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Festival coverage

Flare

13 March – 24 March 2024

This year's BFI Flare will open with Amrou Al-Kadhi’s tale of a lonely Arab drag queen, Layla. It will close with the world première of Lady Like, which follows San Francisco-based drag queen Lady Camden on her journey to fame through RuPaul's Drag Race. There will also be a special screen talk with Elliot Page about his career and his latest film, Close To You, made with Dominic Savage.

The festival runs from 13 to 24 March.

Other years (12)

Box office and information

Latest reviews

  • Hidden Master: The Legacy Of George Platt Lynes
    Review preview for Hidden Master: The Legacy Of George Platt Lynes

    A thorough, well-told tale intertwined with many of the key social and artistic movements of that century – and dotted with its luminaries – Hidden Master brings Lynes back out into the light.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    A documentary about the fashion photographer whose rare artistic vision became apparent when he focused his attention on male nudes.
  • We Were Dangerous
    Review preview for We Were Dangerous

    The darkness in the film is carefully balanced by comedy.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    Three friends attend an institution for delinquent girls on an isolated island In 1950s New Zealand. The trio rail against the system, finding strength in their bond. This is challenged when the school’s matron divides them.
  • The Summer With Carmen
    Review preview for The Summer With Carmen

    With a lesser canine star, the film would not have worked, but Nala is sensational.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    While enjoying a day at Athens’ queer beach, 30-something Demosthenes offers to help his bestie and aspiring filmmaker Nikitas in drafting an idea for his feature debut, inspired by the events surrounding a certain dog named Carmen.
  • Merchant Ivory
    Review preview for Merchant Ivory

    Whether you’re a fan of the company’s work specifically or simply interested in the history of cinema, this portrait of its longest-lasting partnership will delight and entertain you.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    The story of cinema's longest lasting partnership.
  • Close To You
    Review preview for Close To You

    Rather than watching Sam from a distance, with curiosity, we are very much aligned with him, experiencing the world as he does, noticing the things that don’t make sense about other people.

    Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
    A young man happens to encounter with an old friend on his way back home to a dreaded family reunion that forces him to confront long-buried memories.
  • Orlando, My Political Biography
    Review preview for Orlando, My Political Biography

    Capturing the experience of living in a world where one’s gender doesn’t fit better than almost any other film to date, Preciado’s work is all about claiming space and present day narrative.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    Docufiction interpretation of Virginia Woolf's novel.
  • Aligned
    Review preview for Aligned

    The unspoken thing developing between them is expressed through brief glances, and through the dances they perform together and apart.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    Two dancers find a connection that goes beyond their art.
  • Lesvia
    Review preview for Lesvia

    An assured feature debut that’s confident enough to explore the sometimes complex dynamics at work while celebrating the community at its heart.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    The history of the lesbian community that sprang up on Lesbos in the 1970s.
  • Chasing Chasing Amy
    Review preview for Chasing Chasing Amy

    A multi-layered journey into the filmmaking process.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    A documentary about the complex legacy of Kevin Smith's Chasing Amy for LGBTQ+ people and its life-saving impact on director Sav Rodgers.
  • I Don't Know Who You Are
    Review preview for I Don't Know Who You Are

    It’s Clennon’s first ever film role, but you wouldn’t think it. The interiority, the subtlety of his performance is what really sells it.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    A gay musician spends his weekend trying to find the money for HIV-preventive treatment after being sexually assaulted by a stranger.

A–Z of Flare 2024 reviews

Features

  • Life in full colour
    Fawzia Mirza on intergenerational connection, Bollywood, queerness and The Queen Of My Dreams
  • On reflection
    Sav Rodgers on Ben Affleck, Kevin Smith, coming of age on camera and Chasing Chasing Amy
  • Insult and injury
    MH Murray, Mark Clennon and Nat Patricia Manuel on I Don’t Know Who You Are
  • Complete love
    Apollo Bakopoulos on self-realisation, dance, Athens, New York and Aligned
  • A difficult age
    Flóra Anna Buda on the challenges facing young adults, and making 27
  • 'A lot of the filming was very cathartic for me'
    Tom Stuart on Good Boy, 'a love letter' to his mum
  • A sporting chance
    Julia Fuhr Mann on exploring athletic bias and looking beyond the binary in Life Is Not A Competition, But I'm Winning

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