Get your film on with BFI Flare 2021
BFI are back with Flare, providing us with the very best in contemporary LGBTIQ+ cinema from top-notch directors around the world. This year is no different, with films exploring the AIDS crisis, trans rights, race, and more. Here, the programmers select their top picks.
Culture
Words: Michael Blyth , Zorian Clayton, Jay Bernard
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MICHAEL BLYTH SELECTS… MICHAEL BLYTH SELECTS… MICHAEL BLYTH SELECTS… MICHAEL BLYTH SELECTS… MICHAEL BLYTH SELECTS… MICHAEL BLYTH SELECTS… MICHAEL BLYTH SELECTS… MICHAEL BLYTH SELECTS… MICHAEL BLYTH SELECTS… MICHAEL BLYTH SELECTS… MICHAEL BLYTH SELECTS… MICHAEL BLYTH SELECTS… MICHAEL BLYTH SELECTS… MICHAEL BLYTH SELECTS… MICHAEL BLYTH SELECTS… MICHAEL BLYTH SELECTS… MICHAEL BLYTH SELECTS… MICHAEL BLYTH SELECTS… MICHAEL BLYTH SELECTS… MICHAEL BLYTH SELECTS…
BOY MEETS BOY
“Following in the footsteps of films such as Weekend or Theo & Hugo, Boy Meets Boy tells a deceptively simple tale of two young men forming a connection over the course of a single day. A love story with all the clichés stripped away, this is one of those rare romantic dramas that you can actually relate to.”
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ZORIAN CLAYTON SELECTS… ZORIAN CLAYTON SELECTS… ZORIAN CLAYTON SELECTS… ZORIAN CLAYTON SELECTS… ZORIAN CLAYTON SELECTS… ZORIAN CLAYTON SELECTS… ZORIAN CLAYTON SELECTS… ZORIAN CLAYTON SELECTS… ZORIAN CLAYTON SELECTS… ZORIAN CLAYTON SELECTS… ZORIAN CLAYTON SELECTS… ZORIAN CLAYTON SELECTS… ZORIAN CLAYTON SELECTS… ZORIAN CLAYTON SELECTS… ZORIAN CLAYTON SELECTS… ZORIAN CLAYTON SELECTS… ZORIAN CLAYTON SELECTS… ZORIAN CLAYTON SELECTS… ZORIAN CLAYTON SELECTS… ZORIAN CLAYTON SELECTS…
RŪRANGI
“This engaging web series sees trans man Caz reconnect with his hometown after a decade away. The writer, trans activist Cole Meyers, was keen to move beyond the usual tropes found in transgender fiction. He succeeds in brilliantly melding multiple themes around community, family, friendship, Māori culture, and sexuality.”
VALENTINA
“Valentina is a tough seventeen-year-old trans girl whose amazing mum, Márcia, supports her every step of the way. Moving to a new town so she can enrol in a school where nobody knows her past, she faces up to the small-minded bullies and makes friends with a new queer crowd. Unsentimental and powerful, this impressive feature debut is a naturalistic knock-out.”
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JAY BERNARD SELECTS… JAY BERNARD SELECTS… JAY BERNARD SELECTS… JAY BERNARD SELECTS… JAY BERNARD SELECTS… JAY BERNARD SELECTS… JAY BERNARD SELECTS… JAY BERNARD SELECTS… JAY BERNARD SELECTS… JAY BERNARD SELECTS… JAY BERNARD SELECTS… JAY BERNARD SELECTS… JAY BERNARD SELECTS… JAY BERNARD SELECTS… JAY BERNARD SELECTS… JAY BERNARD SELECTS… JAY BERNARD SELECTS… JAY BERNARD SELECTS… JAY BERNARD SELECTS… JAY BERNARD SELECTS…
AIDS DIVA: THE LEGEND OF CONNIE NORMAN
“I had not heard of Connie Norman before watching this film, but was so happy to see the footage of her courageous defence of people with AIDS. The scene in which she argues passionately against the maltreatment of the queer community on television will surely be remembered.”
MAMA GLORIA
“Gloria Allen is a treasure who tells her story with honesty and clarity. I was deeply moved by the narrative – which follows Gloria as a child growing up in Chicago through to her life now at a senior resident’s home – and impressed by Luchina Fisher’s willingness to eschew simplistic dichotomies for colour, warmth and complexity.”
REBEL DYKES
“I love this film because I am very partial to a home-grown, independent production that makes sense of British dyke history. I am so glad to have seen this production grow from its early preview into this final product. Such documentaries are a rarity, especially ones with badass, hilarious characters such as the activists, musicians and hotties we meet here.”
THE OBITUARY OF TUNDE JOHNSON
“This is a deeply introspective film that uses the cyclical format to engage with questions about race, sexuality and state violence. It manages to balance questions of how we relate to the world on a human level with questions about why the world continues to be structured in such a violent, dehumanising way.”
