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Inside Out · 2024

Inside Out 2024

International Showcase

Programme

12 films · 6 reviews

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Bonus Track

A 16-year-old believes he is a future star musician, even when no-one else in his small town does. The arrival of the son of a famous musical duo, who helps him rehearse for a talent show, leads both boys to learn from each other and grow closer.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Julia Jackman; Writer: Mike Gilbert, Josh O'Connor; Stars: Jack Davenport, Josh O'Connor, Alison Sudol, Ellie Kendrick, Josh Cowdery, Ray Panthaki)

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.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Dominic Savage; Writer: Elliot Page, Dominic Savage; Stars: Elliot Page, Hillary Baack, Wendy Crewson, Peter Outerbridge, Alex Paxton-Beesley, David Reale)

Full review

Cora Bora

Cora senses her open relationship is on the rocks. When the struggling musician and messy millennial goes home to Portland to win her girlfriend back, she realizes it’s much more than her love life that needs salvaging.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Hannah Pearl Utt; Writer: Rhianon Jones; Stars: Megan Stalter, Jojo T Gibbs, Manny Jacinto, Ayden Mayeri, Thomas Mann, Chrissie Fit, Andre Hyland, Chelsea Peretti, Margaret Cho, Darrell Hammond)

Desire Lines

Past and present collide when an Iranian American trans man time-travels through an LGBTQ+ archive on a dizzying and erotic quest to unravel his own sexual desires.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Jules Rosskam; Writer: Nate Gualtieri; Stars: Theo Germaine, Aden Hakimi, Grant Carriker, Larry Dane, Chevon Dortch, Mike Geraghty, Emilie Modaff, Brandon Rivera, Emj Saab, Steve Silver, Diego Torrado)

Extremely Unique Dynamic

Review preview for Extremely Unique Dynamic

Not everything here is successful, but the delicately handled character material pays dividends, and the real life chemistry between the two stars carries across well to their characters.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
During their final weekend together, two best friends test the limits of their friendship while making a double-meta film.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Katherine Dudas, Ivan Leung, Harrison Xu; Writer: Harrison Xu, Ivan Leung, Katherine Dudas; Stars: Ivan Leung, Harrison Xu, Hudson Yang, Nathan Doan, Lucan Liu, Kelly Lynch, Jason Sun, Valerie Yu)

Full review See: Interview with Harrison Xu and Ivan Leung about Extremely Unique Dynamic

A House Is Not A Disco

Review preview for A House Is Not A Disco

There is a sense of living in the moment but for the future, a deep connection with nature and a willingness to face whatever happens together.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
What if you really did put all the gays on an island? In this vibrant portrait of queer paradise Fire Island Pines, past and present blur as the iconic beach town bands together to celebrate its legacy and redefine itself for a new, inclusive era.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Brian J Smith; Stars: Doug Harris, Scott Bromley, Marc Christensen, Crayton Robey)

Full review See: Interview with Brian J Smith about A House Is Not A Disco

Léon

For Julia, facing life after the loss of her partner seems like an impossible task - but León, their son, drives her forwards.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2023; Director: Papu Curotto, Andi Nachon; Writer: Andi Nachon; Stars: Carla Crespo, Lorenzo Crespo, Esteban Masturini, Susana Pampín)

Rookie

Everything changes when an awkward teenager joins the volleyball team and falls for the volleyball team captain.

(Country: Philippines; Year: 2023; Director: Samantha Lee; Writer: Natts Jadaone, Samantha Lee; Stars: Pat Tingjuy, Aya Fernandez, Agot Isidro, Mikoy Morales, Alyssa Valdez)

Sebastian

Review preview for Sebastian

Having set up all the elements of a thriller, the film proceeds to untangle them in a refreshingly different and mature way.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Max, a 25-year-old aspiring writer living in London, begins a double life as a sex worker in order to research his debut novel.

(Country: UK, Finland, Belgium; Year: 2024; Director: Mikko Mäkelä; Writer: Mikko Mäkelä; Stars: Ruaridh Mollica, Hiftu Quasem, Ingvar Sigurdsson, Jonathan Hyde, Lara Rossi, Leanne Best, Dylan Brady, Charlotte Harwood, Fleur Keith, Akbar Kurtha, Marcus Macleod, Laurent Maria, Pedro Minas, Matthias Moret, David Nellist)

Full review

Toll (Pedágio)

Review preview for Toll

At the heart of it is the complex relationship between mother and son.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Suellen, a toll booth attendant, realises she can use her job to raise some extra money illegally. But this is only for a noble cause: to send her son to an expensive gay conversion workshop led by a renowned foreign priest.

(Country: Brazil, Portugal; Year: 2022; Director: Carolina Markowicz; Writer: Carolina Markowicz; Stars: Maeve Jinkings, Thomas Aquino, Isac Graça, Caio Macedo, Aline Marta Maia, Kauan Alvarenga)

Full review

Where The Bears Are: The Documentary

The story of three older bears working in Hollywood, who, tired of having their gay-themed ideas rejected by the mainstream, decide to self-produce their own web series.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Eduardo Aquino)