★★★★★ Directed by: #ShanaMyara Starring: #CandyPalmater, #Ivory Film Review by: Alex Matraxia Shana Myara’s Well Rounded is a powerhouse documentary, totally unique and totally inspiring. Centred around some of Canada’s most fabulous fat performers, models, comedians and writers, Myara’s documentary effectively highlights the intersectionality between fatness, queerness, and race, and how fat-phobia has become a normalised prejudice not to be taken trivially. Despite the seriousness of the subject at hand - hate, trauma, medical abuse - Well Rounded is such an exuberant documentary, where each personality interviewed shines through, loving themselves proudly, large, in-charge, not taking any sh*t from anyone. After all, ‘Who the hell wants to fade into the background?’ Well Rounded shares its attitude with another film featuring in the BFI Flare Film Festival, Cured (dir. Bennett Singer and Patrick Sammon). Looking at the way queer people historically challenged the medical establishment who once considered them sick, Cured emphasised how in order to reach a breakthrough in queer rights, medical stigma had to be debunked and queer people needed to start defining themselves for themselves. Similarly, Well Rounded highlights the rampant fat-phobia upheld by medics and public health campaigners - not to mention the queer community itself, still obsessed with beauty standards. Having to fight off public pressure to see themselves as unhealthy, as failed bodies, the artists and models and writers in the documentary are using the resistance strategies of civil rights pioneers to challenge stigma, to define their own bodies and their own self-worth. Beauty standards, as Ivory (a cabaret artist) notes, are so tightly connected to capitalism and patriarchy. By making people (especially women) insecure about their appearances, businesses can profit - if everyone loved themselves for who they were, businesses would go bankrupt over night. And when beauty standards are framed in such a light, when internet haters leave comments like ‘Have fun dying’, then issues regarding fatness and discrimination are not simply a side-note, rather they’re a key concern of social justice. Disproving any correlation between dieting and health, the interviewees in Myara’s documentary are healthy, self-loving and beautiful. The documentary is also stunningly crafted; energetic, sassy, and interweaved with the playful and slick animation of Alexandra Hohner. Well Rounded deserves attention from both mainstream and subcultural audiences alike, because neither have done enough work to challenge fat-phobia. In a society where we casually take out our own insecurities on other people, Myara’s documentary encourages us to love ourselves, to care for each other, no matter who we are, our shape or form.

★★★★ Directed by: #MichaelSeligman, #JenniferTiexiera Starring: #MichaelAlogna, #HenryArango Film Review by: Alex Matraxia Nostalgic, elegiac and fabulous all at once, PS Burn This Letter Please is a touching documentary featuring in this year’s BFI Flare Film Festival. In 2014, hundreds of letters were discovered in an LA Storage Unit, addressed to a young man in the 1950s named Reno Martin (who later in life became the established talent agent, Ed Limato). These letters to Reno reveal some dazzling gossip and anecdotes circulating an inner circle of gay men and female impersonators at the time. Directors Michael Seligman and Jennifer Tiexiera recreate this world for us through diary recitals and interviews with some of the very people who sent those letters - some of America’s most precious golden age performers. Once having arrest records shape their past, they are here given the power to reconstruct their own history, to relive a past that still speaks to us in the present. The documentary’s power lies in its ambition, to produce a queer archive that pays tribute to the female impersonators (how the interviewee’s prefer to identify) who paved the way for modern drag, and suffered in doing so. How could anyone ignore comments like ‘Don’t wear the sins in your heart on your face’. Unlike today where drag queens are so beloved in the queer community - held up as beacons of stardom and glamour - PS Burn This Letter Please draws attention to the fact that drag queens were once the most reviled members of the queer community (a stigma no doubt rooted in misogyny held by straight and gay cis men alike), that they faced harassment and emotional abuse from their own community, let alone the police. But the documentary doesn’t linger in tragedy and trauma, not without contouring these hardships with the sheer, sequinned fun of the craft, the pageantry and joys of sisterhood, the best bars, the contests, the scandals. As one queen notes in retrospect, 'We didn’t have any civil rights but who needed it?' There’s a pronounced joy to the documentary, where crimes against the straight world are bragged about like a schoolyard victory. Queens reminisce about the time they stole wigs from the New York Opera House, redistributing such treasures to their friends all over the city. Additionally there’s a gem of an interview with James Bidgood, the notorious director of Pink Narcissus (1971) who once famously transformed his apartment into a splendid gay fantasia. Perhaps a little unstructured at times, the directors occasionally neglecting to curate the material they’ve amassed in a way that offers nuance, variation or guided detour, the documentary nevertheless leaves you thinking about the trans-generational nature of community, and the space between the present and the past. It’s both moving and thrilling to see queens who are now in their eighties and nineties once again donning the costumes they wore at Pride back in the 60s. PS Burn This Letter Please is a powerful tribute to beauty that is fought for, upheld against all odds.

★★★ Directed by: Dale Allan Johnson Written by: Dale Allan Johnson Starring: Louisa DeButts, Heather Michelle, Brandon J. Shaw, Adam Braunstein, Tim Gauntt Film Review by: Jason Knight A young woman begins having visions about a murderer and a rookie detective tries to find him. Charlie (Michelle) has just qualified as a detective in New York City and is appointed to work with Captain Walker (Braunstein). Initially the two of them do not get along, but end up warming to each other. Cece (DeButts) is a theoretical physicist, who starts experiencing sinister visions that depict a woman being murdered by a man. Eventually Charlie investigates Cece's claims and both women become determined to find the man she sees in her manifestations. Are her visions reliable? Is she just losing her mind? This neo-noir erotic thriller has an interesting storyline and its fair share of suspense, nudity and scenes of intercourse. It is awkward and silly at times and is not to be taken very seriously, although it is still entertaining to watch. Michelle has the most interesting role, portraying a determined individual, who is not without a sense of humour and was hardened by her tough upbringing. She believes in herself and never backs down. Braunstein offers good support as her less-confident supervisor and so does DeButts as the woman being plagued by awful visions and gets herself in too deep, in her attempt to find the man who might be a killer. There are well constructed montage sequences and the film even starts with one that resembles a music video. The filmmakers utilize color and black-and-white cinematography, often switching between them throughout the movie. Although it is not clear why this approach was taken, it is still appealing, making the viewing more pleasing. There are also shot that make effective use of fast motion. Regarding the music, the soundtrack is rather amusing, consisting of various songs. Flesh Is Heir To does have its flaws. The acting could had been better and sometimes the dialogue is weird. Nevertheless, the hunt for a killer often makes for an interesting plot and the film does not fail at that. Watch the trailer. #JasonKnight

★★★ Stars Directed by: #CanUlkay Written by: #ErcanMehmetErdem Starring: #ÇagatayUlusoy, #EmirAliDogrul, #ErsinArici, #TurgayTanülkü, #SelenÖztürk Film Review by: Alicia Moore “Mehmet is a cherished fellow who runs the solid waste warehouse in the neighbourhood, he helps everyone in need, especially homeless children and teenagers since he was one too.” Paper Lives is a Turkish film that has been newly released on Netflix this month. The film covers many heavy topics such as child abuse, trauma, drug misuse, life threatening illness and poverty; yet these topics are well handled as they carry a strong sense of harsh actuality and intensity. The acting seen throughout is the element that captured my attention the most. Çagatay Ulusoy (Mehmet) and Emir Ali Dogrul (Ali) strike viewers with an immediately impactful chemistry on screen; as their characters first meet there is almost an instant ‘click’ that can be witnessed which brilliantly solidifies the relationship between the characters before anything of a sort is purposely established. Ulusoy also pours all of his emotion into his character which really knocked me off my seat at some points during the film. This emotion isn’t exaggerated in the slightest, his reactions to scripted events are natural and the larger bursts of either anger, frustration or sadness feel genuine. Although the story itself can be labelled as a tearjerker, without Ulusoy’s performance I’m not sure I would have shed a tear. His output of emotion is very immersive and definitely offers this story a great kick of potency, as well as being paired with outstanding direction by Can Ulkay. The acting may be the one element that held my attention through the entire duration of Paper Lives, but the cinematography (Serkan Güler) is the one element that caught my attention first and foremost – and truly did so instantly. From the very beginning of the film, the audience’s view is filled with spectacular camera angles, movement and positioning. Each shot is beautiful and unique but they are still linked together by the fact that, in each, there seems to be a skilled balance of a main focus point and the added surroundings against this. It is obvious where the eye should be led to in each scene, whether that is to a particular window in an apartment block or to a specific character in frame, however, I felt wonderfully submerged in the entire shot regardless. There isn’t any detail that simply fades into the background; people lining the streets, toy cars upon coffee tables, food cooking on a stove… everything plays a part in a shot even if this aspect was intentional or not. This perfectly builds upon the quite overwhelming feeling that such a heavy storyline provides as well. The only negative in this film from my point of view is the choice of music (Ömer Özgür, Jingle Jungle.) This doesn’t necessarily apply to all the tracks used through the one and a half hours of the film (thankfully) but there are many points when a score is used and it appears out of place. For example, in the first handful of minutes, music is used to establish atmosphere but it doesn’t create the right type of atmosphere needed for the film, especially as an introduction to the story. To the ear, it appears more horror-film-like and really sets the scene for a pending thriller. I can understand why one might have wanted such a deep score to be used, due to the story not intending to be an uplifting comedy or anything of course, but I think that depth did stretch a bit too far to match the type of film Paper Lives actually is. The music itself is exquisite, but can only be appreciated appropriately if taken away from the context of the film. Overall, without giving any spoilers, the ending is absolutely magnificent and highlights any subtly obscure additions in the direction, acting and writing that viewers might have briefly questioned as the events unfolded earlier in the film. But you’ll just have to watch Paper Lives to discover the specifics of this… and I recommend that you do because of the build up to an amazing ending.

THIS SPRING, courtesy of Shudder and Vertigo Releasing, two titans of 21st-century British horror return to the genre they carved their names in. CHRISTOPHER SMITH (Creep) delivers a haunted house mystery with a difference in THE BANISHING, while fellow filmmaker NEIL MARSHALL (Dog Soldiers) directs the rip-roaring witch hunting chiller THE RECKONING. Here’s a look at the horror careers of these two acclaimed directors, whose subject matter often overlapped, and whose stirling filmographies - featuring werewolves, plague victims, subterranean creatures, hooded killers and more - show just why they were the reigning UK kings of genre cinema in the noughties, all set to reclaim that status with their splendid new releases. DEVILISHLY GOOD DEBUTS At the turn of the century the horror genre was seriously in need of some new blood, so to speak… it didn’t need to wait long. First came Neil Marshall’s fantastic twist on the werewolf film, DOG SOLDIERS, in 2002, the marvellously gruesome and often hilarious account of a group of squaddies out on manoeuvres in the Scottish Highlands, who run into some seriously scary beasties. The low budget film was a huge box office hit and has become a firm fan favourite (with rumours of a sequel in the works), and proved to be one hell of a calling card for Marshall. In 2004 Christopher Smith wrote and directed the nasty shocker CREEP, putting Franka Potente (Run Lola Run) front and centre as a woman stuck in the tunnels of the London Underground, pursued by something you really wouldn’t want to meet in the dark. Run Franka, run! SCARIFYING SOPHOMORE EFFORTS In 2004 Marshall wrote and directed THE DESCENT, a nerve-rattling horror about a group of female cavers who run up against a gaggle of fearsome underground ‘crawlers’ (perhaps the country cousins of the creature from CREEP). It made an eye-watering forty million pounds at the box office, spawned a sequel, and prompted none other than Jeremy Clarkson to declare that it was ‘the scariest film ever made’! Marshall had well and truly arrived. Not to be outdone, Smith hit the ground running with his 2006 pitch-black horror-comedy SEVERANCE, about a team-building excursion that goes horribly, dreadfully wrong. Featuring a talking decapitated head, Danny Dyer on superb wideboy form, women blasting machine guns and one of the cheekiest pay-off lines in cinema history, this was a brilliant mix of the horrifying and hilarious that had audiences howling in delight. VISIONS OF HELL In 2008 Marshall wrote and directed DOOMSDAY, an eye-popping sci-fi thriller about a group of specialists fighting their way through a desolate landscape in search of the cure for a lethal virus. Ahead of its time, and featuring a kick-ass performance from the original Tomb Raider Rhona Mitra, Marshall’s vision was ambitious, action-packed and did not stint on the blood. In 2009 Smith went out to sea for the thrilling TRIANGLE, with Melissa George (The Slap) trapped in a hellish time loop on an abandoned boat, pursued by a hooded figure with a bloody axe. Nightmarish, gripping and intense, TRIANGLE showed Smith exploring uncharted waters with a genre film that engaged the mind, as well as bending it to breaking point. YE OLDE BLOODBATHS Both directors went back in time for their next films. Smith’s hugely enjoyable BLACK DEATH (2010), set in 17th-century plague-ridden England, had a terrific lead performance from the ever-reliable Sean Bean (Possessor), and an early role for future Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything). It also featured a striking turn from Carice van Houten, that predated her similar forthcoming role in Game of Thrones. In Marshall’s gory historical adventure CENTURION, released the same year, future X-Men star Michael Fassbender starred as a Roman soldier fighting for his life behind enemy lines. Marshall laid on the mud and blood and carnage thick - it would stand him in good stead for his assignments directing key episodes of the hit TV shows Black Sails and Game of Thrones a couple of years later. SPRING SCREAMING After forays into family comedies (Get Santa) and TV series (Alex Rider), Smith comes back to the horror genre this year, with THE BANISHING, a spine-chiller set in Britain’s most haunted house, Borley Rectory, during World War Two. Downton Abbey’s Rebecca Brown Findlay is a young woman uncovering dark secrets in her new home, while Sean Harris (Mission: Impossible) is ghost hunter Harry Price, and John Lynch (Isolation) a sinister ‘man of God’. Smith expertly handles this handsomely mounted period mystery, twanging the nerves along the way, with creepy dolls, shadowy figures, religious mania and a couple of proper jolting shocks. Having directed TV shows including Westworld, Game of Thrones and Lost in Space, Marshall came back to the UK and reunited with DOG SOLDIERS and DOOMSDAY star Sean Pertwee for THE RECKONING, which could be a companion piece to Smith’s BLACK DEATH. With echoes of Brit horror classic Witchfinder General, and featuring a remarkable lead performance from Charlotte Kirk (who also co-wrote the script) as a widow accused of being a witch in 17th-century England, THE RECKONING features gore, bone-crunching action and an enormous, terrifying demon. Welcome back to the fold Neil! THE BANISHING will be released on digital platforms from 26th March and will stream on Shudder beginning 15th April. THE RECKONING will be available from 16th April and stream on Shudder this Spring.

GRIMMFEST EASTER: APRIL 1st – APRIL 5th Grimmfest releases further details of ‘Grimmfest Easter Horror Nights’, a new annual event, taking place over the Easter Weekend, and complimenting the long-established festival in October. Like the October Festival, Grimmfest Easter will be a competitive festival, and the Grimmfest team are delighted to announce the Jury and Awards for this event. The fine folk who will be given the daunting task of deliberating and debating over the Grimmfest Easter line-up are: Josh Millican, Editor in Chief at DREAD CENTRAL, acquisitions at Epic Pictures / DREAD Presents Distribution and host and creator of CHRONIC HORROR web series. Anton Bitel, Film Critic for Sight and Sound, Little White Lies and Scifi Now amongst other publications and a member of the Online Film Critics Society since 2007, and of the London Film Critics' Circle since 2009. Mariam Draeger, Presenter / Producer. Founder of Headcinema Productions. Cross-media spokesperson for horror within the festival circuit, radio and podcast scene. Awards will be presented in the following categories: BEST SHORT BEST FEATURE BEST PERFORMANCE BEST SCARE BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS & MAKE-UP Grimmfest Easter Horror Nights will screen fourteen feature film premieres, sixteen short film premieres and twelve exclusive Q&As with film makers and stars. With movies from the US, Australia, Sweden, Spain, Russia, Korea and more, this is truly an international line up of exceptional new work that features performances from stars as diverse as Donald Sutherland (DON’T LOOK NOW), Tyler Posey (TEEN WOLF), Mena Suvari (AMERICAN BEAUTY), Sergi Lopez (PAN'S LABYRINTH) Shahab Hosseini (THE SALESMAN), Lyrica Okano (Marvel’s RUNAWAYS), and Margaret Cho (ALL-AMERICAN GIRL). In total, we will host 3 World premieres, 2 International Premieres, 5 European premieres, 14 UK premieres and 6 Northern UK premieres. Not bad for our first Easter outing!! Simeon Halligan, festival director said: “Fans have been asking for more Grimmfest, so we figured, let’s give them more Grimmfest; but let’s not make them wait a whole year for our annual October event. For obvious reasons our first Easter fest will be an online affair that fans can enjoy at home, while cinemas are still closed. We hope this will become an annual event, designed to complement our regular autumn fest.” Check out the festival trailer here: https://watch.eventive.org/easterhorrornights/play/60475ddfde3e1d00b9f5c08c The full line up of carefully selected feature films and short films can be explored here: https://easterhorrornights.eventive.org/films

★★★★ Written and Directed by: #AdamBernet Starring: #AdamLoxley #SteffanieFreedoff #RobinKirwan #RosaJunkovic #MichaelMroczek Short Film Review by: Joyce Cowan Emergency is a deep, intimate exploration of mental health and its frailty, set in British society. One of the staples of British film is its blending of cinematic and theatrical techniques, a tradition that Emergency alludes to with good effect. In a clear nod to theatre, the most striking aspect of the film is its set, which is basically staged. The choice to locate the whole story in a single office, with minimalist style, is fitting and chimes with the subject matter. From here the film is built, making great use of symbolism to illustrate the loneliness and isolation that seem inherent to a mental health crisis. The window is almost another starring character (who of us has not appreciated a window in these times of pandemic?), giving both character and audience the view to crucial things. The fact that this is an office window should not be lost on us: the questions of whether work is our genuine context, and how much it operates on a person’s mental health, are main threads of the piece. The film’s exploration of time, that is the construct of it, is symbolically portrayed in a sharp way. As his emergency unfolds, the character can see no arms in the clock or in his watch. Time seems to lose its meaning, or at least its significance. In an emergency, time is a factor which is in practice of the essence but which emotionally and psychologically disappears. Yet the character’s future and what he sees of it from the window are key. The film’s narrative and script feel at once unpredictable and stranded, much like a mental health crisis usually does, so the writing is effective, but there is little dynamism. With these elements, Adam Loxely, who plays the main character, carries the story well. His performance is heartbreakingly expressive and vulnerability is skilfully portrayed. Emergency is an opportune piece, created at a time of generalised emergency across global society, by which mental health has been deeply affected. The film’s portrayal of the struggle to see whether one is in emergency is reflective of a piece of human experience more common than many, including those in positions of power, care to admit. #JoyceCowan

★★★ Directed by: #EytanFox Written by: #EtyanFox, #ItaySegal Starring: #JohnBenjaminHickey, #NivNissim Film Review by: Alex Matraxia Eytan Fox’s feature Sublet takes us into the lonely lives of two gay men, generations apart. Currently screening in the BFI Flare Film Festival, Sublet is a mature and relevant film where the delicately acted leads make up for a predictable, sometimes questionable script. The film centres around the middle-aged Michael (John Benjamin Hickey), a New York Times journalist spending less than a week in Tel Aviv, which prides itself on being one of the sexiest cities in the world. Such sex appeal is written all over the city, from its hunky beaches to charismatic artists - including Tomar (Niv Nissim), Michael’s newfound ‘landlord’, a film student who has sublet his weed-ridden, gore-postered flat. Having mixed up the dates, Tomar ends up crashing in his own flat with Michael - and Fox’s comedy of manners commences. The predictable elements of the film include the very unlikely romance blossoming between Tomar and Michael. A climactic consummation scene is rather mishandled as a moment of sock-puppetry invites the pair’s first kiss. And the initial is-he-is-he-not-gay plot device surrounding Tomar is luckily discarded early on, having become something of a staple in gay romantic narratives. Part of the reason these plot elements feel especially disagreeable is that the two leads are at their best when exploring non-erotic tensions - their generational differences make for a vivid, unexpected chemistry, something that flirts with a father-and-son dynamic. The characters are also beautifully expressed and fleshed by Hickey and Nissim. Hickey’s silences are especially poignant, where he seems wise and forgotten at the same time - both relevant and relic-like. Having lived through the AIDS crisis, Michael is confronted by Tomar’s dismissal that AIDS is too ‘depressing’; Tomar embodies a modern-day, complacent gay attitude, reluctant to acknowledge his cultural past, living only for a moment’s pleasure. Hickey even brings a sort of repressed pity to his character, where Michael seems confused that the latest generation of artists, such as Tomar’s friend Daria ( Lihi Kornowski), would rather flee Israel and move to Berlin rather than try and make Tel Aviv more hospitable for artists. When Michael mentions how his generation fought to survive, Daria opts for flight instead, saying self-exile can be her form of ‘revolution’. Michael’s face seems caught in an inarticulate loss, as it’s painfully clear they’ve missed his point. Tomar is an aspiring filmmaker at the start of his career and his talent seems questionable, yet it’s not important to Michael who seems to admire Tomar just for being young, being at a point in life where the world seems conquerable. His life is unmarred by tragedy, his world and its pleasures seem infinite. On the other hand, Michael has lived his life and accepts life as a continuous compromise. Their relationship doesn’t seem to need the romantic climax to make it exciting, given that it’s so brilliantly rooted in a fascination with each other as something Other - young and old. Tomar cries when Michael leaves for New York, and Michael’s absence really feels more like an absence of purpose. Michael’s life is History, capital H, his past involving AIDS, gay rights, gay marches. Tomar has none of that, and has only really experienced this history through Michael. By connecting with his generational past, Tomar seems to learn something about himself. Sadly there’s much emphasis on how a child would fill the hole in Michael’s life, a somewhat reactionary idea implicating gay men who do not have children as somehow empty, vacuous, wandering individuals. The exposition of his tragic childlessness is one aspect that perhaps stops the film from exploring more nuanced territory in modern queer relationships; instead it stations the film in a charming but harmless gay, liberal rom com. But for a charming, harmless rom com, it’s solid, charismatic and touching in its exploration of trauma, companionship, gay identity and memory. Sublet may have its flaws, but it’s undeniably moving - and at times, surprisingly beautiful.

★★ Directed by: #ZaidaBergroth Written by: #EevaPutro & #JarnoElonen Starring: #AlmaPöysti, #KristaKosonen, #ShantiRoney, #JoannaHaartti, #KajsaErnst Film Review by Taryll Baker As part of BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival 2021 The screen opens, an uplifting piece complements a dancing woman, joyfully free-spirited. Then a crash; the destruction of war around her. A polarising and tough time to be alive, but it’s no defeat for the spirit of Tove Jansson (Alma Pöysti). Sprawling her years as a frantic romantic and independent artist, this vintage-like biopic follows the life and love of Jansson, and the creation of the Moomin books. A delicately warm and bright visual palette brushes the screen, and the characters like strokes from an artists’ pencil, filling scenes with life as if a great painting. The performances are respectfully subtle, but Pöysti brings forward the most depth and solidifies her concrete role as the flirtatious but strong Tove Jansson. We see her dabble in relationships with men and women, though not hugely developed which makes her tricky to understand. Perhaps that’s an intentional disconnect, but it makes the film stagger in it’s emotional field. It isn’t until an hour in that we start to see some change in the story, and even then it’s fairly formulaic, but it does hold some interest within its performances and beautiful atmosphere. As biopics go, this treads familiar territory and while it’s pleasant to look at and appreciate, there’s really not much to it. There’s a lovely soundtrack to go with the visuals and a soft edit that takes its time, but there’s a lack of feeling and purpose. Tove features an array of wonderful performers but they’re not really given much to do beyond stand and talk, or laugh and love. A better film is in here, it just needed some more deep diving. We sort of skim through the years, from struggling artist to book launch and signings, but it feels like we got there too fast, yet simultaneously it stretched a thin narrative where nothing much else of note happened. If anything, Tove makes me want to read about Jansson myself, rather than accept what we’re given here. It’s like an introductory piece that just barely scratches the surface of her seemingly interesting life. The way Tove throws us into various instances of romantic encounters and then very quickly pulls us out is somewhat jarring. Jansson skips around from Vivica (Krista Kosonen) and Atos (Shanti Roney), not really settling, and then, after creating a book, the film just… ends. All this to say, if you know of Tove Jansson prior to this film, you’ll probably enjoy Tove for what it is. But if you’re looking to learn a lot about the person behind the art, you won’t find much here. BFI Flare runs from March 17th - 28th, for more info visit: https://www.bfi.org.uk/flare - #TaryllBaker

★★★★ Directed by #ChrisMcKim Film Review by Hope Madden Maybe you don’t know who David Wojnarowicz is. Maybe you have no idea how to pronounce his name. It might be safer to butcher the provocative late artist’s last name (voy-nah-ROYH-vitch) than to read the title of director Chris McKim’s documentary aloud—Wojnarowicz: F**k You F*ggot F**ker. It doesn’t really matter what you call it as long as you see it. The film primarily uses Wojnarowicz’s own recordings, photos and paintings to let him tell his story. A profound influence on New York’s art scene in the 1980s and into the ‘90s, the multimedia artist’s work delivered among the earliest and most startling images of queer art in the city. McKim had a lot to work with. Wojnarowicz made hundreds of audio cassettes, recording his thoughts in a sometimes wounded monotone. The stream of conscious monologues often dip into the outright poetic and create a poignant soundtrack for the life and work on display. The documentarian does enlist some additional voices, including friend Fran Lebowitz and frequent collaborator Marion Schemama, but relies mainly on Wojnarowicz’s own visuals to create the sense of isolation, alienation and anger that fueled much of his work. Wojnarowicz and his work, as well as his death, became a focal point of the mishandled AIDS epidemic that scars the politics and history of the 1980s. In much the way Wojnarowicz’s work reflected his hellish upbringing and time on the streets, McKim’s film contextualizes the artist among that which he influenced: a city, a movement, a scene, politics, and other artists. As is crucial in a doc about a visual artist, the screen is routinely filled to brimming with Wojnarowicz’s creations. Powerful, inflammatory, sexually explicit and unmistakably challenging, the work itself looms large in the documentary as if to ensure that it reaches out to as many as possible who forgot, never knew, or may have been kept from it. #HopeMadden

★★ Directed by: Joe Lynch Written by: Turi Meyer, Alfredo Septién, Alan B. McElroy Starring: Henry Rollins, Erica Leerhsen, Crystal Lowe and Daniella Alonso Throwback Thursday Film Review: by Rachel Pullen Wrong Turn 2: Dead End (2007) Review I have watched some utter piles of garbage in my life, like massive piles of garbage and sometimes they are so good because they are bad, horror seems to have a lot of them, and I mean a lot, I'm assured that horror wears that crown proudly. And with that in mind, we sometimes forgive the more silly narratives within these films, the ridiculous kills and survivals, the disposable characters and pageantry of the killer, because we understand it’s fantasy and we are ready to invest in that environment, but what makes those films work is the fact that they are self-aware. If you’re going to make a film about killer tomatoes, or clowns from outer space, you gotta have a bit of a laugh with the script. So where am I going with this? Well, I'm kinda lost because I really don't know if Wrong Turn 2: Dead End is meant to be one of those films, or is it actually trying to be serious? I watched two mutated hillbillies have a marital argument because the husband was caught jacking off over a girl in a bikini...but it was serious, and now my mind hurts, and I don't really know what this movie has done to me, so let’s talk about it. Wrong Turn 2 is the story of a bunch of teens (of course) who enter a survival contest in the woods to try to win a tonne of money. They have to pair off and find food, shelter and just simply survive, seems easy enough right? But what no one took into account is that it’s set in the woods where all those hillbilly cannibals from the first film live, and boy do they live! They have bred, got kids, live in an old paper mill, they kill people and eat their bodies, there is a bunch of them basically having a grand old time and throwing body shop parties or something like that...good for them. Anyway, the teens quickly get picked off one by one and it’s up to the host of the show, Henry Rollins (actual dreamboat) who comes to save the day because he was once in the army, and he has big ripped arms the size of dustbins and I LOVE HIM, anyway, they fight the hillbillies, some die, some don't, there is an ominous final shot, eluding to the idea that the hillbillies are still alive, blah blah, the end, we all go home. Now I'm not mad at the storyline, in fact, I knew it was going to be the same style as before with a few changes, that's what most horror sequels are, and the addition of the survival show opened up a lot of doors for interesting kills and character development, think Halloween resurrection but without Busta Rhymes doing karate. So we can’t sit here and condemn it for being boring and the same as the first, because while that's true, you can sense that the writers really tried to develop the storyline enough to make it compelling for the audience but still keeping the hillbilly family element alive. So what is so confusing about this movie? Why am I so traumatised? Let’s sum it up, we are in the movie, invested, caring about characters, we know the hillbillies exist as they are featured in the opening scenes...so far so good, we are ready to expect the same style as the original, with some minor changes...ok...but then...just as we feel the investment wash over us, we see the hillbilly jerk off scene, his wife come and get mad, and then kill the human girl, wear her face as a mask and have sex with each other over a log....yeah...that actually happens. I fell, Alfred Hitchcock Vertigo style, into a swirling background of exclusion. I was taken out of the film at this point, and I feel the director was too. The whole second half of Wrong Turn 2 has some questionable scenes, it takes on a bit more of a goofy tone, we see them feed a finger to a deformed baby, we see green toxic waste (in toxic waste barrels which look like they are from an episode of Power Rangers) trickle into the water supply, as to explain why the hillbillies are...well the way they are. We find out the gas station guy from film 1 is their real daddy but he is not into eating humans so he just has fish, and then Henry Rollins puts a stick of dynamite down the back of his jacket, Looney Toons style and he blows up! And while there is nothing wrong with that, trust me I love a silly horror we can all laugh at, you do need to have some consistency to the narrative of the enemies, are we meant to fear them or just see them as a kind of dopey dumb killer who we enjoy seeing taking an axe to the skull? Should we care when the teens are waking into danger? Or are we cheering to see some slapstick gore? Pick a path and roll with it, don't lead me down a wrong turn to dissatisfaction city...ahh I couldn't help myself. So there are like seven more movies in the Wrong Turn franchise, which I am not doing because I have a soul, and if I have to watch hillbilly sex again I may lose the desire to let another person touch me ever, but if you feel you can do it then you are a bigger person than me. This week we learned... Henry Rollins always carries dynamite Toxic slime is not just for Power Rangers And never underestimate the chance of someone cutting off your face to use it in their sexual games. #RachelPullen

★★★ Written & Directed by: #MarleyMorrison Starring: #NellBarlow, #JoHartley, #EllaRaeSmith, #SophiaDiMartino, #SamuelAnderson Film Review by Taryll Baker As part of BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival 2021 We’ve all had that holiday that wasn’t quite what we wanted. Sweetheart captures the tackiness of run-down holiday parks perfectly. All of the amateurish shows, the bland conversations, and that feeling of unwanted disconnect as you’re dragged away somewhere you don’t want to be. AJ (Nell Barlow) doesn’t want to be what’s considered “normal,” she’s socially awkward and intelligent, with plans of helping the environment in some way, but she’s also lesbian and that’s just another thing to navigate. When she meets Isla (Ella-Rae Smith), a lifeguard at the park, she’s swept off her feet into a dizzying spin of unexpected love and heartbreak. Though the film hits a few patchy spots where the pacing slows up, the detail in the characters makes up for it. It’s a well-rounded story with plenty of good performances, especially from Barlow who takes a deep step into AJ’s shoes. She adds impressive depth to the character, finding all her traits and a personality that flows with a relatable likeness. Supporting her is an array of seemingly plain roles that eventually develop as the film wraps up. AJ’s family surrounding her add conflict, but slowly show understanding and care. Samuel Anderson in particular is a joy to have in scenes, and Jo Hartley’s performance as a struggling mother takes the scenic route before landing on a note that feels satisfying enough. Sweetheart never leaves the holiday park it’s set in; there’s a sense of seclusion from the rest of the world, and AJ feels that. It’s a tough week, but she gets through it — with bruises and aches from encounters with Isla. Ella-Rae Smith’s likeable role in the film is important but minuscule. Sure, there are key scenes where the both of them talk and flirt and explore who they are, but Isla’s affect on AJ as she goes back to her family for the typical meal or disco is larger than her physical presence. This is a film that places all its focus on a developing mind. We watch someone experience things and we see how it changes them. For that reason, Sweetheart isn’t for everyone. It is quite drawn out and it does make you want to pause for a breather, but that is not dissimilar from real life. A mostly entertaining watch; Sweetheart prompts understanding and it does so through the relatable device of a family holiday. There are some laughs but there’s also an offering of genuine contemplation and realisation. AJ explores her sexuality, what that means to her family and what that means to her; and in doing so, serves up a fairly new coming-of-age story. BFI Flare runs from March 17th - 28th, for more info visit: https://www.bfi.org.uk/flare - #TaryllBaker