THEGAYUK

Category: Film

  • FILM REVIEW | The Florida Project

    ★★★★★ |  The Florida Project

    From filmmaker Sean Baker, writer and director of 2015’s critically acclaimed film Tangerine, comes another film about living life on the edge in the bittersweet The Florida Project.

    Tangerine, which was shot on iPhones, told the story of two trans sex workers surviving by any means possible in Hollywood. The Florida Project, shot on 35mm, has a similar trajectory involving a single mother and her adorable 6-year old daughter surviving by any means and barely eking out a living in a rundown motel on the tacky fringes of Disneyworld in Orlando, Florida. It’s an area filled with cheap motels (with tacky names such as Futureland Inn) and even cheaper and tackier gift shops and fast food restaurants (Orange World). And like in Tangerine, Baker uses non-professional actors in this film.

    Bria Vinaite is excellent as Hailey, a single young mother who struggles to find money to pay the weekly rent and to care for her very adorable six-year-old daughter Moonee (an excellent and natural Brooklynn Prince). Moonee has made friends with all of the little children at their motel complex (appropriately called The Magic Castle) in an area where Disney did not sprinkle magic dust on. The children spend their days getting up to no good, causing mayhem wherever they go, much to the annoyance of the motel manager Bobby (Willem Dafoe – in an award-worthy performance). Hailey’s downstairs neighbour Ashley (Mela Murder) works at the nearby Waffle House and gives them free food, but after an incident that involves her son and Moonee, she forbids her son to hang out with Moonee, and severs her friendship with Hailey. One thing leads to another and slowly the magic seeps out of The Magic Castle.

    The Florida Project is just fantastic. While it doesn’t quite come close to Tangerine with its sarcastic and biting humour, it nonetheless is a cute and charming movie of childhood through a little girl’s eyes and the hard truths that reality will eventually rear its ugly head. And the cast are just superb. Baker, who co-wrote the script with Chris Bergoch, has another winner on his hands.

  • FILM REVIEW | Paddington 2

    PADDINGTON 2 – Your second favourite bear after that hairy muscled gay bloke you met in the darkroom at XXL or Brut is back for a sequel and this time he falls foul of the law and is eating porridge rather than marmalade sandwiches.

    Nutshell – The most polite Peruvian ursine returns and is in a battle with Hugh Grant’s baddie for a special book with a hidden treasure trail that Paddington needs as a very special family present. Things go amiss when he gets framed for theft and is sent to prison for 10 years which is a long time in bear years, can he escape, find the book & treasure and save the day in probably the happiest film of this and any year?

    Running Time – 103 minutes

    Certificate – PG

    Tagline – ‘Free Paddington’ and ‘It Takes A Bear To Catch a Thief’.

    THEGAYUK Factor – This is probably the most perfect family movie ever so nothing “gay” here… move along. This is the movie to take your Mum to or your little nephew but you will probably enjoy it the more than any of them. If you want gay smut just wait 7 days for the Justice League as there is hoards of it there.

    Cast – Hugh ‘Downton Abbey’ Bonneville, Julie ‘Acorn Antiques’ Walters, Hugh ‘Four Weddings’ Grant and every other major Brit you can think of such as Joanna Lumley, Brendon Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, Ben Miller, Michael Gambon etc etc plus Peter Dr Who’ Capaldi for good measure.

    Key Player – Ben Whishaw as the voice of Paddington is perfect you cannot imagine anyone else doing it now he has the friendliest tones imaginable and can make you care, laugh or cry with just a simple turn of phrase.

    Budget – $80 Million. The first film was a huge surprise hit making $250 Mil worldwide – this with pre-brand recognition will make a lot more as, whisper it quietly, this is an even better movie. The first film is the biggest money-making independent family film of all time expect that record to have gone well before Christmas here.

    Best Bit – 1.14 mins; There are three very sad and dark sequences here and the last one is a real doozy and it comes right after some great laughs and a huge action sequence and it will hit you like a sledgehammer – superb filmmaking, taking your hankies.

    Worst Bit – 1.27 mins; There are two sequences in the final credits the first one is a Hugh Grant song and dance number that is just screaming for a much hookier better song. The only hiccup in this whole enterprise – rare for a sequel indeed.

    Little Secret – The creator of the character and books Michael Bond was told that the sequel had been greenlit on his 90th birthday. He sadly died at 91 on the exact same day as the last day of shooting, he never saw the finished film but adored the first one and we know he would love this even more. He published the last ever Paddington book in April of this year… that is active in your old age.

    Further Viewing – Paddington 1 obviously, Mary Poppins, The Railway Children, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Labyrinth, Witches, any quality British family film of the last 50 years or any of the 10 great Muppet movies.

    Any Good – It is so rare for a sequel to be better than its predecessor as there are so many traps and issues with sequels. We rate this alongside the great step-ups like Aliens, Terminator 2, The Two Towers, Star Trek 4, Return Of The Jedi and Fast & Furious 5. Let’s make it simple, this is marvellous, perfect entertainment for everyone, very funny, great action and an instant classic… with fur on to be watched with a smile on your face for years to come. Be prepared to be taken back to your childhood in spades.

    Rating – 94% out of 100.

  • FILM REVIEW | Body Electric

    ★★★★ | Body Electric

    Life is one big party for the characters in the new film Body Electric.

    Elias (a sexy Keiner Macedo) is the assistant manager in a factory somewhere in Brazil. He’s only 23 and quite young to hold such a responsible job, but his female boss, who is always jet-setting from here to there on business, trusts Elias completely to run the factory while she’s gone. It’s a factory that makes clothes, and Elias sees his fellow employees not just as co-workers but as friends, and they all spend lots of time hanging out with each other after work and on weekends.

    They’re all friends, very close friends. And when a new employee starts work at the factory, a West African man called Fernando (Welket Bungue), Elias welcomes him into the fold and nothing much changes for these happy-go-lucky group of people who work hard and play much much harder.

    And play is just what Elias likes to do. He’s openly gay at work and in his personal life, and there appears to be no issue with his colleagues when he takes up with fellow young co-worker Wellington (Lucas Andrade). Wellington introduces Elias to a gaggle of drag queens with a queen bee who wonders out loud where all the fabric Wellington and Elias brought to them comes from. But it doesn’t matter for these folks, life is one big party, and with that comes alcohol and sex.

    In Body Electric, director Marcelo Caetano relies on lots of lingering shots to portray his cast in ways that make them look and feel so real, it, at times makes you feel like you’re eavesdropping on their lives, and loves. But Body Electric is all about Elias and how happy he is, and how happy his co-workers are who toil away at the factory day in and day out, and we are very happy for all of them.

    Available to buy from Amazon

  • FILM REVIEW | Thor Ragnarok

    THOR RAGNAROK – The Third official Thor film stays largely in outer space this time and is all the better for it and this time he has the Hulk for company too.

    Nutshell – Our hero loses a battle against his evil Sister Hela and is imprisoned across the galaxy with evil brother Loki (What a family!) on a gladiatorial planet where his next opponent is a truly p*ssed off Incredible Hulk his former Avenger mate. He has to escape the inescapable planet, travel 100,000 miles and defeat the uber b*tch to save his home planet of Asgard but he is way too late and whose side is Loki actually on?

    Running Time – 130 minutes; Certificate – 12A.

    Tagline – ‘No Hammer, No Problem’ yes the big hunk of spunk loses his massive weapon for the whole of this movie.

    THEGAYUK Factor – Chris Hemsworth taking his shirt off over and over again here and his body is better than ever. This Aussie studfukka is top of most guys wank bank list just ahead of his equally hot younger brother (see below) and you get Idris Elba too here in a very very tight top.

    Cast – Chris ‘Come to bed eyes’ Hemsworth aided and abetted by a bunch of superstars including Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Mark Ruffalo, Idris Elba, Anthony Hopkins, Jeff Goldblum, Benedict Cumberbatch now that is one serious cast and a huge load of hot talent.

    Key Player – The whole cast of Guardians Of The Galaxy‘s 1 & 2 who have added humour to the Marvel Universe without getting cheesy. The massive success of those 2 movies since the last muddled Thor film are present in the ingredients here; this film is so funny and comes out like Guardians 3 and that is a very good thing indeed…now if we can only get the Guardian’s Chris Pine and Hemsworth in the same film we will never watch gay porn again.

    Budget – $180 Million as there is no such thing as a cheap Marvel or DC Comic film these days as they all make huge amounts of cash (Unless they are called The Fantastic Four). This will make as much as any of them and set up next May’s Avengers Civil War which could easily be the biggest film of all time.

    Best Bit – 0.49 mins; The big gladiatorial battle been Thor and Hulk finally kicks off and boy is it good and with real threat as Hulk is a real bad boy here. The battle looks really nasty and Thor seems like a real gonna. Don’t be late as the pre-credits action scene in Ragnaroks hell-like dungeon is just as good.

    Worst Bit – 0.14 mins; The pointless and overly stylised appearance of Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is just unnecessary and comes over like showboating by Marvel studios which sometimes seem a bit cameo happy.

    Little Secret – On the subject of cameos in one scene where we get Matt Damon, Sam Neill and Chris Hemsworth’s hot sexy little brother Liam Hemsworth all appear. Thor’s hammer is smashed here and he doesn’t get it back and won’t it is gone for good. The original Hammer destruction scene was meant to be in New York with Brisbane standing in and can be seen in the trailers but the director changed it to a random field at a later date in re-shoots which is what makes it into the film.

    Further Viewing – Guardians 1 & 2 and anything else from the Marvel universe to start with but as this is the comic book film set entirely in space it also reeks of the Star Wars prequels too which is definitely no bad thing so try The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith also.

    Any Good – This is a very good Marvel film and a step up from Wonder Woman and Doctor Strange and it is also the best Thor chapter yet. You get Thor with sexy long hair and even sexier short hair all for your £8 ticket price. Yet It is the humour that makes it special of course there is a tonne of action and visual effects but Thor sure owes those Guardians a drink or two.

    Rating – 80% out of 100.

     

    Pre-Order from Amazon | iTunes

  • FILM REVIEW | Call Me By Your Name

    ★★★ | Call Me By Your Name

    FILM REVIEW | Call Me By Your Name

    There is a gay-themed film that has just been released that is getting rave and five-star reviews. And while it is very good,  it’s also not your typical gay relationship film.

    Call Me By Your Name tells the story about an adult who has an affair with a younger man. The adult in question is the actor Armie Hammer (who in real life happens to be 31, but looks older, and in this film he is playing a 24-year old) who is playing is Oliver. The young man in question is Elio, played by Timothée Chalamet (who happens to 21 in real life but plays a 17-year old in the film but looks a lot younger). The story, based on the 2007 book of the same name by André Aciman, is about a sexual relationship between Oliver and Elio.

    Oliver, you see, has been hired by Elio’s parents, wealthy couple the Perlmans (Michael Stuhlbarg and Amira Casar), to help Mr. Perlman with his archeological work. But what happens is that the closeted Elio (who is wooed by the local girls who vie for his attention) becomes enamoured with, and by, Oliver. Oliver, who is a man’s man, with a chest full of hair, is a very confident man who can practically have anyone he wants. He, however, enters into a relationship with Elio. It’s really hard to believe that a man of the world like Oliver could be sexually attracted to Elio. And while Elio is a good-looking young man, he’s still quite young for someone whom Oliver could fancy.  So it’s a bit inappropriate for a man like Oliver to be sexually attracted, and to sexually satisfy Elio, in various locations, including having interludes in the Perlman family home where they conveniently have adjoining rooms which allow for lots of loving glances across their rooms. Elio’s parents do realise what’s happening and turn a blind eye to the relationship and let nature take it’s course.

    Call Me By Your Name is a beautiful and lush film, directed with care by Italian director Luca Guadagnino. It lovingly highlights the Italian countryside and the small cityscapes of Lombardy; the film has beautiful camerawork and the acting by all involved is top notch. Chalamet is a real find – his Elio commands the screen. Chalamet looks very very comfortable in front of the camera, clothes on or off (there is absolutely no full frontal nudity in this film, though some of the sex scenes look all too real). Hammer is also very good in this role – a role that is not a typical role for him to play. And there is scene, which you must have heard about by now, that involves a peach. Yes, a peach, which Elio uses, and which involves Oliver, that was a bit too much for me. But it’s the scene where the credits roll up at the end of the film where you can’t leave your seat or avert your eyes – it’s these few minutes where Chamalet as Elio will mesmerize, and seduce you. So it’s at this point that you think that perhaps you can’t blame Oliver for falling for him because it’s at this point you will do the same as well.

    In selected Cinemas now

    Pre-order from Amazon | iTunes

  • The gay side of Nightmare On Elm Street explored in brand new movie

    Launching soon… Nightmare On Elm Street 2 is getting its own documentary from those who starred in it.

    We’ve already said that Nightmare On Elm Street 1 & 2 were pretty gay, but now, Scream, Queen: My Nightmare On Elm Street goes behind the scenes to explore the gay subtext of that incredibly homoerotic film. Mark Patton, who starred in the film discusses how his career following the release of the film, didn’t pan out how he had planned. Mark’s career was in the ascension, with three movies under his belt and then it was gone. In the trailer, he says he said, “‘Thank you Jesus you gave me everything I asked for’ and then the next day it all went to hell”.

    Mark, who is now openly gay, wasn’t at the time of the film. The film was the third major picture of his career and was his last until the reboot, Freddy Vs Jason, in 2003, where he was included in archive footage. Mark had smaller roles in various other projects but ultimately gave up on his acting career after being offered a role in a CBS show.

    Watch below the scene in which Jesse, played by Mark says that Freddy Kruger is “inside him”. Yep 🙂

  • 10 totally homoerotic horror movies that aren’t suppose to be gay

    10 totally homoerotic horror movies that aren’t suppose to be gay

    With Halloween just around the corner, we thought we’d look through the campest, gayest most homoerotic movies ever to grace this planet.

    The way-to-good looking heartthrob, who incidentally always has great hair, teeth and wears Daz white Ts only to eventually get ripped and shredded by an ugly monster, it’s a bit like Saturday nights out in town.

    10. Jeepers Creepers 2


    First in our list of homoerotic horror movies is the 2005 flick Jeepers Creepers. The first time we see the winged monster from Jeepers Creepers (in the first movie) he’s preying after some boy in a cornfield, clearly, after tasting boy fear, he can’t help himself but go after an entire busload of jocks. It’s a bit like Bait Bus but messier, a bit like HazeHim.com but deadlier. So after the bus, they are all travelling on, suffers a flat tyre, the boys proceed to lie on top of the bus half naked basking in the sunshine as well as taking extended urinating breaks together.

    After doing away with the grown-ups on the trip the Monster starts picking on the jocks, leaving the first victim half naked and provocatively draped on the ground for the remainder of the film. Hot and Homoerotic.

    Gay Rating 60%  BUY DVD FROM AMAZON

    9. Hostel

    Clean freak, misogynist, Christian Bale naked. Gay. The way in which he kills his female callers, hookers and models suggest a certain, I dunno, hatred of women. I’m not sure, but it’s a theory and I’m putting it out there. However, he does put an axe in Jared Leto’s face and let’s face it if that isn’t a euphemism I’m not sure what is…

    Gay Rating 75%  BUY DVD FROM AMAZON

    Nightmare On Elm Street

    Johnny Depp in a tiny, itty bitty crop top, with TV on his crotch, being pulled through a bed. Gay. End Of.

    Gay Rating 83%  BUY DVD FROM AMAZON

    NEXT: More Nightmare On Elm Street

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  • FILM REVIEW | Double Date

    ★★★ | Double Date

    Two men get tricked by two very attractive women and it’s a ‘Double Date’ from hell!

    Jim (Danny Morgan) and Alex (Michael Socha) are typical 20-something men. All they want to do is drink and get laid, however, there’s one problem. Jim, fast approaching 30, is a virgin. Yes, he’s never gotten laid. He’s not all that bad. He’s nice and all, but good-looking Alex gets most of the attention and the girls. But when two women coincidentally seek out Jim by making an easy play for him, not all is what it seems. You see, these two women Lulu (Georgia Groome) and Kitty (Kelly Wenham), who happen to be sisters, are looking for a male virgin as a sacrificial lamb for their sick father (boy is he sick – and skeletal!), and Jim has stupidly posted his profile on a virgin dating site. It’s not too long before the girls lure the men into their home (a huge mansion) where they reveal their dark and sinister sides, and the boys will definitely not be getting laid on this double date!

    Double date is an amusing enough movie that doesn’t really take itself too seriously. The cast are all in good, scary and bloody form, and Morgan brings a bit of warmth and cuteness to his role (especially when he takes Kitty to his parents’ house for a brief birthday party). It’s all in good fun, and properly executed thanks to director Benjamin Barfoot. And while some of the fighting scenes forge on the unbelievable, at 90 minutes it’s not much of an investment in your time. And why yes, it’s the perfect double date movie!

  • A New LGBT Film Festival Is Set To Open In North London

    Following the success of their Unrestricted View Film Festival and Unrestricted View Horror Film Festival, the team at the Hen & Chickens Theatre in Islington have just launched their first LGBT+ film festival called Rainbow Umbrella.


    The festival is run by filmmakers and aims to celebrate the very best in indie and encourage all aspects of independent LGBT filmmaking. As well as live screenings, there will also be various networking events to be announced shortly.

    Festival Director Mark Lyminister has worked with Unrestricted View and been Theatre Manager of The Hen & Chickens Theatre for many years. Having also worked extensively as an actor in theatre, film and TV, Mark said;

    “Rainbow umbrella has been set up to encourage actors and filmmakers from the LGBT+ community to have a platform to express their hopes, fears, desires and experiences and share them with new audiences.

    “We aim to allow anyone with a voice, an opinion, a vision, a calling, to be free to write, act, direct and be free to express themselves through the medium of film. From first-time filmmakers with little or no budget to the films with more experience and financial clout, they are all welcome under our umbrella!

    “We want to share films that show every emotion of someone experiencing life as an LGBT person.”

    You can submit films via the Film Freeway website here: https://filmfreeway.com/festival/RainbowUmbrella

    The festival takes place at the Hen & Chickens Theatre on the 12th – 14th January 2018. The full programme will be announced in December 2017 when tickets will go on sale at unrestrictedview.co.uk

  • FILM REVIEW | Kingsman: The Golden Circle

    KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE – The camp as Christmas Jason Bourne/James Bond piss take is back for number two with big laughs, endless extreme bloodshed and more anal sex jokes again.

    FILM REVIEW | Kingsman: The Golden Circle

    Nutshell – Eggsy and the sexy as fu*k Merlin (The shaggable Mark Strong) go on the run after Julianne Moore and her henchmen totally destroy the Kingsman spy organisation. So it’s off to Kentucky in the USA to meet the even bigger and better Statesmen organisation of great looking spies like Channing Tatum and Halle Berry, cue car chases galore, gadgets, robo attack dogs and the kidnap of Elton John via Glastonbury, The Alps and Cambodia in the sequel twice as explosive as the first.

    Running Time – 141 minutes;

    Certificate – 15.

    Tagline – ‘Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated
    The Gay UK Factor – Taron Egerton – fit, Mark Strong – masculine, Pedro Pascal – Hairy Latin stud, Channing Tatum – Uber fit and loads of other thugs and good guys that no-one would kick out of bed – this is a true wank fest.

    Cast – Egerton, Strong, Pascal and Tatum are backed up by Colin Firth (didn’t he die in the first one?), Keith Allen, Julianne Moore, Halle Berry, Michael Gambon, Jeff Bridges and Elton John with a real major part so plenty here to keep you occupied – how big will the cast be in part three and will Bennie and Jet the Robodogs be back?

    Key Player – Matthew Vaughan the director and man behind Kick-Ass, The X-men, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Eddie The Eagle etc is a master at mixing light content with bouts of extreme gore and action and he has the perfect vehicle here. He also writes the film here alongside Jane Goldman (Mrs Jonathon Ross) and their endless invention is here for all to see and boy is it giving the fans what they want.

    Budget – $104 Million way up on the first film and its cash registers are ringing like crazy making that back in just 5 days so it is off into the land of mega profit from now. This is a big hit and some.

    Best Bit – 1.31 mins; A breathtaking assault on an Alpine mountaintop stronghold climaxing in a truly stunning cable car sequence one of the best action beats of the year and it even beats the opening London Taxi fight/chase which is as good as any sequence of the Summer but the film just gets better as it goes on .

    Worst Bit – 0.21 mins; Julianne Moore as the bad guy who has a thing for Grease style 1950’s Americana and her HQ is a Fonzie/Happy Days style diner is just not nasty enough even though she does have a mean trick of putting her enemies through a burger mincer – she is a bit like a fourth division Bond villain when we needed a nasty as f*ck Blofeld type.

    Little Secret – There just having fun here but this movie stars a mega five Oscar winners in Firth, Berry, Moore, Bridges and Elton the latter for The Lion King. The original film length was over 3 hours 40 minutes which would have made it the longest blockbuster of the Millenium and beating Titanic/Avatar & any Lord Of The Rings film until the Studio insisted on cuts. This is Elton’s 21st acting credit and by far his biggest, he has starred in everything from SpiceWorld, Tommy and Bob The Builder in the past but here he gets to kick butt instead of shagging it.

    Further Viewing – Kingsman 1, James Bond circa Roger Moore, Spy, Austin Powers, The Bourne Identity, Kick-Ass, Carry On Spying and The Johnny English films.

    Any Good – Matthew Vaughn said if you didn’t like the first one you are gonna really hate this one and likewise we believe the converse is just as correct. More of the same just bigger and brasher all in all not as good as the number one but isn’t that normal with sequels.

    Rating – 69% out of 100.

  • LGBT Films at Raindance Film Festival 2017

    The Raindance Film Festival has just wrapped up and, over the course 0f 10 days, showed a good selection of LGBT films, some of which are worth looking out for if they ever get released or available online.

    Anatomy of a Ballet Dancer: Marcelo Gomes (ABOVE)

    A documentary about the life and career of one of the ballet’s biggest stars, who has been with the American Ballet Theatre for 20 years. This film is not just for ballet fans as we get to see the inner workings of the mind of Gomes, who had talent at a very young age. This film also deals with how he overcame his parents’ divorce, as well as coming out of the closet in a big way on the cover of a magazine, and how he has become one of ballet’s biggest stars. The documentary shines a light on his relationship with his father, who for some reason does not want to go see Gomes dance on stage in his hometown of NYC. Gomes comes across as such a nice and down to earth guy, and it doesn’t hurt that he parades around in really really tight ballet clothes that leave nothing to the imagination.

     

    There is a Light (Il Padre d’Italia)

    A beautifully written and told and acted story of gay man Paolo who, unusually, encounters a very pretty young pregnant woman – Mia – in a backroom gay sex bar. She’s presumably looking for her boyfriend who ditched her. Paolo befriends her and they leave together and embark on a road trip that turns into something a bit more. Luca Marinellil and Isabella Ragonese are a revelation in the leading roles, and the great soundtrack is an added bonus. Look for this film any way you can.

    Discreet

    Written and directed by Travis Mathews, who collaborated on Interior Leather Bar with James Franco, as well as a documentary series of gay men in several cities, brings us a film that is about a gay drifter Alex (Jonny Mars) who takes up residence in his supposed mute grandfather’s house. At the same time, he pursues a local young teenage boy and spends time at the local gay cinema with a muscular Italian man. Alex is also hypnotized by some sort of strange sex website run by an oriental woman that seems to help him drive his inner ego. It all makes for a very strange and uncomfortable movie with an awful narrative, a self-indulgent work on Mathews part. This one is a miss.

    The Joneses

    Jheri Jones is a fascinating woman, and in this excellent documentary we learn that Jheri is no ordinary woman, she used to be Jerry. But to her four male children, one of whom is gay and comes out in the documentary at the age of 37, Jheri is actually both mom and dad (their actual mother passed away years ago at the age of 59). Including Jheri’s two understanding grandchildren, The Joneses show how the family have accepted and embraced Jheri’s transition (which took place years ago). But it’s Jheri who is the star of this documentary- she fascinating, fun, fierce, and fabulous.

    The Misandrists
    Controversial film director Bruce LaBruce is, as always, in unusual form in this strange film about a school for girls and the powering teachers who lead them and who call themselves the Female Liberation Army. But all is not what it seems with the girls, some are hiding secrets, and one of them is hiding a male soldier in the basement dungeon. But it gets to be a bit too much when a penis is surgically cut off which leads to, at the very end, a lesbian orgy that leaves nothing to the imagination. It’s 90 minutes that’s a bit too much to take.

    Mist
    A Mexican film with English subtitles, it’s the story of a young pregnant woman, Martina, who escapes her life in Mexico City to go look for the father she never knew in Berlin. Of course while in Berlin she encounters all sorts of people, including a memorable drag queen played by the fabulous Dieter Rita Scholl. But Martina’s boyfriend comes looking for her in Berlin, and she’s got a strange habit of spontaneously stealing things. Mist is worth a watch for the performances.

    Apricot Groves
    Aram (Narbe Varten) has just flown back to Armenia from where he’s living in California to ask the parents of his girlfriend for her hand in marriage. He is squired around town by his confident and worldly brother Vartan (Pedram Ansari). But another purpose of Aram’s trip is for him to undergo surgery, and it’s this revelation at the end of the film (and a bit in the beginning) that makes “Apricot Groves” a real treasure.

    Boys for Sale
    Having never been to Tokyo, I didn’t realise that there was such a huge male escort scene there. In this well-done documentary, we get to meet several ‘urisen’ (male sex workers) in Tokyo’s Shinjuku 2-chome gay district, where they all talk to the camera about their lives and what led them to this type of work. It’s a fascinating film by director Itako and Executive Producer Ian Thomas Ash. It also includes very clever and compelling drawings of a sexual nature that depict the Urisen’s non-exciting sexual encounters. Try to find this documentary anyway you can.

    While not specifically LGBT, two other films at Raindance are recommended because of their great music stores. Trendy, about a man who moves to London from up north to escape a bad incident, is shot almost entirely in East London and many scenes take place in Berlin-style underground clubs. Afterparty is just what you’d expect. It takes place in a huge nightclub in Belgrade, focusing on one of the bartender’s quest to become famous, and where the music is just as fast and furious and thumping as the main character.