If you need an excuse to come to Miami this weekend (as if!) we have TWO GREAT ONES!  Not only is it the fab MIAMI BEACH PRIDE, which we will be covering in detail, but first there is alsos the MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL. For over four decades, the Festival has been a celebration of cinema, showcasing groundbreaking films and hosting influential voices. From 1984 to its evolution into a world-renowned event, the Festival continues to bring the magic of film to Miami’s diverse and passionate audience.

Which naturally includes some of the newest queer cinema, and here are Queerguru’s top picks of must-see movies 

Filmmaker Abbas A. Motlagh filmed When Men Dance actually in Miami, featuring a cast of talented local and international dancers. It is exhilarating and invites audiences into the intimate worlds of a diverse group of young male dancers bound by their passion for movement and self-expression. Behind the artistry lies a complex reality: battles with racism, loneliness, financial strain, and a rising tide of anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-immigrant sentiment. Straight, gay, and nonbinary, these dancers reveal the scars they carry and the courage that keeps them moving. As they prepare for their next performances, each leap and turn becomes an act of defiance, a declaration of identity, and a fight for the right to exist as they are. Unmissable 

Maspalomas is an interesting character study about what happens when an older man goes back into the closet. Vicente (Jose Ramon Soroiz) is having the time of his life. Newly single after a twenty-five-year relationship, the penniless seventy-five-year-old gay man has moved to Maspalomas  . But one night, disaster strikes when he suffers a stroke whilst out partying, and his world crashes down around him.

Older gay men are rarely given such visibility on our screens, and the directors dive in deep, with sex scenes, full frontal nudity and main character profiles. The result is refreshing and thought-provoking. The tough relationship between parent and child is well portrayed and is very relatable. Soroiz is perfect at playing the contrasting sides of Vicente’s life, happily out of the closet and broken when concealing his sexuality. An important lesson in living your truest life.

Tropical Park: this wee gem of a movie, part fiction, part documentary from Miami filmmaker Hansel Garcia makes for compelling viewing.  It’s one continuous take ….. most of the time shot from the back seat of a car …. as two middle-aged Cuban siblings, reunited after years apart.  As well as the Cuban/American diaspora that separates them, there is the whole question of the sisters’ transition to confront. Rooted in contemporary Florida, it is, however, a queer story that explores both family fractures and identity that will resonate with so many people.

When it comes to movies, timing is everything. In the midst of all the mayhem caused by the current (temporary) tenant of the White House, which sets so many of us here in the US into another round of depression, this is the perfect time to watch a wee, joyous movie like Bookends.  Written by openly gay Noam Ash (The Other Two) , who also stars in this story based on his life, as Nate, who, after a painful breakup from his boyfriend, is forced to leave his sophisticated city life behind and move in with his grandparents in their retirement community in the burbs.  Nate is determined to finally start writing the novel he has been talking about for years, but meanwhile, he struggles to cope with his grandfather’s early-onset dementia. Dealing with this new family dynamic puts a strain on them all, especially as his grandmother is in total denial of her husband’s decline

The Old Man and The Parrot : this quirky comedy was shot in Miami’s Little Havana and is the tale of Praxi  an aging Cuban exile and former comedian wandering the streets carting a taxidermied parrot who insists he has the soul of Yoelvie, his late partner.  It kicks off when Praxi breaks into the home of Radel, armed with an old, powder-loaded pistol, and believes it is his curse that is keeping Yoelvis incarcerated in the afterlife.  It’s a funny story that jumps from present to past, showing the trail of tears and triumphs as Praxi and Yoelvis inspire each other.  It’s a wee gem 

for full reviews on over 2000 queer films, check out www.queerguru.com and whilst you are there, be sure to subscribe to get all the latest raves and rants on queer cinema …                                        best of all its FREE