Jack & Yaya - BFI Flare

Seeing as BFI Flare along with lots of other films festivals have been cancelled and postponed due to the pandemic that has gripped the world, there will be a severe lack of festival posts this year, which in turn will mean there will be a lack of posts this year from me and the outlets I would write for. This will have a knock on effect into next year as well.

BUT BFI Flare did still have some features available to watch on the online library which press still had access to. I was late to this, however I was able to see one of the films I had been looking forward to, a documentary about two best friends who have supported each other through everything, including when they both came out as trans. Its a truely beautiful film and I was please I got to review it. My full review was previously published on Vulturehound HERE.

It is rare to find a story about genuine friendship which is set against a background of a topical issue which doesn’t feel clouded in doom and gloom. Finding a story such as this, especially in the cinematic climate, is not only a joy to watch but is an insight into what it means to be transgender and even though there are struggles along the way, there is a wave of positivity to be found in friends and family.

Having grown up next door to each other, Jack and Yaya, now officially named Christina, share a friendship that is both precious and just like any other close friendship. From the minute they met, when Jack and his family moved next door to Yaya’s, they knew they’d be friends for life. The connection their shared, the feeling that they were both, what Jack says frequently, ‘freaks’, is what they joke about still in adulthood, despite family and friends seeing them as who they are, two friends who are so much fun to be around. After 30 years of friendship Jack travels back to New Jersey to celebrate with Yaya and their families, sharing stories, reminiscing and having fun being themselves. As Jack goes through major points in his transition to administering daily injections needed, Yaya finally changes her name by deed pole, a step she had been anxious to make.

What separates Jack and Yaya’s story from others exploring the same subject matter, is the wealth of positivity and genuine support that they have from family and each other’s families. They are one huge unit of love and friendship which resonates throughout the film as both friends go on their journey of transitioning. Both Jack and Yaya had difficulty and heartbreak when they came out and at first had problems with a few family members when they came out as trans, but over time and many talks, the determination from both Jack and Yaya who each have their own hurdles to overcome, they are lucky to have such a strong an supportive network, which I’m sure a lot of other trans men and women don’t have.

Directors Mary Hewey and Jen Bagley have documented and created a beautiful story about friendship and a positive view of being transgender that is very much needed in the negative climate. The use of family videos from when Jack & Yaya were young, as well as the extensive archive of photos from every aspect of their lives is woven into the film and paints an intimate picture that you feel privileged to be apart the story. If there are more stories like Jack & Yaya’s out there, we’d like to see them. A positive film overall, that doesn’t in anyway gloss over the hard parts of their journey, but gives hope that there are happy endings out there that we should all see.

Ema - BFI London Film Festival

Slightly different this time as instead of a review, this is for an interview I had with Mariana Di Girolamo who plays Ema. A hell of a character with a style (which we mention quite a bit) that stands out from the crowd and a personality to match.

A vibrant, sexual rampage with dance sequences to match the energy but with a tragic and heartbreaking story at the core and Ema herself as the conductor for this performance. I was lucky to speack to Di Girolamo about the film, Pablo and Ema, which you can read over at Vulturehound HERE.

"What kind of bird are you?"

Finally. I've finished my Moonrise Kingdom zine.

Maybe its because I'm finally getting my groove back or that I have time on my hands, but I've finally completed the zine I started in November. In fact, I'll be saying 'finally' quite a bit over the next few weeks. Although this zine isn't quite what I had in mind, I was determined to complete it sooner rather than later.

My aim is to have the zines I've made available to view as a PDF and eventually become available to purchase BUT that last part is quite a way off as I would need a printer and scanner in order to complete my real zine dreams. Until then, please enjoy this sneak peak at the finished PDF. Hoping to print a few copies so I can see what it looks like, as I'm thinking of future Wes Anderson projects and how they'll all need to be in landscape to fully take in his visual style.

I have other zine ideas in the works, maybe with luck and lockdown I'll get them donw soon too.

Birth of a New Genre

There seems to be a new breed of film out there, or maybe its always been there, we just haven’t tapped into its potential yet, that’s a bridge between grindhouse, dark matter science fiction and old school horror, but somewhere in between it all, there Nicolas Cage.

Adapted from and based loosely on the story by H.P Lovecraft, the colour or color that is from out of space is something that lands on earth in the shape or appearance of a meteorite, landing smack bang in the middle of a forest which also happens to be the front garden of the Gardener family. Not long after this, colour appears, strange things begin to happen, which soon turn to grotesque and as its Cage here, highly amusing. In the midst of all the hell the family are experiencing, a hydrologist is in the local area surveying the land for a reservoir that has been planned by the local politicians. He serves as the narrator, book ending this very odd story and film. Never providing clarity but even more mystery. 

There is no doubt that the audience who saw ‘Mandy’ will be flocking to this offering from Richard Stanley. Especially the two films not only share style and genres, in some ways, but they also share Cage. He isn’t quite the glue that holds the film together, that burden is given to Madeleine Arthur who plays his daughter, Lavinia. But Cage has a presence that not many actors have. He is both fantastic and abysmal at the same time. You can’t help but hang on his every line as they are be weird, profound and incredibly funny. This may be the writing but as it feels like a role made for Cage, its mostly him and his charisma. Cage really does go all the way, complete with several moments of insanity and screaming while hitting things. But the extra special zest in his performance is his random Trump impression that serves in the story as an impression of his character’s father. 

Moving away from Cage, the film itself is gory and disgusting in all the right places. For an alien horror film it serves up the right amount of each genre to keep you entranced, literally as the colours, are beautiful. Having the main antagonist as a colour is difficult in itself but you really do feel the pain, terror an dread and that even before the body horror elements kick in. There is sense of ‘why’ but ultimately it doesn’t matter. The story, as it unfolds, is a slow burn which you appreciate over the films that feel the need to rush to climax. Hopefully we’ll see more of this obscure genre hybrid in other films, and hopefully more Cage too for good measure. 

Tilda & Wes

Tilda Swinton is being honoured at BFI this month, receiving a fellowship for work in cinema over the decades. She is a staple in cinema, as both a British icon and international success. She is known for her indie and blockbuster roles, she is a literal chameleon. Last night she was joined on stage by one of her collaborators, a writer and director known for his distinct style in both production design, characters and stories. Wes Anderson is a filmmaker that you can instantly recognise and having him on stage with Tilda is a dream made in heaven.

 

They first met, unofficially, at Cannes when Orlando was being screened and Anderson was there for one of his short films. Years later, Swinton saw The Darjeeling Limited and wrote a fan letter to the director, prompting the two to meet and collaborate on three films and counting.

 

Together they had selected some films that had inspired and entranced them to take us on a magical tour through their cinema.

 

As both shared a passion for Powell & Pressburger, they started with ‘A Matter of Life & Death’ choosing a clip from the start of the film, moving on to reference ‘The Red Shoes’, ‘Peeping Tom’ and Tilda’s favourite film ‘I know Where I’m going’ which she talked about with such sweet delight, telling us all to take a trip on the sleeper train to Scotland so we could experience just a fraction of what she did when she saw the film. Wes had picked a Satyajit Ray film ‘Days and Nights in the Forest’ and showed us a 7 minutes clip, which the audience seemed to enjoy immensely despite only 1 or 2 people having seen the film. Tilda shared her admiration for Alec Guiness in Kind Hearts and Coronets who plays the entire family in the film, saying that it reminded her of her own family and how they all looked the same too. Wes made a point that he was planning on stealing some of the scenes we’d seen and asked that no one else do that. Ending on a quick clip of James Cagney dancing, the two legends slipped out the door.

 

It was just an hour talk but it was utterly delightful and it was really was a treat to have both Tilda and Wes on stage.