Tag: queer cinema

Posted on

LGBTQ Film: The Mystery Of The Missing Sex Scenes

Earlier this week,  the director of the acclaimed 2017 film, God’s Own Country, took to Twitter asking viewers to refrain from watching his gay love story on Amazon saying the intimate sex scenes had been deleted. The film, which depicts a sensitive love story between a UK sheep farmer (Josh O’Connor) and a Romanian migrant worker (Alec Secăreanu), was praised by critics for “combining gritty realism with poignancy” resulting in a film that is “exceptionally moving.” The film scored the World Cinema Directing Award at Sundance 2017 in addition to awards at such prestigious film festivals like the Chicago International Film Festival and the Berlin International Film Festival. At the British Independent Film Awards in December 2017, the film took home honors for Best British independent film, Best Actor for Josh O’Connor, and Best Debut Screenwriter for Francis Lee, who also directed. Additionally, God’s Own Country also scored a nod for Best British Film at the BAFTA Awards in January 2019. On the film site Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has a rating of “98% Fresh.” But on Tuesday, Lee was understandably upset at learning his efforts had been censored. “Dear Friends in USA,” tweeted director Francis Lee on Tuesday. “God’s Own Country appears to have been censored on Amazon Prime. Until this is investigated please do not rent or buy on Amazon Prime. It is not the film I intended or made. I will report back.”

But the next day, Lee returned to Twitter having discovered the edited version of his film was the work of the U.S. distributor Goldwyn Films. Apparently, due to the film’s graphic sex scenes, the distributor had excised those without consulting its creator for viewers on Amazon Prime Video Direct. Lee noted the full, uncensored version was still available for rent on Amazon. “Dear USA friends, after investigation God’s Own Country was not censored by Prime Video but by the US distributor Goldwyn Films, who butchered the streaming version without consultation to get more ‘revenue.’ Prime Video were incredibly supportive in rectifying.”

The popular thinking seems to be the graphic sex scenes might have led Amazon to raise the age rating of viewers, which would have reduced the viewership of the movie. Fans of the film noted on social media two scenes had been cut. In one, the two lead characters Johnny and Gheorghe engage in oral sex after wrestling on the ground; and in the second, the duo has sex in a cattle trailer. The censored version on Prime Video Direct is no longer available. “The rental version of God’s Own Country on Prime Video is the correct version of my film,” added Lee in a subsequent tweet. “I would like to thank Amazon Prime for being supportive and I would caution any filmmaker of working with the aforementioned ‘distributor’. Thank you EVERYONE for all your support.” In 2018, I named God’s Own Country the Top LGBTQ Movie of the 2010s. And in December 2019, The Advocate celebrated the film as one of the Top 30 LGBTQ Films of the Decade. “The film is a beautiful, visceral, and at times violent depiction of how self-hate, societal stigma, and prejudice can complicate queer love,” wrote the editors. “Its themes resonate profoundly in a world where fear is threatening to close borders and reject outsiders.” If you haven’t seen God’s Own Country, you should. The official synopsis for the film reads:

Johnny Saxby works long hours in brutal isolation on his family’s remote farm in the north of England. He numbs the daily frustration of his lonely existence with nightly binge-drinking at the local pub and casual sex. When a handsome Romanian migrant worker arrives to take up temporary work on the family farm, Johnny suddenly finds himself having to deal with emotions he has never felt before. An intense relationship forms between the two which could change Johnny’s life forever.

Check out the original trailer below.

Posted on

News Round-Up: April 15, 2020

Daniel Newman (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Walking Dead star Daniel Newman (above) asks that you please forgive his “messy room.” • NPR: Despite pleas from cities across the state, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) has held out on issuing a statewide stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the coronavirus. But an outbreak of COVID-19 at Smithfield Foods in Sioux Falls, S.D., has infected nearly 450 workers and caused the number of cases in the city to grow so quickly that the mayor, Paul TenHaken, calls it an explosion. • KIT212: Kenneth’s ‘Wrestle Wednesdays’ (below) certainly help brighten Hump Day. Find all of his WW posts here.
(via kenneth-in-the-212)
• Axios: Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York said Wednesday he will be issuing an executive order requiring all New Yorkers to wear masks or face coverings in public situations in which social distancing is not possible. • Vox: Kentucky’s heavily Republican legislature voted Tuesday to require voters to show a government-issued photo ID, overriding Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto in the process. Meanwhile, all of the state’s offices that issue such IDs are….wait for it…closed. • NewNowNext: In the new film, Sublet, Michael (played John Benjamin Hickey), a New York Times travel writer, journeys to Tel Aviv after suffering a tragedy. The energy of the city, and his relationship with a younger man (played by Niv Nissim) who becomes his tour guide, brings him back to life. Director Eytan Fox shares a scene from the movie where Michael and Tomer meet on the beach in Tel Aviv after spending a few days together. “This sensual setting sparks real intimacy between them for the first time,” says Fox. “As these two men sit there, they open up to each other about matters of the heart—and soul.” The film was to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival this year which, clearly, was canceled. No word on when the movie will be officially released but the scene below certainly sparks my interest.

Posted on

Preview: Same-Sex Valentine Rom-Com “The Thing About Harry”

L-R Niko Terho and Jake Borelli (screen captures)
The allure of romantic comedies is that we could possibly see ourselves in these over-the-top but hopelessly romantic situations. The problem for LGBTQ folks is we’ve not seen much of our own stories presented in many past rom-coms. Freeform TV (formerly ABC Family) will offer their contribution in changing that entertainment landscape when The Thing About Harry, a gay-themed Valentine’s Day flick, premieres on Freeform in February. The film is directed and co-written by former Queer As Folk star Peter Paige, who also created the network’s successful The Fosters series. Totally adorable out actor Jake Borelli (Grey’s Anatomy) stars as Sam (“a handsome, funny, neurotic, intelligent young gay man”), and newcomer Niko Terho plays the titular Harry (“an emotionally uncomplicated, promiscuous player who has always left a string of broken hearts in his wake”). For whatever reason, Sam ends up traveling with Harry, a former jock and social enemy who’s not only heading home but towards some serious self-discovery. In the newly-released preview, Harry comes clean as to why he spent so much time and effort taunting Sam in high school. I’m pretty sure a lot of us can relate to this moment.

Also featured in the film are Queer Eye star Karamo Brown as Paul, described as an “overbearing and pretentious gay man,” so there’s type-casting involved. Britt Baron (of GLOW fame) plays Stasia, Sam’s best friend. And Paige will appear as Sam’s roommate Casey. “It’s been an honor to partner with Freeform in making great television with LGBTQ+ characters as leads. True equality can only be achieved when you see yourself reflected in the movies, music and stories that paint our culture,” said executive producers Paige, Greg Gugliotta and F.J. Denny in a joint statement. “As young gay men in the ’90s, whenever a rom-com opened, we would watch the leading lady fall in love, and imagine what it would be like if the boy was saying all those things to another boy,” they added. “We’ve always wanted to make a movie — an unabashedly romantic comedy — that queer boys wouldn’t have to translate. It’s rewarding to take the genre to a new, all-inclusive level.”

The Thing About Harry premieres Saturday, February 15 at 8p/7c on Freeform.

Posted on

Police Arrest 25+ As Protesters Tried To Disrupt Movie About Two Male Dancers In Love

(image via official website)
From Reuters:

Police in Georgia said on Saturday they had arrested more than 25 people after ultra-nationalist protesters attempting to derail the premiere of an award-winning movie about gay love clashed with security forces.

A few hundred demonstrators blocked the road outside a cinema in the capital’s city center on Friday ahead of the first screening of “And Then We Danced”, which tells the story of two young male Georgian ballet dancers falling in love.

Chanting “Long live Georgia” and “Shame”, the protesters – some holding crosses and religious icons – tried to force their way inside the cinema but where held back by riot police.

“This is not just a movie. This is an insult to our faith, our traditions and all that is holy for us,” said Guram Damenia, who came dressed in a traditional Georgian costume.

Two police officers and a young woman, who was trying to go watch the film, were injured, police said.

The three days of scheduled screenings in Tbilisi sold out immediately. The film, which has won awards at film festivals around the world, premiered to acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival this past spring.

Posted on

New Film Explores Stigma & Journey Of HIV+ Priest

Sebastian LaCause (screen capture)
Award-winning actor, writer and director Sebastian LaCause (Hustling, He’s With Me, Life’s A Drag) has a new, provocative film project in the works – Holy Water. In the intro video for the upcoming short film, LaCause explains the story follows “a gay priest at a crossroads of identity and self-acceptance as he struggles to come to terms with an HIV diagnosis.” Explaining that film and other entertainment can have a positive social impact, the filmmaker hopes to spark positive momentum toward fighting HIV related stigma and homophobia that many within the community feel in their homes, schools, and society at large. The struggle for his protagonist in Holy Water is not only with his sexuality but also the “dark consequences of not knowing your value.” The priest in his film is described as “someone who has spent a lifetime denying large parts of himself in order to feel worthy,” says LaCause. “He is someone who has spent a lifetime not loving himself and not knowing his value.”
(screen capture)
And speaking of ‘value,’ LaCause shares part of the journey of the project that led to an epiphany of his own. After sharing the concept of the film at a ‘pitch-fest’ in Los Angeles, LaCause was about to move from one studio executive to the next when the executive he’d just spoke to asked, “Why are you the one to tell this story?” LaCause took a long pause before telling the exec, “Because I’m HIV-positive.” In the video below, it’s clear that information is something LaCause has felt very private about for some time. Speaking the words out loud, the effect on him is obvious. “And I suddenly felt free,” he continues. “I’m done with shame; I’m done with fear; I’m done with hiding.” “I could care less about negative expectations, or backlash, or ruining my career because I now know what’s the point of having a career if you don’t feel worthy of it?” “I have been running away from myself my whole life. It feels good to be speaking my truth.” The honest, visceral, authentic moment definitely evokes an interest in how LaCause will bring Holy Water to fruition. Watch the video pitch below. Note – while the video is from a crowdsourcing campaign, this article is not meant to elicit donations. Feel free to do so, but the interest here was in the storytelling by LaCause and his desire to fight HIV stigma.

If you haven’t discovered LaCause’s terrific web series, Hustling, it’s definitely worth watching. Thoughtful, sexy, pensive, provocative…and did I mention sexy? Over the course of three seasons, the series snatched up tons of nominations and awards for Best Writing, Best Drama Series, Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting and Soundtrack at the Indie Series Awards, Webby Awards, LA Webfest and more. For an idea of where LaCause may head with Holy Water, check out the teaser for the third season of Hustling below.

Posted on

Podcast: Gerald McCullouch Chats On New Film ‘All Male All Nude – Johnsons’

Today I’m chatting with award-winning filmmaker Gerald McCullouch – whose acting work you know from movies like Daddy, the Bear City franchise, as well as his ten seasons as ‘Bobby Dawson’ on the hit TV series, CSI. Gerald has spent years exploring and documenting the world of male strippers. Two years ago, he shared his acclaimed documentary ‘All Male All Nude’ which took a look behind the scenes of Atlanta’s famous Swinging Richards strip club. Now he’s back with a second feature-length documentary titled, ‘All Male All Nude: Johnsons.’ Here’s the official synopsis:

Journey into the unique world of male stripping at a small gay strip club located in America’s Second Gayest City.

‘All Male, All Nude: Johnsons’ is set in Florida’s newest gay strip club, Johnsons, located in Wilton Manors, Florida and new home to the creator and owner of Johnsons – Matt Colunga, an award-winning bodybuilder, who has been in the male entertainment industry for 23 years and was introduced in the first documentary film.

The cast of characters in the film range from Matt, to a hunky 26-year-old who spends his days dressed as Spider-Man creating early memories for children at kid parties and then spends his nights stripping down to his G-String for gay men, to single fathers putting themselves through college with their stripping income, to entertainers in the adult film world.

The men who compose the heart of Johnsons are diverse, unique, and captivating.

Hit the play button to hear my chat with the always-awesome Gerald McCullouch:

‘All Male, All Nude: Johnsons’ will have its official premiere in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Sunday, September 15 at 6:30 PM at the Gateway Theater (1820 E. Sunrise Blvd, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304). A pre-reception for VIP guests which will begin at 5 PM at the Modern Sixties Wine Lounge next to The Classic Gateway. As well as an exclusively catered VIP afterparty following the premiere at Johnsons the club, complete with an open bar where guests are welcome to mingle with the chiseled centerpieces of the film. Plus, guests attending the premiere will be treated to a special performance by acclaimed NYC musician Corey TuT performing songs from the film’s soundtrack. Click here for ticket information: tickets.completeticketsolutions.com/OSFF/On…E53D31B

Posted on

‘The Blond One’ Explores Visceral Attraction Amid Latin Machismo

With five acclaimed indie features under his belt, Argentine director/writer Marco Berger (Taekwondo, Plan B, Hawaii) delivers his latest exploration of the male psyche, The Blond One. The film, which premiered at Sydney’s Mardi Gras Film Festival in February and took home the prize for Best LGBTQ Film at the Molodist International Film Festival, is a testament to the power of understated performances and confidently relies on artful silences between the two protagonists. Set in Buenos Aires, Gabriel (Gastón Re) and Juan (Alfonso Barón) are coworkers who find themselves roommates when Juan invites Gabriel to rent a spare bedroom in his flat. One furtive glance leads to another, a brush of a hand here or there, and even though Juan’s multiple girlfriends casually come and go, the attraction between the two men is palpable. Of course, this leads to a physical connection, but both men then have to search themselves for what this means. Latin machismo battles with visceral sexual attraction as the film circles around latent romantic possibilities.

Juan, apparently bisexual, finds the need to put walls up and delineate roles by offering macho statements like, “Don’t make me explain myself like you were my girlfriend,” to a puppy dog-eyed Gabriel. Gabriel, the sensitive, single father (the mother of his daughter passed away some time ago) who seems to quietly identify as gay, finds himself looking for an emotional anchor. Whether or not that ends up to be Juan, you’ll have to check out the film to find out. The subtle, heartfelt performances – brimming with sexual tension – are intimate, honest and emotionally raw. The Blond One opens today in Los Angeles for a weeklong run at the Laemmle Music Hall with home video release to follow. In Spanish with English subtitles – running time 111 minutes. Rating: 5 stars – highly recommended (all photos courtesy of TLA Releasing)

Posted on

Out Cinema: “Consequences”

Directed by Darko Štante in a stunning debut, Consequences joins the recent list of celebrated indie films with a focus on closeted queer young men.

Premiering at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival, the movie explores the chaotic, destructive and complex nature of closeted youth.

From the official synopsis:

Centered on a powerhouse performance from charismatic newcomer Matej Zemljic, the film takes an unflinching look at the raw impulses of adolescence and the insecurity that lies beneath.

Sentenced, with the approval of his exasperated parents, to attend a youth detention centre, a handsome and muscular teen is thrown into the correctional facility’s intimidating and testosterone-fueled hierarchy.

Standing strong against its violent initiations, Andrej finds his anchor of approval and companionship in Željko, the aggressive leader of the center’s gang, which he soon joins in a carefree spiral of sex, drugs, and violence. Yet Andrej’s tough posturing belies an intimate fragility. Revealing this would unravel everything around him.

Director Štante has said in interviews he based much of the film on his own experiences working in a correctional facility.

Consequences is set for a limited theatrical release on August 2nd. Check out the official trailer below.

Posted on

Short Film: ‘First They Came’

(from the award-winning short film ‘First They Came’)

Check out this moving short film that interweaves images of mass shootings with Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” and the Martin Niemöller poem, “First They Came.”

The film earned 16-year-old filmmaker Odessa Shlain Goldberg the top honor in this year’s OUR PRIDE Video Fest competition.

The competition asks student filmmakers in schools and colleges to create and share digital stories about significant LGBTQ+ people, places and events that have shaped our world and are impacting the future.

Goldberg was inspired by Niemöller’s poem which addresses complicity and passivity during the Holocaust. It reads:

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

Goldberg’s film updated the text to meditate on the victims of deadly mass shootings in recent U.S. history, including the massacre at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, which left 49 dead and 50+ wounded.

“The film illustrates how passivity in the face of injustice is complicity during World War II, but instead reframes and rewrites the 1946 poem to focus on the prolific, devastating shootings in schools and public institutions,” said Odessa, a Tamalpais High School student in Mill Valley, California.

“One of the horrific shootings commemorated is the Pulse Nightclub shooting in 2016 targeting the LGBTQ+ community,” added the young filmmaker. “The final call to action of the video reminds the viewer to take action against gun violence by voting.”

Watch the 3 minute film below.

Posted on

Rotten Tomatoes Ranks Top LGBT Films Of All Time

Rotten Tomatoes, the movie ranking website, has compiled its list of the Best 200 LGBTQ-themed films of all time.

Rotten Tomatoes, the movie ranking website, has compiled its list of the Best 200 LGBTQ-themed films of all time.

All of these films stand on the shoulders of other LGBT films that have come before. Our list of the 200 Best LGBT Movies of All Time – expanded from our original list of 150 movies, released last year – stretches back almost 90 years to the pioneering German film, Mädchen in Uniform, which was subsequently banned by the Nazis, and crosses multiple continents, cultures, and genres.

There are broad American comedies (The Birdcage), artful Korean crime dramas (The Handmaiden), groundbreaking indies (Tangerine), and landmark documentaries (Paris Is Burning). In this thorough update and expansion of the list, we added films from the last year in cinema that qualified (from 2018’s We the Animals and The Miseducation of Cameron Post to this year’s The Heiresses and Giant Little Ones and more) and worked to include more stories from outside of the U.S.

To be considered for the list, a movie had to prominently feature gay, lesbian, trans, or queer characters; concern itself centrally with LGBT themes; present its LGBT characters in a fair and realistic light; and/or be seen as a touchpoint in the evolution of queer cinema.

And it had to be Fresh. The final list was culled from a longlist of hundreds, after which the films were ranked according to the Adjusted Tomatometer, which acts as a kind of inflation adjustment, taking into consideration the Tomatometer score, as well as the number of reviews a film received relative to the average number of reviews for films released that same year.

It’s a pretty comprehensive list to be sure. Some folks are surprised at the ranking of certain films versus others, but I think it’s a great list.

Just a few of my favorites here are (in no particular order): Torch Song Trilogy, The Sum of Us, Cabaret, Trick, The Birdcage, Philadelphia, The Hours, The Color Purple, Beach Rats, Boy Erased, The Way He Looks, Rocketman, Longtime Companion, Brokeback Mountain, Victor Victoria, The Kids Are Alright, God’s Country, Call Me By Your Name, Moonlight and Love, Simon.

Click here to check out the list over at Rotten Tomatoes.