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Culture & Living
From Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan’s highly anticipated Ammonite and Miranda July’s oddball Kajillionaire, to Kenyan indie documentary
I Am Samuel, these are the LGBTQ+ films to have on your radar
It’s a wonderfully abundant time for queer stories. Never before have we seen so much representation across the small and big screen, with shows such as the Sarah Paulson and Cynthia Nixon-starring Ratched racking up huge audiences across the globe. Teen romcom The Half of It explored young love from the perspective of a gay Asian female, while No Ordinary Man is a moving documentary about the transgender jazz musician Billy Tipton.
As we enter the final part of 2020, a challenging year for the film industry to say the least, we look ahead to a wealth of new movies set to enter cinemas and hit streaming services over the next two months. From the resilient Cuban documentary Transformistas to potential blockbuster lesbian love story Ammonite, here are seven stunning new queer films coming to a screen near you soon.
This 70-minute documentary from filmmaker Peter Murimi is a stirring yet ultimately uplifting examination of one man’s experience of being gay in Kenya today. The film’s protagonists, netball coach and construction worker Samuel, and his partner Alex, have been together for more than a year. The country is not liberal regarding homosexuality—section 162 of the Penal Code states it is a felony liable for imprisonment of up to 14 years—and both Sam and Alex’s families reject them when they come out.
Yet, they continue on; a rainbow flag hangs on the wall behind them as they discuss the horrific gay bashing of their flatmate. This quiet defiance in the face of both physical and emotional violence perfectly sums up how the couple navigate life. Ending on a quiet positive, there’s hope that things may improve for both Sam and Alex and, who knows, all queer Kenyans.
An intimate portrayal of two young men falling in love. Ben (Matthew Fifer) is bisexual and enjoying, or possibly enduring, an active sex-life fuelled by impulse and alcohol. One day, while book browsing in Brooklyn, New York, he meets the gentle, shy Sam (Sheldon D Brown) and suddenly the pace shifts. Sam refuses to rush into bed and instead they eat food, go for walks and talk about their lives.
Sam was recently shot in a drive-by shooting and isn’t out to his religious father, while Ben is forced to confront resurfacing memories of childhood trauma. Both must also consider the implications of their interracial relationship and how their own lives impact on the other. Written by Fifer, Cicada is about shame and secrets, but also love and healing. A film that will stay with you long after the credits roll.
Shown as part of the Scottish Queer International Film Festival 2020 (SQIFF), this Los Angeles-set romcom is a lighthearted look at love by director Mike Mosallam. Mo, a gay Arab American Muslim doctor (Haaz Sleiman) and Kal, a white gay American actor (Michael Cassidy) get to know each other in the aftermath of Mo’s breakup with his ex, Hassan (Patrick Sabongui).
They bond during Ramadan and at Mo’s nightly iftars when he breaks fast, and the two share both food and their stories. Discussion around religion arises—“I was born gay and I love God,” Mo points out during one scene—but the story is as much about homophobia and prejudice within white America (Mo’s family has no problem with him being gay) as it is a charming, if not occasionally clumsy, love story.
Closing this year’s BFI London Film Festival was the highly anticipated second offering by God’s Own Country (2017) director Francis Lee, a fictionalised account of the working class, self-taught palaeontologist Mary Anning, played by Kate Winslet and her hesitant but ultimately deeply fulfilling romantic relationship with the upper-class Charlotte Murchison (Saoirse Ronan).
Set in Lyme Regis on the bleak and brutal south coast of England during the 1840s , this is a quiet, contemplative film that slowly lightens as the two fall in love. Some scenes are free of dialogue, yet they’re among the most powerful, while a particular encounter might be one of the most realistic portrayals of lesbian sex depicted in a mainstream film. A piece that says more by saying less, Ammonite is a stunning second offering from Lee featuring exceptional performances from both leads.
Author and screenwriter Miranda July’s latest film is a reliably bizarre yet highly enjoyable caper that follows the displaced Dyne family as they scheme and plot to make money by any means necessary. The queerness—a kiss between Evan Rachel Wood and Gina Rodriguez—doesn’t arrive until the end, but is a delightful and unexpected moment among a film that delivers many brilliant scenes. Unusual and ultimately unlike anything you’ve ever seen.
Director Chad Hahne explores the Cuban trans community in this new documentary that premiered at Miami’s OUTshine Festival in August. Shot covertly on an iPhone without permission of the Cuban government, the film centres on the oldest gay bar in Cuba, a space carved out by the incredibly brave transformistas—Cuban trans women—as they fight for their rights and lives. Placing Cuban queer activism, health and politics in both a current and historical context, Transformistas is a candid look at indomitable perseverance and the battle for acceptance.
Premiering at London’s Raindance Film Festival on October 29, this beautifully considered film is the debut offering from Australian writer-director David O’Donnell. Based on O’Donnell’s own experiences with former partner Raynen O’Keefe, who produces the film, Under My Skin follows the free-spirited Denny and their relationship with buttoned-up lawyer Ryan.
What makes this film particularly interesting is its thoughtful casting of four non-binary and trans non-binary actors in the lead role of Denny. Santa Clarita Diet’s Liv Hewson has already been nominated for Best Performance at Raindance, but newcomers Lex Ryan, Chloe Freeman and I Love Dick’s Bobbi Salvör Menuez are similarly wonderful. A fascinating film.
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