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Thessaloniki International Documentary Film Festival · 2024

Thessaloniki International Documentary Film Festival 2024

Citizen Queer

Programme

16 films · 9 reviews

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Brothers' Nest

Two brothers plot to commit murder for money, but the situation gets worse and worse.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2018; Director: Clayton Jacobson; Writer: Jaime Brown; Stars: Clayton Jacobson, Shane Jacobson, Lynette Curran, Kim Gyngell, Sarah Snook)

Be Like Others

An intimate and unflinching look at life in Iran, seen through the lens of those living at its fringes. A provocative look at a generation of young Iranian men choosing to undergo sex change surgery.

(Country: UK; Director: Tanaz Eshaghian)

Code Of Fear

Triggered by the recent death of a Cameroonian activist, Siewe travels home to initiate conversations within his community regarding homosexuality. From the offset, Siewe’s family ostracises him and he finds himself confronted with the steep cost of African allyship.

(Country: Germany, Norway; Year: 2023; Director: Appolain Siewe)

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.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Caroline Berler; Stars: Desiree Akhavan, Cheryl Dunye, Su Friedrich, Jenni Olson, B Ruby Rich, Yoruba Richen, Sarah Schulman)

Full review See: Article about lesbianism in Golden Age Hollywood

Flee

Review preview for Flee

By animating the whole movie, Rasmussen makes the story feel more immersive and of a whole piece.

Jeremy Mathews · 3.5 out of 5
Amin arrived as an unaccompanied minor in Denmark from Afghanistan. Today, he is a successful academic and is getting married to his long-time boyfriend. A secret he has been hiding for 20 years threatens to ruin the life he has built.

(Country: Denmark, France, Sweden, Norway; Year: 2021; Director: Jonas Poher Rasmussen; Writer: Jonas Poher Rasmussen)

Full review

Lemebel

Review preview for Lemebel

This is not conventional narrative, start to end, born in, schooled at, died documentary.

Jane Fae · 4 out of 5
A multi-layered portrait of one of South America’s most important and most provocative artists, a tireless fighter in dictatorial Chile and an uncomfortable gay activist who spoke out – right up to the end of his life.

(Country: Chile, Colombia; Year: 2019; Director: Lissette Orozco, Joanna Reposi; Writer: Manuel Maira, Joanna Reposi)

Full review

Nelly & Nadine

Review preview for Nelly & Nadine

The love story is remarkable in its own right but the film also shows the way these sorts of histories could be hidden in plain sight.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
The story of two women who fell in love whilst imprisoned in Ravensbrück concentration camp.

(Country: Sweden, Belgium, Norway; Year: 2022; Director: Magnus Gertten; Writer: Magnus Gertten)

Full review

Nitrate Kisses

A film visually structured around four couples making love and narratively structured around four chapters in lesbian life.

(Country: US; Year: 1992; Director: Barbara Hammer; Stars: Jerre, Maria, Ruth)

Orlando, My Political Biography (Orlando, ma biographie politique)

Review preview for Orlando, My Political Biography

Capturing the experience of living in a world where one’s gender doesn’t fit better than almost any other film to date, Preciado’s work is all about claiming space and present day narrative.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Docufiction interpretation of Virginia Woolf's novel.

(Country: France; Year: 2023; Director: Paul B Preciado; Writer: Paul B Preciado; Stars: Paul B Preciado)

Full review

Queer Japan

Review preview for Queer Japan

Particularly intriguing here is the overlap between hentai and art.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Trailblazing artists, activists, and everyday people from across the spectrum of gender and sexuality defy social norms and dare to live unconventional lives in this kaleidoscopic view of LGBTQ culture in contemporary Japan.

(Country: Japan, US; Year: 2019; Director: Graham Kolbeins; Stars: Atsushi Matsuda, Aya Kamikawa, Chiga Ogawa, Fumino Sugiyama, Gengoroh Tagame, Hiroshi Hasegawa, Leslie Kee, Nogi Sumiko, Tomato Hatakeno, Vivienne Sato)

Full review See: Interview with Graham Kolbeins about Queer Japan

Queercore: How To Punk A Revolution

Considering the cultural and social movement that became known as Queercore.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2017; Director: Yony Leyser; Writer: Yony Leyser; Stars: John Waters, Beth Ditto, Peaches, Kim Gordon, Silas Howard, Bruce La Bruce, Kathleen Hanna, Justin Bond, Patty Schemel, Genesis P-Orridge, Hole, Dennis Cooper, G.B. Jones, Jayne County, Lynn Breedlove)

Rebel Dykes

Review preview for Rebel Dykes

A piece that is deeply personal, punk in its aesthetic, and all the more powerful for both.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
Documentary about the underground lesbian scene in London in the Eighties.

(Country: UK; Year: 2021; Director: Harri Shanahan, Siân A Williams)

Full review

Silent Love

A documentary following a woman who moves back home to Poland to care for her brother whilst hiding her same sex relationship from the authorities.

(Country: Poland; Year: 2022; Director: Marek Kozakiewicz)

Who I Am Not

Born with typically male and female attributes within one single body, a beauty queen and a male-presenting activist break the intersex taboo through a personal and intimate exploration of truth, faith, and belonging.

(Country: Romania, Canada, Germany, South Africa, US; Year: 2023; Director: Tunde Skovran; Writer: Tunde Skovran, Andrei Zincã)

Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars

Review preview for Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars

Indisputably one of the greatest concert films ever made, DA Pennebaker's striking work captures those last moments onstage in all their glory.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
David Bowie in his final performance as Ziggy Stardust, with behind the scenes footage.

(Country: UK; Year: 1973; Director: DA Pennebaker; Stars: David Bowie)

Full review See: Article about David Bowie's contribution to film soundtracks