Five Findings from Pesaro

by Elisa Giudici

A quick, aperiodical column dedicated to the small discoveries from the smaller film festivals scattered across Europe.

Pesaro is a small coastal town in central Italy, interionationally known as the birthplace of composer Gioachino Rossini and as a city of bicycles. The economy largely revolves around seaside tourism. For 62 years it has also hosted the Pesaro International Festival of New Cinema, an event dedicated to discovery of new, innovative forms of cinema. The programme does not shy away from hybrid forms, medium-length works and pure experimentation. As a result, its main competition regularly brings together video art, short films, essay films, and boundary-pushing cinema, in all its forms.

This year, for the first time, I was able to spend three days at the festival and explore its offere. Here are five discoveries that surprised me and deserve a mention...

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529 Invites are out for Academy Awards Membership

by Nathaniel R

As is annual tradition, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has published the list of the people they're inviting to join their 19 branches this year. Being on this list doesn’t mean you’ve become an Academy member; it just means you’ve been sponsored and  invited (you cannot apply for membership – they have to invite you.) The only other way to become a member, outside of sponsorship from a current member, is to be Oscar-nominated. You’re automatically considered, with or without a sponsor if that happens.

More on invitees I’m thrilled about and other particulars after the jump…

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Very Gay Film/Very Straight Guy: "Querelle"

For pride month, straight critic Ben Miller takes a look back at a gay film he otherwise would have never seen

Watching Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Querelle during pride month, I caught myself being drawn into the idea of what pride means. The outward appearance of the gay community has constantly been perceived as unabashed confidence with "we're here and we're queer!" Living out and proud might be the goal, but it certainly wasn't something that happened for most gay people overnight.

Before the parades, representation, and getting to live your true self, there was loads of self-loathing. Fassbinder presents a world completely subservient to the idea of male-on-male pleasure, but still features no characters who want to admit anything about their own sexuality or what it means...

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First Oscar Predictions: The Actors, Lead and Supporting

by Nathaniel R

Can John Turturro hold on to his Sundance buzz for "The Only Living Pickpocket in New York" © Sony Pictures Classics

Whoops. Lost some momentum there to finish the first round of Oscar predictions. Let's take on Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor...

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Review: John Early cooks up a marvelous melodrama with “Maddie’s Secret”

by Cláudio Alves 

Women on screen are more interesting than men. This is a truth universally acknowledged by actressexuals everywhere, and, by the looks of it, John Early is an actressexual like no other. For his feature directorial debut, the openly queer comedian-turned-actor-turned-maverick-filmmaker has decided to take these passions to the next level. Rather than watch from afar, he has become one of the great actresses he’d like to see on screen. And yet, for all it plays with gender, Maddie’s Secret isn’t necessarily a trans narrative nor what one usually expects from a drag queen movie, especially one whose cast comprises so many sketch and stand-up comedians. The film’s genealogy harkens back to Old Hollywood melodrama and its queer revisionisms and reinventions by the hands of auteurs such as John Waters and Todd Haynes. Run a DNA test, and you’ll find some of Polyester in there, some Superstar, but also those moralistic “based on a true story” spectacles that filled the small screen during the TV movie heyday. 

Arriving in cinemas this week, through Magnolia Pictures, Early’s passion project is an essential Pride Month watch…

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