Film

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Frameline 46: Interview with Peter McDowell the director of “Jimmy in Saigon”

When his golden-haired, blue-eyed brother Jimmy mysteriously died in Vietnam in 1975, gay filmmaker Peter McDowell was just a kid, growing up within his family’s “veil of silence.” As an adult, armed with a video camera, Peter embarks on a quest to uncover the possibly queer brother he never knew. Plotted like a terrific detective story, Jimmy in Saigon follows Peter’s search for the truth about the strikingly enigmatic Jimmy—a rebellious kid drafted into the war, who stunned his family by returning to Saigon after his tour of duty to enjoy “hedonistic pleasures.”  The film will screen at Frameline 46 San Francisco […]

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Frameline 46 Interview: “Jeanette’s” Director Maris Curran and Subject Jeanette Feliciano 

In June of 2016, 49 lives were tragically taken during a mass shooting on Latin Night at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. One of the survivors of that night is Jeannette Filiciano, a lesbian single mother struggling to come to terms with a tragedy for which no one will ultimately be held accountable. Between raising her teenage son, fighting with her mom around whether homosexuality is a sin, rigorous training as she tries to go pro as a competitive bodybuilder and, a little over a year later, dealing with Hurricane Maria’s effects on her family in Puerto Rico, […]

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Frameline 46 Interview: “Maybe Someday” Director Michelle Ehlen

Maybe Someday will have its first in-person screening at the Frameline Film Festival June 24th at the Castro Theatre. An LGBTQ feature film highlighting different aspects of love and heartbreak, Maybe Someday is a nostalgic and moving journey written and directed by Michelle Ehlen. The film is Ehlen’s fifth feature and first dramedy, her prior films most notably being the first lesbian comedy trilogy – Butch Jamie, Heterosexual Jill, and S&M Sally. Maybe Someday stars Ehlen along with Shaela Cook from Heterosexual Jill and S&M Sally, and Charlie Steers. The story follows the character of Jay (Ehlen), a non-binary photographer in her 40s, battling a mixture of denial and depression as she attempts to move across the country in […]

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Frameline 46 Review: “Phantom Project Directed by Roberto Dover’s

Set in Santiago’s vibrant Ñuñoa district, Phantom Project is a breezy, whimsical confection about an aspiring thirtysomething actor named Pablo (a magnetic Juan Cano). Tired of taking gigs role-playing ailments at the local medical school, Pablo longs for his big artistic break. When his roommate moves out without warning, a curious, mischievous presence appears to take up residence in Pablo’s flat, complicating his attempts to fill the empty bedroom. Through bittersweet hang-outs with his semi-famous YouTuber ex, afternoon cocktails with the girls, and herbal cleansing sessions with the local botanical healer, Phantom Project paints a lively tapestry of young LGBTQ+ culture in Chile. Witnessing […]

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Frameline 46 Review: “Follow the Protocol” Directed by Fabio Leal

With a healthy dose of self-deprecating humor, writer-director-star Fábio Leal navigates the sometimes steamy, other times awkward tribulations of sexual connection amid a global pandemic. For his narrative feature debut, Leal returns to the neurotic comedy and uninhibited sex that made his shorts Renovation(Frameline43) and The Daytime Doorman so memorable and unique. When his boyfriend announces he’s no longer bisexual and dumps him via Zoom at the height of lockdown, lonesome bear Francisco (Leal) is left with a lot to grapple with—including being nicknamed “the COVID police” by his friends after routinely canceling them on social media for not following health guidelines. But […]

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“Poppy Field” to be shown Thursday at Rialto Cinemas will benefit LGBT+ Ukranians

Cristi’s out of town visitor Hadi is a German-Turkish flight attendant so handsome that he can’t wait to get him to his apartment. The elevator will do. But when his sister drops by, she chides her brother for not taking Hadi out, showing him the Romanian sights. She echoes Hadi’s own hopes that they’d “take a drive” to “the mountains.” Nothing doing. Cristi hasn’t even taken time off work. On the job, in this Eastern Orthodox, conservative and homophobic country, no one can know about his private life. Cristi (Conrad Mericoffer) is a cop and any public displays of his […]

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Frameline46: The San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival 2022 Happens June 16 – 26

“Frameline—the world’s longest–running and largest showcase of queer cinema—announced Frameline46: The San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, taking place June 16–26, 2022.  “With this year’s theme, ‘The Coast is Queer,’ Frameline46 will expand its footprint with screenings taking place in-person at a record number of theaters and venues throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including the Castro Theatre, Roxie Theater, SFMOMA, and AMC Kabuki in San Francisco; the New Parkway Theater and Landmark’s Piedmont Theatre in Oakland; and more. “Tickets for Frameline46 will go on sale to the general public beginning Wednesday, May 25, 2022. For more information, visit www.frameline.org.  “Highlights of Frameline46 […]

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Bollywood filmmaker wanted to tell gay soldier’s story – but India’s government say that’s ‘illegal’

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A gay Bollywood’s director has blasted the Indian government’s decision to ban his film about a gay army officer. Onir, born Anirban Dhar, is best known for Mr Brother…Nikhil, one of the first mainstream Hindi films to explore HIV and same-sex relationships. Inspired by the real-life story of gay retired army officer Major J Suresh, who quit the forces over his sexuality, the filmmaker has proposed the film We Are. But India’s Ministry of Defence has allegedly blocked his efforts over its “illegal” depiction of queer soldiers, given that LGBT+ personnel cannot serve openly in India’s armed forces, NDTV reported. For Onir, the government has exploited […]

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Ariana DeBose makes history as first Afro Latina, openly queer actor of color to win Oscar

Actor Ariana DeBose has made history as the first Afro Latina and first openly queer woman of color to win an Academy Award for acting. DeBose won in the best supporting actress category for her performance reviving the iconic role of Anita in Steven Spielberg’s version of “West Side Story.”  “Imagine this little girl in the back seat of a white Ford Focus. When you look into her eyes, you see an openly queer woman of color, an Afro Latina, who found her strength in life through art. And that’s what I believe we’re here to celebrate,” DeBose said in her acceptance speech. “So to […]

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Sundance 2022 Film Review: “Sirens” 

Rita Baghdadi’s feature documentary Sirens, which world premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, is a nuanced, intimate, and upbeat portrait of Lebanon’s only all-female thrash metal band, Slave to Sirens. Although it opens with footage of protests on the streets of Beirut with chants of “revolution” and shots of graffiti with phrases like, “homophobia is a crime”, Baghdadi’s focus for the first third of the film is introducing the band and giving us a sense of its history and the dynamics between the five members, rather than Lebanon’s uneasy social and political state. Cut with a pace and an energy that […]

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