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Festival coverage

Flare

18 March – 29 March 2020

This year's BFI Flare is bringing the best of recent LGBTI cinema from around the world to London.

Other years (12)

Box office and information

Latest reviews

  • Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie's Dead Aunt)
    Review preview for Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie's Dead Aunt)

    A cheerful, messy kind of comedy which doesn't hit every beat but is easy to like.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    In this romcom, Ellie’s dead aunt has the perfect dating advice for her. But will she listen to it?
  • Changing The Game
    Review preview for Changing The Game

    Barnett excels at capturing nuances of expression and action.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    Transgender high school athletes from across the US compete at the top of their fields, while also challenging the boundaries and perceptions of fairness and discrimination.
  • Sequin In A Blue Room
    Review preview for Sequin In A Blue Room

    Sequin in A Blue Room is a reminder of Nineties angst media and queer celebration, within the dark corners of adolescence.

    Stephanie Brown · 5 out of 5
    When a teenager's thrill-seeking leads to a memorable encounter at an anonymous sex party, he resolves to track down the mystery guy - even if he has to rely on a menacing former hook-up to help him.
  • Steelers: The World's First Gay Rugby Club
    Review preview for Steelers: The World's First Gay Rugby Club

    A cheery little film with a subject which will be dear to the hearts of many viewers.

    Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
    In 1995, in a pub in King’s Cross, a group of friends discussed the idea of a gay rugby club. From that casual conversation, the first gay rugby team was born.
  • Justine
    Review preview for Justine

    Haddon is excellent in the lead.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    A young woman struggles with her demons.
  • Lingua Franca
    Review preview for Lingua Franca

    Ably performed all round, with a strong turn from Sandoval in the lead, this is a timely reflection on how it feels to be an outsider in the land of the free.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    An undocumented Filipina trans woman, who works as a caregiver in Brooklyn, develops a connection with the grandson of her employer.
  • Two Of Us
    Review preview for Two Of Us

    Two of Us jolts the senses - you can smell when the hot pan stays on the stove too long and want to interfere.

    Anne-Katrin Titze · 4.5 out of 5
    Two retired women, who have been in a secret relationship for decades, find their relationship turned upside down when the truth begins to come out.
  • Cicada
    Review preview for Cicada

    There's some intelligent drama here structured around intersectional issues, which manages to show, at least to an extent, where lesser films only tell.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    A young man is forced to face past traumas when he embarks on a new relationship.
  • Pride & Protest
    Review preview for Pride & Protest

    Whilst there's a lot here that will improve the understanding of white viewers, this isn't film made for their sake.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    A documentary about LGBTQ+ people of colour in the UK.
  • Spiral
    Review preview for Spiral

    Bowyer-Chapman is superb.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    A same-sex couple move to a small town so they can enjoy a better quality of life and raise their 16-year-old daughter with the best social values. But nothing is as it seems in their picturesque neighbourhood, and when Malik sees the folks next door throwing a very strange party, something has got to give.

A–Z of Flare 2020 reviews

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