Queerguru first came across Brit queer filmmaker Darious Shu back in 2017 when he deservedly won the prestigious Iris Prize for his short movie Queer Parivaar.  He’s not just been very busy since then,  but extremely successful, as he now has some 26 Awards for the whole body of his work  (plus lest we forget, some 81 nominations too).  We very fortunately got to preview his latest film, MOLLY, which we should tell you is  (another) excellent reason to go check out QUEER EAST, one of our very favorite Film Festivals in London. 

Molly, is the tale of a quiet pair of gay men whose paths cross at the Laundermat in London’s East Ene, which Vinnie (Will Berrecloth) runs by himself.  He meets Ryan (Frank Kauer) when he starts bringing in his laundry,  and very slowly they become friends, and it soon becomes obvious that they have romantic feelings for each other. 

Shu cast this two-hander so very well that we find ourselves totally convinced of this pending romance. with such subtle, low-key performances that we end up as keen as these two lovers for it to succeed. We are, however, surprised at the totally unexpected arc that uplifted the film to a whole different plane. 

Shou’s Molly is such an excellent example of how much passion and professionalism are poured into short films like this, and so raises the bar for queer cinema as much, if not more, than the same as some full-length feature films.