BFI Flare: Reveal yourself

The 38th BFI Flare wrapped up on Sunday, after Saturday night's closing ceremony and the world premiere of Lady Like, starring Lady Camden, who brought her starry glamour to the evening. It was a great festival, with lots of excellent films. Although without a delegate centre or team, it was tricky for press to see the films. And of course the best thing about this event each year is catching up with my Flare friends! Here are some final highlights, plus comments on the relatively few short films I managed to see and my 10 best films of the fest...

Lady Like
dir-scr Luke Willis; with Rex Wheeler, Shiloh Brody-Clarke 24/US ***
There's a terrific story at the centre of this documentary, tracing the life of drag star Lady Camden from her London childhood to TV stardom and beyond. Filmmaker Luke Wheeler has wonderful access, capturing Camden's alter-ego Rex Wheeler with unusual openness and authenticity. But the film itself isn't edited together with momentum or a clear structure, circling around and repeating emotional points. So it's entertaining, but never as moving as it wants to be.

Unspoken
dir-scr Jeremy Borison; with Charlie Korman, Michael Zapesotsky 24/US ****
Sensitive and introspective, this teen drama plays out almost like a mystery thriller. Sharply shot with a vivid attention to detail, the film has a focussed perspective that's both riveting and involving. Writer-director Jeremy Borison maintains narrative momentum along with a knowing sense of how it feels to be gay in a religious community. And because the story is connected to history, it carries surprising weight and complexity.

Love Lies Bleeding
dir Rose Glass; with Kristen Stewart, Katy O'Brian 24/US ****
Cleverly using excessive audio and visual flourishes to heighten the mood, filmmaker Rose Glass takes the audience on a pitch-black adventure that propels forward without mercy. The film is dark and often intensely gruesome, but there's a terrific undercurrent of raw emotion even in the more outrageous situations. So as it closes its grip on us, the movie becomes a skilfully lurid, heady mix of romance, murder and bodybuilding.

Orlando, My Political Biography
dir-scr Paul B Preciado; with Paul B Preciado, Oscar Miller, Janis Sahraoui 23/Fr ****
Breathtakingly original, this drama-documentary hybrid is a loose adaptation of Virginia Woolf's classic novel blurred inventively with portraits of trans people who connect with and elevate the book's story and ideas. Writer-director Paul Preciado maintains a cheeky tone, mixing plot elements with real-life details to create a movie that's colourful and often hilarious. And it also takes on several enormous issues with wit and knowing observations, challenging audience preconceptions.

Baldiga: Unlocked Heart
dir Markus Stein; with Jurgen Baldiga, Ulf Reimer 24/Ger ***.
Shot and edited with a contemplative, artful sensibility, this documentary focusses on thoughts and feelings as it recounts the life of German photographer Jurgen Baldiga, remembered depicting the truth in his images, which was uncomfortable to gay men during the Aids epidemic. Even if it's a bit slow and ponderous, the film is a remarkable depiction of a man who was hungry for everything life had to offer.

Flare Shorts

I wasn't able to watch as many shorts as I hoped to see, because they didn't make them accessible to the press this year. So I only managed to catch 12 of them - including the Five Films for Freedom. My favourite was from Spain, The First Kiss (dir Miguel Lafuente), a sharply clever drama that goes from funny to cute to intense in 15 minutes. I also really enjoyed The Lime Green Shirt (UK, Kaushik Ray), a lovely mother-son drama that's moving and provocative; Halfway (India, dir Kumar Chheda), a simple and inventive relationship drama with a quirky twist; We Collide (UK, dir Jason Bradbury), a two-minute thrill ride through a nightclub; Car Wash (Spain, dir Lucas Sogas), a complex drama about closeted football players; and A Bed for Three (Germany, dir Jan-Peter Horstmann), a silly but pointed comedy with a witty Ikea kick.

Rich’s Best of the Fest

1. 
   Crossing
2. Orlando, My Political Biography
3. The Summer With Carmen
4. Unspoken 
5. Unicorns
6. Love Lies Bleeding
7. Toll
8. Calls From Moscow
9. Riley
10. Desire Lines

All full reviews will be posted soon and linked on Shadows' BFI FLARE PAGE >
For festival information, BFI FLARE >

BFI Flare: Finding family

It's been a strange one indeed! A sliver of the 34th BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival was held online over the dates when the usually lively event takes over BFI Southbank. There were a lot of films I really wanted to see, and now I'll be hoping they get some form of distribution in the UK or another festival slot at a later date - including the opening night film Cicada, Marco Berger's new film Young Hunter, last year's Queer Lion winner The Prince and the London rugby club doc Steelers. Here are three more features and the cream of the crop of the shorts I saw this year...

A Dog Barking at the Moon
dir-scr Xiang Zi; with Nan Ji, Na Ren Hua 19/Chn ***.
Flickering around in time adds some texture to this Chinese drama, which explores the strained relationships within a family. While the central idea of a woman putting up with her husband's homosexuality isn't unusual, it's addressed with some boldly provocative filmmaking choices and played with honesty and insight. And the artful way writer-director Xiang Zi keeps things understated is intriguing, even if it's perhaps a bit dull.

Jack & Yaya
dir Jen Bagley, Mary Hewey; with Jack, Yaya, Tony, Jo Ann 19/US *** 
Exploring a friendship as it celebrates 30 years, this warm documentary takes a deeply personal approach, allowing people to be themselves as they speak and interact. Even though it feels somewhat random and overlong, the film has an offhanded slice-of-life quality as it recounts an extraordinary story with a strong sense of affection and humour. And along the way, some deeper universal themes emerge as well.

Rescue the Fire [Rettet das Feuer]
dir-scr Jasco Viefhues; with Jurgen Baldiga, Aron Neubert 19/Ger ***.
This unusual documentary looks back at the life and work of artist-photographer Jurgen Baldiga. Rather than a straightforward narrative, his story emerges in a free-flowing current of memories recounted by his friends as they look at his work. Not only does this provide a terrific glimpse of their life back in the day, but it also affirms the importance of art to help define key moments in history.

BFI Flare short films...
I saw 29 short films as part of this year's festival, including the Five Films of Freedom. There wasn't a dud in the bunch - which is rare - so congrats to the programmers on the high quality of the selection this year. Here are my top 10 favourites (aside from the frankly awe-inspiring #FiveFilmsforFreedom)...

Memoirs of a Geeza
dir-scr Theo James Krekis with Elliot Warren 19/UK 3m ***** 
A fiercely clever collage, this British short is narrated by a working class South Londoner who insightfully explores his life through a montage of grainy home movies. Packs an astonishing amount into three minutes.

Pompeii
dir-scr Harry Lighton, Marco Alessi, Matthew Jacobs Morgan; with Otamere Guobadia 19/UK 9m **** 
A bracingly fresh style of storytelling uses social media to help a young man piece together a pivotal night out. Visually inventive and darkly emotive, it tells its story using an all-new visual language.

Aliou's Journey [Le Voyage d'Aliou]
dir-scr Mamadou Samba Diallo; with Sadibou Diagne 17/Bel 21m ****
There's a raw, unpolished energy to this earthy drama set in Senegal, about a lively young guy who wants to make a film about a gay refugee, but his acting buddies are dubious.

My Sweet Prince
dir-scr Jason Bradbury; with Yoni Roodner 19/UK 12m **** 
Cleverly weaving together the filmmaker's childhood video diaries with a freeform narrative about a young guy trying to work out the attitudes and actions of some older teens he's hanging out with.

Miller & Son
dir-scr Asher Jelinsky; with Jesse James Keitel 19/US 21m **** 
Beautifully shot and acted, this narrative short tells a fully formed story about a young man whose two lives are about to collide. It has humour, cathartic release, dark emotional suspense and a lovely payoff.

Crypsis
dir Christopher McGill; with David Souk 19/UK 9m **** Based on real experiences, this Scottish short recounts the harrowing experience of a young man who is asked to prove that he's gay, in order to validate his asylum request. But this sparks some horrific memories.

A Battle in Waterloo
dir-scr Emma Moffat; with Jessie Buckley 19/UK 16m ****
Based on real events, this short offers a lovely insight into a little-known aspect of the iconic 1813 battle between France and Britain, where women fought disguised as men.

The Last Romantics [Os Últimos Românticos]
dir-scr Joao Candido Zacharias; with Mauricio Jose, Lucas Canavarro 19/Br 12m **** 
This inventive short consists of two takes in which someone recounts a story from his own perspective, slightly shifting the focus for reasons that remain partly off-screen. It's superbly engaging.

Positions
dir-scr Justin Ducharme; with MacKenzie Kingdon-Prouty 18/Can 12m ****
This soft-spoken Canadian drama centres on a young guy who takes up sex work as a way to understand his identity and control his sexuality. It's remarkably unapologetic, and beautifully observed.

Boldly Go
dir-scr Christopher Cosgrove; with Nicolai Lafayette, Adam Sollis 19/Aus 5m **** 
This Aussie short blends a witty premise with some much darker realism while playing with sci-fi iconography and horror-movie elements. But at its centre is a pointed and sweet romantic encounter.

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NOTE: Over the coming year, I will continue updating the site's BFI Flare page with links to full reviews of films that were programmed as part of the festival.