THEGAYUK

Category: Film

  • Does Hollywood have a problem with gay nudity?

    Does Hollywood have a problem with gay nudity?

    A new survey has shown that only 5% of nude scenes featured LGBT+ characters. Out of 27 hours of footage that was studied, that equates to just 42 minutes and 45 seconds of on-screen nude time.

    When broken down further it appeared that just under 7% of male nudity is by a gay or bi male character and just 4% for gay, bi or lesbian women. It also is worth noting that in the vast majority of cases, the LGBT+ character was played by a heterosexual actor.

    The rest of the nudity discovered (95%) was reserved for heterosexual characters.

    The study, which was conducted by Bingo Sites, defined nudity as showing their ‘buttocks’, ‘breasts’, or ‘genitals.

    Which actors have appeared in the most scenes nude as a LGBTQ+ character?

    Call Me By Your Name (2017) star, Timothée Chalamet tops our nudity ranking of male actors. Of all nude scenes Timothée has appeared in, he has been a gay character in 66.7% of them. 

    Males

    Actor% of Gay Scenes
    Timothée Chalamet66.7%
    Joseph Gordon-Levitt50%
    Guillermo Pfening50%
    Steve Howey50%
    Mark Ruffalo27.3%
    Colin Farrell20%
    Ewan McGregor16.7%
    Keanu Reeves16.7%
    Antonio Banderas5.9%

    Females

    Of all of Kate Mara’s nude scenes across her filmographies, she has been an LGBT+ character in all of them.

    Actress% of LGBTQ Scenes
    Kate Mara100%
    Ellen Page50%
    Stana Katic50%
    Hilary Swank36.4%
    Laia Costa16.7%
    Lindsay Lohan16.7%
    Elizabeth Berkley9.1%
    Salma Hayek7.1%
    Christina Ricci6.3%
    Charlize Theron3.7%

  • FILM REVIEW | Oliver Sacks: His Own Life – A life well-lived

    FILM REVIEW | Oliver Sacks: His Own Life – A life well-lived

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    The late Oliver Sacks was a very fascinating man. Learn more about him in the upcoming documentary Oliver Sacks: His Own Life.

    Sacks was not just a scientist and neurologist, he also wrote dozens and dozens of books including best sellers, was a master in his field, greatly respected, became a celebrity later in life, and he was also gay. 

    Sacks grew up in an upper-middle-class family in Cricklewood, London. Both his parents were doctors – so it was almost a natural that he’d be a doctor. But it wasn’t until his older brother Michael was diagnosed schizophrenic, an illness that affected the whole family but Oliver more so, that Sacks future was sealed. Going to medical school in Oxford, then to America where he took up residency in San Francisco is when his true self came out – a man with a motorbike dressed in head to toe leather. But while he was taking care of patients with severe neurological issues (stunning footage shows him with patients with neurological diseases and oddities) – Sacks never really found love or romance. His mother vehemently objected to his homosexuality but she also turned into a champion of his while he spent a summer writing a book at his childhood home. But her death affected him greatly, and after he turned 40 he remained celibate for the next 35 years. 

    Quite a bit of footage of Sacks is of him in his West Village apartment surrounded by staff, friends, etc. His personality comes through in these moments like a bright red sunset – with his charming laugh, unique British accent and sparkle in his eye that will win you over. He won Bill Hayes over – at age 75 Sacks and Hayes (20 years younger) remained together until Sacks death in 2015 at the age of 83. It’s a happy relationship to the end of an amazing life led by a man who changed medical science and at the same time opened our eyes to it. Director Ric Burns really captures the life and times of Sacks, especially of his final years of being with Hayes.

    Now playing on https://filmforum.org/virtual-cinema/ and https://kinomarquee.com

  • FILM REVIEW | Dedalus – startling and memorable

    FILM REVIEW | Dedalus – startling and memorable

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    Dedalus is a fictional triptych portraying community, love, and loss.

    It’s a film that deals with homosexuality and age, with three very different storylines. And while one of them is a bit confusing, it’s a very good piece of work by a first-time director.

    A goodlooking young man (newcomer Alexander Horner, a natural) is a bit lost in life, always struggling to make ends meet, going from couch to couch. But he knows what he likes – he enjoys the ‘company’ of older men. He also needs food and shelter during a cold winter in New York City. He is also sexually attracted to older men. And even though a young woman takes him in, nothing satiates his quest for love then older gay client. He meets a succession of them, most of them wealthy, and lonely. They all, of course, take a fancy to him. But he falls for an anxious lawyer (Thomas Jay Ryan) and can foresee a relationship with him, but the lawyer has other things in mind. This second of the three stories in this film is the most hard-hitting and unforgettable.

    Directed by Jonah Greenstein, an independent filmmaker, the other two stories deal with a fathers mortality which compels him to leave his home in Los Angeles and move in with his daughter, and the other story takes place in rural Iowa, a grocery cashier watches helplessly as classmates conceal their act of sexual violence against his teenaged step-sister. 

    All gorgeously directed by Jonah Greenstein, an independent filmmaker. He’s worked with some big names (Rami Malek, Michelle Wiiliams, documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras), but it’s this debut, which laces loneliness. beauty and mystery, to create a film that is both startling and memorable.

    Now on on Streaming Platforms including Apple TV, Amazon Prime, OVID.tv & Kanopy

  • Here are the LGBT+ Films at this year’s Raindance Film Festival

    Here are the LGBT+ Films at this year’s Raindance Film Festival

    The 28th Raindance Film Festival, which starts on Oct. 29th and runs through Nov. 7th, will bring the best of independent films and immersive experiences online and in London. The festival program is packed with features, shorts, immersive content, talks, panels and Q&As, which also comprise the following LGBT+ films: 

    A Dim Valley (dir: Brandon Colvin, USA). International Premiere. In this hallucinogenic fairytale, a biologist and his two pot-smoking assistants working deep in the Appalachian woods encounter a trio of mystical backpackers.

    Born to Be (dir: Tania Cypriano, USA). UK Premiere. An intimate look at how the work of Dr Jess Ting at New York’s groundbreaking Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery impacts the lives of his patients, as well as his own life.

    Drag Kids (dir: Megan Wennberg, Canada) UK Premiere. Touching documentary chronicling four drag performers under the age of 12. Having faced enormous scrutiny over their brief drag careers, the young stars prepare for the biggest performance of their lives at Montreal Pride.

    Madame (dir: Stéphane Riethauser, Switzerland). UK premiere. Using private archive footage, this family saga challenges the taboos of gender and sexuality as a flamboyant 90-year old and her gay grandson explore the development and transmission of gender identity in a patriarchal environment. 

    The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo (dir: Javier Polo Gandia, Spain). With contributors including John Walters and Eduardo Casanova, this eccentric documentary follows a man obsessed with flamingos on his quest to unravel the real story behind this pink socio-cultural phenomenon. This film is nominated for Raindance’s “Best Cinematography” Award.

    Under My Skin (dir: David O’Donnell, Australia/USA). Liv Hewson and Alex Russell star as a free-spirited artist and a straight-laced lawyer respectively, whose love is tested by questions of gender. Liv Hewson is nominated for Raindance’s “Best Performance” Award for their role in this film.

    In addition to these films from the feature programme, within the Raindance Immersive VR strand is the following VR documentary:

    Another Dream (creator: Tamara Shogoalu/Ado Ato Pictures).A hybrid animated documentary and VR game which brings the gripping, true love story of an Egyptian lesbian couple to life. Faced with a post-revolution backlash against the LGBT+ community, they escape Cairo to seek asylum and find acceptance in the Netherlands.

    Raindance Film Festival runs 28 October – 7 November, and Raindance Immersive runs 28 October – 15 November.

    For tickets and more information, please go to:
    https://cinema.raindance.org

  • FILM REVIEW | Summer of ’85 – The joys of young love

    FILM REVIEW | Summer of ’85 – The joys of young love

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    Remember your first romance? It probably took place during the summer. The new film Summer of ’85 beautifully tells the story of one young man who experiences his first romance – in the summer of 1985.

    The opening song ‘In Between Days’ by The Cure sets the era for the film (yes, you know it if you were around then). Summer of 85 is set in a Normandy, France, seaside town where Alexis Robin (a memorable Félix Lefebvre) lives with his parents and is in the gap period between school and college.

    Alexis enjoys being the near the water, so much so that one day he takes a small boat out to sea but gets caught in a storm. He is rescued by the all too dashing Benjamin Voisin (David Gorman). Benjamin makes sure Félix is fine and takes him to his home to take care of him, where his mom (a very good Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) undresses Félix for a hot bath and admires his manhood). This leads to a quick relationship where Alexis has his first real crush (and love) with Benjamin. But it’s all too fast and furious, and when Benjamin’s mom (who was recently widowed) asks Félix to work in their nautical shop full time, it’s might be too much too soon for the perfect pair. And when Brit Kate (Philippine Velge) enters the picture the boys’ relationship is put to the test. Will it pass or fail? And then an unseen tragedy, typical in French films, dramatically changes the tone of the film.

    Directed and co-written by the masterFrançois Ozon – the creator of so many great and memorable films (recent films include By the Grace of God and L’Amant Double) scores another winner here with a superb choice of actors, location, and songs (’Sailing’ by Rod Steward and Bananarama’s ‘Cruel Summer’ tells the story in their titles). Though the film goes a bit off the charts by having Félix dress up as a young woman in one silly scene (reminiscent of The New Girlfriend), Summer of ’85 is a very memorable and charming film about young love. It’s a film that will take you back to your first summer love. 

    Summer of 85 is in cinemas and on Curzon Home Cinema

  • FILM REVIEW | I am Woman – Hear me Roar!

    FILM REVIEW | I am Woman – Hear me Roar!

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    An Australian singer, with a young daughter in tow, arrives in 1996 New York to make it as a singer. The woman’s name was Helen Reddy.

    Yes, Helen Reddy the legend who sang such hits as “I Don’t Know How to Love Him”, “Delta Dawn” and “Angie Baby” and the iconic “I am Woman” started her career in NYC as a singer in a bar lounge. Thus begins the story of one of music’s greatest superstars in the new film I Am Woman.

    Yes, she was sure a woman. And Reddy, who just recently passed away in September in Los Angeles, had it rough when she moved to NYC after winning a singing competition in Australia where the prize was a ticket to NYC and a recording contract. But with a suitcase and only $230 in her pocket, and with no recording contract, she was determined, and desperate,  to make it on her own.

    Besides hanging out with rock journalist Lillian Roxon (Danielle Macdonald), she also meets Jeff Wald (a fantastic Evan Peters who steals the movie), a young aspiring talent manager who becomes her agent and eventually husband, and he helps her get to the top. After their move to Los Angeles, Reddy’s singing career began, and continued to hit new peaks, where she became the first Australian singer to top the US charts, and even winning a Grammy award in 1973. But Wald had a cocaine habit, which eventually got worse and worse, and with Reddy not home a lot due to a Las Vegas singing residency, and with a new son to take care of, their relationship started to crumble, and eventually ended when Reddy found out Wald had made bad investments with her money. 

    However, I am Woman is the story of a woman, against all adversity, who was determined to make her dream come true. Reddy not only became the most successful female recording artist of her time, but she also broke stereotypes and led the way during the most crucial period of the women’s liberation movement. And she became a role model for what all women could achieve.

    It’s an incredible story, made all the more real by director Unjoo Moon, who has very little experience in the directing world, and by Tilda Cobham-Hervey, who effectively plays Reddy, but unfortunately, it’s not an award-winning performance. It’s Peters’ performance who steals the film as her husband. But it’s also Reddy’s life and legacy that will most stick with you. What she had to do and what she accomplished, in a time when women’s rights were just a passing hope, and how perhaps her message through song and her voice really did help propel the feminist movement in helping to pass the equal rights bills across America.  

    IN CINEMAS AND ON DIGITAL PLATFORMS FRIDAY 9TH OCTOBER

  • Iris Prize 2020: The Diversity of LGBT+ Films

    Thirty-five international filmmakers are set to compete for £30,000 prize money as the organisers of Cardiff’s International LGBT+ Short Film Prize, Supported by The Michael Bishop Foundation have today announced the shortlisted films in competition for the world’s largest international LGBT+ short film prize. The Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival runs 6th to 11th October at www.irisprize.org

    Iris Prize has 25 international partner festivals who nominate films each year for the Iris Prize shortlist, with the rest being chosen by a pre-selection jury from a record number of films entered through open submissions.

    UK audiences can join in the experience for the first time in the festival’s history, by watching all the nominated shorts for free online, ensuring it reaches a wider audience than ever.

    Directors from India, China, Brazil and Macedonia compete with counterparts from the UK and around the world, offering dramatically diverse representations within the global LGBT+ community. Filmmakers share personal family expectations and the intimacy of relationships alongside the transformative impacts of meeting the right person at the right time. They stand alongside sobering stories of cultural, political or even family restraints that mean fighting for the freedom to be true to self, overcoming fear, hostility and alienation. We encounter characters who are tentatively exploring their sexuality for the first time or breaking free of their past to embrace unique identities and genders. Plus, at a time when we need it most, there are reminders that there is plenty to be joyful about, and reason to laugh out loud.

    The one uniting factor in all 35 films is an exhilarating celebration of lives of LGBT+ people across the world.

    The festival opens on Tuesday 6th October and closes on Sunday 11th October, with all screenings, talks and events available online for free. There will also be a pay-per-view catch-up service which will run until the end of October.

    This year’s shortlisted films in alphabetical order are:

    1-1 (Sweden, 2020)  –  directed by Naures Sager
    ALL GOOD THINGS  (Australia, 2019) –  directed by Simon Croker
    BABY (USA, 2019)  –  directed by Jessie Levandov
    BATHROOM TROLL (USA, 2018)  –  directed by Aaron Immediato
    BLACK LIPS (Australia, 2018)  –  directed by Adrian Chiarella                   BLACKN3SS (Brazil, 2018)  – directed by Diego Paulino
    BOYS (BANIM) (Israel, 2020) –  directed by Lior Soroka
    BREAK IN (USA, 2020) –  directed by Alyssa Lerner
    CICADA (Czech Republic, 2020)  – Piaoyu Xie
    DIRTY (USA, 2020)  –   Matthew Puccini
    DOWN DOG (USA, 2020)  – directed by Shae Xu
    DRIFTING (China, USA, 2019)  –  directed by Hanxiong Bo
    HIS NAME (HANN) (Iceland, 2018) –  directed by  Runar Thor
    OCTOBER (USA, 2019) –  directed by  Mae Mann
    ON MY WAY (Belgium, 2020) –  directed by Sonam Larcin
    ORVILLE + BOB (USA, 2019) –  directed by Alan Griswold
    PEACH (Australia, 2020) –  Rowan Devereux & Sophie Saville
    PRETTY GIRL (CAILÍN ÁLAINN) (Ireland, 2019) –  directed by Megan K Fox)
    QUEENS (UK, 2020) –  directed by  Nick Bechman
    SAVING CHINTU (India, 2020) –  directed by Tushar Tyagi
    SELMA AFTER THE RAIN (Brazil, 2019)  –  directed by Loli Menezes
    SHEAR AVORY: TO BE CONTINUED  (USA, 2020)  –  directed by Abram Cerda
    SHHH! (HYSJ!) (Norway, 2019)  directed by Nini Kjeldner
    SHORT CALF MUSCLE (Netherlands, 2019)  –  directed by Victoria Warmerdam
    SNAKE (Macedonia, 2020)  –  directed by Andrey Volkashin
    THE CYPHER  (USA, 2020)  –  directed by Letia Solomon
    THE PASSING (UK,  2020) –  directed by Nichola Wong
    THE SHAWL  (USA, 2020) –  directed by Sara Kiener                               THE WAY WE ARE (Canada, 2020)  –  directed by Amanda Ann-Min Wong
    THRIVE (UK, 2019) –  directed by Jamie Di Spirito                                UNTITLED SEQUENCE OF GAPS (Germany, 2020) – directed by  Vika Kirchenbauer
    VICTORIA (Spain, 2020 –  directed by Daniel Toledo Saura)                       WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THE RING (Taiwan, 2020) –  directed by Yichi Chen
    WHEN IN ROME (PAESE CHE VAI) (Italy, 2020)  –  directed by Luca Padrini     WINGS (UK, 2020)  –  Jamie Weston

  • LGBT Films at the BFI London Film Festival 2020

    LGBT Films at the BFI London Film Festival 2020

    From 7-18 October 2020 The BFI London Film Festival will be broadcast online and in cinemas at the BFI Southbank, partner London venues and all across the UK.

    All shorts, events and a virtual exhibition of XR and immersive art will be accessible for free online. Here are some of the LGBT film highlights:

    Supernova

    After twenty years together, Sam and Tusker’s blissful life has been shattered following Tusker’s diagnosis with early-onset dementia. Intent on spending as much precious time together as they can, the pair travel across England in their old campervan, visiting loved ones and returning to special places from their past. Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci star in a film directed by Harry Macqueen.

    Ammomite

    A fictionalised account of the life of the 19th-century palaeontologist Mary Anning, Kate Winslet plays the pioneering scientist with Saoirse Ronan as the gentlewoman who falls in love with her while staying in Mary’s beloved Lyme Regis. Directed by Francis Lee (God’s Own Country).

    Kajillionaire

    In Miranda July’s assured third feature, Old Dolio (Evan Rachael Wood) and her parents (Richard Jenkins and Debra Winger) are a trio of offbeat, small-time hustlers. Old Dolio’s heart is stirred when she meets Melanie (Gina Rodriguez).

    I am Samuel

    Born and raised in rural Kenya, Samuel moves to the capital and falls in love with Alex. This courageous debut feature offers an intimate portrait of a young couple navigating their way in a country where homosexuality is criminalised.

    If It Were Love

    This Teddy Award winner for Best Documentary at Berlinale 2020 is an intoxicating exploration of love and desire, documenting the production of choreographer Gisèle Vienne’s Crowd, a work exploring the 90s rave scene.

    Days

    Tsai Ming-Liang’s profound commitment to less is more flourishes in this transfixing work, in which a middle-aged man suffering from chronic pain hires a young male masseur. This film is intentionally without subtitling.

    Cicada

    As introspective bisexual Ben embarks on a new relationship, he is forced to face the traumas of his past in this remarkable debut feature based on personal experiences of the filmmakers.

    For more information and tickets, please go to: https://www.bfi.org.uk/london-film-festival

  • FILM REVIEW | Blackbird – A four-star weeper

    FILM REVIEW | Blackbird – A four-star weeper

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    Susan Sarandon is amazing as Lily, a woman slowly losing her faculties and who has decided that at the end of a perfect weekend she will choose to die. The perfect weekend includes visits by her two daughters – Jennifer (an unrecognisable Kate Winslet) with husband Michael (Rainn Wilson) and their teenage son Jonathan (Anson Boon); dysfunctional Anna (Mia Wasikowska) and her female partner Chris (Bex Taylor Klaus). Also along for the ride is Lily’s best friend Elizabeth (Lindsey Duncan) as well as her loyal and handsome husband Paul (Sam Neill), who has always been by Lily’s side. 

    The family is not a perfect one – Jennifer has controlling issues while Anna has never been truthful and transparent about her life. Sure she’s in a same sex relationship but there’s been times where she’s fallen off everyone’s radar – but Lily is still proud of both of her strong daughters who she raised to be just like her. But as the clock ticks to the final moment we know is coming, there is some excellent family time around the house, including the emotional ‘Christmas Dinner’ they have which is Lilly’s last evening meal. There is also lots of tension when several unresolved issues are revealed.
    ‘Blackbird’ is hard to sit through – it’s very emotional and very real, but up until the end, when every truth has been told and every tear has been wept, Sarandon still holds the screen – and our attention. It’s one of her finest film performances. 

    Blackbird is now on Digital Download & DVD

  • FILM REVIEW | Monsoon – Quiet and Meditative

    FILM REVIEW | Monsoon – Quiet and Meditative

    From the man who brought us the brilliant ‘Lilting’ in 2014 returns with his new offering Monsoon.

    Lilting, directed by Hong Khaou, told the story about the death of a young gay man leaving his lover to deal with a grieving Chinese Cambodian mother. It was quiet and meditative as is Khaou’s new film Monsoon.

    In Monsoon a young man of Vietnamese descent, who now lives in Britain, returns to Saigon to return his mother (her ashes) to her home country, a country her and her husband fled during the Vietnamese war. But Vietnam is also a country that Kit (Henry Golding) also knows very little about – he was 5 when they left. So his return to the home country is a poignant one, his father has also died and Kit’s brother is bringing their father’s ashes so him and Kit can bury them together. While Kit returns and visits old friends of his and his mothers, he falls for American Lewis (Parker Sawyers) and establishes a semi-relationship with him. While the gay storyline is a bit irrelevant to the focus and mission of the plot, it’s played out against the backdrop of a city full of traffic, noise, people, motorcycles, and beautiful sunsets that linger in the horizon.

    Monsoon also brings us lulled moments – quiet and contemplative – in a film that’s oh so short at 85 minutes.

    Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians) is good in the role – but the film itself could’ve explored more of his background and his relationship with his family (perhaps flashbacks) to give more of a background into his homosexuality. In all, if you’re looking for a meditative and quiet film, this film is for you.

    ‘Monsoon’ is now out in UK Cinemas.

  • Where are the cast of Brokeback Mountain now?

    So what happened to the cast of Brokeback Mountain?

    It was one hell of a game changer. A short-story from Ang Lee that was turned into a major Hollywood film. It raked in millions in Box Office receipts and home / rental sales, but where is the cast now?

    Jake Gyllenhaal

    When Brokeback Mountain was released, Jake was already a renown Hollywood star, having made his name in films like Donnie Darko and The Day After Tomorrow. However, after appearing as Jack Twist in BBM, Jake’s stock as an actor had a phenomenal rise. His appearance in films has netted film studios nearly a billion dollars in box office revenues. Brokeback Mountain is his third biggest movie, preceded by Prince of Persia, The Sands of Time ($90.7m) and The Day After Tomorrow ($186m)

    Heath Ledger

    Heath Ledger was big box office news up until his untimely death in 2008. He died of a heart attack brought on by prescription drug intoxication. The lifetime gross box office of his films is over $955,000,000, with over half of this coming from the smash film, The Dark Knight in which he played one of the scariest Jokers of all time. Again, like Jake, Brokeback Mountain was his third most financially successful film in which he played Ennis Del Mar. This success was preceded by The Patriot and followed by A Knight’s Tale. The last film in which he starred was 2009’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

    Anne Hathaway

    via GIPHY

    Since Anne was in BBM as Jack’s wife, she’s not stopped working, becoming one of Hollywood’s most bankable actors. Since 2005 she has starred in over 19 films, the highest grossing was The Dark Knight Rises. She outstrips the boys’ lifetime grosses by over a $1bn with a stunning worth of $2.4 bn in box office receipts.

    Michelle Williams

    via GIPHY

    Michelle started her film career in the family favourite Lassie in 1994. BBM was her third film of 2005, where she played the wife of Ennis. At the time she and her co-star Heath Ledger were a couple, however, they split in 2007.  Since BBM she’s appeared in 16 feature films. The best-selling was Oz The Great And Powerful which grossed $234m at the Box office.

    Randy Quaid


    BBM is Randy’s 2nd best-selling film, the first being Roland Emmerich’s’ Independence Day in 1994 where he managed to save the world by flying a jet into the Alien’s mothership. The 66-year-old has appeared in over 90 films and grossed a stunning $948m in box office receipts.