French with English subtitles.

Sunk deep in a 70s groove, C.R.A.Z.Y. sees teenage Zachary going through one of those phases as he struggles to deal with his oddball Catholic family and his own burgeoning sexuality. As Zac grows up, he struggles to suppress his own desires in order to be the man his father wants him to be. The irony is that, as an adolescent in the seventies, Zac fits in perfectly – Ziggy Stardust, the Rolling Stones – all androgyny, cheekbones, and long hair. But suburban Quebec isn’t quite ready for Zac and the family struggle to deal with the rumours that surround him. Forcing himself to like girls, Zachary tries to gain his father's adoration by doing the right thing but instead becomes tortured and rebellious, eventually coming to blows with his junkie older brother Raymond. Definitely more than the sum of its parts. Adapted from BBC & Future Movies reviews

Lesbian life in Sixties New York was one lived firmly in the closet; meeting other women was often a clandestine affair in rough, Mafia-operated bars where police raids were common. It wasn’t until the Stonewall riots stormed along Christopher Street in 1969, and into the public consciousness, that the gay rights movement was born. They decided to get married in Toronto in 2007 – by Canada’s first openly gay judge, Harvey Brownstone. As Edie proclaims: “Marriage represents the ultimate expression of love and commitment between two people. Everyone understands that!”

And the secret of their successful relationship? Clearly an enduring physical attraction, and a profound love and respect for each other. This film will touch your heart, whatever your gender or sexuality. A love story that helps to explain the real meaning of 'engagement', and how richly rewarding and magical life can be when we open our hearts to fully give and receive love. As Edie so rightly says: “Don’t postpone joy.”

(based on a review by Gina Baska for Diva Magazine)

Empire: 3 stars

A sober, reserved look at a passionate gay love affair in an ultra-orthodox area of Jerusalem. The men involved are Aaron, a kosher butcher with four young children (Zohar Strauss from Lebanon) and Ezri (Ran Danker), a handsome, young Talmudic student. The movie treats this tragic affair and the intemperate, unfeeling reaction to it in the local community with tact and sympathy. A gentle, intimate and anguished glimpse of forbidden. Tabakman manages to break taboos without resorting to a heavy-handed attack on religion. His film is sparse, sombre and curiously compelling.

Offical Website: (http://www.formywife.info/)

For My Wife is the story of how Charlene Strong became an activist for marriage equality after the death of her wife, Kate. Events subsequent to the tragic accident opened Charlene's eyes to the gravity of living lives shared without the legal protections offered heterosexual couples through the admittedly flawed institution of marriage, the legal protections and social conventions that are assumed to be available to every committed couple so long as one is physiologically male and one is physiologically female.

For My Wife is Charlene Strong's story. The catalyst was Kate Fleming, and Charlene’s love for her. Still, the documentary is about one person's journey from quiet partner to centre-of-the-spotlight activist. For My Wife is a beautiful and emotional film. The filmmaking is simple and effective, the story is compelling, and issues concerning spousal rights are important for all of us. (Adapted from an article in Seattle Gay News)

For My Wife premiered in the UK at the 5th Shropshire Rainbow Film Festival in 2010.

Director Statement
My heroes have always been activists, people who faced great challenges or fought for a cause, bringing change, growth or awareness where once there was none. Charlene Strong is such a person. After facing tragedy and humiliation at a time where she should have been supported and comforted in her loss - she was able to access a deeper truth and brought it to bear, changing minds and even changing laws to benefit others, so no one else would have to endure her suffering. "for my wife..." is a treatise on Marriage Equality, but more importantly, it is the story of the making of an activist. David Rothmiller

Empire: 3 Stars

Goldfish Memory follows several characters in a funky Dublin, spinning out a series of snapshots which capture the love lives of a group of people who are all in some way linked together – whether they know about it or not.

Gay, straight or bisexual, the film takes no prisoners when it comes to relationships. Characters fall in and out of love, and along the way wrestle with issues related to their sexuality. The fluid sexuality of the characters provides a refreshing and laid-back comedy that begs the question: why shouldn’t people be able to fall in love with whomever they want? The film also offers the type of homosexual who will, on occasion, sleep with someone of the opposite sex .... but they will forget because, like a goldfish, they only has a 3 second memory!
“Superb character acting and glossy, sexy view of 21st century Dublin…it shows the young, urban, sexy side of the city and its characters.” (The Sunday Times -London)

Empire: 4 Stars

Empire: 3 Stars

Funny, warm, with characters you care about, "Kinky Boots" says something about societal attitudes towards those who are different and what it truly means to be a man.

This is a delightful film based on a true story about the travails of a shoe manufacturing factory set in Northampton. When Charlie Price takes over the family shoe business, he discovers the company is practically out of business. After laying off a bunch of people, one of the young women he's making redundant tells him the company needs to find its niche. He finds it by accident when he helps a drag queen named Lola (Chiwetel Ejiofor) in a moment of distress. After watching Lola's shows, Charlie decides the niche will be shoe wear for "a variety of men," – who have trouble finding women’s shoes that fit, and are strong enough to carry their weight.

He invites Lola to Northampton to help design and test the shoes.

It's not as easy as it sounds. Charlie has a whole load of issues to overcome as does Lola in learning to trust and respect Charlie... and that is not to mention the factory crew who struggle with this new relationship in the traditional firm.

Kinky Boots is a splendid colourful little film with a big heart - a simple message and a simple story to tell about real people told with heart and soul without throwing the message 'in your face'. The delightful camera-work dances to the tune of the wonderful score

Set in Goa 1987 - 1994, this is a tear-jerker, a story of forbidden love and its social consequences.

In March 2005, a low-budget drama called "My Brother Nikhil" opened in cinemas across India, telling the story of a gay man's struggle with his family and his country after contracting the virus that causes AIDS.

Quietly, gently, "My Brother Nikhil" has tested the limits of the Indian cinemagoer's sensibility.

Commercially, it is no runaway Bollywood blockbuster; nor is it meant to be. Rather, its impact lies in having served up a story about love and loss - sentimental staples of contemporary Indian cinema - with a gay man at its centre, and having done so without kicking up the slightest fuss from India's cultural conservatives. As one review put it, "The two lovers seem just like any other couple."

Even so, it was the gay relationship that had to be most carefully rendered. and the Director took pains to make a film that would speak not to an elite, worldly, film-festival set, but to ordinary Indians who watch ordinary Bollywood films.

In the film, Nikhil is a star swimmer and the golden child in his family until the day he is found to have H.I.V. His parents shun him, his friends abandon him and he finds himself locked up in a dirty sanatorium. The two people who do stand by him are his sister and his partner. One of the most disturbing episodes in the film was lifted from real life. Just as Nikhil is quarantined in the film, the first Indian to be diagnosed with H.I.V., a young man in Goa named Dominic D'Souza, was similarly confined and isolated in the late 1980's. In other words, as Mr. Suri noted, "it took 15 years" to represent that indignity onscreen.

Beautifully scripted and shot, this is a gem of a find

‘The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls’ tells the story of the world’s only comedic, singing, yodeling lesbian twin sisters, Lynda and Jools Topp, whose political activism and unique brand of entertainment has helped change New Zealand’s social landscape. It has often been said that if the story of the Twins was fictional nobody would believe it. From rural backwaters to busking on the streets of Auckland, to performances at the Rugby World Cup and London’s West End stage, their appeal is infectious. 'The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls' follows the girls from their happy childhood on a Waikato dairy farm - where they grew up singing to the cows - to the Territorial Army where they quickly became the Vera Lynns of their battalion.

Part concert film, part biopic, part historical record, part comedy, the Twins share their journey from “coming out? to Jools' recent brush with Breast Cancer with much laughter, honesty and wisdom. It is a film about two truly unique New Zealanders which ends up saying as much about us as it does about them.

The Topp Twins play a range of characters, including:

THE TWO KENS - Ken Moller, a fourth generation sheep farmer and his best mate, Ken Smythe, a 'Townie' who is not used to the great outdoors.

CAMP MOTHER and CAMP LEADER - the dominant/side-kick duo. Camp Mother is typical of busty bossy Kiwi or Australian matrons often found running clubs and camping grounds. Camp Leader is a keen and naive follower ready to jump unquestionably at the chance to put Camp Mother's directives into action.

THE POSH SOCIALITES - Prue and Dilly Ramsbottom are from an old-money family. They enjoy a drop or two of Chablis, Gin or Champagne, breed King Charles Spaniels and know all the right people.
THE GINGHAMS - Belle and Belle are the Topps oldest characters who just love country music and a boot stompin' good time.
THE BOWLING LADIES - Mavis and Lorna met at the crematorium the day their respective husband’s remains were cremated. Avid root collectors, when they’re not playing at lawn bowl tournaments, they’re touring the country taking cuttings of anything green.
BRENDA and RAELENE - Two 'Westie' girls (from West Auckland, a less salubrious part of the city) with big hair and bad attitude. Always on the lookout for a 'hunk of spunk” they are good time girls who aspire to have their own hair salon one day