Queerguru is fine tuning our April plans as its going to be a very busy month for our hometown LGBTQ+ community in Miami. It kicks of on the 5th with the Gala Opening Night of Miami Film Festival ….. its the main ‘hetero; one but they always include some queer movies to acknowledge that we are such a major presence in the community. Then the main part of the 12 day Miami Pride will be in full swing on April 13th and 14th and that’s one assignment that our local Queerguru team just love to report on.
Then on April 18 until 28, 2024 is OUTshine Miami’s LGBTQ Film Festival which has always been one of the most anticipated events of Queerguru’s year We are currently very busy reviewing OUTshine’s very eclectic and fascinating program to come up with our Top Picks, but meanwhile here’s what we think you should see at the Miami Film Festival
This year, the festival is proud to feature a diverse lineup of 12 feature and documentary films exploring LGBTQIA+ themes, stories, and experiences, each offering a unique lens
Days of Happiness: This Canadian relationship drama by director Chloé Robichaud follows the emotional journey of Emma (Sophie Desmarais) from the first scene: on a sunny day she jumps to rest on a floater at the pond, closes her eyes for a while and when she opens them again realizes she is far from the shore and doesn´t know how to swim… Emma is a young and promising conductor at the Montreal cultural scene, she provides the weight of feminity on stage with elegance and a revealing gaze. Since childhood, she has had a toxic relationship with her father Patrick (Sylvain Marcel) due to intra-family violence; the father happens to be also her agent. Emma is romantically involved with Naelle (Nour Belkhiria) a cellist in the orchestra and a single mother with her son Jad (Rayan Benmoussa).
Iconic New York stylist, costumier, and fashion designer Patricia Field has been breaking fashion rules for over 50 years. Directed by Michael Selditch, Happy Clothes: A Film About Patricia Field, celebrates her life’s work . Selditch combines his interviews with Field with archive footage, imagery, and interviews with a host of Field’s collaborators including Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, (both close friends of Field’s), Darren Star, Vanessa Williams, Michael Urie, Lily Collins and Bresha Webb. One of Field’s three past long-term girlfriends, (Field is a lesbian), Rebecca Weinberg, is also interviewed, as are various former retail staff and styling assistants – everyone full of juicy anecdotes of what has been an amazing life and career. As well as this fascinating fashion story, Selditch’s film is also an inspiring look at how to live in your ninth decade. Long live Patricia Field!
Stephen Soucy’s new documentary MERCHANT IVORY is one of those rare films that actually surpasses all the hype and the anticipation that preceded it. This affectionate profile on the legendary queer film pioneers makes for such joyous viewing. Especially if you are of a certain age (!) and grew up on the splendor of such films as Room With a View. Even more so if you are a gay history buff, as you will want to pay respect to this fearless couple and their impact on gay cinema.
Many of you will (hopefully) know their ground breaking adaption of EM Forster’s classic queer novel Maurice. Closeted Forster had insisted that the book not be published until after his death in 1974, and it wasn’t until 1987 that the film was released. That in itself was very significant as it took a great deal of courage to show a gay romance with a happy ending right in the middle of the AIDS pandemic. One of the many touching anecdotes that are peppered through the film, is from actor Rupert Graves who sat behind Merchant during the Premiere and spotted him bawling his eyes out
Salt Water :This moving debut movie from aspiring Colombian filmmaker Steven Morales Pineda is the touching story of 33 year old Jacobo reconnects with José Luis, a fifty-year-old Catholic priest after they hadnt seen each other for some 20 years, He wants to deal with their unresolved past and gets some closure is this heart-wrenching story of human connections and forbidden love
The Queen of My Dreams is a stunning debut film by Fawzia Mirza whose human insights are entertainingly luminous. For a film that is set around the death of a father and husband and the funeral that follows it, The Queen of My Dreams is so fresh, and super saturated in color that its vim, sparkle, and humor cannot help but shine through. The conflict between a mother and a daughter is shown, but rather than trudge predictably towards reconciliation the more interesting story of the parallels between their lives is shown.
MIAMI FILM FESTIVAL
Fri, Apr 5, 2024 – Sun, Apr 14, 2024 To see the whole
program and book tickets check out https://miamifilmfestival.com/
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
