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Flare · 2021

Flare 2021

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9 films · 3 reviews

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Boy Meets Boy

Review preview for Boy Meets Boy

Frequent close-ups build on the chemistry between the actors to capture that feeling when one individual suddenly seems bigger and brighter and louder than everything else in the world.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A brief encounter in a Berlin nightclub changes the course of two lives.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2021; Director: Daniel Sanchez Lopez; Writer: Daniel Sanchez Lopez, Hannah Renton; Stars: Matthew James Morrison, Alexandros Koutsoulis)

Full review

Dramarama

In 1994, a closeted teen struggles to part ways with his four high school drama friends at their final murder mystery party before they leave for college.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Jonathan Wysocki; Writer: Jonathan Wysocki; Stars: Zak Henri, Anna Grace Barlow, Nico Greetham)

Firebird

A young private in the Soviet Air Force falls for a dashing fighter pilot, but their situation is dangerous and romantically complicated.

(Country: Estonia, UK; Year: 2021; Director: Peeter Rebane; Writer: Tom Prior, Peeter Rebane; Stars: Tom Prior, Nicholas Woodeson, Oleg Zagorodnii, Diana Pozharskaya, Kaspar Vellberg)

The Greenhouse

Grieving the death of her, a young woman wakes one night to find a portal to the past in the forest surrounding her family home. Swept away by visions of her idyllic upbringing with her three siblings and two loving Mums, Beth becomes mesmerised by the past, unable to see the dangers that lie ahead.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2021; Director: Thomas Wilson-White; Writer: Thomas Wilson-White; Stars: Tel Benjamin, Rhondda Findleton, Harriet Gordon-Anderson, Joel Horwood)

Kiss Me Before It Blows Up

When two generations of Israeli women fall for a German woman and an Palestinian man, chaos follows.

(Country: Germany, Israel; Year: 2020; Director: Shirel Peleg; Writer: Shirel Peleg; Stars: Moran Rosenblatt, Luise Wolfram, Rivka Michaeli, Juliane Köhler, Bernhard Schütz, Irit Kaplan, Salim Dau)

My First Summer

A bereaved girl left along on a remote family estate falls in love with a local girl as they hide away from the adult world.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Katie Found; Writer: Katie Found; Stars: Arthur Angel, Markella Kavenagh, Steve Mouzakis, Maiah Stewardson)

Rurangi

Review preview for Rurangi

The production values are modest, in accordance with the budget, but the actors acquit themselves well.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Burnt-out trans activist Caz returns to the rural dairy community he fled before transition, to reconnect with his father. As father and son reconcile, Caz finds new purpose, spearheading the town's environmental fight against 'Big Dairy'.

(Country: New Zealand; Year: 2020; Director: Max Currie; Writer: Cole Meyers, Oliver Page; Stars: Elz Carrad, Arlo Green, Awahina Rose Ashby, Kirk Torrance, Aroha Rawson)

Full review See: Interview with Max Currie about Rurangi

Sublet

A gay travel writer trades New York for Tel Aviv, where a charming young man helps him get perspective on his long-term relationship.

(Country: Israel; Year: 2020; Director: Eytan Fox; Writer: Eytan Fox, Itay Segal; Stars: John Benjamin Hickey, Niv Nissim, Lihi Kornowski, Miki Kam, Peter Spears, Tamir Ginsburg, Gabriel Omri Loukas, John Benjamin Hickey, Niv Nissim, Lihi Kornowski, Miki Kam, Peter Spears, Tamir Ginsburg, Gabriel Omri Loukas)

Sweetheart

Review preview for Sweetheart

A storyline that sometimes feels rushed or contrived is balanced here by a solid performance from Hartley and a tender one from Barlow.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A socially awkward, environmentally conscious teenager is dragged to a coastal holiday park by her painfully family, where she becomes unexpectedly captivated by a chlorine smelling, sun-loving lifeguard.

(Country: UK; Year: 2021; Director: Marley Morrison; Writer: Marley Morrison; Stars: Nell Barlow, Sophia Di Martino, Ella-Rae Smith, Jo Hartley, Samuel Anderson, Steffan Cennydd)

Full review