A sci-fi queer film is at best a rarity.  Maybe filmmakers still think that there are enough earthly issues that the LGBTQ community are still connecting with before we take flight.

Mankind, an immaculate and compelling short directed and co-written by Brit Layke Anderson,  is about Will (Ricky Nixon) a restless young man who thinks the answers for his life can be found on Mars .  His boyfriend Evan (Alexis Gregory) is far from convinced, even more so when he reads up on the Space program that Will has applied for.  Will however is determined  as it is not just his life that he is unhappy with, but also his planet,

With finely nuanced performance by both of these talented actors it is one of the saddest and also unusual break up stories ever.

Kudos to Anderson for both the high production values of his micro budget short but also for giving such a positive air of authenticity to this wonderful slice of his imagination .

Mankind premiered at the BFI Flare Festival on London and is now been screened at other LGBTQ Film Festivals around the world.