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Outfest Los Angeles · 2023

Outfest Los Angeles 2023

Narrative Features

Programme

18 films · 7 reviews

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All the Colours Of The World Are Between Black And White

Bambino and Bawa meet in Lagos and hit it off immediately. During their long trips around the city, they develop a deep affection for each other. But in a society which considers homosexuality taboo, they feel the pressure of social norms.

(Country: Nigeria; Year: 2023; Director: Babatunde Apalowo; Stars: Tope Tedela, Riyo David, Martha Ehinome Orhiere, Uchechika Elumelu, Floyd Anekwe)

Almamula

Review preview for Almamula

A semi-autobiographical film with a potent sense of place, Almamula alternates between realism and fantasy, its camerawork reflecting the conflicting ways of thinking at its core.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
12-year-old Nino is assaulted for being homosexual. In an effort to protect the boy, his parents move the family to a small rural village.

(Country: France, Argentina, Italy; Year: 2023; Director: Juan Sebastián Torales; Writer: Juan Sebastián Torales; Stars: Nicolás Díaz, Martina Grimaldi, María Soldi, Cali Coronel)

Full review See: Interview with Juan Sebastián Torales about Almamula

Asog

All roads lead to the Ms. Gay Sicogan pageant! Rey toils away in mediocrity after their career as a comedian comes to a grinding halt due to a super typhoon devastating Tacoloban. They set their sights on winning the pageant cash prize. Joined by former student Arnel, searching for some semblance of the family he lost when his mother died in the typhoon, they embark on a journey, navigating trauma, transphobia, colonialism, climate change, grief, and ultimately, resilience.

(Country: Philippines; Year: 2023; Director: Seán Devlin; Writer: Seán Devlin, Jaya, Arnel Pablo; Stars: Jaya, Arnel Pablo, Ricky Gacho Jr)

Big Boys

Jamie’s dream camping trip is ruined before it even begins when he finds out that his beloved cousin is bringing her new boyfriend. However, Jamie’s initial jealousy of the competent and confident Dan quickly turns into a friendship as they bond over cooking, games and both being ‘big boys’ - and Jamie gradually realises that he has other feelings for Dan too.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Corin Sherman; Writer: Corin Sherman; Stars: Isaac Krasner, David Johnson III, Emily Deschanel)

Bones And Names (Knochen Und Namen)

Long term couple Boris and Jonathan's relationship has settled into routine domesticity, the kind where romance slowly morphs into generally pleasant companionship and resentments simmer under the surface. Hungering for more, each man senses an opportunity via some new and peculiar creative pursuits. Boris, an actor, uses the bizarre rehearsals of his new film — lorded over by an unpredictable experimental director — to get close to his handsome co-star, while Jonathan tries to redefine his voice as a writer by any means necessary.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2023; Director: Fabian Stumm; Writer: Fabian Stumm; Stars: Fabian Stumm, Knut Berger, Marie-Lou Sellem, Susie Meyer, Magnus Mariuson, Doreen Fietz, Alma Meyer-Prescott, Ruth Reinecke, Ernst Stötzner, Anneke Kim Sarnau)

Bottoms

Review preview for Bottoms

There may be other movies this year that'll give you the wisdom of "gay Yoda" or that reflect the slippery "hobbies to terrorism" pipeline. There won't be many with public address announcements that blur the lines between unreliable narration and inner ear disorders

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
Two unpopular girls in their senior year start a fight club to try to impress and hook up with cheerleaders.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Emma Seligman; Writer: Emma Seligman, Rachel Sennott; Stars: Rachel Sennott, Ayo Edebiri, Ruby Cruz, Havana Rose Liu, Kaia Gerber, Nicholas Galitzine, Miles Fowler, Marshawn Lynch, Dagmara Dominiczyk, Punkie Johnson)

Full review

Clashing Difficulties

All-white feminist organisation House of Womxn frantically attempts to solve its inclusion problem. When its panel at the upcoming International Women's Conference is threatened with expulsion if it doesn't diversify, the board is forced to take action.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2023; Director: Merle Grimme; Writer: Merle Grimme; Stars: Thelma Buabeng, Rabea Lüthi, Jane Chirwa, Şafak Şengül, Minh-Khai Phan-Thi, Lisa Hrdina, Christine Wilhelmi, Inka Friedrich, Anna Stieblich, Eva Bay, Tucké Royale)

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)

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)

The Mattachine Family

Review preview for The Mattachine Family

This is one of those very Californian tales in which the problems that most people in the world have to deal with simply don’t exist.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Thomas and Oscar have spent a year as foster parents to a wonderful child, a calling that's shown them new dimensions of what 'family' can mean. However, when the young boy is reunited with his birth mother, the couple's differing views on what the experience meant come into focus.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Andy Vallentine; Writer: Danny Vallentine; Stars: Nico Tortorella, Juan Pablo Di Pace, Emily Hampshire, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Heather Matarazzo, Cloie Wyatt Taylor, Jake Choi, Garrett Clayton, Annie Funke, Colleen Foy)

Full review

Mutt

Review preview for Mutt

Confident enough in its characters to tell its story without sensationalism or stylistic overcompensation.

Jeremy Mathews · 4 out of 5
Over the course of a single hectic day in New York City, three people from Feña's past are thrust back into his life. Having lost touch since transitioning from female to male, he navigates the new dynamics of old relationships while tackling the day-to-day challenges of living life in between.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Vuk Lungulov-Klotz; Writer: Vuk Lungulov-Klotz; Stars: Lío Mehiel, Cole Doman, MiMi Ryder, Alejandro Goic)

Full review

Peafowl

Review preview for Peafowl

There’s a lot of interesting work here and it’s startling to realise that it’s director Byun Sung-bin’s first venture into features.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Steely Shin Myung is a fierce trans queen on the Seoul nightclub scene who reconnects with her Buddhist heritage after the death of her father.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2022; Director: Byun Sung-bin; Stars: Hae-jun, Kim U-gyeom)

Full review

Rotting In The Sun

After filmmaker Sebastian Silva goes missing in Mexico City, social media celebrity Jordan Firstman begins searching for him, suspecting that the cleaning lady in Sebastian’s building may have something to do with his disappearance.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Sebastian Silva; Writer: Pedro Peirano; Stars: Jordan Firstman, Catalina Saavedra, Sebastian Silva)

Silver Haze

Franky comes from a gritty East London borough and works as a nurse. When she falls head over heels in love with her patient Florence, her life changes profoundly.

(Country: Netherlands, UK; Year: 2023; Director: Sacha Polak)

Something You Said Last Night

Review preview for Something You Said Last Night

De Filippis understands the value of the small stuff.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
After being fired from her job, Ren, an aspiring writer and mid-twenty-something, accompanies her Canadian-Italian family on vacation.

(Country: Canada, Switzerland; Year: 2022; Director: Luis De Filippis; Writer: Luis De Filippis; Stars: Carmen Madonia, Ramona Milano, Paige Evans, Joe Parro, Xxavier Woon-A-Tai, Augustus Oicle, Drew Catherine, Mark Winnick, Nate Colitto, Mark Soltermann, Anna Starnino, Lorcan DaSilva Déiseach, Jennifer Balen, Michelle Gidari, Carmelo Nelson)

Full review See: Director Luis De Filippis and star Carmen Madonia talk about family, identity and authenticity in Something You Said Last Night

This Place

A coming-of-age story about two women falling in love for the first time. As they grow closer, each is forced to confront their family histories in unexpected ways, while navigating multiple legacies of grief and love.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: VT Nayani; Writer: Golshan Abdmoulaie, Devery Jacobs, VT Nayani; Stars: Devery Jacobs, Priya Guns, Janïsa Weekes, Alex Joseph, Britanny LaBorgne, Ali Momen)