The 48th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) opens on Thursday, September 7th with the international premiere of Oscar-winning director Hayao Miyazaki's animated epic The Boy and the Heron (Kimitachi wa Do Ikiruka) and comes to a close on Sunday, September 17th with the world premiere of Thom Zimny's Sylvester Stallone documentary Sly, exploring the close... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: filmmaker D. Smith centres Black transgender sex workers in Kokomo City “their stories needed to be told”
Filmmaker D. Smith's raw, provocative, and funny documentary, Kokomo City, that centres the stories of four captivating Black transgender women, in their own words, won both the NEXT Innovator Award and NEXT Audience Award when it world premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival. It went on to win the Audience Award in the Panorama... Continue Reading →
Outfest LA 2023 Closing Night Film Review: Chasing Chasing Amy ★★★★
If you're the kind of person who reads film reviews, the chances are that there has been a time in your life when a specific movie has become an all-consuming obsession, a movie that you've returned to so frequently that it's become like an old familiar friend to take comfort in. If you're queer, trans,... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: Kristen Lovell & Zackary Drucker reclaim the history of New York’s transgender sex workers with Sundance award-winning The Stroll
Following its award-winning world premiere at Sundance in January, directors Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucker’s outstanding feature The Stroll went on to open London's prestigious LGBTQ+ film festival BFI Flare, and last week the filmmakers were recognized with the John Schlesinger Award for Best Director of a Documentary at the Provincetown International Film Festival. Rich,... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: Trace Lysette on starring in Monica “it’s a weird duality to have this moment in my career at the same time as all the anti-trans legislation & propaganda”
Andrea Pallaoro's Monica was one of the most talked about films at last year's Venice Film Festival, where it was nominated for both the Golden Lion and Queer Lion, and went on to win the Arca CinemaGiovani Award and receive an eleven and half minute standing ovation at its world premiere. Captured in almost every... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: Saim Sadiq & Alina Khan on the Queer Palm-winning Joyland “it’s been the collaboration of a lifetime”
Writer-director Saim Sadiq and actress Alina Khan speak exclusively with The Queer Review's editor James Kleinmann about Joyland, which opens in select US theaters, including the Film Forum in New York, from Friday, April 7th, followed by the Landmark Nuart in Los Angeles on Friday, April 21st, 2023. Having world premiered at last year's Cannes... Continue Reading →
Sundance Institute announces the fellows for 2023 Trans Possibilities Intensive
The Sundance Institute has announced the six transgender storytellers of color selected for its second edition of the Trans Possibilities Intensive: Seyi Adebanjo, Rajvi Desai, Malik Ever, Nick Janaye, Jamie John, and Tee Park Jaehyung. This year's creative advisors include Sydney Freeland (Drunktown’s Finest), Aitch Alberto (Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe),... Continue Reading →
Mardi Gras Film Festival 2023 Review: Trans Glamoré ★★★
Two mid-length documentaries about Australian trans women will receive their world premieres at Queer Screen’s 30th Mardi Gras Film Festival under the banner of Trans Women Champions: Trans Glamoré and The Accidental Archivist. Filmmaker Lachlan Bradbury's Trans Glamoré (a recipient of the Queer Screen Completion Fund), is a look at Sydney's eponymous trans cabaret night.... Continue Reading →
Sundance 2023 Film Review: Kokomo City ★★★★
When two-time Grammy nominated songwriter-producer D. Smith, who has appeared on both the Atlanta and Hollywood versions of the reality series Love & Hip Hop, had an idea for a film centering Black transgender sex workers and examining their place within the Black community, she approached several filmmaker friends with the concept. They all turned... Continue Reading →
Mardi Gras Film Festival 2023 Review: Lotus Sports Club ★★★★
At its core, Lotus Sports Club is the story of found family, and one relationship in particular. Filmed over five years in Cambodia, the documentary is both inspiring and poignant as it explores the strength and limitations of the bonds we create. The Lotus Sports Club itself is the creation of Pa Vann, a trans... Continue Reading →