38th BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival – In Conversation with Su I-Hsuan, Director of “Who’ll Stop the Rain”

Taiwan’s politics has always included a range of issues such as relations with mainland China, sovereignty, democracy, and human rights. These issues have sparked significant debate and activism within Taiwanese society, driving movements for greater autonomy, democratic reforms, and social justice.  Looking at the cinematic narratives, some stories combine personal lives with politics in a…

38th BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival – “Heavy Snow” Review

Heavy Snow, written and directed by Yun Su-ik, is a subtle, heartwarming, and delicate narrative that depicts a friendship and budding romance between two teenage girls and their tumultuous journey through adolescence. At the centre of the story is Seol (Han So-hee: Nevertheless, My Name), a teenage actress whose world is transformed when she encounters…

BFI Flare: LGBTQ+ Film Festival: “Rurangi” Review

No matter where you go in the world, rural areas are almost always more traditionally conservative than metropolitan ones. You’ve read the countless think pieces on behalf of the “forgotten America” that voted for Trump to the shock of the cities, and you’ve seen how the Conservative party has a stronghold on the British countryside,…

BFI Flare: LGBTQ+ Film Festival: “Boy Meets Boy” Review

Much like how Pulp Fiction spawned an entire genre of poor imitators, Andrew Haigh’s 2011 film Weekend has a lot to answer for. The beautiful simplicity of that whirlwind gay romance seems effortless in the hands of such an accomplished filmmaker, to the extent that countless other filmmakers have seen it and assumed they too…

BFI Flare: LGBTQ+ Film Festival: “Valentina” Review

In Brazil, 82% of trans kids will drop out of school at some point during their education. Among these children is Valentina (Thiessa Woinbackk) a 17-year-old girl who’s just moved across the country with her mother Márcia (Guta Stresser) to start afresh in a new town and retake her sophomore year. However, problems arise when…