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Outfest Los Angeles · 2021

Outfest Los Angeles 2021

US Narrative Features

Programme

10 films · 7 reviews

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All Boys Aren't Blue

A memoir exploring Black masculinity, queerness and gender identity.

(Year: 2021; Director: Nathan Hale Williams; Writer: George M Johnson; Stars: Bernard David Jones, Dyllon Burnside, Thomas Hobson, Jenifer Lewis)

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.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Brielle Brilliant; Writer: Brielle Brilliant; Stars: Tim Kinsella, Spencer Jording, Caleb Cabrera)

Full review See: Interview with Brielle Brilliant about Firstness

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.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Joseph Sackett; Writer: Joseph Sackett; Stars: Maria Dizzia, Colby Minifie, Tre Ryder)

Full review

Language Lessons

A Spanish teacher and her student develop an unexpected friendship.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Natalie Morales; Writer: Mark Duplass, Natalie Morales; Stars: Natalie Morales, Mark Duplass, Desean Terry, Christine Quesada)

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.

(Country: US, France; Year: 2021; Director: Marion Hill; Writer: Marion Hill; Stars: Idella Johnson, Hannah Pepper-Cunningham, Lucien Guignard, Sivan Noam Shimon, Idella Johnson, Hannah Pepper-Cunningham, Lucien Guignard, Sivan Noam Shimon)

Full review See: Interview with Marion Hill about Ma Belle, My Beauty

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.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Lauren Hadaway; Writer: Lauren Hadaway; Stars: Isabelle Fuhrman, Amy Forsyth, Dilone Kate Drummond, Jonathan Cherry, Charlotte Ubben)

Full review See: Interview with Lauren Hadaway about The Novice

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.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Wes Hurley; Writer: Wes Hurley; Stars: Marya Sea Kaminski, Dan Lauria, Tyler Bocock, Lea DeLaria, Sera Barbieri, Hersh Powers, Jonathan Bennett, Sophia Mitri Schloss, Cynthia Lauren Tewes, James Grixoni)

Full review

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.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Mari Walker; Writer: Kristen Uno, Mari Walker; Stars: Pooya Mohseni, Lynn Chen, Nican Robinson, Danny Jacobs, Nikohl Boosheri)

Full review See: Interview with Mari Walker, Pooya Mohseni and Lynn Chen about See You Then

The Sixth Reel

A down-on-his-luck movie collector discovers a legendary lost film and becomes entangled in an outrageous adventure to deliver it to the right hands before it is lost forever

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Carl Andress, Charles Busch; Writer: Carl Andress, Charles Busch; Stars: Charles Busch, Julie Halston, Doug Plaut, Tim Daly, Margaret Cho)

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.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Sean King O'Grady; Writer: Max Booth III; Stars: Sierra McCormick, Vinessa Shaw, Pat Healy, Lisette Alexis, John James Cronin)

Full review See: Interview with Sierra McCormick about We Need To Do Something