The Pit – atmospheric coming-of-age story, Latvia’s Oscar entry for best international film

posted Thursday, December 16, 2021

by: Bryen Dunn in Film

Rebellious and angry 10-year-old Markuss (played by talented newcomer Damirs Onackis) is sent to the Latvian countryside to live with his strict grandmother (Dace Eversa). Forced to adapt to an unfamiliar life in an unwelcoming new neighborhood, he seeks new friends. Yet, after Emīlija (Luize Birkenberga), a neighbor’s daughter, makes some contemptuous remarks about his […]

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Father of Flies – supernatural British thriller of twists and turns

posted Wednesday, December 15, 2021

by: Bryen Dunn in Film

Father of Flies is a haunting tale of family life. A vulnerable young boy finds his mother pushed out of the family home by a strange new woman, and he must confront the terrifying supernatural forces that seem to move in with her. Shot in Suffern – upstate New York, the film stars Camilla Rutherford […]

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Not Knowing – challenging homophobia in sports

posted Tuesday, December 14, 2021

by: Bryen Dunn in Film, Queer

Not Knowing tells the story of Umut, a young water polo player, who is a gentle and quiet high school senior, just trying to live his life in a complicated world. When a fellow player spreads a rumor that he is gay, Umut refuses to acknowledge the allegation either way, without apology, or an explanation.  His […]

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Off The Rails – three women revisit their youth adventures in Europe (includes interview)

posted Tuesday, December 14, 2021

by: Bryen Dunn in Film

Off The Rails is the story of three fifty-something women set out to repeat the European inter-railing adventures of their youth after their close friend passes away leaving them rail tickets, and a final request: to take her 18 year-old teenage daughter with them in her place. With lost passports, train strikes and romantic entanglements […]

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Circus Boy – a drawn out story about what?

posted Tuesday, December 14, 2021

by: Bryen Dunn in Film, Queer

Circus Boy is a story about a gay man named Thomas who seeks reconciliation with his mother after he and his husband, Michael, adopt a boy he’s training for circus school. Thomas is an avid believer that the circus is accessible to all people, and he takes joy from helping others find their flow by developing […]

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Harry Chapin: When In Doubt, Do Something – the inspirational story of a musician and activist

posted Monday, December 13, 2021

by: Bryen Dunn in Film

Harry Chapin: When In Doubt, Do Something is  documentary that tells the story of famed singer/songwriter Harry Chapin’s short lived music career, and more importantly his life long dedication and passionated activism work toward trying to end world hunger, homelessness, and poverty. He spent his fame and fortune chasing a dream, and in the process […]

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The Boathouse – psychological thriller that leaves no conclusive evidence

posted Sunday, December 12, 2021

by: Bryen Dunn in Film

When an emotionally fragile young woman takes a job as nanny to two troubled children at a remote summer cottage, she falls in love with the children’s father, while becoming enmeshed in the mystery of their estranged mother – with whom, it turns out, the young woman has her own fraught history. As the summer […]

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Three LGBTQ+ flicks to catch at Whistler Film Festival, online until Dec 31, 2021 (includes interviews)

posted Friday, December 10, 2021

by: Bryen Dunn in Film, Online Events, Queer

The pandemic has been disruptive to most everyone and everything in some form of another, however there have been many good things to come from it as well. One that I’m particularly happy with is the greater online accessibility to film festival feature films, documentaries, and shorts that were previously limited to only in person […]

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Toronto’s “Mouth Congress” releases long-awaited album, with two local area live performances

posted Friday, December 10, 2021

by: Bryen Dunn in Celebrity, Music, Queer

Toronto’s Mouth Congress — friends Paul Bellini and Scott Thompson of Kids In The Hall fame — wrote and recorded hundreds of songs between 1984 and 1988 without ever putting out a proper release. Alongside various cohorts and conspirators, the band drew on their experiences as gay men in the ‘80s to craft hilariously crude punk songs that run the […]

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Beyto – parents try to keep traditional values for their son in a modern world

posted Tuesday, December 7, 2021

by: Bryen Dunn in Film

BEYTO is based on the novel by award-winning writer Yusuf Yesilöz, a multicultural story of love and emancipation, full of empathy, sensuality and summer feelings. Beyto is a terrific swimmer and everybody’s cool buddy, but as the young Swiss man with Turkish roots falls in love with his handsome coach Mike, his perfect world seems to fall apart. […]

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