queer cinema Archives

October 10, 2017August 20, 2019

News Round-Up: October 9, 2017

Some news items you might have missed:

• I’d love to say the above looks just like how hot hubby Michael and I begin our mornings, but it kinda wouldn’t be exactly the altogether, absolute truth… 🙂

• Did you hear Little Richard has now denounced his years as a homo after coming out in 1995?

• A new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows Donald Trump’s support in rural America is eroding. Back in February, 55% of rural Americans approved of Trump, 39% disapproved. That’s now dropped to 47% approval, 47% disapproval. This is his base, and they are growing weary of his antics.

• Hey NYC – don’t miss the Ali Forney Center’s Annual Fall Gala “A Place At The Table” this coming Friday. The event is hosted by Tituss Burgess and honoring Lady Gaga and Congresswoman Maxine Waters. BUT – the main deal is supporting an awesome organization that helps at risk LGBT homeless youth.

• The Apprentice producer Bill Pruitt admits Donald Trump used lots of racial slurs on the set of the now defunct reality show. Pruitt says he never called the Trumpster out because it wasn’t his job to do so.

• Check out the trailer for the upcoming Danseur, a documentary on young male ballet dancers. The clip description reads, “Unfortunately, not everything is beautiful in ballet. Young boys are often verbally, physically abused and bullied. These are their stories.”

October 9, 2017August 20, 2019

Short Film: “Call Your Father”

The new short film Call Your Father is quite the deep dive into the world of intergenerational dating.

Written, directed and starring Jordan Firstman, the dark comedy follows the baneful first date between a 50-year-old “daddy” (played with great nuance by Craig Chester) and a 24-year-old impetuous “poet” (played by Firstman).

Poet “Josh” demonstrates just about every bad behavior you could imagine in a millennial including texting while daddy “Greg” tries to have a conversation as well as accusing “Greg” of being sad, all while sticking “Greg” with the bill wherever they go.

It would seem the only thing “Josh” is good at is sex. Well, at least there’s that.

Kudos to Firstman for bringing a quixotic sense of charm to “Josh” if only through briefly glimpsed vulnerability. And I think most viewers will relate to Chester’s thoughtful, sensitive performance although I can admit I’d have been outta there much sooner than his “Greg.”

Watch the award-winning 18-minute short below.

October 7, 2017August 20, 2019

Podcast: Trump Administration Delivers One-Two Punch On LGBT Protections; Ricky Martin Wants To Share His Wedding With The World

In this week’s The Randy Report podcast:

• The LGBTQ community got a one-two punch this week as the Trump administration goes after transgender protections in the workplace as well as giving a license to discriminate against LGBTs via “religious freedoms”

• California Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation into law bringing outdated HIV laws in line with new science

• We remember one of the gay victims of the Las Vegas shooting massacre

• A new poll shows, for the first time, majorities in both political parties believe homosexuality should be accepted

• Ricky Martin wants to share his upcoming wedding with the world

• For the first time, a rainbow Pride flag will fly permanently over federal land

All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report

Remember you can subscribe to The Randy Report podcast on iTunes for free here and every new episode will be sent to you automatically.

Whether for workout listening or while driving to work, this news magazine podcast is a great way to catch up on LGBT news in only 15 minutes 🙂

October 6, 2017August 20, 2019

Queer Film: BPM (Beats Per Minute)

France’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, BPM (Beats Per Minute) takes an unflinching look at ACT UP Paris in the early years of the AIDS epidemic, and we get the first American trailer today.

Clip description:

In Paris in the early 1990s, a group of activists goes to battle for those stricken with HIV/AIDS, taking on sluggish government agencies and major pharmaceutical companies in bold, invasive actions. The organization is ACT UP, and its members, many of them gay and HIV-positive, embrace their mission with a literal life-or-death urgency.

Amid rallies, protests, fierce debates and ecstatic dance parties, the newcomer Nathan falls in love with Sean, the group’s radical firebrand, and their passion sparks against the shadow of mortality as the activists fight for a breakthrough.

Variety raved about the film:

What does it take to fight a pandemic? Knowledge, courage and resilience, certainly, but also rough-and-tumble argument, a range of friendships both consoling and abrasive, a healthy sense of gallows humor and soul-sustaining supplies of loud music and louder sex.

French writer-director Robin Campillo understands all of this in “BPM (Beats Per Minute),” his sprawling, thrilling, finally heart-bursting group portrait of Parisian AIDS activists in the early 1990s. A rare and invaluable non-American view of the global health crisis that decimated, among others, the gay community in the looming shadow of the 21st century, Campillo’s unabashedly untidy film stands as a hot-blooded counter to the more polite strain of political engagement present in such prestige AIDS dramas as “Philadelphia” and “Dallas Buyers Club.”

Candidly queer in its perspective and unafraid of eroticism in the face of tragedy, this robust Cannes competition entry is nonetheless emotionally immediate enough to break out of the LGBT niche.

Watch the trailer below.

September 14, 2017August 20, 2019

Trailer: Tom Of Finland

Check out the U.S. trailer for the upcoming Tom of Finland.

Synoposis:

Touko Laaksonen, a decorated officer, returns home after a harrowing and heroic experience serving his country in World War II, but life in Finland during peacetime proves equally distressing. He finds peace-time Helsinki rampant with persecution of the homosexual men around him, even being pressured to marry women and have children. Touko finds refuge in his liberating art, specializing in homoerotic drawings of muscular men, free of inhibitions. His work – made famous by his signature ‘Tom of Finland’ – became the emblem of a generation of men and fanned the flames of a gay revolution.

The film has been extremely well received at film festivals all over the world (official selection at Tribeca International Film Festival and Outfest 2017) and is Finland’s official submission for 2018 Academy Awards.

Opens theatrically in NYC on October 13 and in LA/SF on October 20 with a national release to follow.

September 13, 2017August 20, 2019

Short Film: “The Weigh In”

NewNowNext points up this quickie short film, The Weigh In, by the Perez brothers.

Dramatic music, hyper masculine imagery, muscles and skin – what more do you want in a one minute flick?

Hart and Devon Perez’s work spans a range of platforms from commercials to short films, appearing on ESPN and MTV to around the world at international film festivals.

Find more from the talented duo here on Vimeo.

The Weigh In from Perez Bros on Vimeo.

September 11, 2017August 20, 2019

Armie Hammer Slaps Back At James Woods Over “Decency” Tweet Regarding Romantic Gay Film “Call Me By My Name”

James Woods (L) and Armie Hammer (R)

Armie Hammer, who stars in the highly anticipated film Call Me By Your Name, slapped back at actor James Woods who dissed the gay romance flick on Twitter and in doing so connected the movie to a group who believes pedophilia should be legal.

The movie features Hammer as a 24-year old American academic who attracts the attention of a 17-year-old Jewish-American boy played by Timothee Chalamet. The flick was a darling at the Sundance Film Festival garnering Oscar buzz for both leading men.

Woods quoted a tweet criticizing the age gap between Hammer’s 24-year-old character and his 17-year-old love interest (played by Timothée Chalamet) and bemoaning the lack of decency.

“As they quietly chip away the last barriers of decency,” Woods tweeted, adding the hashtag for the North American Man/Boy Love Association.

Hammer didn’t miss a beat, calling out Woods for dating 19-year-old Ashley Madison when Woods was 59 for more than six years.

“Didn’t you date a 19 year old when you were 60…?”

BOOM!

As they quietly chip away the last barriers of decency. #NAMBLA https://t.co/WqAnYxB604

— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) September 11, 2017

Didn’t you date a 19 year old when you were 60…….?

— Armie Hammer (@armiehammer) September 11, 2017

And then there was this reply that gets right to the heart of the matter:

Gee I wonder what would happen if there were a heterosexual movie where a 17-year-old had a summer romance with a 24-year-old

Oh wait: pic.twitter.com/0IwzT1Sikg— BringBackLookingHBO (@looking4evah) September 12, 2017

September 10, 2017August 20, 2019

Queer Short Film: “Shower”

I have to recommend the Norwegian short film, Shower, directed by Henry K. Norvalls.

After screening at prestigious film festivals around the world, the darkly erotic short is online in full for the first time.

Official description: A man enters the shower after working out, but is soon side tracked by an unidentified noise. He decides to seek out the source and enters a situation that leave him completely exposed.

Trust me, the film doesn’t end up where you think.

More and more, I’m drawn to short films. In part because I have a short attention span, and in part because I think young filmmakers are packing powerful messages into short films.

Watch on Vimeo here. NSFW.

August 24, 2017August 20, 2019

Queer Short Film: “Authentic”

For a bit of #ThrowbackThursday, I bring you the short film, Authentic, which debuted in 2012.

The short film explores a bachelor’s pursuit of happiness. Or, is it his avoidance of it?

The official description from the creative team of director Manuel R. Mota & producer Aytac N. Turkay:

Aaron is a bachelor living a stereotypical life with a decent earning. He works in a bank, managing people’s finances, but he has trouble to manage his own life in late 20’s. Whenever he finds a minute of privacy in his day, he hastily delves into his own fabricated reality: a world of excessive sex, pornography, and masturbation. However, this is a manifestation of his feelings of intense lack of connection (Anorexia-Avoidance) and the loneliness around him.

One day Aaron meets a new neighbor and establishes a connection. This moment lights a spark inside that grows, opening a door to achieve the emotional and physical satisfaction he was longing.
Is Aaron ready to give up his comfort zone?

“Authentic” is a portrait of a person desperately trying to find meaning in the compulsive pursuit of climax. In his quest for satisfaction he either doesn’t see his real desires or ignores it deliberately?

After the film’s premiere in December 2012, Authentic was well-received on the film festival circuit with Mota receiving Best Director honors at the 17th Sydney Film School Festival. The short also was won the Audience Award for favorite short.

Watch below. Warning: adult content/NSFW.