It would be difficult to find an American adult who hasn’t heard of Playboy. Since the magazine was first printed in the 1950s, Hugh Hefner’s infamous publication has become an American cultural staple and a generalized symbol for a young… Read More ›
LGBTQA+
Léa Mysius’s fantasy thriller “The Five Devils (Les Cinq diables)” explores familial discord through an adolescent lens. [The Overlook Film Festival]
Who are you? This is a simple question that precedes an overly complex answer. You are not merely your thoughts, your feelings, your experiences, the sum total of everything you have encountered up until this moment, you are also everything… Read More ›
Explore every nook of “299 Queen Street West” with Sean Menard’s new documentary. [SXSW]
If you grew up in Canada, specifically Toronto, the address 299 Queen Street West most likely held a special place in your heart as more likely than not you either fought your way through the pandemonium of crowds OR you… Read More ›
Ally Pankiw’s “I Used to Be Funny” first feature is a provocative, intense, and deeply unsettling gut-punch. [SXSW]
In 2020, during the height of this pandemic were still finding ourselves in, I was sitting on my couch with my partner wondering what to do on the first night of TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) and Twitter was recommending… Read More ›
Tünde Skovrán’s pseudo-narrative documentary may not inform who you are, but it will strongly convey “Who I Am Not.” [SXSW]
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them. – Genesis 1:27 – New International Version There are many versions of Genesis 1:27. They each carry the… Read More ›
Writer/director Caroline Fioratti’s “Meu Casulo de Drywall (My Drywall Cocoon)” explores the conflicting ideas between security and safety. [SXSW]
What does security look like? Is it the absence of threat or the protection from them? Does security form from an abundance of safety or a dearth of individuality? Can one be secure and therefore free to share their concerns,… Read More ›
“Attachment” boasts engaging performances over a less engaging script.
Anyone who knows me knows that I am an advocate for directors who want to express their vision and take a swing for the fences. Gabriel Bier Gislason has jumped ship from shorts to features with Attachment, and while exploring… Read More ›
Director Jacqueline Castel explores the torment that comes without self-love in horror-romance “My Animal.” [Sundance Film Festival]
For some reason, despite its longevity in the realm of storytelling (not just cinema), horror is often pushed to the sidelines in the hallowed halls of critical praise in favor of dramas, comedies, thrillers, or traditional action-oriented narratives. Even though… Read More ›
Writer/director Elegance Bratton’s “The Inspection” signals a talent to keep an eye on. [Film Fest 919]
A lot of (not all, don’t swarm me) these new kids like to think everything is peachy keen and hunky dory in the world of queerness in the modern world. Unlike so many generations before them, there are actual chances… Read More ›
“Fire Island” is far from your run-of-the-mill gay-friendly rom-com.
The biggest gift I was ever given in life was being gay. Sure, a significant percentage of the world hates me and thinks I’m going to burn in Hell, and the other part really only shows up for Pride Month… Read More ›
A Conversation with “Hypochondriac” director Addison Heimann and actor Zach Villa. [SXSW Film Festival]
EoM contributor Lindsey Dunn speaks with Addison Heimann and Zach Villa, the director/writer and star of Hypochondriac. Heimann speaks frankly about the events in his life that inspired the movie and why he decided to detour from comedy for his… Read More ›
Documentary “Mama Bears” offers love and light for all who are lost: parents and children alike. [SXSW Film Festival]
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, [a] and… Read More ›
Documentary “Framing Agnes” overflows with love and positive intention, as overwhelming as it is inspiring. [Sundance Film Festival]
Director Chase Joynt is as much an investigator as a raconteur when it comes to his documentaries. His first feature, 2020’s No Ordinary Man, co-directed with Aisling Chin-Yee, reconfigured the structure of a traditional documentary by staging informal reenactments of… Read More ›
Documentarian Sébastien Lifshitz’s “Petite Fille (Little Girl)” invites us to understand one girl’s story of personal acceptance.
When it comes to parenting, there is no rule book, no grade scale, no metric which immediately determines if a child will grow up happy and healthy or feeling less-than. Despite all the books that have been written by countless… Read More ›
The answer to Stephanie Allynne and Tig Notaro’s rom-com “Am I OK?” is you will be. [Sundance Film Festival]
Whoever started the narrative that you’ll have yourself figured out by the end of your 20s should be drawn and quartered. Especially as the way in which the world has changed commercially, the expectation that someone will go to school,… Read More ›
You may want to leave a few lights on to watch “The Last Thing Mary Saw,” a visually petrifying feature debut from writer/director Edoardo Vitaletti. [Fantasia International Film Festival]
You don’t necessarily need complex characters or ingenious plot twists to write an engaging story. With strong imagery and a clear, palpable tone that physically affects your audience, you can transform the most overdone plot into a memorable tale. Writer/director… Read More ›
Don’t confuse “Swan Song” for camp, it’s a loving tale with a heart of gold. [SXSW Film Festival]
Being gay is one of the biggest gifts life has granted me, and the fact I’m able to sit here and say that shows just how far we’ve come as a society to where I, and so many other people,… Read More ›
Etheria Film Festival 2020 Shorts Program streaming on Shudder for a limited time.
In the art of filmmaking, short films aren’t the films you make for widespread acclaim and global distribution, but rather for the cinephiles and short-form entertainment enthusiasts that might just have the pull to get your foot in the door… Read More ›
Final Girls Berlin Film Festival Brings attention and exposure to many horror niches. [Final Girls Berlin Film Festival 2020]
We can pretend like Greta Gerwig not receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Director for Little Women is the end-all, be-all of discrimination against women in the film industry, but the misogynistic practices of this massive industry stretch much further… Read More ›
“Kill The Monsters” is a bold, but odd tale of healing.
While being an allegory but also trying to be comedic, Kill the Monsters is an odd, bold, and awkward tale about three young men who share a strong relationship and travel all over American searching for physical and emotional healing. Truth… Read More ›