Oxford Film Festival’s LGBTQIA+ Shorts, Love Victor, Proud, The Surrogate and more!
We’re more than halfway through Pride month already, and there are some great queer offerings out there, not only for the gays, but also for those who love us.
LGBTQIA+ Shorts at Oxford Film Festival
First and foremost…and I’ve said it before…if you are a queer person or ally in Oxford, MS and you have yet to partake in one of Oxford Film Festival’s amazing LGBTQ virtual offerings, what are you waiting for?
Our 2nd and final LGBTQIA+ shorts block is available now. Among the selections are Victoria Negri’s “2 Weeks” which shows us a narrative of the elusive “A” from our letters, a highly entertaining local (to MS) doc “Queering the South through Drag” directed by Oxford’s own Christina Huff. Two additional documentaries - including last year’s community entry “Dear Hubert Creekmore” directed by the up and coming documentary filmmaker Mary Stanton Knight and “Unspoken,” about six queer and trans Asian Americans grappling with their queerness. The final film is the multiple festival/award winning “Touchscreen,” a film I certainly related to, and in this age of quarantine and technology, I believe you all will as well.
And tomorrow (Saturday!), as per usual, we have the exclusive, FREE Q&A with the filmmakers moderated by me. Tickets to the shorts are here, and you can watch now. LGBTQIA+ SHORTS
You can go to Oxford Film Festival’s FB page for the Q&A tomorrow at 5pm PST, 7pm CST.
Love, Victor
How much do I love, “Love, Victor” the sequel to “Love, Simon?” Well, you can either head over to Twitter and see my new moniker or take my word for it. After my first viewing, I simply had to rewatch the last 4 episodes of the season immediately…followed by a full season rewatch. The last time I did that was when I discovered “Schitt’s Creek.”
Everyone seemed to have some sort of issue with “Love, Simon.” For me, it was that moment where Simon said, “well, maybe not that gay.” BUT…the writers (and Simon) have grown up.
We still have a “coming out” story with “Love, Victor,” but the cast is much more diverse in not only their races and backgrounds, but also their gayness. Michael Cimino is fantastic as Victor. And his fellow cast mates are so damn talented as well.
I think the reason the coming out tale still resonates with me and others is that we can almost all relate to that moment when we finally come into who we are and what we have been grappling with.
When Victor has a night he declares the “best night of my life” I couldn’t help but reminisce on my early days discovering that I belonged to a community of gay people. The world is now at Victor’s feet.
What happens next…who knows? For some of us, it’s not as pretty as that initial moment of realization. But also for some of us, we can find our way back.
Watch “Love, Victor” on Hulu
And after watching the q&a tomorrow (Saturday) for Oxford Film Festival’s LGBTQIA+ Shorts, head over to Outfest for an exclusive Q&A for Love, Victor!
PROUD
Studio Kino Lorber is quite the champion of queer material and is always so generous to GALECA (if you don’t know us, look us up! GALECA: The LGBTQ Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics)
When they sent me “Proud,” I was thrilled. This is a fantastic 3 part episodic tale that follows a family in France through decades, navigating the challenges of what it means to be gay through those times.
Catch the trailer here:
The Surrogate
Although I have been promoting renting our films through Oxford Film Festival, the first one I actually rented myself is “The Surrogate.” And it was a breeze! This is a very thought provoking film which costars “Caroline, or Change’s” Tonya Pinkins!!
Jess Harris (Jasmine Batchelor, “The Good Fight”), a 29 year old web designer for a nonprofit in Brooklyn, is ecstatic to be the surrogate and egg-donor for her best friend Josh (Chris Perfetti, “Looking”) and his husband Aaron (Sullivan Jones, Slave Play). Twelve weeks into the pregnancy, a prenatal test comes back with unexpected results that pose a moral dilemma. As they all consider the best course of action, the relationship between the three friends is put to the test.
Rent "The Surrogate" here from Oxford Film Festival
Pose and Hollywood
Finally, I wanted to mention two Ryan Murphy shows that are on Netflix. If you haven’t watched Murphy’s revisionist “Hollywood,” do it! Everyone I know seems to have loved this show. Just stay off of Bitter Twitter and make your own opinion. You will be more than pleased. I found myself crying and cheering multiple times throughout.
Murphy’s incredibly groundbreaking and highly entertaining “Pose’s” 2nd season has made it’s way to Netflix. I was late to “Pose,” and probably because a part of me thought I couldn’t relate. Those thoughts are the ones I am re-evaluating through our much needed BLM movement. I had started the 2nd season amidst moving last year and with its appearance on Netflix I finished it this weekend. It is fantastic.
Hope you will check all of these things out!! Enjoy and Happy Pride!