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Scottish Queer International Film Festival — A–Z of films

2018

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  • Bixa Travesty
    Review preview for Bixa Travesty

    The directors take what is primarily an observational approach, with only intermittent scenes clearly set up to encourage specific discussions. In return for this they get intimate access to their star's day to day life.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    A documentary that follows Mc Linn Da Quebrada, a black trans woman, performer and activist living in impoverished São Paulo.
  • Buddies
    Review preview for Buddies

    Both lead actors are well chosen. Bressan Jr directs with a quiet assurance that gives them lots of room to work but ensures that the film never tips over into melodrama.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    The first film to deal with the AIDS crisis tells the story of a man who becomes a voluntary 'buddy' for an AIDS patient and finds their relationship changing

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  • A Deal With The Universe
    Review preview for A Deal With The Universe

    The film cuts through al the intellectual debate around these subjects to remind us of the human experiences at their core.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    The filmmaker documents 15 years of his life, including aspects of his transition and his subsequent pregnancy.
  • Dykes, Camera, Action!
    Review preview for Dykes, Camera, Action!

    An impressive potted history of an important movement in cinema with an equally impressive list of contributors.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    A history of queer cinema told by women who had pivotal roles in its development.
  • A Fantastic Woman
    Review preview for A Fantastic Woman

    Lelio makes no bones about how he wants us to feel, to the point where it sometimes feels as though he is stating the obvious is six-foot neon letters.

    Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
    A transgender woman fights for the right to grieve after the death of her partner.
  • Friend
    Review preview for Friend

    Touching and brave.

    Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
    When they fall in love, two girls from rival families must choose between being together and being safe.
  • A Girl At My Door
    Review preview for A Girl At My Door

    This film includes a lot of material that will make viewers uncomfortable, but never gratuitously.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    A policewoman tries to help a young girl who is being abused by her violent stepdad.
  • The Gospel Of Eureka
    Review preview for The Gospel Of Eureka

    The Gospel Of Eureka is fairly straightforward in structure, with no real surprises, but it tells a story that matters.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    Love, faith, and civil rights collide in the south as evangelical Christians and drag queens step into the spotlight to explore the meaning of belief.

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  • Leitis In Waiting
    Review preview for Leitis In Waiting

    Leitis In Waiting provides insight into the leiti community, Tongan society, the spread of American-funded missionary fundamentalism and the politics of resistance.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    The story of Joey Mataele and the Tonga Leitis, an intrepid group of transgender women fighting a rising tide of religious fundamentalism and intolerance in their country.

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  • The Misandrists
    Review preview for The Misandrists

    Something like a cross between Carry On Solanas! and The Beguiled

    Jane Fae · 4 out of 5
    A radical female ‘army of lovers’ is preparing itself to fight for a world without men.
  • A Moment In The Reeds
    Review preview for A Moment In The Reeds

    There's more to this film than just another erotic romance.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    Romance blossoms between a Finnish man and a Syrian immigrant.
  • My Brother The Devil
    Review preview for My Brother The Devil

    El Hosaini is wise to inject visual majesty into her otherwise gritty tale.

    Sophie Monks Kaufman · 4 out of 5
    A pair of British Arab brothers trying to get by in gangland London learn the extraordinary courage it takes to be yourself.
  • Pulse
    Review preview for Pulse

    Perhaps there are certain questions that we don't need asked; or if they are to be asked, a certain care in the way they are asked would be helpful.

    Jane Fae · 2 out of 5
    After a series of humiliations, a young disabled man looking for love decides to transition – but not in the manner you’d expect. Set in an alternative present in which medical procedures are drastically different, the question of what it means to change gender is complicated by the question of what it means to find love when you have a disabled body in an ableist world.

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  • Signature Move
    Review preview for Signature Move

    Notions of identity, duty to others and duty to the self intersect in this pleasingly nuanced tale.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    The story of a young woman navigating her life between a mother who doesn’t really know her daughter and a burgeoning relationship that offers the possibility of real happiness.
  • Sidney And Friends
    Review preview for Sidney And Friends

    Technically impressive given the conditions in which some of it is filmed, Sidney And Friends is a powerful piece of filmmaking exploring the human impact of prejudice and simple ignorance.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    Scottish filmmaker Tristan Aitchison visited Kenya in 2013. A chance meeting with an activist revealed an underground network of intersex and trans people that wanted their voices heard.
  • Until Rainbow Dawn
    Review preview for Until Rainbow Dawn

    Despite its narrative issues, this film has some well structured dialogue and a touching relationship at its centre.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    After meeting at their Deaf school in Central Japan, Hana and Ayumi become close friends, and quickly fall in love. But when Hana comes out to her parents, they throw her out of the house

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  • The Wizard Of Oz
    Review preview for The Wizard Of Oz

    The Wizard Of Oz has something fresh and intangibly pure for me every time I see it.

    Scott Macdonald · 5 out of 5
    Swept away to a magical land, young Dorothy sets out to find the wizard who can help her get home, meeting some unusual friends along the way. Out on IMAX reissue.