One of the standouts at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival, Billy Luther’s richly evocative 1990-set narrative feature debut Frybread Face and Me, was recently acquired by Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Releasing and will open in select theaters and launch on Netflix on Friday, November 24th. The comedy drama follows 11-year-old Benny (Keir Tallman) as he... Continue Reading →
With their uplifting debut feature documentary, Summer Qamp, Toronto-based filmmaker Jen Markowitz invites us to spend a week at the LGBTQIA+ CAMP fYrefly in rural Alberta, Canada. As we get to meet their engaging queer and trans teenage subjects, refreshingly and powerfully Markowitz allows them to speak for themselves, unhurried and uninterrupted. For many of... 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 →
2024 update: Variance Films and LD Entertainment will release National Anthem in select theaters on Friday, July 12th, expanding wide on Friday, July 19th, 2024. Growing up in Evergreen, Colorado, some of filmmaker and photographer Luke Gilford's most vivid childhood memories are of being at the rodeo with his father, who was a member of... Continue Reading →
British writer-director Janis Pugh's remarkable sophomore narrative feature Chuck Chuck Baby, which received its North American premiere at last month's 48th Toronto International Film Festival is a celebration of love between working class women in all its forms with a infectious carpe diem spirit. In industrial North Wales, we meet thirty-something Helen (Louise Brealey) who... Continue Reading →
One of the LGBTQ+ highlights at last month's 48th Toronto International Film Festival was the feature debut of writer-director Fawzia Mirza, The Queen of My Dreams, based on the filmmaker's 2012 debut short of the same name. It's a vibrant, blissful, and emotionally cathartic comedy drama that spans thirty years in the life of a... Continue Reading →
With regressive politicians in the United States seeking to implement legislation targeting queer and especially trans youth, including bans on gender affirming health care, participation in sport, bathroom use, book bans, and even forbidding the mention of the words "gay or trans" in schools, the loud voices of bigoted adults often overpower the kids themselves.... Continue Reading →
Billy Luther's richly evocative 1990-set narrative feature debut, Frybread Face and Me, follows 11-year-old Benny (Keir Tallman) whose dreams of catching his favourite band, Fleetwood Mac, live in his hometown of San Diego are crushed when he's abruptly sent away for the summer by his divorcing parents to stay with his grandma Lorraine (Sarah H.... Continue Reading →
Not for the easily offended, or those lacking a sense of humour, Dicks: The Musical—which opened the Midnight Madness section of the 48th Toronto International Film Festival last night—is a delectably outrageous, endlessly kooky, and thrillingly depraved instant queer cult classic. Some movies feel like they are actively trying to achieve cult status, Dicks never... Continue Reading →
Following last year's Charcoal (Carvão), Brazilian filmmaker Carolina Markowicz returns to TIFF for the world premiere of her captivating sophomore feature Toll (Pedágio) and to receive the festival's Emerging Talent Award. Maeve Jinkings in Carolina Markowicz's Toll (Pedágio) which receives its world premiere at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival. Courtesy of TIFF. Luis Armando... Continue Reading →
