Since the dawn of the movie industry, filmmakers have been fascinated with sex workers. From early Twentieth Century movies such as 1900s The Girl Who Went Astray, through to countless classic films from our lifetimes, such as Midnight Express, Pretty Woman and Risky Business, hookers, hustlers, call girls, rent-boys, strippers and street-walkers have been … 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
Towards Happiness is director Paola Cipolletta’s drama about living life rather than just surviving it. Andrea (Francesco Di Leva) is a 40-year-old account manager and lives a rather mundane life in Naples with his wife Lucia (Miriam Candurro), a call center worker, and their ten-year-old son, Tommaso (Giuseppe Pirozzi). Their marriage is not going … Continue reading
Set amongst the bustling crowds and underground karaoke clubs of Tokyo, WEST NORTH WEST explores themes of gender, sexuality, nationality, and religious identity through the complex desires of three women. The film is now featuring on PeccadilloPOD, a new On-Demand platform for LGBTQ+ cinema. Beautiful Kei (Hanae Kan) works at a cocktail bar, … Continue reading
White Balls In Walls is an interesting documentary about diversity, revealing how one institution, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, reconsiders its cultural offering to properly reflect the city’s demographics in terms of race and gender. Whilst this film is about a museum, the processes involved regarding the improvement of diversity can be applied to … Continue reading