strive to push past the need for marginalized representation in the gaze of a normalized center”

Inspired by J.M. Barrie’s 1902 novel The Little White Bird, which introduced the world to Peter Pan, writer-director Justice Jamal Jones’ lyrical debut short film, How To Raise A Black Boy, reframes that tale of childhood and adulthood within a queer Black narrative. Following its inclusion in April’s Outfest Fusion QTBIPOC Film Festival, How To... Continue Reading →

Exclusive Interview: “we are queer creators pushing our way into a straight space” filmmakers Ng Choon Ping & Sam H. Freeman on their SXSW short Femme

Among the queer highlights at last month's SXSW Online 2021 was the short film Femme, by co-writers-directors Ng Choon Ping and Sam H. Freeman. The film stars I May Destroy You's Paapa Essiedu as Jordan, a femme queer man in London who leaves the safety of a night out clubbing with his friends and gets... Continue Reading →

Pedro Almodóvar’s The Human Voice ★★★★

Pedro Almodóvar's intoxicating English-language debut, the thirty-minute short film The Human Voice, is "freely based on" the play by Jean Cocteau that was first staged in Paris in 1930, which the filmmaker previously referenced in 1987's Law of Desire, and initially inspired him to write 1988's Women On the Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown. A... Continue Reading →

Exclusive Interview: Timothy Ware-Hill & Arnon Manor on their powerful Netflix animated short film Cops and Robbers “Black Lives Matter can’t just be a saying it has to be an act”

The gut-wrenchingly powerful, deeply moving and ultimately hopeful animated short film, Cops and Robbers, directed by Arnon Manor and Timothy Ware-Hill, was written and performed by Ware-Hill in response to the murder of Ahmaud Arbery earlier this year. Ware-Hill had initially filmed himself reciting his own impactful poem and posted the video to social media... Continue Reading →

Outfest 2020 Film Review: Boys Shorts

For many years, most LGBTQ+ festivals reserved their best short films for the Boys and Girls Shorts programs. Usually deemed the sexiest, funniest, or most cinematic of the bunch, they typically play to sold out audiences. Fortunately, shorts submissions have diversified and have showcased such incredible talent that festivals like Outfest offer a whole host... Continue Reading →

Film Review: Kapaemahu ★★★★★

Due to world premiere at last month’s postponed Tribeca Film Festival, Kapaemahu was set to play as part of the annual animated shorts programme curated by Whoopi Goldberg. Written, directed and produced by Native Hawaiian educator and cultural practitioner Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, along with GLAAD and Emmy award-winning activists and filmmakers Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson,... Continue Reading →

Film Review: Boys On Film 20 Heaven Can Wait

Peccadillo Pictures' hit LGBTQ short film series Boys on Film has introduced us to a wealth of emerging British and international queer talent over the past two decades. This Monday May 18th sees Peccadillo celebrate its twenieth birthday and the worldwide DVD and VOD (via Vimeo) release of Peccadillo's twenieth gay short film anthology, Boys... Continue Reading →

Exclusive Interview: LGBTQ lockdown short Hey Google filmmaker Leon Lopez & star Saeed Farhat “these are the stories we need to remember when this is all over”

This Wednesday May 6th saw the YouTube premiere of a new LGBTQ short film from British renaissance man Leon Lopez, Hey Google, which addresses isolation and loneliness due to social distancing measures. The actor, filmmaker and musician, has directed 10 shorts, the feature Soft Lad, as well as multiple episodes of long-running British soaps Hollyoaks... Continue Reading →

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