THE PINK LENS

SHORT FILM FOCUS: YOU SAY HELLO

It is undeniable that all great filmmakers initially cut their teeth on short films. From Nolan to Scorsese and Anderson to Bigelow, all refined their craft with short-form cinema before moving to feature films. Today, festivals and online platforms mean that short films have an even wider audience than ever before...

120 BPM DIRECTOR ROBIN CAMPILLO IS RELIVING HIS CHILDHOOD

There’s no doubt that Robin Campillo is one of the finest – and most accomplished – LGBT+ directors working today. Having won the Grand Prix at Cannes for his encapsulating AIDS Drama 120 BPM...

TRANS CHILDREN & THE BEES

20,000 Species Of Bees is the new film by Spanish director Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren. The story of an eight-year old trans child whose family begin to understand her true identity on a family holiday, the film is released by Curzon on 27th October. I had the opportunity to speak to its director, to talk about the development...

THE QUEEN OF DREAMING

The Queen Of My Dreams is the remarkable new film by Canadian director Fawzia Mirza. The story of two generations of one family, both enacting their own personal rebellion within the strictures of Pakistani culture. I had the opportunity to speak to Mirza, to talk about the development of this wonderful film and discuss its wider context.

BUDDIES LIKE DAVID

Actor David Schachter was twenty when AIDS Crisis began. While both the US Government and Hollywood were slow to respond to the spreading pandemic, the first film to explore the mounting casualties of the disease was Buddies, a film released in 1985, that was Schachter's first leading role...

THE RISE AND RISE OF FELIX MARITAUD

In the space of two years, French actor Félix Maritaud has become one of the most sought-after actors in Queer Cinema. After debuting with the hugely successful 120 BPM about the actions of ACT UP Paris at the height of the AIDS Crisis, he then starred in Queer tense thriller Boys...

SHOOTING TOM

There is no doubt the influence Tom Of Finland had on Gay Culture. His drawings of pumped up hypermasculine beefcakes came to be the idealised image of gay men all around the world, but it wasn't until after the his death that it was publicly revealed that the artist was, indeed, Finnish...