by Nathan Osborne Making its world premiere at BFI Flare, Peeter Rebane’s familiar but beautifully crafted feature debut is a soaring exploration of masculinity, homophobia and sexuality in secret. Set at the height of the Cold War and based on a true story, Firebird charts the love triangle between a troubled young private, a daring fighter pilot and a female comrade on a soviet Air … Continue reading Firebird – BFI Flare 2021 Review
by Jordan King If your idea of getting high as a teen was more about singing Sondheim and playing improv theatre games than smashing shots and smoking weed, then HOO BOY do I have a film for you. Writer-director Jonathan Wysocki’s semi-autobiographical Dramarama, set in mid-90s America at a Victorian themed murder mystery party, is a coming-of-age film that acts as an unapologetic love letter … Continue reading Dramarama – Review
by Jordan King Alarm bells blare out at the beginning of Rebel Dykes, the feature-length expansion of Harri Shanahan and Sian A. Williams’ 2016 short form documentary bearing the same name. Right from the start, we are put on alert. Alarm bells ringing make my mind jump straight to fire, and in the case of this incendiary account of the rebel dyke sub-culture of lesbianism … Continue reading Rebel Dykes – BFI Flare 2021 Review
by Jordan King Written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Katie Found, Australian LGBT coming-of-age romance My First Summer is a revelation. Steeped in a sumptuous magic-hour glow that promises to soften and melt away the traumas and pains of its teenage protagonists, Found’s story of young love and self-discovery is a deeply moving, profoundly beautiful, and narratively as well as visually poetic piece of … Continue reading My First Summer – BFI Flare 2021 Review
Movies on Weekends 