Movie reviews

14. LGBT+ FILM FESTIVAL

The festival is back at the most central Warsaw location (and several other cities as well as the Internet) - Kinoteka. 

The 13th edition brought us such memorable titles as: the funny end edifying animated short "Dans la nature" ("In nature"), the lesbian short on having a crush on movie stars "Hvem er Katharina" ("This is Katherine"), the harrowing documentaries "Wszystko o moim dziecku" ("All About My Child") and "Cured", the touching drama with wonderful music "Deserto particular" ("Private Desert"), the tongue-in-cheek fantasy short "The Cost of Living", the picture-perfect Japan of "Veils" or the hilarious comedy "Dating Amber". All the more I'm looking forward to gem-hunting this year.

I've studied the programme and watched trailers carefully. While the countries of origin are roughly the same as last year, they bring plenty of brand new productions. Below is a selection of just the most intriguing titles:

The 14th edition sees Urszula Antoniak's enigmatic "Splendid Isolation". 

The existence of Marlon Brando's queer films is a revelation to me. "A Streetcar Named Desire" gets a chance to be viewed as a gay movie since the lead male hides his identity on the one hand, while on the other his clothing inspired a fashion trend. "Rebel Without a Cause" stars Brando's lover James Dean - again, a new take on the plot and acting methods in two cult titles from decades ago. 

"Collette" tackles the bisexuality of the famous French writer. Two supporting roles are played by trans actors: Jake Graf and Rebecca Root. "Mädchen in Uniform" ("Girls in Uniforms") and "Olivia" showcase opposing attitudes to tackling boarding schools, both being black and white movies from decades ago. "Olivia" also inspired the novel "Call Me By Your Name". 

Shorts include: puzzling "¿Y si un día ya no estoy?" ("Even if some day I'm gone?"), "Les Dieux du supermarché" ("Gods of the Supermarket") dealing with unrealistic male beauty standards, "Stay" and "Les maladies extravagantes" ("The extravagant illnesses") are promising love stories (Gay Love Affairs); Iranian trans "Nicki" (Trans Non-Binary World); outrageous "Cock N'Bull 3", "Mercy" about a sex worker's life, "The Fishing Net" with secret police (Gay Stories); subtle "Frida" (Women to Women), Nigerian "Egúngún" ("Masquerade"), suicidal and twisted "La beauté du geste" ("Queen of Pain"); cosmic "Inertia" (Lesbian Voice); "Bajo la Superficie" ("Below the Surface") explores travels in the world and within oneself (Trans & Non-Binary Europe); comedy or drama (?) of errors "Brother" (American Dream Gay); fatal "Promessa de um Amor Selvagem" ("Promise of a Wild Love") (Hot Brazilian Gay); futuristic "Keep/Delete" (Lesbian Love Affairs); "Homo Deus. Divine Human" induces lateral thinking on humans (Ukraine Is Queer).

Documentary "Framing Agnes" deals with trans pioneers, who sometimes had to lie to get their sex change operations or overtly stated that being a man or a woman "is a matter of opinion". Another documentary, "This Is Not Me", in turn, offers insight into trans life in Iran.

Yet another doc, "How to Tell a Secret" deals with living with HIV nowadays.

"Trois nuits par semaine" ("Three nights a week") is a tongue-in-cheek reference to a famous song by Indochine - which I personally love. This French feature movie looks promising in terms of music and costumes. "Kurak Günler" (Burning Days") is aTurkish crime thriller created as a metaphor of Erdoğan's regime. "Wilde" tells about a period in the life of my once-favourite writer Oscar Wilde.