“One Battle After Another” and Eva Victor among this year’s Dorian Awards nomination leaders

by Cláudio Alves

Eva Victor's SORRY, BABY was one of GALECA's favorite films of 2025.

Multiple members of the Film Experience team are part of GALECA - The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, so it’s only logical that we should highlight the Dorian Awards. As a voter, I don’t want to be too harsh on the results, though there will always be reasons to complain, as these sorts of collective picks can never feel as special or idiosyncratic as an individual’s selection. Even so, rejoice, Sorry, Baby fans, for Eva Victor’s directorial debut is among the Film of the Year nominees, rubbing elbows with such awards season favorites as One Battle After Another – leading the pack with 9 mentions – and Sinners – settling at a still remarkable 8 nods. Indeed, the nonbinary director is this year’s most-nominated individual.

Come see the full list of Dorian Award nominees, plus plenty of added commentary, right after the jump…

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Drag Race RuCap: “Q-Pop Girl Groups”

Like in the last couple of years, Nick Taylor and Cláudio Alves are following and recapping the new RuPaul’s Drag Race season…

You know what? Bless this MESS.

CLÁUDIO ALVES: After that promising premiere, Drag Race season 18 continues to prove itself an entertaining new addition to the franchise. Sure, some judging decisions at episode’s end left a little to be desired, but these girls are very fun, and the runway is an all-timer that had me cackling alone with my cats - Major Tom looked very confused, but he always looks confused. Were your fur babies similarly mystified by your reactions to “Q-Pop Girl Groups” or were you a very sedate watcher, bored into inexpression? I can’t imagine you could be that displeased by this hour, though one never knows. (I know, because we’ve discussed the episode on DMs and GroupChats, but please allow the subterfuge for this intro’s sake. You saw nothing, dear reader. Thank you.) 

NICK TAYLOR: I wasn’t with my cats when I watched this episode, though the host of my watch party has a lovely, skittish young cat who didn’t seem inordinately cautious while we were howling at the runways...

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Drag Race RuCap: "You Can't Keep A Good Drag Queen Down!"

Like in the last couple of years, Nick Taylor and Cláudio Alves are following and recapping the new RuPaul’s Drag Race season…

Raja, Bob and Kim Chi came back for an unexpected, unexplainable intro.

NICK TAYLOR: Happy New Year, everyone!! Can you believe it’s already time for another season of Drag Race? Season 18 premiered this Friday, and I had a great fuckin’ time. The cast seems uniformly entertaining, and the challenges felt like the best kind of throwback to earlier seasons while still feeling right for 2026. In short, this was a great introduction to these divas, and I’m excited to spend four months watching them on my TV. RuCap OVER.

Oh wait, what did you think, Cláudio?

CLÁUDIO ALVES: I’m mostly glad they’re not all baby queens. We actually have a pretty seasoned cast after last year’s youth revolution. Multiple divas are even older than me! What a concept!!...

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“Heated Rivalry” is here to make the yuletide gay

by Cláudio Alves

HEATED RIVALRY | © Crave / HBO Max

First of all, everybody please say thank you to the Canadian taxpayers – Thank you, Canadian taxpayers! With that out of the way, let’s all come together and celebrate one of the loveliest surprises of the year in television, slipping right in at the end of 2025 to queer up the holiday season.

Written and directed by Jacob Tierney, Crave’s Heated Rivalry adapts the first two books in Rachel Reid’s Game Changers series of gay love stories in the world of men’s professional hockey. A good mix of angst and smut, like most projects born out of fanfiction with the serial numbers filed off, the novels are a delivery system for romance more than they are great literature, but that’s alright. Sometimes, that’s exactly what the heart yearns for, what the body needs. And, after the first two episodes, it was hard to argue against notions that Heated Rivalry was little more than soft-core under a very thin layer of respectability. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the show has proven itself more interesting. It has also become an international phenomenon…

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Gotham Awards Revue: "Pillion"

by Cláudio Alves

Harry Lighton's Pillion has just opened in UK and Irish cinemas, ahead of a stateside February release by A24. This free adaptation of Adam Mars-Jones' Box Hill novella premiered at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section, where it won the Best Screenplay prize. Still at the Croisette, Rosie, one of its canine stars, was also laurelled with a special Palm Dog – Mutt Moment Award. Sadly, other voting bodies don't have categories for the likes of Rosie, though Pillion has already scored eight BIFA nominations (the main ceremony is tonight!) and two wins for its costumes, hair and makeup. At the Gotham Awards, which will be handed out tomorrow, the film is up for two prizes – Best Adapted Screenplay and Outstanding Supporting Performance for Alexander Skarsgård. 

All this talk of awards may obfuscate what a fascinating piece of work Pillion turns out to be. Sensual like the kiss of leather straps on hard muscle, as tender as a fresh purpling bruise, Lighton's feature directorial debut is unlike most visions of queer love that get welcomed into the picture house…

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