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Flare · 2023

Flare 2023

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19 films · 6 reviews

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American Parent

The everyday chaos of raising a toddler is intensified for a lesbian couple, as they manoeuvre through the pandemic and professional uncertainty.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Emily Railsback; Writer: Doreen Bartoni, Emily Railsback)

The Blue Caftan

Review preview for The Blue Caftan

Covert glances and dauntless gestures between the three protagonists, that keep us guessing about who knows what, weave a web as diaphanous as the stitching on fine cloth.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
Halim and Mina own a small family tailor shop that specializes in sewing ceremonial caftans. Since traditional hand-crafted work is time-consuming, Halim decides to hire an assistant, Youssef. The presence of the attractive young man arouses long-suppressed feelings in Halim, something that does not go unnoticed by his wife Mina.

(Country: France, Morocco, Belgium, Denmark; Year: 2022; Director: Maryam Touzani; Writer: Maryam Touzani, Nabil Ayouch; Stars: Lubna Azabal, Saleh Bakri, Ayoub Missioui)

Full review See: Maryam Touzani on the inspiration for The Blue Caftan and its emotional fabric

The Chambermaid (Sluzka)

Melodrama about 15-year-olds Anka and wealthy-born Res who, though from opposite ends of the social ladder, fall in love but tragedy strikes.

(Country: Slovakia, Czech Republic; Year: 2022; Director: Mariana Čengel Solčanská; Writer: Mariana Čengel Solčanská; Stars: Dana Droppová, Radka Cadlová, Vica Kerekes, Zuzana Mauréry, Anna Geislerová)

Chrissy Judy

Review preview for Chrissy Judy

A torch song of a film.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
When a man leaves the city to be with his boyfriend, his unstable best friend, with whom he used to perform drag, struggles to cope alone.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Todd Flaherty; Writer: Todd Flaherty; Stars: Todd Flaherty, Wyatt Fenner, Joey Taranto, Kiyon Spencer, James Tison, João Santos, Nicole Spiezio)

Full review

Clara

A filmmaker returns home to Colombia to find out about her mother’s past love and encounters unexpected twists along the way.

(Country: Colombia; Year: 2021; Director: Aseneth Suárez Ruiz; Writer: Aseneth Suárez Ruiz, Andrés Porras, Patrick Alexander; Stars: Clara Inés Ruiz, Lilia Panche, Melany Ruiz)

The Dream Songs

The intense relationship between two schoolfriends in Seoul is complicated by their feelings for the same girl.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: Cho Hyun-chul; Writer: Cho Hyun-chul, Jung Mi-young; Stars: Park Hye-su, Kim Si-eun)

Egghead & Twinkie

Review preview for Egghead & Twinkie

The bond they have feels real and lived-in, their conversations full of the shorthand which develops over time between people who share almost everything.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A young Asian American girl and her hapless best friend hit the road to go and meet her online crush.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Sarah Kambe Holland; Writer: Sarah Kambe Holland; Stars: Sabrina Jie-A-Fa, Louis Tomeo, Asahi Hirano)

Full review See: Q&A with Sarah Kambe Holland about Egghead & Twinkie

The Fabulous Ones (Le Favolose)

A group of older trans women reunite following the discovery of a lost letter containing the last wishes of a dearly departed friend.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2022; Director: Roberta Torre)

Golden Delicious

Review preview for Golden Delicious

Much messier and more like real life than the average coming-of-age film.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
An Asian Canadian teenager grapples with his identity when he falls for the boy next door. What will his family think? And how will he tell his girlfriend?

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Jason Karman; Writer: Gorrman Lee; Stars: Cardi Wong, Chris Carson, Parmiss Sehat)

Full review

Horseplay (Los Agitadores)

It's the Christmas holidays, and Andy leaves the city in order to spend some time at a luxury villa with his best friends. As they goof around, their initial consensual horseplay reveals that they each have different personal boundaries.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2022; Director: Marco Berger; Writer: Marco Berger; Stars: Bruno Giganti, Agustín Machta, Franco de la Puente, Iván Masliah, Facundo Mas, Ivan Benitez, Carlos Carneglia, Denis Corat, Jordán Romero, Fernando De Simone, Melissa Falter, Gastón Frías, Antonella Yamila Fittipaldi, Victoria Machta, Malena Feijóo)

Jess Plus None

Jess is stuck in the woods for an off-the-grid wedding and must find a way to deal with her ex, her friends and herself.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Mandy Fabian; Writer: Mandy Fabian; Stars: Abby Miller, Rory O'Malley, Matt Walsh)

Lie With Me (Arrête Avec Tes Mensonges)

Review preview for Lie With Me

Despite the powerful allure of the romance in the film there is a lot more going on. An equal amount of attention is paid to the importance of identity.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
When a novelist has an unexpected encounter in his professional life, he recalls falling in love with the young man's father.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Olivier Peyon; Writer: Olivier Peyon, Vincent Poymiro, Arthur Cahn, Cécilia Rouaud; Stars: Guillaume de Tonquédec, Victor Belmondo, Guilaine Londez, Jérémy Gillet)

Full review See: Interview with Olivier Peyon about Lie With Me

Life Unrehearsed

A documentary about two elderly Korean nurses who fell in love despite social approbation and are now living their best lives in Berlin.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: Jieun Banpark; Writer: Jieun Banpark; Stars: In-sun Kim, Soohyun Lee)

Maybe Someday

When her wife devastatingly asks for a separation in order to explore other options, Jay decides to pick up her life and move across the country to start anew. Halfway through the trip, she makes a pit stop to visit her high school best friend, a single mother raising a young daughter, but it's a gay man who might just have what it takes to help her reset her life.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Michelle Ehlen; Writer: Michelle Ehlen; Stars: Michelle Ehlen, Charlie Steers, Shaela Cook, Jeneen Robinson, Eliza Blair, Cameron Norman)

A Place Of Our Own (Ek Jagah Apni)

Two trans women fight to find a place to live in Bhopal after the sudden eviction from their home by a prejudiced landlord.

(Country: India; Year: 2022; Director: Ektara Collective; Writer: Rinchin, Maheen Mirza, Manisha Soni, Muskan)

Polarized

As an unavoidable attraction develops between two women, they must navigate the barriers of race, religion and class which conspire to keep them apart.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2023; Director: Shamim Sarif; Writer: Shamim Sarif; Stars: Holly Deveaux, Maxine Denis, Hesham Hammoud)

Silent Love

A documentary following a woman who moves back home to Poland to care for her brother whilst hiding her same sex relationship from the authorities.

(Country: Poland; Year: 2022; Director: Marek Kozakiewicz)

Three Nights A Week (Trois Nuits Par Semaine)

A man falls for a drag queen.

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Florent Gouëlou; Writer: Raphaëlle Desplechin, Florent Gouëlou; Stars: Pablo Pauly, Romain Eck, Hafsia Herzi, Harald Marlot, Mathias Houngnikpo, Holy Fatma, Calypso Baquey, Jean-Marie Gouëlou)

Unidentified Objects

Review preview for Unidentified Objects

A quirky yet moving character piece full of absurdist comedy, with an optimistic streak which is rare in cinema today.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A lonely dwarf and his unstable, alien-obsessed neighbour are thrown together on an impossible road trip that will alter their strange friendship (and their sense of reality) forever.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Juan Felipe Zuleta; Writer: Leland Frankel, Juan Felipe Zuleta; Stars: Sarah Hay, Roberta Colindrez, Matthew Jeffers, Hamish Allan-Headly)

Full review See: Interview with Juan Felipe Zuleta, Matthew Jeffers and Sarah Hay about Unidentified Objects