Actress and activist, Shakina, made television history on NBC’s Connecting as the first trans person to play a series regular on a network comedy. She had a memorable role in Amazon's GLAAD Award-winning Transparent Musicale Finale, which she helped write and produce, as well as playing the scene-stealing trans truther Lola on Hulu’s Difficult People.... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: Wendell & Wild star Sam Zelaya “to not only have this kind of trans representation but to also be part of it is amazing”
If you're looking for a treat to stream this Halloween, you've found it. Following its world premiere at the 47th Toronto International Film Festival, acclaimed stop motion animation filmmaker Henry Selick and certified horror hitmaker Jordan Peele's delightfully macabre Wendell & Wild launches on Netflix on Friday, October 28th, just in time for the spookiest... Continue Reading →
Outfest LA 2022 Opening Night Film Review: Anything’s Possible ★★★★
The 40th anniversary Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Film Festival kicked off tonight at the Orpheum Theatre in Downtown LA with Billy Porter's enchanting directorial debut, Anything's Possible, produced by Christine Vachon's Killer Films. As the film opens, we meet the radiantly beautiful and stylish Kelsa (Eva Reign, making an impressive feature acting debut) on the... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: wrestler Mack Beggs “trans athletes have always been here, just like trans individuals”
Gifted wrestler Mack Beggs is one of the subjects of Michael Barnett’s compelling feature documentary about transgender teen athletes Changing the Game, which launches on Hulu on Tuesday June 1st 2021. Mack was Texas state champion twice while at high school, where he was forced to play in the female tournaments as depicted in the... Continue Reading →
Janet Mock & the cast of Pose on their message for LGBTQ+ youth “you are everything & you deserve everything this world has to offer”
Ahead of the final season premiere of Pose this Sunday May 2nd on FX, The Queer Review attended a virtual press conference with the creators and cast of the groundbreaking series. Here's what they had to say when asked what they hoped young LGBTQ+ folks watching the show would take away from it. Billy Porter:... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: 9-1-1 Lone Star’s Brian Michael Smith “there are all different kinds of trans people in the world & we should see all different kinds of trans people on screen”
Brian Michael Smith is not only living his dream as a successful actor, but he's also creating the mainstream trans masculine representation he didn't see growing up in the 80s and 90s in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Having already landed recurring spots on high profile dramas like Ava DuVernay’s Queen Sugar and The L Word: Generation... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: Disclosure filmmaker Sam Feder “Trans people are the experts on their own history & we don’t need anyone talking about us or for us”
In the spirit of the landmark documentaries The Celluloid Closet and Ethnic Notions, Sam Feder’s ambitious, ground-breaking and nuanced Disclosure, which launches globally on Netflix on Friday June 19th, examines over a hundred years of trans screen representation. Covering an impressive range of frequently damaging trans portrayals and storylines, Disclosure takes in Oscar-winning movies like... Continue Reading →
Film Review: Pier Kids ★★★★
Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic — boy, am I tired of starting articles with those words — film festivals around the world are finding new methods of distributing movies to fans. An unexpected benefit of the situation is that festivals, which are by their very nature dependent on geography, open themselves up to film fans... Continue Reading →