Skip to main content

Outfest Los Angeles — A–Z of films

2021

  • 0

  • 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.

  • D

  • A Distant Place
    Review preview for A Distant Place

    A remarkably accomplished piece of storytelling.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    A man who has retreated to the countryside find his delicate balance upset by the visit of an old friend.
  • Everybody's Talking About Jamie
    Review preview for Everybody's Talking About Jamie

    Creative licence has been taken with Jamie's story, of course, but the essence of it - and particularly the emotional beats - have a strong ring of truth.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    A teenager overcomes prejudice to fulfil his ambition of becoming a drag queen.
  • Firstness
    Review preview for Firstness

    The performances are relaxed and natural, the focus less on doing than on being.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    A maladjusted dad is trying to heal in an experimental therapy group called Infinite Beginnings. Meanwhile, his non-binary kid is getting close with an older man. Their relationship feels both dreamy and concerning-depending on who is watching.
  • Homebody
    Review preview for Homebody

    A tender-hearted comedy with a deep understanding of what it feels like to be a child.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    Nine-year-old Johnny sends his spirit into his babysitter Melanie and gets to be a woman for a day.

  • I

  • Invisible: Gay Women In Southern Music
    Review preview for Invisible: Gay Women In Southern Music

    Like the best country songs, it uses a simple format well, and it’s the sincerity, charm and good humour of its contributors that carries it.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    This documentary explores a group of gay women songwriters who have successfully navigated the male dominated country music genre and have written number one hits for some of country music's greatest stars.
  • Knocking
    Review preview for Knocking

    Molocco’s performance is excellent and will make viewers feel for Molly even if they have no experience with this type of situation.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    When Molly moves into her new apartment after a tragic accident, a strange noise from upstairs begins to unnerve her. As its intensity grows, she confronts her neighbours – but no one seems to hear what she is hearing.
  • Lady Buds
    Review preview for Lady Buds

    For a documentary directly focused on the money side of the cannabis industry in California, Russo finds poignancy in the roots of the plant’s history.

    Stephanie Brown · 4 out of 5
    The story of six women who come out of the shadows of the cannabis underground to enter the new commercial industry in California.
  • Leading Ladies
    Review preview for Leading Ladies

    Caudeli has a talent that goes beyond the mere provision of puzzles.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    A reflection on how different perspectives and memories affect one group of queer women.

  • M

  • Ma Belle, My Beauty
    Review preview for Ma Belle, My Beauty

    This complex story is driven by its characters and blessed with a trio of impressive but unshowy performances.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    A surprise reunion in southern France reignites passions and jealousies between two women who were formerly polyamorous lovers.
  • My Name Is Pauli Murray
    Review preview for My Name Is Pauli Murray

    Cohen and West draw on the rich archive of Murray's own work further illustrating it with archive footage and photographs of the periods the film refers to in order to paint a picture of quiet but firm activism.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    Profile of the legal trailblazer.
  • The Novice
    Review preview for The Novice

    This is a stunning first feature.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    A queer college freshman who joins her university’s rowing team and undertakes an obsessive physical and psychological journey to make it to the top varsity boat, no matter the cost.
  • Potato Dreams Of America
    Review preview for Potato Dreams Of America

    Quirky and a little uneven but appealingly sweet.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    A true story about a gay boy growing up in the collapsing USSR, his courageous mail-order bride mother, and their adventurous escape to Seattle in the Nineties.

  • R

  • Sediments
    Review preview for Sediments

    In its quiet, observational way, Sediments gets closer to the experience of what it means to be trans than any number of more direct interrogations.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    Just as the Earth is, our inner selves are made up of many layers that make up our identity and tell the story of our existence.
  • See You Then
    Review preview for See You Then

    It's a beautifully written script and the performances are top notch.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    A decade after abruptly breaking up with Naomi, Kris invites her to dinner to catch-up on their complicated lives, relationships, and Kris’ transition.
  • Socks On Fire
    Review preview for Socks On Fire

    On its surface, it is slight - after all, this is a single family argument between a drag queen and the sister who disapproved of her brother's lifestyle - but McGuire is hunting for deeper resonances.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
    Bo McGuire returns home to rural Alabama to document the bitter property feud between his homophobic aunt and gay uncle.
  • 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.

  • V

  • We Need To Do Something
    Review preview for We Need To Do Something

    Something extra is needed and fortunately this film has that.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    Trapped inside their bathroom for days after a tornado ravages their home, a family of four struggles to keep their composure. That’s nothing, however, compared to what’s coming for them beyond the bathroom’s walls.