Scottish Queer International Film Festival: Queering the Script

“Queering the Script” is about the behind the camera battles to depict LGBTQ characters in television series with respect and compassion. From the seminal moment that “Xena: Warrior Princess” (1995-2001) arrived through all the TV characters that followed her, “Queering the Script” offers an enjoyable tour of the few steps forward and many stumbles backward in the quest for representation. Especially painful is the revelation that from 2015 through 2017, sixty-two LGBTQ female characters died in television series. Continue reading Scottish Queer International Film Festival: Queering the Script

Review: “Petite Fille” (“Little Girl”) #EdFilmFestAtHome

This intimate and charming documentary by French director Sébastien Lifshitz follows 7-year-old Sacha and her mother Karine. They battle for her Sacha’s acceptance as a trans girl, and for a normal childhood. With a focus on family, support and identity this is a heart-filled and compassionate film which shows audiences what life can be like for a trans child. Continue reading Review: “Petite Fille” (“Little Girl”) #EdFilmFestAtHome

ITOL Top 15 Films of 2020 (So Far), Numbers 15-11

Gosh, isn’t 2020 over yet?! Wait, we’re only just over halfway through? *Sighs heavily and inhales deeply* Okay, okay…at least there’s only 178 days left of 2020. Anyway, picking our top 15 films of the year (so far) has been tough especially seeing how release dates of certain films have been delayed and how we’ve been trapped inside for months. However, the ITOL have come together to create our top 15 films from the last 6 months. Please let us know which films make your top 15 list and what films are you looking forward to catching later this year! Continue reading ITOL Top 15 Films of 2020 (So Far), Numbers 15-11

The Second Season of “Harley Quinn” Establishes and Celebrates the Anti-Heroine’s Sexuality

he’s a badass with a vocabulary full of vulgarities. Her favorite colors are black and red, but also pink and blue. Some people call her crazy, but she only wants to be graciously considered the most dangerous villain of the New New Gotham. Is it too much to ask? What else does Harley Quinn have to do?

The most notorious anti-heroine is back in the second season of the “Harley Quinn” series. Justin Halpern, Dean Lorey, and Patrick Schumacker bring even more carnage, more limbs flying around, and more blood splattering. Continue reading The Second Season of “Harley Quinn” Establishes and Celebrates the Anti-Heroine’s Sexuality

Review: We’re Here -Taking Pride Down The Drag Road

Found this gem almost by accident on HBO and immediately fell head over heels for it. “We’re Here” is about real-life stories with 3 drag queens – Eureka (David Huggard), Shangela (D.J. Pierce) and Bob the Drag Queen (Caldwell Tidicue) who traverse small-town America where they have residents from each town participate in a one night only drag show. Continue reading Review: We’re Here -Taking Pride Down The Drag Road

The Handmaiden: A Lesbian Con-artist Masterpiece

Between 1910 and 1945, Korea was under the rule of Japan. The decades of ‘Japanisation’ saw Korea become the second-most industrialised country in the region, the creation of possibly-fake Japanese-Korean regions (notably Mimana), the destruction of the Korean royal palace Gyeongbokgung and, during the final years of Japanese rule, tens of thousands of young Korean women being enslaved as ‘comfort women’ for Japanese soldiers (please note: this piece is written by a British man with an at best pedestrian knowledge of Japanese-rule Korea. Read up on it if you want a fascinating deep-dive!). It is in this world that Park Chan-wook and regular co-writer Jeong Seo-kyeong brings us the story of handmaiden Sook-Hee (Kim Tae-ri) and her lady, Hideko (Kim Min-hee). Continue reading The Handmaiden: A Lesbian Con-artist Masterpiece

Pride Month, Restrospective Review: Love, Simon

“Love, Simon” is not only an adorable high school rom-com but also made history as the first major Hollywood studio film about a gay teenage romance. The 2018 film was directed by Greg Berlanti and largely centres around the main character Simon coming out as gay. Many films about the LGBT+ experience are tragic or focus on the discrimination that they face, but this movie is more your typical teen film with angst rather than tragedy.  Continue reading Pride Month, Restrospective Review: Love, Simon

Pride Month, Retrospective Review: Mulholland Drive

Nearly two decades since its release, “Mulholland Drive” (2001) remains a Rubik’s cube of plot twists and turns. No matter how many contradictory analyses have attempted to explain what it is actually about, there is no arguing that it is a masterful depiction of LGBTQ love and desire. All the quirks and oddities of a Lynch production are present but do not overwhelm what is basically a story of passion and loss, told from a woman’s point of view. Continue reading Pride Month, Retrospective Review: Mulholland Drive