The city of Manchester in the north of the UK has turned up twice in our in-tray today. Firstly its ex Mayor just became the 7th person in the past decade to be the country’s new PM. As he was ‘kissing hands’ with HM The King (a very traditional British custom that isn’t the slightest homoerotic, Queerguru got word that Manchester was just celebrating the launch of their third-ever LGBTQ Film Fest. No doubt that will result in more than mere hand-kissing, as Queens have always been more demonstrative than any King.
Manchester first turned up in international gay vocabulary over 20 years ago when literally the entire queer world was swept off their feet with Russell T Davies’s groundbreaking 1999 British drama QUEER AS FOLK that chronicled the lives, loves, and clubbing adventures of three gay men living around Canal Street in Manchester’s vibrant gay village.
The Film Festival’s well-curated program includes some of the very best new queer movies, but what also grabbed our attention was that they have scheduled a roster of classic films that so often disappear far too soon. They include real queer cinematic treats such as Hairspray, Bend It Like Beckham, Rebel Without a Cause, and a personal favorite Paris 05:59: Théo & Hugo.
As usual, we have had the Queerguru Team of Reviewers scour the whole program on the new films to produce their TOP HITS OF MUST-SEE MOVIES: here they are :
A beautiful, naked, athletic, fifty-something woman strikes various bodybuilder poses with a cheeky glint in her eyes. Barbara Hammer is in control, and she knows how to get your attention. So begins Barbara Forever, a fascinating, intimate portrayal of the pioneering lesbian film-maker, feminist activist, lover, and artist. With an archived collection of over eighty films, plus a treasure trove of memorabilia, director Brydie O’Connor struck gold when she began her research into the life and times of the inimitable lesbian movie queen.”
If there is one queer filmmaker who has never made a film that we didn’t love entirely, it would be the renowned auteur director and Oscar winner Pedro Almodóvar. He returns with his magnificent, metafictional melodrama BITTER CHRISTMAS, grappling with love, loss and artistic freedom. In 2004, an ad director faces a turbulent Christmas weekend. In 2026, a filmmaker turns her story into a screenplay, blurring the lines between reality, fiction, and the people closest to him.
BLUE FILM, a new movie by Eliiot Tuttle centers on a camboy whose client is revealed to be a former teacher who previously sexually assaulted him. It has faced significant controversy and festival rejection due to its provocative subject matter, which includes an empathetic portrait of a pedophile. It was praised for its brave handling of taboo, yet deemed “too dangerous” for mainstream release before being picked up by Obscured Releasing. Queerguru not only loved it BUT we also filmed this interview with the filmmaker that you can see HERE
When HUNKY JESUS, the heart-warming story of San Francisco’s Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence annual Easter Event, had its World Premiere at London’s queer BFI Flare film Festival, we got to meet/interview the director Jennifer M Kroot and the star Sister Roma (i.e. The World’s Most Photographed Nun). Both they and the movie were a sheer delight. Check out the interviews HERE and HERE. You’ll kick yourself if you miss this one
I Want Your Sex is the latest film from Gregg Araki, written by him and Karley Sciortino; it portrays, with mockery, the times we are living in while dealing with the younger generations’ aversion to sex, lampooning the art world and the limits of artistic permission. References to sexual activity, sometimes in a grotesque manner, are a constant from beginning to end of the film. Not for all tastes, the feature mixes live action with animation.
We can always trust director Jeffrey Schwarz to deliver compelling documentaries about queer social history. The maker of I Am Divine, Tab Hunter Confidential, The Fabulous Allan Carr, Boulevard! A Hollywood Story and Vito is back with Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders, the story of the controversy around the making of the 1980 queer cult-classic film Cruising.
Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders is an important queer social history lesson. There’s so much to see and learn, and few other ways today to garner the information shared. That world is gone forever, its demise brutally hastened by the beginning of the AIDS crisis just two years after the film’s 1980 release. Powerful, empathetic, beautiful, and well-balanced storytelling.
PS You can see Queerguru’s interview with Jeffrey Schwarz HERE
Jane Schoenbrun is a “Filmmaker on the Edge” if there ever was one. The creator of “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair” and “I Saw the TV Glow,” they have now hit their stride with a feature film due to be released by Mubi soon. The title alone (“Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma”) should prepare you for a bizarre and exciting ride. This film is a loving satire of slasher films, with over-the-top blood and gore. The film is targeted to younger people who love the genre, are into gamer culture, are open to nonbinary people and gender flexibility, and can enjoy blood-soaked sex scenes. PS You can see Queerguru’s interview with Jane Schoenbrun HERE
Film & TV Festivalhttp://scene festivalCelebrating Queer Stories on Screen
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