As an 18-year-old newly arrived in New York City, Emmy-nominated filmmaker Zackary Drucker encountered a photograph of European disco icon Amanda Lear and—like so many before her, including David Bowie—was immediately captivated by her beauty, crediting her as her "original trans archetype." Twenty years later, the director was approached by producer Noah Levy with the... 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: The People’s Joker filmmaker Vera Drew “these characters mean something to me on a religious level”
Stop the press! Who is that? It's filmmaker Vera Drew whose feature directorial debut, The People's Joker—which she also co-wrote (with Bri LeRose), edited, and stars in—is now playing in theaters in New York, Los Angeles, and rolling out to select theaters across the United States and Canada. Following its world premiere screening in the... Continue Reading →
Sort Of star & co-creator Bilal Baig to receive Barrier Breaker Award at 2nd annual Trans Filmmakers Summit x TIFF
The Trans Film Mentorship (TFM) will stage the second annual Trans Filmmakers Summit x TIFF, at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, September 10th at Malaparte at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Open to all trans and non-binary creators, filmmakers, actors, industry partners and allies, Trans Filmmakers Summit x TIFF will be an afternoon... Continue Reading →
TIFF 2023: LGBTQ+ highlights at 48th Toronto International Film Festival
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 →
Sundance 2023 Film Review: The Stroll ★★★★★
Directors Kristen Lovell and Zackary Drucker's outstanding feature The Stroll, received its world premiere in the US Documentary Competition at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, going on the win that section's Special Jury Award for Clarity of Vision. It tells the collective history of the transgender women of colour who worked "the stroll"—a section of... 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 →
