It's a Pride Party! with Two Superlative Shorts!

by Joanna Sodeman-Taylor

As some of y’all might have noticed, Joanna Sodeman-Taylor is a fairly new name to be showing up on TFE and acting so familiar. So, happy Pride to me! The diva formerly known as Nick is now going by Joanna, and she's has the hormones to back it up. June may be over, but with my other major cinematic obligation with the Columbus Film Festival currently completed, I figured I should polish off my writings on two exemplary documentary shorts that deserve an audience all year round. Better late than never, right? Right! Also, please sound off your favorite queer-as-fuck films you watched in June, whether they're first tiime watches or perennial faves. We gotta share the love around here, goddammit!

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It's a Pride Party!: "Portrait of Jason" (1967)

by Joanna Sodeman-Taylor

Hello everybody! It’s been a minute since I’ve posted anything, and I’m excited to present a bunch of queer cinema this month. I love Ben’s pieces on queer cinema, and it kicked me in the pants to start plotting my own series. The thought of only having a straight person celebrating Pride at The Film Experience of all places - we can’t have it! Ahead of whatever I’ll be reviewing this month, let’s just define “queer” along some fairly broad lines. We got films explicitly focused on queer subject matter, films with queer people in notable roles on- and/or off-screen, subtextual queens, camp queens, objects that have become ensconced in queer culture for one reason or another regardless of their sexuality, and stuff my gay friends really like!

I’ll be kicking things off with Shirley Clarke’s seminal 1967 documentary Portrait of Jason . . . .

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“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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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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NYFF63: Lucio Castro brings sexy back again and again with "Drunken Noodles"

by Nick Taylor

He’s done it again, folks. Lucio Castro, the writer/director/editor behind 2019’s metaphysical tryst End of the Century, is continuing his hot streak with his latest release, entitled Drunken Noodles. The film debuted at this year’s Cannes ACID sidebar and has been casually cruising its way through the festival circuit before an unspecified US release date next year. If it comes to your town, haul ass and see it. If you can’t yet, may this review sate your appetite until it comes your way . . . .

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