THEGAYUK

Category: Entertainment

  • BFI Flare London LGBT Film Festival wrap up

    The BFI Flare London LGBT Film Festival has unfortunately come to a close after a highly successful nine days of films and events. It was perhaps the best festival in a long time. Tim Baros takes us through the highlights:

    – Dior and I: An exquisite (and nail biting) documentary of Raf Simon’s first eight weeks as artistic director of Christian Dior, in which time he has to put together a collection. Director Frederic Tcheng uniquely blends voiceovers of an actor speaking excepts from Dior’s memoir intertwined with the pressure Simons and his staff are under. Dior and I is one of the better fashion documentaries ever made. It is now in wide release.
    Read our review of Dior And I

    – Portrait of a Serial Monogamist: Canadian Directors Christina Zeidler and John Mitchell’s tale of 40-something year old Lesbian Elsie (a perfectly cast Diane Flacks) who breaks up with her girlfriend but is not so sure that she’s done the right thing, especially after meeting another woman right away who appears to be ‘the perfect one.’ Portrait is funny and clever and will leave you laughing out loud of its portrayal of Lesbian relationships amongst friends.

    – Drunktown’s Finest: 34-year old Native American Director Sydney Freeland’s well done portrait of three Navajo Indian characters all coming of age and exploring not only their identities but also their relationships with their families and their culture. An amazing job by Freeland, who also wrote the script.

    – 54: The Director’s Cut: A highlight of the festival – this is the film that gay director Mark Christopher shot and intended to release in 1998 but was not able to due to pressure from the studio to ‘degay’ it. Literal cutting room floor and lost footage has been incorporated into the original version of this story of a young man (Ryan Phillippe) being accepted into the historic NYC club’s inner circle, and includes the gay scenes originally taken out. This film still takes us back to a time when it was all about the music and the dancing.
    Read our review of 54

    – Tiger Orange: A sweet tale of two gay brothers, one – Chet (Mark Strano) who looks after the family hardware store in a small town in California while younger brother rebel Todd (porn star Johnny Hazard – real name Frank Valenti) comes back home because nothing’s happening for him in Los Angeles. Chet and Todd are opposites in every way – Chet is very subdued and simple and plain looking, while Todd is hot and sexy with a body to die for and a naughty personality to match. Valenti is the true star of this film – not only does he light up the screen when he’s one, but he can act as well.

    – Match: Sir Patrick Stewart is an older dance teacher (Toby Powell) whose life is shaken up when a straight couple show up one day on his doorstep to supposedly interview him about his life as a dance teacher. But what they really want from his is to find out if he’s the father of the husband. Stewart has never been better in a film that’s stretched a bit too long and with a cast that can’t quite match Stewart in the acting department.

    – The Last One: Unfolding the AIDS Memorial Quilt: A film, half about the AIDS quilt and the other half about statistics and other AID’s organisations, it would’ve worked better if it stuck to its main subject – the quilt. We’ve seen so many documentaries about AIDS and statistics, as well as the quilt, and this documentary gives us nothing new.

    – The Golden Age of the American Male: This film is just a series of images and videos from the archives of the Athletic Model’s Guild, which was created by Bob Mizer. The Golden Age is pretty much 65 minutes of soft porn, if that’s your thing.

    – Frangipani: The first LGBT Sri Lankan film, it tells the tale of two men (very good Dasun Pathirana and Jehan Sri Kanth) who fall in love with each other in spite of one of them getting married to a woman. Beautifully shot and easy to identify with – Director, Writer and Producer Visakesa Chandrasekaram) has made a lush film that is highly recommended.

    – Everlasting Love: A strange, eerie Spanish film that can be best described as Stranger on a Lake (without the Lake) meets Twilight. Throw in some flesh eating and many boring moments and what you have is a film that should be missed.

    – Fulboy: A documentary about the unseen world of football, Director Martin Farina was given full access to a professional Argentinean football team. He speaks to them in their hotel rooms and in their locker room, when, lucky for us, they are not shy about displaying their athletic bodies, from head to toe, for the camera. Not much a narrative on this one, but it’s worth watching as you feel like a fly on the wall in a very straight male environment.

    There was an excellent selection of shorts, and a few stand out:
    – Hole: Gay disabled actor Ken Harrower plays a man who frequents video booths but gets frustrated when he’s unable to receive sexual pleasure, so he enlists the help of his male carer to get it.

    – Limanakia: The strangest yet sexiest short film I have ever seen. Gay men frolic on the rocks of a beach somewhere in Greece, all naked and all having sex, shot in motion-moving imagery with the sun providing a hint of gold on the bodies and on the rocks.

    – been too long at the FAIR: Who would’ve guessed that there is a gay cinema in Queens, New York? This short documentary exposes the FAIR Theater in Jackson Heights as one of the oldest continuing running gay establishments in New York City.

    All in all, it was a great festival and we’re looking forward to next year. Well done FLARE gang!

  • FILM REVIEW | Out In The Dark

    ★★★★★ |  Out In The Dark

    Nimr is in Tel Aviv to visit his old friend Mustafa in a gay bar where he works since moving from Ramallah. Once there he meets Roy a very flirtatious your lawyer who gently puts the moves on equally handsome Nimr who is quickly smitten and is soon ready to make a night of it. However, he is offered a ride for the daunting journey home so they reluctantly say their goodnights. Nimr promises to call, but the chances of that are slim, as he is a Palestinian and is there illegally, and Roy is an Israeli Jew.

    However back home psychology student Nimr is offered a place on a special course in Tel Aviv and along with that comes a permit to enter Israel at any time he wants. It’s something that his militant older brother hates, but on the other hand, something that a very surprised and delighted Roy loves. As the young couple gets to spend time together, within a short time it is clearly not the only thing Roy loves, and the feeling is obviously mutual.

    Whilst Nimr must remain totally closeted to all his family back home in Ramallah for fear of his own life, in Tel Aviv, Roy takes him to formally meet his liberal parents who don’t actually welcome their son’s Arab boyfriend with open arms as he expected them too.

    And then suddenly the two men’s somewhat precarious lives together now becomes outright dangerous especially after the Israeli authorities deport the very flamboyant Mustafa. Once home he is beaten to death for the dishonour his (very open) homosexuality has brought on his family. Soon after the Israeli Authorities suspect Nimr’s brother of terrorist activities and having his own arsenal of weapons, they then take Nimr’s travel permit away unless he will agree to spy for them.

    He refuses and so they ensure that the elder brother knows of his gayness which is, just cause, for the family to at once disown him and beat him to death. In the only act of compassion, we see towards any gay person in this film, the brother allows him to escape back to Israel where it looks like the Authorities may even finish the job for him.

    This heart string tugging story of forbidden love from LA based Israeli newbie director/writer Michael Mayer follows in the well-trodden footsteps of filmmaker Eyton Fox (Yossi & Jaeger, The Bubble) with this story of how being gay just adds yet one more obstacle to living in this troubled region. Mayer’s convincingly real love story between these educated young men works really well because of the chemistry between his two talented lead actors Nicholas Jacob & Michael Aloni.

    What makes it even more interesting is the fact that whilst its the deeply entrenched extreme politics that are the main cause of the couple’s problems, the story never focuses on their own beliefs but purely on the disastrous effects it has on them. And to my knowledge, it’s also one of the very few gay films that have ever dealt with barbarous ‘honour’ killings.

    It is nigh on impossible to find an Israeli or Arab movie with a gay romance that doesn’t involve a great deal of danger and death (Fox’s recent sequel ‘Yossi ‘was a rare exception). It’s all the remarkable then after the horrors that Nimir and Roy went through that the overwhelming feeling that one came away with from this movie is the fact there is hope. It’s probably one of the reasons why it’s picked up almost a dozen Awards in Festivals worldwide already. Many of them as Audience Favourite.

    Be warned, as well as having you reach for the Kleenex, this movie will in parts, make you very angry/horrified too. It is, however, a definite ‘must see’.

     

  • Gloucestershire Loses Its Only Gay Bar

    The Westgate in Gloucestershire has served its last pint as the number of LGBT venues across the country gradually gets smaller and smaller.

    (more…)

  • Do I Sound Gay?

    Of course you do, and so do we, Thank God!

    When forty-something-year-old American journalist DAVID THORPE suddenly found himself single again he started to question what was wrong with him.  He thought it could be the fact that he sounded gay, so he set about delving into the whole issue of how he spoke to see if he could resolve it.

    He documented his ‘journey’ of discovery which with the help of his friends, therapists and some very witty gay celebrities turned into an hilarious and touching movie that every single gay man (and woman) will so relate too.

    We sat down and talked with David (in our regular gay voice) who has articulated on something that all of us have questioned at some time.  He shared more of what he had learned from the likes of David Sedaris, Margaret Cho and Dan Savage to come to where his now totally comfortable in his own skin.  His interview with The Gay UK will be in out next issue, but meanwhile you can still catch him and his funny and enchanting movie playing at the BFI Flare Festival on 25/27th  March 2015

    www.bfi.org.uk/flare

  • Goodbye Downton… Dame Maggie Is 110

    The rumour about the demise of Downton that has been the source of much speculation recently was finally confirmed as true this afternoon.

    Gareth Neame the programme’s executive producer said in a statement, “Millions of people around the world have followed the journey of the Crawley family and those who serve them for the last five years. Inevitably, there comes a time when all shows should end, and ‘Downton’ is no exception. We wanted to close the doors of ‘Downton Abbey’ when it felt right and natural for the storylines to come together and when the show was still being enjoyed so much by its fans. We can promise a final season full of all the usual drama and intrigue, but with the added excitement of discovering how and where they all end up.”

    The programme has not just been a mega hit with UK audiences as in the US it has proved to be the most successful series in PBS’s 44 year history and has won 11 Emmys, 3 Golden Globes, 3 SAG Awards and a Producers Guild Award. Back home it also picked up 3 BAFTAS too.

    Dame Maggie Smith who plays the sharp-tongues Dowager Countess of Grantham had already said prior to the announcement that this would be her last series regardless. She added ‘ I mean, I certainly cannot keep going. To my knowledge as we’re into the late 1920s, I must be 110 by now!’

  • FILM REVIEW | Silent Youth

    Marlo a young engineering student is taking a break from school and is visiting a girlfriend in Berlin.

    When she goes off to work, he takes off to explore the city. Crossing the street he momentarily links eyes with another man, and after the pass, they take furtive looks back at each other. Moments later as he crosses a bridge, Marlo espies the same young man, and starts to follow him. When he catches up he with him he hangs back for a few minutes before sidling up and tries awkwardly to start a conversation.  Both of them are unsure of themselves, let alone of each other, and even after they eventually decide to walk on together, very few words are exchanged.

    Kirill is Russian and has just returned to Germany after visiting his Grandmother and beyond saying that, he reveals very little about himself.  It’s a surprise then that after this he agrees to meet up with Marlo again and accepts his phone number.

    For their second outing Kirill’s father without uttering a word gives the two boys a lift to the Templehoff, Berlin’s old abandoned airport.  They wander aimlessly around the empty runways communicating intermittingly with brief snatches of conversation. Kirill, the more extrovert of the two, admits to having ‘tried it with a man’ then surprisingly fesses up to be the father of a baby girl who he is no longer allowed to see.  Poor reserved virginal Marlo who keeps stressing that his ‘girlfriend’ is just a friend has nothing to counter this new revelation with.

    Back at Kirill’s tower block apartment, the boys feast on bread and Nutella, before Kirill suddenly announces he wants to take a shower. Naked together the boys finally get physical but instead of this bringing them closer, once the lovemaking is over, Kirill seems more distant and odder than ever.

    There is a lot going on unspoken on in this movie as these two men deal with discovering their sexuality and sometimes it really is not clear what it is.  After watching these gentle souls very slowly interact with each and try to come to terms to discover what if anything is beyond all these awkward silences, you cannot avoid feeling a little numb even though it did almost redeem itself with its very sweet ending. All, however, a tad too slow for my liking, which is a pity as the two boy’s characters had great possibilities.

     

  • Can Still Strike A Pose 25 Years On From Iconic Vogue

    To mark the 25th Anniversary of Madonna’s iconic music video for ‘Vogue’ dancer/choreographers Jose Xtravaganza and Salim “Slam” Gauwloos have performed a short stunning tribute.

    Jose along with Luis Xtravaganza, introduced Madonna to the Harlem House Ball community, inspiring her to write the iconic song and incorporate the then underground dance style into the music video for the song.

    The song became a massive hit world-wide for Madonna in 1990. It reached the number 1 slot in numerous countries including the UK and USA selling over 3 million copies world-wide. The video for Vogue was ranked #2 on MTV’s greatest videos ever made.

     

  • Julian Clary Reaches 7000 Signatures To Take Over Top Gear

    Julian Clary has thrown his hat into the ring in consideration for the role of the new presenter of BBC’s flagship programme Top Gear.

    With the news that Jeremy Clarkson has been dropped by the BBC following his suspension from Top Gear due to a ‘fracas’, the conversation turns to who might be JC’s replacement and what better than another JC – Julian Clary. Julian Clary has already secured over 7000 signatures on a petition to take over the presenting job.

    The petition set by Robert Claxton-Ingham has attracted nearly 7500 signatures and has suggested that Clary is up for the challenge.

    However, a BBC insider told THEGAYUK that former Big Breakfast star and now Radio 2 presenter Chris Evan’s is hotly anticipated to take over the role now that Clarkson has been removed but questioned whether the presenter could ‘cut it’.

  • HBO Cancels Gay Drama Looking

    HBO has just announced that it has cancelled the TV series ‘LOOKING’ after just two seasons and this summer it will wrap up the storylines with a one hour special.

    In a statement issued today a spokesman said, “after two years of following Patrick and his tight-knit group of friends as they explored San Francisco in search of live and lasting relationships, HBO will present the final chapter of their journey as a ‘special’’’. They added, “we look forward to sharing this adventure with the shows loyal fans.”

    HBO have claimed that Looking had never been a strong ratings performer, but executives were very impressed with the buzz the show had created on social media and it’s growing band of viewers that sadly started to fall off in the second season.

    Created by Michael Lannan and executive produced by Andrew Haigh (director of Weekend), Looking stars Jonathan Groff, Frankie J.Alvarez and Murray Bartlett who explore the fun and sometimes overwhelming options available to a new generation of gay men in San Francisco. It also co-stars Lauren Weedman, Raul Catillo and Russell Tovey

     

  • LISTEN | Adam Lambert Shares Teaser For First Album Since 2012

    Glamberts are you ready for Adam’s next album? To celebrate he’s released a teaser.

    The track will feature on Adam’s highly-anticipated new album The Original High, executive produced by Max Martin and Shellback. Hear it in full on April 21st.

    The track which was released this morning on Instagram has already had 15,100 likes. The song’s producer, Max Martin is famed for his catchy songwriting and is credited with some of the biggest pop hits of the decade including hits for Britney Spears and Pink.

  • BOOK REVIEW: The Half Life of Hannah by Nick Alexander

    If your first love came back to offer you everything you ever dreamed of, what would you do?

    ★★★

    Hannah is thirty-eight and the happily married mother of eleven-year-old Luke. Her marriage is reassuringly stable, and after fifteen years she has managed to push the wild dreams of youth from her mind and concentrate on the everyday satisfactions of here and now. The first half of her life hasn’t been as exciting as she had hoped, but then, she reckons, whose has? When she succeeds in convincing husband Cliff to rent a villa in the south of France for a summer vacation with her sister Jill and gay friend Tristan, she’s expecting little more than a pleasant few weeks with her family. But they each have their own baggage – their own secrets – ready to explode on this not-so-relaxing holiday in France. When a phone call at the villa announces the imminent arrival of a ghost from her past, the ambiance is transformed into a raging sea of jealousy as Hannah is forced to question everything she thought she knew and believed. But is she brave enough to take the life-changing decisions her future happiness requires?

     

    Kindle chart-topping author Nick Alexander’s work has crossed from his incisive gay themed novels to this series that is more mainstream and a little frothier. It’s a welcome distraction from the world but isn’t exactly going to cause seismic shifts in your consciousness. It’s a great holiday read, absorbing, slightly silly in parts but fun the read. There’s even a pivotal role played by Grindr; something you don’t often see in mainstream fiction. Good characterization and sound narrative make this a book worth a look at.

     

    “The Half Life of Hannah” is part of a series and the sequel “Other Halves” is available to buy or download too.