Organisers of the Iris Prize have today (16/08/2019) announced details of the 36 short films competing for the Iris Prize at the 2019 Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival. The winning director will be presented with £30,000 to make their next short film here in the UK, supported by the Michael Bishop Foundation.

36 short films compete for the 2019 Iris Prize

19 countries represented in Cardiff final including for the first time Peru, Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia

The £30,000 prize continues to be funded by The Michael Bishop Foundation

The nominees are:

BLACK HAT - DIRECTOR: SARAH SMITH

BREAK ME (KNUS MEG) - DIRECTOR: IRASJ ASANTI

BY THE END OF THE NIGHT (QUE LA NUIT S’ACHÈVE) - DIRECTOR: DENOAL ROUAUD

CARLITO LEAVES FOREVER - DIRECTOR: QUENTIN LAZZAROTTO

CRASH AND BURN, HONEY - DIRECTOR: DAWID ULLGREN

DANTE VS MOHAMMED ALI - DIRECTOR: MARC WAGENAAR

DELIVERY BOY - DIRECTOR: HUGO KENZO

DUBS - DIRECTOR: ANTHONY GREYLEY

EQUAL - DIRECTOR: GILLIAN CALLAN

FAME - DIRECTOR: LENE POTTGIESSER & CHRISTIAN HÖD

FICUS (FIKUS) - DIRECTOR: ANDREY VOLKASHIN

GIRL FRIEND - DIRECTOR: CHLOE SARBIB

GRETA - DIRECTOR: SPARKMAN CLARK

HOW TO LIVE YOUR LIFE CORRECTLY - DIRECTOR: XINDI LOU

IN CASE OF FIRE (EM CASO DE FOGO) - DIRECTOR: TOMÁS PAULA MARQUES

JOY BOY - DIRECTOR: STEF SMITH

LEAKING BLUE (AZUL VAZANTE) - DIRECTOR: JULIA ALQUÉRES

MARGUERITE - DIRECTOR: MARIANNE FARLEY

MINI DV - DIRECTOR: SHAULY MELAMED

MISS CHAZELLES - DIRECTOR: THOMAS VERNAY

OUTDOORING - DIRECTOR: MAXWELL ADDAE

PONYBOI - DIRECTOR: RIVER GALLO, SADÉ CLACKEN JOSEPH

RENOVATION (REFORMA) - DIRECTOR: FÁBIO LEAL

RUOK - DIRECTOR: JAY RUSSELL

SKIES ARE NOT JUST BLUE - DIRECTOR: LYSANDRE COSSE-TREMBLAY

SKIN - DIRECTOR: AUDREY ROSENBERG

STIGMA (ESTIGMA) - DIRECTOR: DAVID VELDUQUE

STRANGERS - DIRECTOR: JAMIESON PEARCE

TERMINALLY IN LOVE - DIRECTOR: EMILY JENKINS & JUSTIN BLACK

THE BOOTH - DIRECTOR: ROHIN RAVEENDRAN

THE ONE YOU NEVER FORGET - DIRECTOR: MORGAN JON FOX

THE ORPHAN (O ÓRFÃO) - DIRECTOR: CAROLINA MARKOWICZ

THOMAS BANKS’ QUEST FOR LOVE - DIRECTOR: PIP KELLY

U FOR USHA (U USHACHA) - DIRECTOR: ROHAN PARASHURAM KANAWADE

WE OUTLAWS (红裙下) - DIRECTOR: WANG KAIXUAN

WONDER - DIRECTOR: JAVIER MOLINA

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A multi-layered song with a multi-faceted video...mind-blowing!

James Blake - 'Can't Believe The Way We Flow' from Frank Lebon on Vimeo.

Bong Joon Ho brings his singular mastery home to Korea in this pitch-black modern fairytale.

Meet the Park Family: the picture of aspirational wealth. And the Kim Family, rich in street smarts but not much else. Be it chance or fate, these two houses are brought together and the Kims sense a golden opportunity. Masterminded by college-aged Ki-woo, the Kim children expediently install themselves as tutor and art therapist, to the Parks. Soon, a symbiotic relationship forms between the two families. The Kims provide “indispensable” luxury services while the Parks obliviously bankroll their entire household. When a parasitic interloper threatens the Kims’ newfound comfort, a savage, underhanded battle for dominance breaks out, threatening to destroy the fragile ecosystem between the Kims and the Parks.

By turns darkly hilarious and heart-wrenching, PARASITE showcases a modern master at the top of his game.

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This really is a remarkable film...

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The full list of nominated films:

Becoming Cherrie (Dir. Nicky Larkin)
Invisible Women (Dir. Alice Smith)
We Are Dancers (Dir. Joe Morris)
#TradWives (Dir. Anna Snowball)
Fee (Dir. Guen Murroni)
Starboy (Dir. Joelle Bentolila)
Dead Birds (Dir. Johnny Kenton)
My Brother Is A Mermaid (Dir. Alfie Dale)
Marco (Dir. Saleem Haddad)
Deep Clean (Dir. David Wilson)
Dix Pix (Dir. Steven Fraser)
Hey You (Dir. Jared Watmuff)
Dubs (Dir. Anthony Greyley)
My Sweet Prince (Dir. Jason Bradbury)
My Loneliness is Killing Me (Dir. Tim Courtney)

From a screenplay by Shia LaBeouf, based on his own experiences, award-winning filmmaker Alma Har'el (Bombay Beach, LoveTrue) brings to life a young actor's stormy childhood and early adult years as he struggles to reconcile with his father and deal with his mental health. Fictionalizing his ascent to stardom, and subsequent crash-landing into rehab and recovery, Har'el casts Noah Jupe (A Quiet Place) and Lucas Hedges (Boy Erased, Manchester by the Sea) as Otis Lort, navigating different stages in a frenetic career. LaBeouf takes on the therapeutic challenge of playing a version of his own father, an ex-rodeo clown and a felon. Dancer-singer FKA twigs makes her feature-film debut, playing neighbor and kindred spirit to the younger Otis in their garden-court motel home. Har'el's feature narrative debut is a one-of-a-kind collaboration between filmmaker and subject, exploring art as medicine and imagination as hope through the life and times of a talented, traumatized performer who dares to go in search of himself.

A long-kept family secret thrusts codependent, thirty-something sisters Rachel and Jackie Gurner into a literal soap opera. A journey that proves you really can come of age, at any age.

DIRECTED BY Hannah Pearl Utt

STARRING Judith Light, Mandy Patinkin, Hannah Pearl Utt, Jen Tullock, Mike Colter, and Alec Baldwin

IN THEATERS AUGUST 30, 2019

Queen Harold from Balan Evans on Vimeo.

In his feature film directorial debut, Stephen Moyer helms a star-studded cast in this powerful and emotional drama about an estranged family coming back together when the youngest sibling, Colleen (Anna Paquin), mysteriously dies. Left to sort through her belongings, Colleen’s father (Ed Asner), three siblings (Melissa Leo, Cynthia Nixon and Denis O’Hare), and ex-husband (Rhys Ifans) revisit their memories and make peace together. Inspired by autobiographical events, Denis O’Hare makes his feature screenplay debut with this poignant and heartfelt story.

Tom Hanks portrays Mister Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, a timely story of kindness triumphing over cynicism, based on the true story of a real-life friendship between Fred Rogers and journalist Tom Junod. After a jaded magazine writer (Emmy winner Matthew Rhys) is assigned a profile of Fred Rogers, he overcomes his skepticism, learning about empathy, kindness, and decency from America’s most beloved neighbor.

Directed by: Marielle Heller

US Release Date: September 13, 2019

Starring: Brent Vermeulen, Alex van Dyk, Juliana Venter

Directed By: Etienne Kallos

Synopsis: South Africa, Free State region, isolated stronghold to the Afrikaans white ethnic minority culture. In this conservative farming territory obsessed with strength and masculinity, Janno is different, secretive, emotionally frail. One day his mother, fiercely religious, brings home Pieter, a hardened street orphan she wants to save, and asks Janno to makes this stranger into his brother. The two boys start a fight for power, heritage and parental love. An official selection of Cannes Un Certain Regard, Etienne Kallos' debut feature film explores teenage angst and family dynamics set against a harsh yet stunning South African backdrop.

The Making of Panthera from Renee Mao on Vimeo.

The Making of Panthera is a character-driven documentary short about 25-year-old Brooklyn-based drag queen Panthera Lush, whose awe-inspiring creations are the product of hundreds of painstaking hours spent at the sewing machine. With her inventive, couture-worthy looks, Panthera elevates drag to the status of fine art. Weaving cinéma vérité and choreographed drama, this documentary short invites you to gallivant around Panthera's Brooklyn — in her dressing room, backstage, and at a 2 a.m. diner run with friends. Somewhere along the way, we learn just what it is about drag that has captivated today's culture.

CREDITS:

Directors | Renee Mao & Savannah O'Leary
Producer | Kieran Altmann
Cinematographer | Shannon Palmer
Editor | Savannah O'Leary

Exclusively In Theaters: NYC August 14 // LA August 23

Directed by Rhys Ernst

Screenplay by Ariel Schrag

Awkward, self-conscious Adam Freeman (Nicholas Alexander) has just finished his junior year of high school in 2006. When his cool older sister Casey (Margaret Qualley, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood) suggests he visit her in New York for the Summer, Adam has visions of meeting a girl and finally gaining some actual life experience. The fantasy doesn’t materialize exactly as expected. Casey has enthusiastically embraced life amidst Brooklyn’s young LGBTQ community and invites Adam to tag along with her to queer bars, marriage equality rallies and other happenings. When Adam falls at first sight for Gillian (Bobbi Salvör Menuez), a smart, beautiful young woman in this new crowd, she mistakenly assumes he is trans. Flummoxed and enamored, he haplessly goes along with her assumption, resulting in an increasingly complex comedy - and tragedy - of errors he’s ill-equipped to navigate.

The eccentric, lovable LGBTQ feature debut from writer/director. Mark Blane and co-director Ben Mankoff. Mark Blane, Patricia Richardson, and John Duff star in CUBBY.

Mark, a misanthropic 26-year-old gay man, had been living in his mother’s garage in Indiana and working on his sexually explicit—and BDSM-themed—artwork until a lie he tells gets him unwittingly in New York City, dog paddling among the sharks. There, he takes a job babysitting for 6-year-old Milo, a new best friend who fully accepts Mark, but does little to help him meet the challenges of everyday life.

Falling behind on rent, and running out of anti-anxiety pills, Mark finally discovers the inspiration he needs, in the form of the alternative superhero, Leather-Man, who appears to him through the lens of a psychedelic cupcake. As a sexy metaphor for discipline and control, Leather-Man helps Mark onto the path for success, but not before Mark’s babysitting adventures turn from empowering, to risky, and ultimately: transformative.

Limited Theatrical begins this Fall

DVD & VOD: November 2019

Directed by: Mark Blane & Ben Mankoff

Written by: Mark Blane

Lawyer Roy Cohn personified the dark arts of American politics, turning empty vessels into dangerous demagogues - from Senator Joseph McCarthy to his final project, Donald J. Trump. This thriller-like doc exposé connects the dots, revealing how a deeply troubled master manipulator shaped today's American nightmare. Where's My Roy Cohn? is directed by acclaimed American doc filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer, director of the documentaries Valentino: The Last Emperor, Citizen Jane: Battle for the City, Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood, and Studio 54 previously. This premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Sony Classics will release Tyrnauer's Where's My Roy Cohn? doc in select theaters starting September 20th this fall.

Wow!!! What a trailer!!!

Hustlers follows a crew of savvy former strip club employees who band together to turn the tables on their Wall Street clients. The film was inspired by the article published by New York Magazine entitled “The Hustlers at Scores” written by Jessica Pressler.

Starring Jennifer Lopez, Constance Wu, Julia Stiles, Keke Palmer, Lili Reinhart, Lizzo and Cardi B.

Just...wow!

Winter 1968 and showbiz legend Judy Garland arrives in Swinging London to perform a five-week sold-out run at The Talk of the Town. It is 30 years since she shot to global stardom in The Wizard of Oz, but if her voice has weakened, its dramatic intensity has only grown. As she prepares for the show, battles with management, charms musicians and reminisces with friends and adoring fans, her wit and warmth shine through. Even her dreams of love seem undimmed as she embarks on a whirlwind romance with Mickey Deans, her soon-to-be fifth husband. Featuring some of her best-known songs, the film celebrates the voice, the capacity for love, and the sheer pizzazz of “the world’s greatest entertainer.”

Ever since the 1969 riots on the streets outside New York City’s Stonewall Inn, L.G.B.T.Q. communities have gathered there to express their joy, their anger, their pain and their power.

Few places are so tightly identified with the birth of a movement as the Stonewall Inn and the streets that surround it, in the downtown Manhattan neighborhood of Greenwich Village. This month marks 50 years since the Stonewall riot, which galvanized a half-century of activism and agitation for L.G.B.T. rights and made Stonewall a recurring stage for public protest, grieving and celebration.

Cheryl Furjanic’s new Op-Doc, “Stonewall: The Making of a Monument” traces that history, exploring the process by which a chaotic street fight in protest of police brutality has been engraved into history in the form of a national monument. Furjanic’s film, built from a chorus of voices and archival footage, is also a case study in how mainstream acceptance can, ironically, be a mixed blessing for political movements, as people struggle to control their own history.

Consummate con man Roy Courtnay (Ian McKellen) has set his sights on his latest mark: the recently widowed Betty McLeish (Helen Mirren), worth millions. And Roy means to take it all. From their very first meeting, Roy begins plying Betty with his tried and true manipulations, and Betty, who seems quite taken with him, is soon going along for the ride. But this time, what should have been a simple swindle escalates into a cat-and-mouse game with the ultimate stakes—revealing more insidious deceptions that will take them both through a minefield of danger, intrigue and betrayal.

The Good Liar - In Theaters November 15

...by David Anderson Cutler

It's that time of the year again...come rain or shine, when we all head off to the glorious capital city of Edinburgh.

Must admit, the LGBT content [this year] is - for the want of a better word - sparse. Last year's festival presented 20 LGBT films...with a few additional surprises. This year, a mere 6 - not including all the retrospective films!

Still...there are always the surprises, we've just got to find them...hiding behind all that subtext and/or homoerotica! And, let's face it, practically every film made [nowadays] has - at least - one LGBT character...who ticks the [now obligatory] diversity box!

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Day 1...

Didn't get to see Boyz in the Wood...but, here are the Boyz...

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Day 2...

Aniara
by Pella Kågerman & Hugo Lilja

Earth is buggered...let's all bugger off to Mars!

Here's a film with - quite possibly - the longest timeline in cinematic history...it literally spans 1000s of years. Aniara is a dark, pessimistic tale about humanity...the hopes and ambitions and the crushing reality when it all doesn't go to plan...all explored within the confines of a rather large, out-of-control spaceship!

It takes a brave filmmaker to take on the might of Harry Martinson's epic poem...purists will probably pick fault with every scene. But, hey...not everyone is a purist! This is a version, an interpretation of the text...it makes you think, it makes you sad, it makes you ask yourself questions...what would you do if you found yourself infinitely hurtling through infinity? That's not a question you blurt out at a dinner party!

The directors have worked magic with their budget...the atmosphere is palpable, the claustrophobia is tangible, the hopelessness is indisputable. It's not without a few faults...but, considering the budget and the richness of the source material...it's a damn decent effort.

So Pretty
By Jessie Jeffrey Dunn Rovinelli

Made by a niche demographic...for a niche demographic. Most definitely...not one for the hoi-polloi!

In these PC times, when the snowflakes are frantically searching for their own identities...be it fluid, non-binary, trans or cis...ad nauseam. It comes as an ironic surprise...So Pretty is a film that hasn't a clue what it is...it calls itself a drama, although it is [almost] devoid of a story...and, for the most part, it seems to be completely improvised. The aesthetic is part cinéma vérité, totally guerilla, too Dogme-95-ish for comfort...and, topped off with an obvious [and sycophantic] Warholian nod. In other words...this is low budget, home-made, artistically challenged fayre.

It veers from the [wholly] pseudo-intellectual to the mundane to the ooh-you-wouldn't-want-your-mother-to-watch-this...the [bewildering] ass-whipping scene will bring tears to your eyes! It screams: Hey, we're crazy queer kids, we do crazy things! This 'Queer Thang'...well, it's all rather reminsicent of the good ole Punk days...alas, without the humour, the style, the angst or the music! [C'mon Punk was funny!] So, just to be controversial...this kind of 'Queer' is merely the post-post-modern Punk for today...a poor photocopy of the original. Yip...subcultures [do] come and [do] go, leaving in their wake films like these. Perhaps, in years to come So Petty will be afforded the same kind of attention [and praise] Andy Warhol & Paul Morrissey continue to receive. For they did - indeed - definitively defined their subculture. Sadly, So Pretty is without definition.

The Grizzlies
By Miranda de Pencier

Here's a film that bellows: Canada...make amends!

A straightforward narrative...without any bells or whistles...that really does kick the Canadian government in the proverbials! Tradition and modernity will always be at loggerheads...but, when the suicide rate soars among the young...something has got to be done. Heads have got to be bashed and solutions threshed out. This is an ongoing tragedy...but, what makes it more tragic is...it is all completely avoidable.

The Grizzlies is both heart-breaking and uplifting...the message is clear and uncomplicated. Invest and keep on investing until this shocking suicide statistic has been reduced down to 'normal' parameters...and then, keep on investing...in education, sport, art, tradition...and, people.

A fine film...with a young, inexperienced cast who all step up to the plate and more. Hopefully, this film will get the audience it deserves...not only does it show the importance of education...but, it educates the audience. Now...that's something more films should do!

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Day 3...

Love Type D
By Sasha Collington

The question is: Would you take and act on [dating] advice dished out by an 11-year-old? Well, if you have been dumped as many times as this character has...desperation makes people do incredible things!

However, the implausibility of the whole scenario and the lightness of tone makes this an underwhelming rom-com...with little in the way of genuine 'rom' and pushing too hard for the 'com'. Such a shame, the two little boys do deliver a rather nifty little comedy act. But, it's too cutesy...obviously [and most bizarrely] intended for the family market...can't quite see the families packing into the cinema to see this! Perhaps, adolescent girls...desperate to clinch their first boyfriends...all they need is an elephant-strength love potion!

It's all just a little too immature!

The Art of Self-Defense
By Riley Stearns

Let's face it, Jesse Eisenberg is a bit of a Marmite actor...you either love or loathe. Well, my dears, he uses that dichotomy to his utmost advantage in this timely tale of toxic masculinity.

Riley Stearns takes his story - inch-by-inch - into the darkness...what makes it so gripping is the tongue-in-cheek [almost camp] posturing of the alpha-males, Alessandro Nivola's Sensei is a howling homage to narcissism. Everybody loves an underdog...but, when that underdog transforms, through self-empowerment...most will applaud and cheer...until it goes too far. When the self-empowered become the self-righteous...oh dear!

The Art of Self-Defense takes it to the absolute limit...in the beginning, you will love [or loathe] Mr Eisenberg...in the end, you should loathe his character...although, some will - undoubtedly - love him. It all depends on your own moral compass...!

This is a film that has everything...with one added bonus...intelligence. It's frightening!

The Dead Don't Die
By Jim Jarmusch

Zombies have been done to death...well, Mr Jarmusch knocks his zombies out of the park and beyond!

When a film features a lusty Scottish mortician who just happens to be a Samurai warrior and takes the form of Tilda Swinton...c'mon, it's a no-brainer...this has got to be seen to believed. She - quite literally - steals every scene...one, in particular, involving two dead bodies, a Samurai sword and funky make-up. One of the most outrageous and satisfying belly-laughs in the history of cinema!

Bill Murray does nonchalant Bill Murray to [the expected] perfection...with Adam Driver, bouncing all the way, as his sidekick...showing the power of understated comedy.

The Dead Don't Die goes off-piste so often...it really is - at times - a case of WTF! Go with it, this is Jim Jarmush doing his thing with done-to-death zombies...it's a treat and a trial and it will give you [and leave you with] that - utterly joyous - belly-laugh!

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Day 4...

Yesterday
By Danny Boyle

Not what you would expect from Mr Boyle!

It's not the greatest film ever made...in truth, it's a bit daft...but, if it's the feel-good factor that you're after...well, they don't come much better than this!

The Beatles have been wiped from the world's collective memory [hysterically, so has Oasis...and, bizarrely Coca-Cola, think about it]...all, apart for one [lucky and luckless] busker...who just happens to know practically every song the Fab4 produced. Vicarious fame and fortune dangle before him like a lush donkey's carrot!

Whether you are a 'Beatles' fan or not...the biggest surprise in Yesterday is how fresh these songs come across..and that's all thanks to a beautifully natural performance by Himesh Patel, not an easy transition from being a [long-time] soap star to the big screen. He does it with aplomb...and, most importantly, he is absolutely, cheek-tweakingly adorable.

However, Ed Sheeran is not a natural actor [hey, it's not his gig]...but, credit where credit's due, he gives it a go and embraces the self-mockery...that's nothing but admirable. 'Dude' instead of 'Jude'...just hysterical!

So...suspend disbelief and enjoy. This is solid entertainment.

Astronaut
By Shelagh McLeod

Cosmic sentimentality...a sweet and safe little film without any artistic risks whatsoever. Just a plain old-fashioned story...reminiscent of Cocoon [sans les extraterrestres]...about regrets, missed opportunities...and, legacy.

Mr Dreyfuss delivers a stoic performance...aided and abetted by a script that maintains the mantra: Never give up...wishing, hoping, living.There is, however, a smidgen of respite from the heart-tugging...in the form an elderly gay gentleman who has not lost his eye-for-the-men and vocalises his pent-up lust with neither shame nor reticence.

Of course it's sentimental, how could it not be!?! Considering Mr Dreyfuss' cinematic girth...Jaws, Close Encounters...and, his Oscar-winning, The Goodbye Girl...Astronaut is a modest film, it will certainly warm the cockles of many hearts, both young & old...and, for those of a certain age, it's poignancy will resonate in so many ways.

A solid, lovely wee film...just a little bit on the safe side.

The Furies
By Tony D'Aquino

Eeew...if it's blood, guts and gore that you're after...you've come to the right place!

This is vicious...sometimes, you really have to cover your eyes...as these kidnapped young women are hunted [and killed] by 'extravagantly' masked men...in the wilderness that is the Australian outback. It's unrelenting!

The cinematography captures the geography perfectly, the editing is brisk...and, the music is striking. Being his debut feature...Mr D'Aquino has done the right thing...surrounding himself with technicians who know their jobs. The result is an over-the-top, wholly misogynistic, assault to the senses...so much so, it actually becomes quite funny in a macabre way...when you laugh at an exploding head...it really is time to question your own sanity!

Thrilling, nasty stuff!

The Fall of the American Empire [La chute de l'empire américain]
By Denys Arcand

The Canadian master-filmmaker...does it again! No, it's not a sequel to Mr Arcand's similarly entitled [brilliantly poisonous] The Decline of the American Empire - still, the obvious [titular] dig at his next-door-neighbour is more than just a slap-in-the-face!

There's nothing quite like drilling home your message via sarcasm and wit, Mr Arcand does not - in the slightest - hold back. This is crime-caper done to perfection...with an added [blistering] social commentary. The crux of the film is a moral issue...akin to Robin Hood...stealing from thieves for the greater good of the community. Then...there's an unbridled assault on education and intellectualism: Intelligence is a handicap!

What makes this all work is Alexandre Landry's ultra-charismatic performance...he's a delivery-man with a PhD, a bit of a geek, who falls for an exorbitant escort...while being chased by hardcore, torture-wielding criminals and harassed by a duo of police officers...who are contending with a few sexual issues, she had him, he wants her, she's switched teams!

Messieurs Landry et Arcand take everything in their stride...the pace is furious, the 2 hours zip by...indeed, the Canadian master-filmmaker...has done it again!

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Day 5...

The Tobacconist [Der Trafikant]
By Nikolaus Leytner

What a story! What a film!

This is direction, Nikolaus Leytner has the unique vision and ability...to put everything that is in his mind's eye onto the screen. A period piece with daubs of nightmare and flourishes of fantasy...

The rise of Fascism...witnessed by and seen through the impressionable eyes of somewhat naive, young man. This is a character who grows - exponentially - before your very eyes. Oooh...how you will involve yourself with his fragilities and friendships. How you will smile as he grows into his adult's skin...and, how you will weep...as life's realities take their toll.

T'is always a pleasure to see a young actor step up to [and beyond] the plate...this should be his breakout performance, he literally carries the film from start to finish...talk about character arcs, this arc is mighty. With touches of Cabaret, tête-à-têtes with Sigmund Freud, cigar etiquette and the sniveling, rotten musk of the Black Shirts lurking...The Tobacconist is a story that needed to be told...and, with might, has it been told well!

Stunning.

The Red Phallus
By Tashi Gyeltshen

The cinematography is splendiferous...but...the acting...well, there are two ways of looking at using non-professional actors...you may find a diamond-in-the-rough...or, as is the case here, you don't. With the exception of Tshering Euden, she does do a decent job...but, all the others...it's a great big oops!

Now...if you are going to use no-pros...you had better be a director worth his-or-her salt. Tashi Gyeltshen demonstrates the biggest mistake a [relatively inexperienced] director can make...he completely forgot about his potential audience. If film-making is all about bums-on-seats and telling a story to those bums...these bums on these seats are sound asleep...because, the story doesn't quite unfurl and the unfurling is akin to treacle coming out of a vinegar bottle! In other words: Slooow!

Talk about overly long-takes...who wants to watch a gas-ring [burning] for 2 minutes? Some will label it 'mood' and/or 'atmospheric' - forget those labels...this is monotony.

Manta Ray [Kraben rahu]
By Phuttiphong Aroonpheng

An intriguing beginning...a man adorned with fairy lights walks through a forest covered in fairly lights...visually, it's stunning. But, what does it all mean? The director gives you plenty of time to mull it over.

A perplexing middle...a peroxide-blonde man finds an unconscious man deep in the mangroves, he extricates him without any trouble, nurses him and allows him to share his home and life...and, he doesn't utter a word [throughout the entire film]! The villagers perceive them as a married couple...up until the peroxide-blonde disappears. In walks his pregnant ex-wife, who shacks up with the mute foundling...and then she bleaches his hair! What does it all mean? Seemingly, this film is a damning indictment on how [badly] the Rohingya are treated in Thailand...however, being so utterly abstract, that damning [and important] 'message' is all but lost.

And, not just a cacophonous ending...but one that will cause your jaw to slam uncontrollably onto the floor...it's cryptic...perhaps, surreal...in truth, it's just plain stupid.

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Day 6...

The Souvenir
By Joanna Hogg

Film-school drivel...from a 'seasoned' [as in, no Spring chicken] film-school graduate...who ought to have known [much] [much] better!

With such mighty names attached to this narcissistic, preachy 'project' - Martin Scorsese [executive producer ] & Tilda Swinton [with daughter-in-tow]...this a classic case of: It's not what you know...it's who!

It would be far too easy to [completely and utterly] rip this mind-numbingly repetitive 'film' apart...and, quite possibly, in doing so...incur a rather costly libel!!! So...without further fuss [or, ado]...I will say no more...other than...a 'Part Deux' [sequel] is in-the-works [with the same fabulous names attached]...a word of advice: Read, just a handful of, the [public, entrance-fee-paying] reviews on IMDb...and then, perhaps, you will climb down from cloud-cuckoo-residence and realise that your [parentally] fully-funded-far-flung-film-school days are NOT as interesting as you have deluded yourself [and some fabulous names] into believing!

But...hey, well done...for getting Tilda and Martin onboard! And...winner of the Grand Jury Prize @ Sundance!?! Must admit Ms Hogg...you keep non-hoi-polloi 'good' cinematic company! Proper...cinematic elitism.

Cronofobia
By Francesco Rizzi

A film that goes from the interesting [albeit confusing]...to the riveting [albeit wonderfully mundane]...to the downright pedestrian.

Yes...the final third threw a spanner into-the-works and screwed everything [so frustratingly] up! Aaargh...sometimes, the need for artiness is not needed whatsoever! Just keep it real.

This is an impressive feature debut. Francesco Rizzi has it all...vision, voice and talent...with a little fine-tuning, [third act] tucks and tweaks...his next project could easily knock it out of the park. Not many directors can intrigue an audience...then, absorb them...and lose them all in the space of 93 minutes...as they say, two out of three ain't bad...but, three out of three makes for a solid cinematic career!

Bulbul Can Sing
By Rima Das

Bulbul can't sing!

What an odd little film...it has been screened at many LGBT film festivals throughout the word...yet, it is not [by any stretch of the imagination] a first-tier LGBT film. Yes, it does feature a young gay man...who gets periodically forgotten about throughout [but still manages to pack a well-placed punch or two]...the main themes in this film are burgeoning sexuality, traditional patriarchy...and, that old favourite...arranged marriages...in rural India, where time stands still...despite the howling cries from modernity.

Rima Das is her own one-woman production company...quite literally, doing everything herself to get her projects off the ground and onto the silver screen...that, in itself, has to be admired. This is as decent a film can be when non-professional actors are used...the leads do do an admirable job...sadly, the support does not fare as well!

Bulbul has a pivotal scene involving the two young women...they are caught flirting [illicitly] with a couple of boys...all Hell breaks loose! The townsmen beat the girls black-and-blue...well, that was the intention, what we see is a slap-happy, sloppy improvisation that goes on for far too long. It really is a case of...less is more. If performers can't do stunt-fighting convincingly...then don't show it. There are other ways to convey violence...via sound and crisp editing.

Weaknesses aside, Bulbul Can Sing has a captivating freshness. Rima Das' voice needs to be heard, she is tackling subjects that need to be told and seen...modernity stops for no man...it's just that in some places some men do what they can to stop it themselves...the repercussions can be tragic. A film that - surely and hopefully - will change [traditional] minds!

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Day 7...

The Captor [Stockholm]
By Robert Budreau

Who doesn't love a bumbling criminal with a heart of gold?

Be warned...this is not an accurate re-telling of the botched bank heist that led to the psychological 'discovery' of the Stockholm Syndrome. Instead, this is a tongue-in-cheek, almost caper-ish rendition of the 'facts' and Ethan Hawke just rolls with it. He's cheek-tweakingly lovable!

It's a mad approach to the actual madness, not too dissimilar with Dog Day Afternoon...hitting a perfect balance between comedy and drama...between sentiment and survival. As you would expect, nothing goes smoothly for our anti-hero...and every error of judgment is met with a carnivorous performance by Vladimir Jon Cubrt who - as the bank manager - steals every scene with his snide and cynical coolness.

So...with Bob Dylan crooning away in the background...take a pinch of salt, suspend disbelief and enjoy...this has an unexpected charm and a jaw-dropping silliness. As daft as it is entertaining.

X&Y
By Anna Odell

Artistic boundaries do not exist...well, they bloody well ought to...and, if they did [or, do], this incredible indulgence would never have made it to the screen!

After a tortuous [and mind-numbing] 112 minutes, it all amounts to one great big pile of pseudo-intellectual-sexual guff...packed to the rafters with mental and physical probings...who is me? Let me bonk me to find out! Galloping ginger cats...there goes the audience!

Part scripted, part improvised...wholly incomprehensible and lamentably risible. Ms Odell - incredulously - gathered a mighty fine company of actors, convinced them to do as she directed, forgot [completely] about the audience...as nothing is answered in the film...the only question that remains is...why?

Thirty [Dreissig]
By Simona Kostova

Here's a little experiment...I asked a complete stranger [who just happened to be a young man] to recommend a film, something that wasn't on my list. He recommended this...saying it was completely brilliant.

Sometimes you get a pleasant little surprise...and, sometimes you don't.

Alas, Thirty falls into the latter category...but, what makes this interesting is...this is film-making for a different generation. Me, I like a story...something that grabs you and doesn't let go until the very end. Thirty has no story...it's just a bunch of friends, approaching thirty and moaning about everything and anything...

It's all very cinema verité - realism to the core...the only problem is, other people's realities can be a complete bore to watch. Hey...different generation...different mindset!

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Day 8...

I See You
By Adam Randall

Well...if ever a film keeps you on your toes, keeps you guessing...and, on the edge of your seat throughout...here it is!

Seriously, this is clever stuff...especially when the perspectives change, a very difficult mechanism to pull off...well, Adam Randall hit a home-run! Nothing is as it seems...no-one is who they seem. A cheating mother and wife, held to account by her son and husband...it sounds like a good old-fashioned, bland domestic melodrama...well, there's nothing bland nor mellow in this home invasion thrilling thriller.

The amount of twists and turns is dizzying...but, always believable...think of doing a jigsaw puzzle without seeing the picture first, bit-by-bit the darkness is revealed. This is dark...so very dark played against the idyll of sweet suburbia...as the rot sets in and takes over.

Jumping to conclusions will only get you outsmarted...few films leave you with a lasting impression...you'll be checking your cupboards and garages, lofts and sheds...who's watching you!?!

Chilling, thrilling stuff.

 

Aren't You Happy? [Das melancholische Mädchen]
By Susanne Heinrich

I don't get your humour...

That's a quote from the film...talk about hitting the nail precisely on the head! Really, seriously, unabashedly...there are not enough [respectable & repeatable] words to accurately describe how [truly] awful this film is!

It's really only 70 minutes [too] long...with 9 minutes of end credits [yes, we timed them!].

So...not to be a total malcontent...here are the positives, there are quite a few willies on show [one being particularly impressive]. That's it, that's all.

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Day 9...

Synonyms [Synonymes]
By Nadav Lapid

Winner of Berlinale's Golden Bear...seriously, did they watch the same film!?!

Well, we can think of quite a few 'synonymes' to describe this utter mess/shambles/mishmash/ of a self-indulgent/cacophonous/thread-bare/pretentious film. Where to start...

...with the story, of course...wait a minute...what story? It all centres around Yoav, a young man who likes to show off his manly tackle and [oooh your poor ears] hasn't mastered the art of speaking at a normal [and acceptable] level...in other words, he shouts...throughout the entire film!

Yoav has 'escaped' his native [and despised] Israel...decanting to Paris. Within a matter of minutes, he ends up in a stunning [but bare] apartment, being robbed [while showering] of his entire possessions...leaving him, in the cold heart of Winter...bare-butt-dick-dangling-naked!

Then...everything goes all Jules et Jim [sans la magnificence de Truffaut]...a young, wealthy couple rescue him from a hypothermic bath-tub...warm him, clothe him, feed him and hand over [without the blink of a smitten eye] a wad of cash. As if!

Admittedly...it all sounds rather interesting and there are certainly some eye-pleasing moments...but, that's just the first 15 minutes...the remaining 105 minutes are a fanatical assault to the senses [and to Israel]! Now, this all might be [a bit] semi-autobiographical and Nadav Lapid just wanted to get a load off of his chest...well, he certainly did that...and, forgot about the audience [there were quite a few walk-outs at the press screening]...it's all about communication m'dear!

There are better ways to rant and rave...rather than [actually] ranting and raving for nearly 2 exhausting, ear-splitting hours. Synonyms is a scathing critique on [a very pervasive] Israel...perhaps that was the point. Why be subtle...when you can just throw it out there - unrelentlessly - at the top of your [screeching] voice, taking no prisoners whatsoever!

Indeed...food for thought! 

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Day 10...

Masters of Love
By Matt Roberts

It all centres around an up-coming [obviously, on-and-off] lesbian wedding...it's ensemble, it's low-budget...and, it's a little bit wordy!

Everything is told...nothing is shown, this could have been - quite easily - a radio play! And, perhaps, it would have worked better on the old wireless...watching these - most unlikable - characters is a chore too far.

The grossly irritating vlogger is punchable, the crappy-stand-up-comedian is [for want of a better word] crappy...as for the lesbian couple, one half high-maintenance, the other..bordering on the apathetic.

The conflicts [of which there are many] are all self-made and resolved quickly...it's all very dizzying how readily the 'forgivenesses' are dished out.

Look...this is a debut feature and it does creak under the weight of inexperience...obviously, the intention was...to produce a Richard Curtis-ish quirky little rom-com. Here's a little bit of advice: Start off by creating characters the audience will like, relate to, take into their hearts. Otherwise, like this bunch...no-one will care a jot what happens to them. And, as for lasting impressions...well, all forgotten, soon after.

Carmilla
By Emily Harris

Over the years, Sheridan Le Fanu's novella has been done to death...with varying degrees of success and failure.

Emily Harris decided - for some unknown reason - that she would have a bash at telling this familiar tale...well, she certainly gave it a bash and a bashing...hey, everyone has the right to free interpretation!

The problem with this Carmilla is...it's too safe. It's not Gothic enough, not - by a long shot - lesbian enough...and, no-where-near vampiric enough...even the nasty governess is not nasty enough...but, that's probably the fault of the casting director! Enough with the enoughs!

More biting, more blood, more sweaty, seething Sapphism...more horror! Less of the insects...why all the shots of creepy-crawlies? Yes, the film should have been creepy...a few bug shots do not constitute creepiness!

'Less is more' is a mantra that many filmmakers - wisely - follow...unfortunately, in this unusual case...a wee bit 'more' would have paid dividends...the atmosphere and cinematography were major stakeholders...sadly, the 'stake' missed the heart!

Acute Misfortune
By Thomas M. Wright

Not a pleasant man...but, a superlative [and stylish] bio-pic.

Adam Cullen's art is bold, brash and immature...like the man himself. He was the archetypal suffering artist...alcohol and substance abuse helped put him into an early grave...aged 46. However, he had the wherewithal to recruit a young biographer before his untimely demise...insuring his name and his art's longevity.

This is Thomas M. Wright's [impressive] first film...unlike his chosen subject's art, Mr Wright has defined his own style with an acute eye for detail...he has [wisely] surrounded himself with cinematic technicians who know their craft and shared his vision. The music is a magnificence. The editing, award-deserving...and, the cinematography is aesthetically distinctive. But...it is the writing that catapults this into the stratosphere.

Erik Jensen was young, inexperienced, grappling with his sexuality when he was thrown into the lion's den...as Adam Cullen wrestled with his [many] demons...the dynamic between them is electrifying as they tussle with their own respective vulnerabilities...trying to make sense of what is happening. This is - fundamentally - an abusive relationship...with an even darker twist. The image of Mr Cullen standing naked in the doorway of his young sleeping biographer is an ode to his darkness and a subtextual howler!

Yes...it's easy to dislike Mr Cullen, Daniel Henshall's mighty portrayal doesn't do his legacy any favours whatsoever...until! That's when his real demon is exposed...a strikingly realised goose-bump moment.

Man, situation and film...all unique. Masterful work.

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Day 11... 

Good Omens
By Douglas Mackinnon

Well...that was an absolute marathon. 6 hours of unbridled mayhem.

There's no doubting the chemistry between David Tenant and Michael Sheen, they bounce off of each other like a demented bagatelle. And...oh dear, that's it for the compliments. Obviously, Mr Gaiman adapted his [and Terry Pratchett's] book for a wider audience appeal...and, he succeeded...at the expense of his hardcore [and they seriously are hardcore] fans.

So...what went wrong? Good Omens is a valley of peaks and troughs...when it's good, it's good. Alas...when it's bad, it falls flat on its face...too often. The humour is puerile. The direction needed to be more cinematic than it is. The source material needed to be respected more.

Undoubtedly, this will divide its audience...those who have read the book will pick fault and those who watch this without the textual insight will also pick fault...but not to the same degree!

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Day 12...

Before You Know It
By Hannah Pearl Utt

What an oddly framed film...it starts off lesbian, ends lesbian and there's nothing lesbian in-between!

So...rather than this being [solely] about a lesbian...it's much more, it's a slightly goofy look at three generations of womanhood...men - as you would expect - get a rum deal. There's the lying, feckless, controlling father and the cheating, incompetent, smarmy therapist...other than these two [brief] appearances, men don't get a look in.

Before You Know It rattles along at such a pace and - hey, before you know it - it's over. That's a compliment...as daft as the story is, Hannah Pearl Utt runs with it, full pelt...there are a few stumbles along the way but nothing too jarring. Seriously, this is light-hearted fayre...with the odd poke at the male-dominated establishment...

And then...in walks Judith Light as the caked-in-make-up daytime soap star, somewhat reminiscent of Norma Desmond...just a little less fearsome...oooh how this film could have exploded if there had been a generous serving of unbridled ferocity! The situation - most definitely - warranted it!

Being lied to all your life...no, not just a piddling little lie...but, a god-almighty whopper...Before You Know It should have gone down the route of outrage and been outrageous in doing so...alas, 'safe' was the way it went...resulting in a safe and chirpy little film, enjoyable...but, sometimes, you want to be left with a kick in the teeth rather than a smile on your face! Or, do you?!?

Mrs Lowry & Son
By Adrian Noble

Speculation as to L.S. Lowry's sexuality is [to say the least] speculative...although the evidence tends to give an inkling as to his orientation.

Mr Lowry never married, lived with his mother and, at the tender age of 88, he publicly said that he had never been with a woman...nor did he say that he had been with a man...but, alas, that question was never asked.

Adrian Noble certainly has his suspicions...with [just] one brief scene, with [just] one quick look...he - subtlely - makes his opinion known...only to those who can recognise the signs!

This is basically a two-hander between Vanessa Redgrave & Timothy Spall...both punching out knockout performances...in complete contrast to each other. Mrs Lowry is a malicious malevolence, her son is a benign bugbear...both co-dependent in their respective solitudes.

Mr Noble adds a restrained quirkiness, it's neither over-powering nor over-used...just the right amount that gives an imagined insight as to how Lowry saw the world and later interpreted those images onto his canvas. Who knows what goes on inside a painter's head...this is a wholly fictional and [mostly] credible [imaginary] attempt to discover what actually made Lowry tick. It is both a joy and a - a times - toil. Not in a bad way...it's just that Mrs Lowry's dotage invokes a cruel vulnerability...she spits venom, snobbery and disappointment. It's harsh.

But...Timothy Spall's playful gentility always wins over. And that is what gives this film such a vital, lived-in edge, those sharp contrasts...between the imagination and the reality, by [both] filmmaker and subject...the result, a mighty fine tribute for a mighty artist. 

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That's it...great festival...and, great big thank 'yous' to to EIFF, all the volunteers...and, of course, the Press team. Until next year...

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Spotlighting the art of drag, and centered on the New York staple Wigstock, Wig showcases the personalities and performances that inform the ways we understand queerness, art and identity today.

Wig premieres June 18 at 10 PM. #HBO #HBODocs #WigDoc

Here's the new trailer for the 4K re-release of Jack Hazan's doc A Bigger Splash.

An intimate and innovative film about English-born, often California-based artist David Hockney and his work, honoring its subject through creative risk-taking. Hazan creates an improvisatory narrative-nonfiction hybrid featuring Hockney, a wary participant, as well his circle of friends, capturing the agonized end of the lingering affair between Hockney and his muse, an American named Peter Schlesinger. The result is at once a time capsule of hedonistic gay life in the 1970s, an honest-yet-tender depiction of gay male romance that dispenses with the then-current narratives of self-hatred and self-pity, an invaluable view of art history in action, and a record of artistic creation that is itself a work of art.

Just how bad can one day get? The creative minds behind Superbad, Pineapple Express and Sausage Party take on sixth grade hard in the outrageous comedy, Good Boys.

After being invited to his first kissing party, 12-year-old Max (Room’s Jacob Tremblay) is panicking because he doesn’t know how to kiss. Eager for some pointers, Max and his best friends Thor (Brady Noon, HBO’s Boardwalk Empire) and Lucas (Keith L. Williams, Fox’s The Last Man On Earth) decide to use Max’s dad’s drone – which Max is forbidden to touch – to spy (they think) on a teenage couple making out next door.

But when things go ridiculously wrong, the drone is destroyed. Desperate to replace it before Max’s dad (Will Forte, The Last Man on Earth) gets home, the boys skip school and set off on an odyssey of epically bad decisions involving some accidentally stolen drugs, frat-house paintball, and running from both the cops and terrifying teenage girls (Life of the Party’s Molly Gordon and Ocean’s Eight’s Midori Francis).

In Theaters August 16

When a mild-mannered Uber driver named Stu (Kumail Nanjiani) picks up a passenger (Dave Bautista) who turns out to be a cop hot on the trail of a brutal killer, he's thrust into a harrowing ordeal where he desperately tries to hold onto his wits, his life and his five-star rating. Directed by Michael Dowse, this action-comedy from 20th Century Fox also stars Iko Uwais, Natalie Morales, Betty Gilpin, Jimmy Tatro, Mira Sorvino and Karen Gillan.

Directed by: Michael Dowse

Hilarious, outgoing and always up for a good time, New Yorker Brittany Forgler is everybody’s best friend ― except maybe her own. At 27, her hard-partying ways, chronic underemployment and toxic relationships are catching up with her, but when she stops by a new doctor’s office to try to score some Adderall, she gets slapped with a prescription she never wanted: Get healthy. Too broke for a gym and too proud to ask for help, Brit is at a loss, until her seemingly together neighbor Catherine pushes her to lace up her Converse sneakers and run one sweaty block. The next day, she runs two. And soon, after finishing her first mile, she sets an almost unthinkable goal: running in the New York City Marathon. Award-winning playwright Paul Downs Colaizzo makes his directorial debut with Brittany Runs a Marathon, an uproarious, irreverent and surprisingly emotional comedy inspired by real events. The irresistible cast, led by Jillian Bell, lends heart and soul to this inspirational story of a party girl who finally finds real friends — and dignity — by taking control of her future, one city block at a time.

Coming to Theaters August 23, 2019!

Astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his missing father and unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. His journey will uncover secrets that challenge the nature of human existence and our place in the cosmos.

In Theaters September 20

Directed by: James Gray

Written by: James Gray & Ethan Gross

Cast: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler and Donald Sutherland

A source of possible new films!!!

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Here are the nominees and winners.

Lesbian Fiction

The Tiger Flu, Larissa Lai, Arsenal Pulp Press (WINNER)

In this visionary novel by Larissa Lai - her first in sixteen years - a community of parthenogenic women, sent into exile by the male-dominated Salt Water City, goes to war against disease, technology, and powerful men that threaten them with extinction. Kirilow is a doctor apprentice whose lover Peristrophe is a starfish.

La Bastarda, Trifonia Melibea Obono, Translated by Lawrence Schimel, The Feminist Press at CUNY

La Bastarda is the story of the orphaned teen Okomo. Forbidden from seeking out her father, she enlists the help of other village outcasts: her gay uncle and a gang of mysterious girls revelling in their so-called indecency. Drawn into their illicit trysts, Okomo finds herself falling in love with their leader and rebelling against the rigid norms of Fang culture.

The Evolution of Love, Lucy Jane Bledsoe, Rare Bird Books

A devastating earthquake has just hit the San Francisco Bay Area, cutting off the outside world completely. When Lily decides to fly from Nebraska to California and make the treacherous journey into the Bay Area to find her sister, she knows she's headed for a disaster zone, but nothing prepares her for what she finds.

The Fifth Woman, Nona Caspers, Sarabande Books

Years after Caspers's unnamed narrator loses her first lover in a tragic accident, she finds herself wondering, "What did she want from me? What are the things that matter?" In vivid, richly detailed vignettes, the book tracks the cyclical nature of grief and remembrance across a life fractured by loss. At times dryly comical, at other times radiantly surreal, The Fifth Woman is a testament to the resurrecting power of memory and enduring love.

Maggie Terry, Sarah Schulman, The Feminist Press at CUNY

Post-rehab, Maggie Terry is single-mindedly trying to keep her head down in New York City. There's a madman in the White House, the subways are constantly delayed, summer is relentless, and neighborhoods all seem to blend together.

Pretend We Live Here, Genevieve Hudson, Future Tense Books

In her debut collection of stories, Pretend We Live Here, Genevieve Hudson explores the idea of home and what it means to find one: in the body, in the world, in other people. Her characters are seekers, whose actions are influenced by their slippery identities and by the strange landscapes that surround them.

Sodom Road Exit, Amber Dawn, Arsenal Pulp Press

It's the summer of 1990 and the small town of Crystal Beach has lost its beloved, long-running amusement park, leaving the lakeside village a virtual ghost town. It is back to this fallen community Starla Mia Martin must return to live with her overbearing mother after dropping out of university and racking up significant debt. But an economic downturn, mother-daughter drama, and Generation X disillusionment soon prove to be to be the least of Starla's troubles: a mysterious force begins to dog Starla... Soon enough, she must confront the unresolved traumas that haunt Crystal Beach.

Two Moons: Stories, Krystal A. Smith, BLF Press

A splendid debut collection of speculative fiction that traverses the connections between earth and the heavens, the living and the spectral, human and animal.

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Gay Fiction

Jonny Appleseed, Joshua Whitehead, Arsenal Pulp Press (WINNER)

Drapetomania, or the Narrative of Cyrus Tyler and Abednego Tyler, Lovers, John R. Gordon, Team Angelica Publishing

History of Violence: A Novel, Édouard Louis, Translated by Lorin Stein, Farrar, Straus and Giroux

The House of Impossible Beauties: A Novel, Joseph Cassara, HarperCollins / Ecco

Luminous Traitor: The Just and Daring Life of Roger Casement, a Biographical Novel, Martin Duberman, University of California Press

Some Hell: A Novel, Patrick Nathan, Graywolf Press

Speak No Evil, A Novel, Uzodinma Iweala, HarperCollins / Harper

State of the Nation, David Jackson Ambrose, The TMG Firm

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Bisexual Fiction

Disoriental, Négar Djavadi, Translated by Tina Kover, Europa Editions (WINNER)

Behind These Doors: Radical Proposals Book 1, Jude Lucens, Greenwose Books

The Best Bad Things: A Novel, Katrina Carrasco, MCD / FSG

Bhopal Dance: A Novel, Jennifer Natalya Fink, University of Alabama Press / FC2

Jilted, Lilah Suzanne, Interlude Press

The Origin of Doubt: Fifty Short Fictions, Nathan Alling Long, Press 53

Palmetto Rose, J.E. Sumerau, Brill / Sense

The Wild Birds, Emily Strelow, Rare Bird Books / A Barnacle Book

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Transgender Fiction

Little Fish, Casey Plett, Arsenal Pulp Press (WINNER)

Confessions of the Fox: A Novel, Jordy Rosenberg, One World / Random House

Freshwater, Akwaeke Emezi, Grove Atlantic / Grove Press

Invasions, Calvin Gimpelevich, Instar Books

Sketchtasy, Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore, Arsenal Pulp Press

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Bisexual Nonfiction

Many Love: A Memoir of Polyamory and Finding Love(s), Sophie Lucido Johnson, Simon & Schuster, Inc. / Touchstone

No Archive Will Restore You, Julietta Singh, Punctum Books / 3Ecologies Imprint

Out of Step: A Memoir, Anthony Moll, The Ohio State University Press (WINNER)

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Transgender Nonfiction

Amateur: A True Story About What Makes a Man, Thomas Page McBee, Scribner

Histories of the Transgender Child, Julian Gill-Peterson, University of Minnesota Press (WINNER)

I’m Afraid of Men, Vivek Shraya, Penguin Canada

Mobile Subjects: Transnational Imaginaries of Gender Reassignment, Aren Z. Aizura, Duke University Press

The Soul of the Stranger: Reading God and Torah from a Transgender Perspective, Joy Ladin, Brandeis University Press

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LGBTQ Nonfiction

The Boys of Fairy Town: Sodomites, Female Impersonators, Third-Sexers, Pansies, Queers, and Sex Morons in Chicago’s First Century, Jim Elledge, Chicago Review Press

Butch Heroes, Ria Brodell, The MIT Press

Has the Gay Movement Failed?, Martin Duberman, University of California Press

Ladies Lazarus, Piper J. Daniels, Tarpaulin Sky Press

Looking for Lorraine: The Radiant and Radical Life of Lorraine Hansberry, Imani Perry, Beacon Press (WINNER)

No Place Like Home: Lessons in Activism from LGBT Kansas, C.J. Janovy, University Press of Kansas

Resistance: The LGBT Fight Against Fascism in WWII, Avery Cassell, Stacked Deck Press

Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements, Charlene A. Carruthers, Beacon Press

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Lesbian Poetry

Body Work, Emilia Nielsen, Signature Editions

Each Tree Could Hold a Noose or a House, Nina Puro, New Issues Poetry & Prose (WINNER)

Evolution, Eileen Myles, Grove Atlantic / Grove Press

Gaze Back, Marylyn Tan, Ethos Books

Obits., Tess Liem, Coach House Books

Past Lives, Future Bodies, Kristin Chang, Black Lawrence Press

Surge, Etel Adnan, Nightboat Books

Who Is Trixie the Trasher? And Other Questions, Jane Miller, Copper Canyon Press

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Gay Poetry

ESL or You Weren’t Here, Aldrin Valdez, Nightboat Books

Indecency, Justin Phillip Reed, Coffee House Press (WINNER)

Inquisition, Kazim Ali, Wesleyan University Press

Junk, Tommy Pico, Tin House Books

Not Here, Hieu Minh Nguyen, Coffee House Press

Stereo(TYPE), Jonah Mixon-Webster, Ahsahta Press

Unfinished Sketches of a Revolution, Brane Mozetič, Translated by Barbara Jursa, Talisman House Publishers

Wild Is the Wind: Poems, Carl Phillips, Farrar, Straus and Giroux

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Bisexual Poetry (*new category for the 31st Annual Lammys)

Cenzontle, Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, BOA Editions Ltd.

If They Come for Us, Fatimah Asghar, Random House / One World

Mad Quick Hand of the Seashore: Love Poems, Frances Donovan, Reaching Press / Createspace

My Woman Card Is anti-Native & Other Two-Spirit Truths, Xemiyulu Manibusan Tapepechul, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

We Play a Game, Duy Doan, Yale University Press (WINNER)

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Transgender Poetry

Heal Your Love, Luna Merbruja, biyuti publishing

Holy Wild, Gwen Benaway, Book*hug Press

If the Color Is Fugitive, Sara Mithra, Nomadic Press

Lo Terciario / The Tertiary, Raquel Salas Rivera, Timeless, Infinite Light (WINNER)

Some Animal, Ely Shipley, Nightboat Books

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Lesbian Mystery

A Matter of Blood, Catherine Maiorisi, Bella Books

A Study in Honor: A Novel, Claire O’Dell, HarperCollins / HarperVoyager (WINNER)

A Whisper of Bones: A Jane Lawless Mystery, Ellen Hart, Minotaur Books

Alice Isn’t Dead: A Novel, Joseph Fink, Harper Perennial

Gnarled Hollow, Charlotte Greene, Bold Strokes Books

The Locket, Gerri Hill, Bella Books

Secrets of the Last Castle, A. Rose Mathieu, Bold Strokes Books

Stolen: A Kieran Yeats Mystery, Linda J. Wright, Cats Paw Books

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Gay Mystery

Black Diamond Fall, Joseph Olshan, Polis Books

Boystown 11: Heart’s Desire, Marshall Thornton, Kenmore Books

Death Checks In, David S. Pederson, Bold Strokes Books

Dodging and Burning: A Mystery, John Copenhaver, Pegasus Books

The God Game: A Dan Sharp Mystery, Jeffrey Round, Dundurn

Late Fees: A Pinx Video Mystery, Marshall Thornton, Kenmore Books (WINNER)

Somewhere Over Lorain Road, Bud Gundy, Bold Stroke Books

Survival Is a Dying Art: An Angus Green Novel

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Lesbian Memoir/Biography

Apocalypse, Darling, Barrie Jean Borich, Mad Creek Books / The Ohio State University Press

Berenice Abbott: A Life in Photography, Julia Van Haaften, W. W. Norton & Company

A Certain Loneliness: A Memoir, Sandra Gail Lambert, University of Nebraska Press

Chronology, Zahra Patterson, Ugly Duckling Presse (WINNER)

Food Was Her Country: The Memoir of a Queer Daughter, Marusya Bociurkiw, Dagger Editions

MINE: Essays, Sarah Viren, University of New Mexico Press

My Butch Career: A Memoir, Esther Newton, Duke University Press

nîtisânak, Lindsay Nixon, Metonymy Press

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Gay Memoir/Biography

Harvey Milk: His Lives and Death, Lillian Faderman, Yale University Press

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel, Alexander Chee, Bloomsbury Publishing

No Ashes in the Fire: Coming of Age Black and Free in America, Darnell L. Moore, Bold Type (WINNER)

On the Other Side of Freedom: The Case for Hope, Deray Mckesson, Viking

The Marble Faun of Grey Gardens: A Memoir of the Beales, the Maysles

Brothers and Jacqueline Kennedy, Jerry Torre & Tony Maietta, Querelle Press

The New Negro: The Life of Alain Locke, Jeffrey C. Stewart, Oxford University Press

The Unpunished Vice: A Life of Reading, Edmund White, Bloomsbury Publishing

There Will Be No Miracles Here: A Memoir, Casey Gerald, Penguin Random House

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Lesbian Romance

Autumn’s Light, Aurora Rey, Bold Strokes Books

Beowolf For Cretins: A Love Story, Ann McMan, Bywater Books (WINNER)

Breaking Down Her Walls, Erin Zak, Bold Strokes Books

Charming the Vicar, Jenny Frame, Bold Strokes Books

In Development, Rachel Spangler, Brisk Press

Just For Show, Jae, Ylva Publishing

The Music And The Mirror, Lola Keeley, Ylva Publishing

The Talebearer, Sheri Lewis Wohl, Bold Strokes Books

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Gay Romance

The CEO’s Christmas Manny, Angela McCallister, Dreamspinner Press

Crashing Upwards, S.C. Wynne, self-published (WINNER)

Detour, Reesa Herberth & Michelle Moore, Riptide Publishing

Learn with Me, Kris Jacen, MLR Press, LLC

No Luck, Kayleigh Sky, Kiss Drunk Books

Of Sunlight and Stardust, Christina Lee & Riley Hart, self-published

Point of Contact, Melanie Hansen, Carina Press

Undue Influence: A Persuasion Retelling, Jenny Holiday, self-published

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LGBTQ Anthology

As You Like It: The Gerald Kraak Anthology Volume II, The Other Foundation, Jacana Media (WINNER)

Beyond II: The Queer Post-Apocalyptic & Urban Fantasy Comic Anthology, Taneka Stotts & Sfé R. Monster, Beyond Press

Foglifter Volume 3, Issue 1, Miah Jefra, Chad Koch, et al., Foglifter Press

Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture, Roxane Gay, HarperCollins / Harper Perennial

Q2Q: Queer Canadian Performance Texts, Peter Dickinson, C.E. Gatchalian, Kathleen Oliver, Dalbir Singh, Playwrights Canada Press

Sista!: An Anthology of Writing By and About Same Gender Loving Women of African/Caribbean Descent with a UK Connection, Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, Rikki Beadle-Blair, John R. Gordon, Team Angelica Publishing

Spawning Generations: Rants and Reflections on Growing Up with LGBTQ Parents, Sadie Epstein-Fine & Makeda Zook, Demeter Press

Written on the Body: Letters from Trans and Non-Binary Survivors of Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, Lexie Bean, Jessica Kingsley Publishers

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LGBTQ Children’s/Young Adult

Hurricane Child, Kheryn Callender, Scholastic / Scholastic Press (WINNER)

Anger Is a Gift: A Novel, Mark Oshiro, Tor Teen

The Dangerous Art of Blending In, Angelo Surmelis, HarperCollins / Balzer & Bray

Darius the Great Is Not Okay, Adib Khorram, Dial

Girl Made of Stars, Ashley Herring Blake, Houghton Mifflin & Little, Brown

The Poet X, Elizabeth Acevedo, HarperCollins / HarperTeen

Sawkill Girls, Claire Legrand, HarperCollins / Katherine Tegen Books

This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story, Kheryn Callender, HarperCollins / Balzer + Bray

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LGBTQ Drama

Black Light, Daniel Alexander Jones, produced by The Public Theater

Collective Rage: A Play in Five Betties, Jen Silverman, Samuel French, Inc.

Draw the Circle, Mashuq Mushtaq Deen, Dramatists Play Service (WINNER)

Plot Points in Our Sexual Development, Miranda Rose Hall, produced by LCT3 at Lincoln Center Theater

Singlet, Erin Markey, produced by The Bushwick Starr

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LGBTQ Erotica

Best Lesbian Erotica of the Year, Volume 3, Sacchi Green, Cleis Press

Crossplay, Niki Smith, Iron Circus Comics

Gents: Steamy Stories From the Age of Steam, Matthew Bright, Lethe Press

The Lurid Sea, Tom Cardamone, Bold Strokes Books

Miles & Honesty in SCFSX!, Blue Delliquanti & Kazimir Lee, self-published (WINNER)

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LGBTQ Graphic Novels

The Lie and How We Told It, Tommi Parrish, Fantagraphics Books (WINNER)

Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles, Mark Russell (Writer), Sean Parsons, Mark Morales, Howard Porter, Mike Feehan (Illustrators), DC Entertainment

Love Letters to Jane’s World, Paige Braddock, Lion Forge

On a Sunbeam, Tillie Walden, First Second / Roaring Brook Press

Our Wretched Town Hall, Eric Kostiuk Williams, Retrofit Comics & Big Planet Comics

The Pervert, Michelle Perez (Writer), Remy Boydell (Illustrator), Image Comics

Unpacking, Steve MacIsaac, Northwest Press

We’re Still Here: An All-Trans Comics Anthology, Jeanne Thornton & Tara Madison Avery, Stacked Deck Press

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LGBTQ Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror

The Barrow Will Send What It May, Margaret Killjoy, Tor.com

The Breath of the Sun, Isaac R. Fellman, Aqueduct (WINNER)

The Descent of Monsters, JY Yang, Tor.com

Forget the Sleepless Shores, Sonya Taaffe, Lethe Press

In the Vanishers’ Palace, Aliette de Bodard, JABberwocky

Metabolize, If Able, Clay AD, Monster House Press

Resilience, Fletcher DeLancey, Heartsome Publishing

Witchmark, C.L. Polk, Tor.com

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LGBTQ Studies

Toxic Silence: Race, Black Gender Identity, and Addressing the Violence Against Black Transgender Women in Houston, William T. Hoston, Peter Lang International Academic Publisher (WINNER)

Black. Queer. Southern. Women.: An Oral History, E. Patrick Johnson, University of North Carolina Press

Erotic Islands: Art and Activism in the Queer Caribbean, Lyndon K. Gill, Duke University Press

Gay, Inc.: The Nonprofitization of Queer Politics, Myrl Beam, University of Minnesota Press

Herlands: Exploring the Women’s Land Movement in the United States, Keridwen N. Luis, University of Minnesota Press

Media and the Coming Out of Gay Male Athletes in American Team Sports, Andrew Billings & Leigh Moscowitz, Peter Lang International Academic Publishers

Post-Borderlandia: Chicana Literature and Gender Variant Critique, T. Jackie Cuevas, Rutgers University Press

Semi Queer: Inside the World of Gay, Trans, and Black Truck Drivers, Anne Balay, University of North Carolina Press

 

Play it LOUD!!!

KIDDY SMILE - Slap my butt from Pelican Paris on Vimeo.

Director : Pierre Saba-Aris

THE KITCHEN is an Irish mob story set in 1970s Hell's Kitchen. After the mobsters are sentenced to jail, their wives take their place — and do as good of a job, if not better.

Starring Tiffany Haddish, Melissa McCarthy and Elisabeth Moss.

From Warner Bros. Pictures and Amazon Studios, “The Goldfinch” is the film adaptation of Donna Tartt’s globally acclaimed best-selling novel, which won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.

Directed by BAFTA Award winner John Crowley (“Brooklyn”), the film features a multigenerational cast led by Ansel Elgort (“Baby Driver”) as Theo Decker and Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman (“The Hours,” “Big Little Lies”) as Mrs. Barbour.

Theodore “Theo” Decker was 13 years old when his mother was killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The tragedy changes the course of his life, sending him on a stirring odyssey of grief and guilt, reinvention and redemption, and even love. Through it all, he holds on to one tangible piece of hope from that terrible day...a painting of a tiny bird chained to its perch. The Goldfinch.

In Theaters September 13.

A support group of killers is held regularly, the participants sit in a circle of trust and share their transgressions. On this particular night, the city has been rocked by the failed assassination of a Senator and the brutal and professional demise of his attempted assassin. A chain of events is already in motion, as the group congregates for their late-night session. The very fabric of the group begins to unravel, as one layer of betrayal leads to another. Welcome to Killers Anonymous. The meeting is now in session.

In UK Cinemas from 27th August

 

 

RAW Productions presents the official trailer in anticipation of the 2019 release of romantic feature film, Same But Different: A True New Zealand Love Story.

Same But Different is based on Kiwi-Samoan filmmaker Nikki Si'ulepa and producer Rachel Aneta Wills’ true-life love story.

Rachel is a thirty-five year old, working, single mum who appears to have it all until she meets, Nikki – a passionate film-maker. Sam, Rachel’s best friend, coerces Rachel to pursue her escalating feelings for Nikki but Rachel is disheartened as her attempts fumble into a sequence of embarrassing events. With all hope gone, it’s Rachel’s humanitarianism that grabs Nikki’s attention and the two hit it off. All is going well until Rachel’s ex-lover, Rob, throws a spanner into the wheels of love.

Starring: Robyn Paterson, Hannah Martin, Michele Hine, Luci Hare, Simon Mead, Terangi Brown, Afega Siulepa-Mulivai, Ted Rattray, Jett Willem Morris and Frankie Adams.

Here are all the winners:

Palme d’Or: “Parasite,” Bong Joon-ho

Grand Prix: “Atlantics,” Mati Diop

Jury Prize (tie): “Les Misérables” (Ladj Ly) and “Bacurau” (Kleber Mendonça Filho, Juliano Dornelles)

Best Actress: Emily Beecham, “Little Joe”

Best Actor: Antonio Banderas, “Pain & Glory”

Best Director: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, “The Young Ahmed”

Best Screenplay: “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” Céline Sciamma

Special Mention of the Jury: “It Must Be Heaven,” Elia Suleiman

Camera d’Or: “Our Mothers,” César Díaz

Short Film Palme d’Or: “The Distance Between Us And The Sky,” Vasilis Kekatos

Special Mention of the Jury: “Monstruo Dios,” Agustina San

Queer Palm (Feature): “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” Céline Sciamma

Queer Palm (Short): “The Distance Between Us And The Sky,” Vasilis Kekatos

Welcome to a new era. We’ve been expecting you. Watch the new trailer now for #DowntonAbbeyFilm, only in theaters this September.

The television series Downton Abbey followed the lives of the Crawley family and the servants who worked for them at the turn of the 20th century in an Edwardian English country house. Over its 6 seasons, the series garnered 3 Golden Globe Awards, 15 Primetime Emmy Awards, 69 Emmy nominations in total, making Downton Abbey the most nominated non-US television show in the history of the Emmys - even earning a Special BAFTA award and a Guinness World Record for the highest critically rated TV show along the way.

Go behind the scenes of the brand new chapter of the beloved Tales of the City ahead of its launch as a new limited series on Netflix June 7. Inspired by the books of Armistead Maupin, return to 28 Barbary Lane with Mary Ann (Laura Linney) as she forges a new relationship with her daughter (Ellen Page) and reconnects with Anna Madrigal (Olympia Dukakis). Dive deeper into Anna’s past and meet her ever growing found family as they experience the ups and downs of life in modern San Francisco.

The all-new season of Pose premieres June 11 on FX.

THIS SUMMER, LET THE FESTIVITIES BEGIN.

From writer/director Ari Aster (Hereditary) and starring Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper, and Will Poulter.

RELEASE DATE: July 3, 2019

 

Directors: Kleber Mendonca Filho, Juliano Dornelles

Playing in Competition at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.

Director Mendonca Filho returns to Cannes with his second Competition entry, following 2016’s Aquarius — this time co-writing and co-directing with regular production designer Dornelles. Described as a mixture of western, adventure and sci-fi, Bacurau is set in a small town in the Brazilian backlands that disappears from the map after the death of a woman at the age of 94. Sonia Braga, Udo Kier and Karine Teles lead the cast.

Here is the complete list of all the films in competition [subject to additions!?!]:

19 LONGS METRAGES / FEATURE MOVIES

Pain and glory - Pedro Almodovar (official selection - competition)
Roubaix, a light - Arnaud Desplechin (official selection - competition)
Bacurau - Kleber Mendonça Filhio / Juliano Dornelles (Sélection officielle – compétition)
Matthias and Maxime - Xavier Dolan (official selection - competition)
Frankie - Ira Sachs (official selection - competition)
Portrait of the young girl on fire - céline sciama (official selection - competition)
Rocketman - Dexter Fletcher (official selection - off-competition)
Lux Æterna - Gaspar Noé (official selection - off-competition - midnight sessions)
5 B - Dan Krauss (official selection - off-competition - special sessions)
Beanpole - Kantemir Balagov (a certain look)
Port Authority - Danielle Lessovitz (a certain look)
Freedom - Albert Serra (a certain look)
Adam - Maryam Touzani (a certain look)
Nina Wu - Medi Z (a certain look)
And then we danced - levan akin (fortnight of directors)
Zombi Child - Bertrand Bonello (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs)
Tlamess - Ala Eddine Slim (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs)
You deserve a love - hafsia herzi (review week)
Indianara - Aude Knight-Beaumel and Marcello Barbosa (acid)

5 COURTS METRAGES / SHORT MOVIES

The distance between the sky and us - vasilis kekatos (official selection)
Jeremiah - Kenya Gillespie (cinéfondation)
Slozhnopodchinennoe - Olesya Yakovleva (Cinéfondation)
Grand Bouquet - Nao Yoshigai (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs)
Journey through a body - Camille Degeye (semaine de la critique)