November: Queer Cinema
November: Queer Cinema: FLMTQ Releases 158-162
During the month of November Filmatique presents Queer Cinema, a collection of contemporary films that challenge norms of gender, sexuality, and desire through alternative modes of cinematic representation.
Prominent trans non-binary performer Bobbi Salvör Menuez delivers a starring turn as a withdrawn young woman uncovering a trail of violence in a special screening of Luigi Campi's My First Kiss and the People Involved—for which Filmatique is exclusively hosting the free, worldwide digital premiere. Sophie Hyde's 52 Tuesdays charts the intersecting journeys of mother and daughter as the former undergoes a gender transition. In Anna Muylaert's Don't Call Me Son, a cross-dressing teen refuses to be categorized by his biological family, whom he has only just met, while the protagonist of Xavier Dolan's semi-autobiographical I Killed My Mother drifts between contempt and unbearable affection for his single mother as he wrestles with the decision to come out. Set within the male-dominated world of vaquejada, Gabriel Mascaro's second narrative feature Neon Bull meditates on corporeality both human and animal as a pretext for deconstructing machismo culture in contemporary Brazil.
Filmatique has long spotlighted queer filmmakers and their work and will continue to do so, attentive to the intersectionality of non-normative identities with factors including race, culture, and class. Comprised of three debut films and two second features, Filmatique's first dedicated focus on Queer Cinema foregrounds the perspectives of emerging queer filmmakers, protagonists, and performers—carving out a space of visibility within a media landscape in which they remain marginalized and excluded.
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52 Tuesdays, Sophie Hyde (2013)
52 Tuesdays, Sophie Hyde / Australia, 2013
When her mother reveals her female to male gender transition, 16 year-old Billie is catapulted into radically new circumstances, moving in with her father and confined to visiting her mother on Tuesday afternoons. The pressures of growing up and articulating her hopes for the future take on new meaning, as the mother and daughter chart diverse but intersecting paths to independence and acceptance.
Filmed just one day per week over the course of a year, 52 Tuesdays chronicles the malleability of gender, identity, desire, and time. Sophie Hyde's feature film debut premiered at the Göteborg International Film Festival, Vienna, Athens; Sundance, where it won the World Cinema - Dramatic Directing Award; Berlin, where it won the Crystal Bear for Best Film in Generation 14plus; and Rio de Janeiro, where it won a Special Jury Prize.
Neon Bull, Gabriel Mascaro (2013)
Neon Bull, Gabriel Mascaro / Brazil-Uruguay-Netherlands, 2015
Iremar works in the rarefied, exclusively male world of the vaquejada, a sport native to northern Brazil in which cowboys attempt to bring bulls to the ground by their tails. He travels with these animals, feeds them, and dusts their tails before they run. However, in his free time Iremar rummages for loose fabric and mannequin parts among isolated dumping fields. As the monotony of his day job sets in, Iremar is increasingly enchanted by the idea of designing costumes for exotic dancers, starting with his close friend Galega.
Evoking northeast Brazil’s rural traditions alongside dreams of its burgeoning fashion industry, and attuned to the commodification of bodies across species, Neon Bull deconstructs conventional notions of masculinity through its oneiric, sensuous portrayal of a man suspended between a region's past and its future. Gabriel Mascaro's second narrative feature premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where it won a Special Jury Prize; Marrakech, where it won Best Director; Lima, where it won Best Cinematography; Havana, where it won a Special Jury Prize; Rio de Janeiro, where it won Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress and Best Cinematography; Toronto, where it won an Honorable Mention; and Transilvania, where it won the FIPRESCI Prize.
I Killed My Mother, Xavier Dolan (2009)
I Killed My Mother, Xavier Dolan / Canada, 2009
Surly teenage Hubert lives with his single mother Chantale in suburban Montreal. He's secretly in a relationship with his best friend Antonin, a fact known to Antonin's mother that Hubert dares not reveal to Chantale. As the relationship between mother and son reveals itself as increasingly fraught, entangled, volatile, and violent, Hubert forges a connection with one of his teachers, who helps him navigate his complex emotions.
Imbued with stylistic flourishes, dynamic flow, and volcanic performances, I Killed My Mother is a headstrong testament to the expressive power of cinema. Xavier Dolan's first film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival's Quinzaine des Réalisateurs, where it won the C.I.C.A.E. Award, the Regards Jeunes Prize, and the SACD Prize; Bangkok, where it won a Special Mention; Ljubljana, where it won the Audience Award; Palm Springs, where it won the FIPRESCI Prize; and Reykjavik, where it won Best Film.
Don't Call Me Son, Anna Muylaert (2016)
Don't Call Me Son, Anna Muylaert / Brazil, 2016
Living with his sister Jacqueline and their mother Aracy in a working-class neighborhood, Pierre plays guitar in a punk band, wears eyeliner, and is content to have sex with both boys and girls. No one forces him to label himself or his desires until social workers show up at his family home and arrest Aracy—DNA confirms that she stole both Pierre and his sister from their biological mothers at birth. Before long Pierre is thrust into the bourgeois lifestyle of a new family, where his right to self-expression is no longer a given.
A poetic, provocative portrait of a young man's fluidity, Don't Call Me Son offers a richly layered examination of family, class, and sexuality in contemporary Brazil. Anna Muylaert's second feature film premiered at BFI London, Jerusalem, QueerLisboa; the Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Teddy Award; and Valladolid, where it won Best Actor and Best Director. Don't Call Me Son is a New York Times Critics' Pick.
My First Kiss and the People Involved, Luigi Campi (2016)