RIFF, the Reykjavík International Film Festival, is now underway, offering its usual wide selection of interesting films. The programme often includes films connected to gay and other queer lives. They are no longer presented as a separate category, as they once were, but here are several titles that caught our attention while browsing this year’s programme.
Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed
Rock Hudson was one of the great screen idols of Hollywood’s Golden Age, but he was forced to conceal part of himself in order to give audiences the films and romantic image they desired. When news emerged that Hudson was dying of AIDS, the world was forced to confront an illness that had been ignored and stigmatised for far too long.
Orlando, My Political Biography / Orlando, ma biographie politique
French director Paul B. Preciado brings together 26 trans and non-binary people, each of whom takes on the role of Orlando, the title character of Virginia Woolf’s novel Orlando: A Biography. In the novel, Orlando changes sex midway through the story. The film is a striking and outspoken examination of how people’s gender has become the subject of political debate.
Queendom
Gena is a 21-year-old queer artist from a small town in Russia. Wearing provocative and highly imaginative costumes on the streets of Moscow, she stages unusual performances to protest against the treatment of queer people in Putin’s Russia. Blending documentary and fiction, director Agniia Galdanova explores the inner world of a struggling artist and creates a distinctive cinematic experience.
20,000 Species of Bees / 20.000 especies de abejas
A moving coming-of-age story about a young girl exploring her gender identity within a matriarchal family of Basque beekeepers. The film features a remarkable performance by the youngest winner of a Silver Bear in the history of the Berlin International Film Festival.
Call Me by Your Name
Love blossoms in the Italian countryside during the 1980s between 17-year-old Elio and 24-year-old Oliver, who has been hired as an assistant to Elio’s father.
Short films
I Do
Faced with deportation, two Russian students in Canada conspire to pose as a gay couple in order to seek asylum. Before long, however, they begin to develop genuine feelings for each other.
Dildotectónica / Dildotectonics
In the present day, Rebeca attempts to create a collection of non-phallic ceramic dildos. During the Inquisition, Josefa discovers a dildo that becomes part of a forbidden love affair with Maria.
