The Persian Version takes a heartfelt dive into Iranian-American family life. Part comedy, part history lesson, part drama, part musical, writer/director Maryam Keshavarz’s award-winning tale, loosely based on a true story, details the lives of the New York-based Jamshidpour family from the women’s perspective. Leila (Layla Mohammadi) is the only daughter amongst the eight … Continue reading
La Revanche des Crevettes Pailletées (The Shiny Shrimps Strike Back) is directors Cedric Le Gallo and Maxine Govare’s excellent follow-up movie to 2019’s The Shiny Shrimps. The Shiny Shrimps are a queer motley-crew French water polo team and the first movie highlighted homophobia in sport. This movie continues in that vein of combining activism, sexy … Continue reading
Writers are always advised to ‘Write about what you know.’ Aspiring twenty-five-year-old Scottish writer Max, (the handsome Ruaridh Mollica), is living in London and working on his first novel, a story about a sex-worker, Sebastian. He’s good-looking and ambitious, energetically forging his career and soul. To improve the authenticity of his work he creates … Continue reading
London’s excellent BFI Flare Film Festival is in full swing now with a great selection of films for all queer tastes. Tickets are still available for many screenings over the next week and I highly recommend a visit to the BFI site down on London’s Southbank. There’s a warm, friendly atmosphere and the lively … Continue reading
“I don’t want to be free of you. I want you to be free.” cries Shervin Ramezan’s sympathetic father as the family discusses the possibility of 16-year-old Shervin moving abroad to transition to a man in a more hospitable environment than Iran. Saeed Gholipour’s moving documentary, This Is Not Me, follows Shervin and fellow … Continue reading