Year: 2021 Runtime: 107 minutes Director/Writer: Rodrigo de Oliveira Actors: Johnny Massaro, Renata Carvalho, Victor Camilo, Clara Choveaux, Alex Bonin By Joan Amenn It has been decades since the AIDS crisis first began to claim its victims in an ever growing wave of horror and despair. “The First Fallen” (2021) tells the story of this terrifying time from the perspective of the LGBTQ+ community in … Continue reading Review: The First Fallen
By Joan Amenn Recently seen as Desire in Netflix’s “The Sandman” and now in a new role in the reboot of the science fiction series “Quantum Leap” on NBC (alternately, you can catch it on Peacock), Mason Alexander Park has been stealing scenes in one riveting performance after another. We got to sit down with them and chat a little about both series and they … Continue reading Exclusive Interview with Mason Alexander Park
“Mama Bears” is both a heartbreaking and uplifting portrait of families who have had their lives thrown into turmoil on a personal and increasingly, on a legislative level. Continue reading SXSW Review: Mama Bears
Year: 2022 Runtime: 75 Minutes Director: Chase Joynt Writers: Chase Joynt & Morgan M. Page Stars: Angelica Ross, Jen Richards, Silas Howard, Zackary Drucker, Max Wolf Valerio, Stephen Ira, with Jules Gill-Peterson By Morgan Roberts There are many stories omitted from history books. So, when filmmaker Chase Joynt and sociologist Kristen Schilt began archiving the work of UCLA’s Harold Garfinkel, they uncovered a trove of … Continue reading Sundance 2022 Review: “Framing Agnes”
By Morgan Roberts Premiering at Sundance, documentary film “Framing Agnes”(2022) explores the lives of trans participants of a 1950’s gender study through the University of California, Los Angeles. The face of the project, Agnes, spoke with sociologist Harold Garfinkel. The film brings to life the interviews between Garfinkel and Agnes, as well as the other members of the project. “Framing Agnes” is the debut documentary … Continue reading Sundance Interview: “Framing Agnes” Director Chase Joynt
Year: 2021 Runtime: 79 minutes Director: Vivien Kleiman By Joan Amenn There is something very poignant behind the generally light, amusing tone of “No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics” (2021). Beyond the funny drawings and zany situations they illustrate is real pain, as the LGBTQ+ artists tell their stories for the camera in this sometimes heartbreaking documentary by Vivien Kleiman. It is also … Continue reading Tribeca Film Festival 2021 Review: No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics
Perhaps it goes without saying that the Russian historical drama “Beanpole” (2019) is bleak. Directed by Kantemir Balagov, it’s a look at Leningrad after World War II as soldiers trickle back in from the front and people try to put their lives back together after the trauma of war. However, nothing could have prepared me for how twisted and depressing the film is. Continue reading Review: Beanpole
Year: 2021 Runtime: 94 minutes Writer/Director: Harry Macqueen Stars: Colin Firth, Stanley Tucci By Nicole Ackman This year has not only one, but two poignant films about dementia between “The Father”(2021) and Harry Macqueen’s “Supernova“(2021). While the former is more focused on the experience of having dementia, Macqueen’s film examines the way that it puts strain on even the most solid of relationships as a … Continue reading Review: Supernova
When she was 11 years old, Malou Reymann’s father transitioned to being a woman. Malou went on to study Directing Fiction at the National Film and Television School, and her semi-autobiographical debut feature film “A Perfectly Normal Family” has been inspired by her own experiences as a child. Featuring towering performances by Kaya Toft Loholt and Mikkel Boe Følsgaard, the film tells the story of eleven year old Emma who has a perfectly normal family until one day she discovers that her dad, Thomas, is transgender. As Thomas becomes Agnete, both father and daughter struggle to hold on to what they had, while accepting that everything has changed. Continue reading Exclusive Interview With Malou Reymann, Director of “A Perfectly Normal Family”
LGBTQ movies have, at long last, flourished in modern years uncovering gripping tales of ‘hidden’ love stories. Netflix recently joined writer Matt Crowley by adapting his 1968 Broadway play “The Boys in the Band” (2020), reviving the truth telling depiction of a group of gay males living in New York. Director Joe Mantello takes the six excelling actors, showcasing intense monologues, to express the difficulties of being queer during this condescending era. Continue reading Review: The Boys in the Band
In Their Own League 