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 circus skills. He coaches 17 different circus disciplines to all age groups, with his primary love being the challenging Cyr Wheel.

When their adoptive son Ethan came into their lives, Thomas and Michael fell in love all over again. Ethan has a natural talent for the Cyr.  But now, Thomas is nervous about introducing Ethan to his visiting mother, who wants to meet Ethan’s ‘bio-mom’ and have a chat. What emerges from this fraught situation is the story of an unconventional family that chooses an alternate path to love and parenthood. Challenging our social norms, the film embraces inclusion as we see how some can work out their problems through circus arts – and acceptance.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW

This documentary style film is much too long for the simple premise of the story. From start to finish, it seemed to drag on with not really much at all happening. Missing more details with regard why a mother would let her son live with his mentor, while he trains to become a circus performer. There is brief mention, then it’s dropped without fully following through. Ethan seems to have a healthy relationship with his mother, and even his biological father (who isn’t in the film), so why would Thomas want Ethan to live with him as his “son” as they train together, why would Ethan’s mother let him, and why would Ethan want to move in? The question isn’t really addressed by either of the three, which is I presume why Thomas’ mother is there to try and find out, yet the film still ends with no answers. Was this film about a young person’s ambitions to be a circus performer, or about a gay couple raising an adopted child? Or both?

Begins Streaming December 14, 2021 on Apple TV, iTunes & Vimeo On Demand

Director Biography – Lester Alfonso

Awakened to the power of moving images by Steven Spielberg’s Jaws as a kid, L.A. (Lester) Alfonso was transformed by seeing Chris Marker’s Sans Soleil as a film student. He is a film theorist and artist focusing on themes of vision, wonder, otherness, and the self. He is the director, producer, and star of his creative nonfiction films TwelveTrying to Be Some Kind of HeroThe Best Waitress in the World, and Birthmark. The range of his work, experimental short films, ukulele-inspired podcasts, 35mm street photography NFTs, and large-scale video projection mapping events have established him as a genre-defying multi-media maverick. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from York University film school and is currently working on a research-creation project pursuing a Cultural Studies Ph.D. from Trent University. He received the Bagnani Award for academic excellence for his Master’s degree in Public Texts in 2021.

About the Author

Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats.