Flare 7: Send up a flare

So BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival is over for another year, although the British Film Institute continues Flare-themed events year-round, including a special section on BFIPlayer. This was the 32nd year for this festival, one of the largest queer-focussed cinema events on earth. And it's the 20th year that I have been accredited to cover it, so it's always great to reconnect with my Flare buddies every year, hang out with the filmmakers and get some inspiration to make movies myself. Not counting revival screenings, I saw 24 feature films and 26 shorts in this year's festival. All of the features have been covered on this blog, with full reviews en route (Shico Menegat from Hard Paint is pictured above)...

MY BEST OF THE FEST

1. 120 BPM (Robin Campillo, Fr)
2. Hard Paint (Filipe Matzembacher & Marcio Reolon, Br)
3. Malila: The Farewell Flower (Anucha Boonyawatana, Tha)
4. The Wound (John Trengove, Sa)
5. Postcards From London (Steve Mclean, UK)
6. Sidney & Friends (Tristan Aitchison, UK)
7. The Happy Prince (Ropert Everett, UK)
8. Conversations With Gay Elders (David Weissman, US)
9. My Days of Mercy (Tali Shalom-Ezer, US)
10. Love, Simon (Greg Berlanti, US)

Special mention: Freak Show. Rift. Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco. Good Manners. Stumped. Love, Scott.

FLARE SHORTS

Watching films on a big screen with an audience is the best way to watch any film, really, but it's rare to get the chance to see short films like that. So I love catching as many as possible at film festivals. Here are my 10 favourites from the range I caught at this year's Flare...

1. Vertical Lines (Kyle Reaume, Can 14m) • There's an uncanny authenticity to this little film, which centres on a bedtime conversation about the meaning of body scars as a young couple gets to know each other. While remaining light and relaxed, the deeper themes are profoundly moving - and very important.
2. Calamity (Severine de Streyker & Maxime Feyers, Bel 22m) • A hilariously deadpan tone accompanies this sharp-edged comedy about a young man reluctantly introducing his trans girlfriend to his idiotic family.
3. The Sermon (Dean Puckett, UK 12m) • In the style of an exploitation film, this British short hilariously skewers blind religiosity with skill and wit.
4. Sununú: The Revolution of Love (Olivia Crellin, UK 25m) • The remarkable story of the first trans political candidate in Ecuador, this warm doc follows a young couple as they prepare for the birth of their first child while setting out to change their country.
5. Half a Life (Tamara Shogaolu, Egy 12m) • Narrated by a young activist, this animated doc artfully and pointedly explores both the Arab Spring riots and the current social situation in Cairo.
6. Ursinho (Stephane Olijnyk, Br 45m) • A mini-feature, this drama follows a lonely man in a Rio favela who has an encounter with an almost fantastical stranger on Copacabana.
7. Cas (Joris van den Berg, Ned 48m) • Another rather long short, this drama centres on a happy couple whose relationship is strained by a houseguest who stays around a bit too long.
8. Blood Out of a Stone (Ben Allen, UK 14m) • There's an earthy authenticity to this British short about two young guys trying to connect on an offbeat date.
9. Landline (Matt Houghton, UK 13m) • Artfully shot and edited, this quietly powerful short doc uses recordings and dramatisations from a helpline for gay farmers.
10. Edmund the Magnificent (Ben Ockrent, UK 14m) • It may be a bit arch and ridiculous, but this heightened comedy, narrated by Ian McKellen, recounts the story of a farmer (David Bradley) trying to breed his prized gay pig.

Full reviews of features and short reviews of the shorts will be on the main website, linked to my BFI Flare page.

Flare 6: Face your future

The British Film Institute's 32nd Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival holds its closing night gala tonight, with the premiere of Steve McLean's Postcards From London, featuring rising star Harris Dickinson. I spend a day on the set of the film about a year and a half ago, so it's great to finally see it on the big screen. And the party at BFI Southbank after the screening should be great fun. Then tomorrow there's Second Chance Sunday, when audiences can catch up with the best of the festival all day long for a reduced price (I think that, in my 20 years covering this festival, this is only the second time the final day has fallen on Easter). Here are some final film highlights, and I'll have one more report about short films and my best of the fest...

Postcards From London
dir-scr Steve McLean; with Harris Dickinson, Jonah Hauer-King 18/UK ****
A highly stylised exploration of the nature of art, this colourful British film is set out as an odyssey into a fantastical version of Soho, which has a history of remaining just outside the boundaries of polite civilisation. Boasting another riveting performance from Harris Dickinson, the film may divide audiences with its heightened approach and controversial plot. But it's worth hanging on for the ride, because the film has a lot to say.

Good Manners 
dir-scr Marco Dutra, Juliana Rojas; with Isabel Zuaa, Marjorie Estiano 17/Br ****
An extraordinary fairy tale that mixes comedy, horror and personal drama, this Brazilian film so resolutely challenges expectations that it's almost impossible to describe the plot without spoiling it. Lushly shot and acted with deep emotion, this film provokes the audience as much as it entertains, taking us on an outrageous journey that's both fantastical and properly grounded. It leaves us shaken and oddly satisfied.

Hard Paint
dir-scr Filipe Matzembacher, Marcio Reolon; with Shico Menegat, Bruno Fernandes 18/Br ****
There's a raw sensitivity to this Brazilian drama that digs deeply under the surface, pulling the audience into the internal journey of a painfully shy young man at a key moment in his life. While some sequences are painful to watch, the film is warm, humane and very sexy. It's shot in a darkly colourful visual style that continually reveals new details. And the central performance from newcomer Shico Menegat is mesmerising.

Stumped
dir Robin Berghaus; with Will Lautzenheiser, Angel Gonzalez 17/US ****
This sharply observed documentary tells two distinct stories, initially chronicling how a young man turned to stand-up comedy to put his life-altering disability into perspective. And then it shifts into an often startling look at the process of organ transplants, as he goes through a relatively new procedure that would give him a new set of arms. The warm humour and honesty of everyone on-screen makes the film both engaging and vital.