Tag Archives: gay

Tom of London?

In an exclusive interview with Durk Dehner, co-founder and president of the Tom of Finland Foundation, we heard plenty of insightful tales about the gay icon where it was revealed he even came close to becoming Tom of London. By the late 1960s Tom (real name Touko Laaksonen) had made plenty of visits to the UK capital and thrown himself into the emerging underground leather scene, one which he had heavily influenced through his erotic art. Along with friend and leather club entrepreneur Felix Jones, he embraced a fetish flourishing London and was close to permanently sharpening his pencil in the big smoke. However, restrictions in the British postal service proved too invasive and would have called a halt on the artists already well established homoerotic mailing operation.

Touko was distributing his work way before the internet, PayPal or buy-with-one-click even existed. He would create a printed catalogue with around 40-50 of his recent drawing and distribute around the world to an established and trusted network. Replying with a list of their selected prints, clients would include payment often in their own currency leaving the artist to act as Bureau de Change. But it worked; his macho fetish drawings were making their way across the globe, almost on an unconscious mission to start revolution and influence gay culture.

Dehner first clasped his eyes on a Touko drawing in a leather bar called The Spike in New York City and like most reactions to the stimulating art, it hauled his attention. Whilst working as a male model, being photographed by no other than Bruce Webber, Durk wrote a fan letter to Touko which was the origin of a yearlong pen pals friendship with the pair eventually meeting in 1978 just before the artist’s first US exhibition. Through building a treasured relationship which crossed boundaries from professional, personal and intimate, together spread the fetish word, steadily building the Tom of Finland brand which today lends its name to condoms, oven mitts, bath towels and coffee (oh and cock rings, nipple clamps and handcuffs).

We’re sure there’s plenty more stories which we’ll never know about the man behind the giant graphite gentiles but we’re certainly more educated than when we first caught a glimpse of those fine Finnish exports.

Tom of Finland is released UK wide from 11th August, book tickets http://www.tomoffinlandthemovie.co.uk/

Losing our Satellite Virginity to This Lot

We had an incredible night last Sunday (April 2nd) thank you for that. We woke up on Monday aching and tired but it was worth it, you took our satellite virginity and it was amazing.

For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, who missed the adverts, interviews, reviews, posts, tweets, trailers and posters (where have you been?) this weekend we broke new ground.; we held not just our first, but the UK’s first live cinema event ever for an LGBTQ+ film.

At four o’clock on Sunday our brilliant film WHO’S GONNA LOVE ME NOW? played to audiences in over 40 cinemas across the country, followed by a live Q&A hosted by the wonderful Julian Clary and a performance by the London Gay Men’s Chorus. If you haven’t heard about it, WHO’S GONNA LOVE ME NOW? is a documentary that is in equal parts heart-wrenching and heart-warming. Read more about it here.

The heartwarming Q&A with director Barak Heymann, producer Ali Bodin Saphir, and the stars of the film Saar and Katri was received brilliantly by the crowd. According to Adam in Brighton there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Watching where Saar and Katri had started, and seeing how far they’ve come and how close they’ve grown is truly inspiring, they are very special people.

We finished our broadcast with a spectacular performance from the London Gay Men’s Chorus, but the show wasn’t over yet, oh no! After Saar joined the choir once more for a beautiful rendition of ‘Only You’, Julian invited all the cinemas to end the show with a sing-a-long to the classic musical number ‘I Feel Pretty’

It was a brilliant end to a wonderful night that evidently stayed with people long after. Later that night, producer Ali received a text from a friend informing him that, in the Ladies loos of Showroom Sheffield, she could hear a lady singing a chorus of ‘I Feel Pretty!’

If you weren’t able to catch our special event of WHO’S GONNA LOVE ME NOW? last weekend, never fear! It opens on general release and VOD tomorrow, you can find your closest screening here.

I wanted to end by saying a BIG thank you to the Barbican, the London Gay Men’s Chorus, the Heymann brothers and Saar and Katri. I also wanted to highlight the great work of our local choirs Sing Out Bristol, Reading Phoenix, the GMDC Choir in Clapham, the SWGMC in Cardiff and Northern Proud Voices at Tyneside.

What are little boys made of..?

If you’re blind to what is different, this story is not for you. But if your eyes are open, you should listen carefully

Every so often a film comes along where it is incredibly difficult to find the right tone. With GIRLS LOST we have been through countless design concepts and have really discussed, argued and fought over how it should look, how the synopsis should read, how to present this to the audience and even who that audience should be.

We’ve never had it like this on a single title before. But I have to say that after months of changing minds, designs and words we’ve finally cracked it, literally the day of release!

It’s an amazing film, in fact one for all the family! Read more below…

Kim (as a girl) and Momo (as a girl) from GIRLS LOST

Kim (as a boy) and love interest Tony from GIRLS LOST

“Girls Lost is maturely executed, offering a discussion that presents us with ideas that cannot be considered in haste, the post-contemplation of the film necessary.” HeyUGuys

Here’s the synopsis follow link

You can find out where and how to watch GIRLS LOST : http://www.girlslostfilm.com/

POUTfest 2016 Is Here!

Next week is going to be an exciting and busy time for the Peccadillo team. We will be celebrating the launch of POUT Fest 2016 with Holding the Man at Picturehouse Central on May 18^thso come on down and join us for some excitement.

Following on from the fantastic success of POUT 2015, we are bringing you all an opportunity to experience another POUT with all new titles and events ready to take up your calendar. POUT Fest 2016 aims to promote LGBT cinema with a variety of short films and feature length films that can inspire, move and emancipate the audience. To know more, read on at your leisure.

Holding the Man perfectly encapsulates what POUT Fest 2016 aims to achieve; it’s daring, entertaining, touching and makes one proud to be who they are. POUT Fest 2016 will also see the launch of The Girl King, a historical film that covers the reign of the first native, female sovereign of Sweden as she is thrust into an all-male court that has no tolerance for her awakening sexuality. Enchanting visuals and intrigue map the film throughout. Girls Lost is another fantastic addition to the line-up. The hypnotic film follows three girls who discover a curious plant that has a rare magical ability; transforming the three girls into boys. As their genders change, so does the world around them leaving their responses to this change profound. We are also honoured to be showing the classic film, My Beautiful Laundrette, starring Academy Award winner Daniel Day-Lewis and Gordon Warnecke. The film is a classic example of identity and inexorable love. For some laughter and fun we also have the cult film Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same gracing the POUT screens with its witty and humorous tale of romantic emotions. For all you documentary lovers we have the privilege of showing Limited Partnership, which tells the inspiring story of the first same-sex couple in the world to be legally married; taking on the US government in court to prove the legitimacy of their affection for one another.

On May 20^th Peccadillo will also be celebrating the release of Departure, a British drama starring the talents of Juliet Stevenson (Bend it like Beckham and Truly, Madly, Deeply) and Alex Lawther (The Imitation Game). The stunning debut from Andrew Steggall confronts the issues of family, first love and the dawning of one’s sexuality. With impressive visuals and an incredible cast, this is one film that will arouse the senses of the audience and anyone who has dealt with the issues presented. Get on down to the cinema to show your support for this years’ most incredible debut!

For more on POUT visit poutfest.co.uk

Road Movies and Feel Good Journeys

As you may have read, our film Xenia was released on Monday and we thought it would be a good idea to explore the Road Movie genre and dust off some great iconic films that have paved the way for upcoming features.

The Road Movie genre came about at the birth of American cinema with a reflection on American youth culture. Notable films such as EASY RIDER and THELMA & LOUSIE have become the ultimate road movie films, which can be said to have inspired other filmmakers in different countries to use this genre and juxtapose it with other important issues of the time.

The films usually consist of one or more characters leaving their mundane day-to-day lives and journeying into uncharted territories, usually for self-discovery purposes, escaping something, or setting up a new life. There is a sense of freedom in the act, enveloping the human spirit into a state of self-reflection and embracing their own identities.

Although faced with hardships and often unfamiliarity, the films poise moments of feel-good that derive from the freedom the characters experience once they have left everything behind and fear is just a dark cloud in their rearview mirror.

XENIA is a modern day Odyssey, bringing the lost Greek traditions of ‘hospitality’ back to the forefront of Greek culture. The two boys journey through a hyper-real Greece in search for their father who abandoned them 13 years ago. Interwoven with surreal sequences, entering the sub-cultural movement called Greek Weird Wave.

We look back at some of our releases around the road movie genre and some of our favourite classics.

Yossi – Directed by Eytan Fox. A film that perhaps shows you that the longest trip might just be within yourself.

Give Me Your Hand – Directed by Pascal-Alex Vincent. If you thought twins didn’t have any secrets, get comfortable on your backseat because these two 18 year old brothers on their way to their mother’s funeral in Spain, will go on a journey that will change their lives forever.

The Adventures of Priscilla – Directed by Stephen Elliot. The film that drew attention to Australian cinema and the Aussie LGBT community. If that wasn’t a long shot for the early 90’s, then getting on the Priscilla tour bus with two drag queens and a transgender woman definitely was.

The Golden Dream – Directed by Diego Quemada-Diez, brings a different kind of journey. This time, the road it’s about a group of Mexican teenage boys trying to make it through the U.S. border and the challenges they face.

Transamerica – Directed by Duncan Tucker. Felicity Huffman is brilliant at playing a transgender woman who reconnects with her son and promises to take him to L.A. As her son discovers that she’s actually his father, she will find in him the strength to overcome her fears and finally be completely free in her own skin.

Drôle de Félix – Directed by Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau. This was Peccadillo Pictures’ first release and it is possibly the most similar film to Xenia – story wise. If you enjoyed Felix’s journey to find his father, you will definitely appreciate the journey of two brothers looking for their father as their relive old forgotten memories of their childhood.

and you all know how we like to save the best for last…

Thelma & Louise – Directed by Ridley Scott. Do we really need to say anything? Outstanding performances from Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis in a film about self-discovery and women empowerment in a highway filled with phallic symbols.

So… if you didn’t know about this sub-genre, we do invite you to check it out. Road movies will most likely end up making your weekends better with their Feel Good vibe and the strong characters behind the steering wheel.

Xenia – An Interview With Director Panos H. Koutras

Dare To Follow The White Rabbit?

After the death of their mother, Dany, 16, leaves Crete to join his older brother, Odysseas, who lives in Athens. Born from an Albanian mother and a Greek father they never met, the two brothers, strangers in their own country, decide to go to Thessaloniki to look for their father and force him to officially recognize them. At the same time in Thessaloniki, is held the selection for the cult show, “Greek Star.” Dany dreams that his brother Odysseas, a gifted singer, could become the new star of the contest, in a country that refuses to accept them.

Why did you name the film Xenia?

“Xenia” could be translated as “hospitality”, though the meaning of this ancient Greek concept is much more complex. The Greek gods abided by this law, which commands us to honour and welcome strangers wherever they come from. Zeus, the father of all gods, is also sometimes referred to as Xenios Zeus, “Zeus the hospitable”. Hospitality was a major founding principle in Ancient Greece. Xenophobia is a relatively modern concept. Today, not only has Greece forgotten its duties towards foreigners, but it also deceives and misleads its people.

“Xenia” is also the name of a chain of luxury hotels built in the late fifties by great architects throughout the country. People were discovering tourism, it was a time of great economic prosperity in Greece. Today, more than 90% of these luxury hotels are abandoned and condemned.

The quest of two brothers, a family feud, a character named Odysseas… Greek mythology and tragedy haunt Xenia and hold a prominent place in your films…

I am Greek, and in Greece, they teach you about Greek mythology from primary school. There is no getting away from it. Although to me, mythology has more to do with popular culture than with some noble academic discipline for the happy few.

Your films often verge on fantasy. The way you combine present-day realism (immigration, crisis…) with fantasy is pretty unique.

Fantasy is vital to me, it is a need, not an aesthetic choice. Reality and dream often get mixed up in my daily life. I don’t see why it could not be so in films. To me, it is the best way to come closer to reality. For Xenia, it seemed only natural to resort to fantasy to build Dany’s character. Traumatized children find often refuge in the realm of imagination.

A gay club called “Fantastiko”, a lawyer named Antigone, the Greek Star… Xenia is constantly filled with humour, parody and irony, as an answer to tragedy. Will humour save Greece?

Will humour save Greece or the world? Humour holds reflection in itself. It provides a certain distance, and distance is an incredible luxury. I don’t think cinema is going to change the world. But I am sure it opens perspectives that can help us to see and understand. I totally subscribe to André Bazin’s statement, which has become a cliché but is still so true and beautiful: “Cinema is a window opened to the world”.

Drug Slang A-Z

In these winter months, especially in the colder parts of the world, you might be delighted to hear people talking about the sleigh ride they went on over the weekend. That is until you realise they are talking about their cocaine high.

Since drug use is illegal in most countries around the world, the language and terminology surrounding controlled substances constantly changes in an attempt to stay one step ahead of law enforcement. For example, gammahydroxybutrate is a drug growing in popularity, it is now known simply as G or Geebs.

Drug use is an issue that especially affects the LGBT+ community. In a portrayal of a subsection of gay society, ChemSex is a poignant exposé of the rapid change coming from the intersection of technology and desire.

Here is our list of Drug Slang:

Amani – Magic Mushrooms

Bounce – Mephedrone (Meph)

ChemSex – the use of three specific drugs or ‘Chems’ (meth, meph & G) in a sexual context.

Dimitri – Dimethyltryptamine (DMT)

Exodus – Piperazines

Flash – LSD

Glass – Methamphetamine (Meth)

Hog – PCP

Ivory Wave – 2-DPMP

Jellies – Tranquilisers

Kix – Poppers

Lucy – LSD

Mandy – Ecstasy

Nemesis – Piperazines (Pep)

Opiate – Generally Morphine

Percy – Cocaine

Qat – Khat

Rocks – Cocaine

Skag – Heroin

Tina / Christine – Methamphetamine

Ultram – Tramadol

Vitamin K – Ketamine

Wash – Cocaine

X – Synthetic Cannabinoids

Yaba – Methamphetamine

Zoly – Etizola

To learn more – there is a monthly communication forum “Let’s Talk About Gay Sex and Drugs” for anyone to come talk about how they perceive sex and drug use amongst the modern gay male community in London. It is a wonderful resource to continue the discussion. Here is a link to there Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/1PdIHYx.

Interview with Leon Lopez

A big thank you to James Walpole of Mr Rumsey’s Film Related Musings, a great site dedicated to indie cinema, for letting us share this interview with SOFT LAD director Leon Lopez.

Today we welcome director Leon Lopez to the site in order to talk a little about his new film Soft Lad (released on DVD on the 9th of November). Leon and I talk about what research was involved in the film, about depicitng gay characters on screen and much more. Read on for our interview…

Hello Leon, thanks for taking some time out for this interview today!

It’s my pleasure! Thank you for having me.

First things first, could you briefly introduce Soft Lad to our readers?

Soft Lad is a film I wrote about a young man who gets into an awkward situation, having an affair with his sister’s husband. It’s a coming of age story and deals with two men of different generations battling with demons. We have David (the main character) who’s twenty-two and totally aware of his sexuality, and Jules who’s slightly older and struggling with the pressures of society to conform.

It’s an interesting title, how did the film come to be called that and to what does it refer?

Well soft lad is a Liverpudlian expression that means a stupid boy, silly, as in ‘soft in the head’.

Characters, often gay men, coming to terms with their sexuality is often portrayed as a violent and internal process. Do you think this subject matter makes for particularly rich human drama and did it feel daunting to address such a topic in your first writing and directing venture?

Well I wrote the film initially to talk about issues of HIV awareness but it became a lot bigger than that. It touches on family, love, betrayal and the difference just being born 10 years apart can make to a person. I never really thought or worried about the themes of making the film, the struggle to make it at all with no budget was hard enough. I didn’t really worry what people would think of it. I just knew it was a story that needed to be told. This isn’t the kind of thing that would have been commissioned for TV or funded privately as it deals with issues that are taboo and not of commercial value.

What levels of research did the film require during the writing and directing process?

It was originally a play. And the story came to me whilst I was working in a show called Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens which was set in the 80’s and talks about people who passed away from Aids. I wanted to tell a story with a modern day take on the issue.

The story is an amalgamation of lots of different stories that have happened to people I know. It literally all just started to flow and before I knew it I had written the whole script

As a director, writer and actor can you tell us in what ways you found the various disciplines inform each other and overlap?

Being an actor definitely influences how I direct. I find that when I work as an actor myself a lot of directors don’t know how to communicate, they are almost afraid of actors. Being an actor/director I am aware of insecurities and feel I’m able to let actors just be themselves.

As a writer I like to write roles I myself would like to play, so yeah I think they all link.

Directing and writing appears to have been a recent development for yourself, was it always something that you intended to venture into? And if so what prompted you to pursue it professionally now?

I have always been a writer, before I became a professional actor I was part of the Liverpool everyman young writers programme for three years. I had some of my really early plays put on there as part of their Write Now festivals each year. Once I began singing, I moved to writing songs over plays, but I always continued to write in some form.

Directing is pretty new though. Working in TV, I was always intrigued by the technical aspects. I believe having a knowledge of everything around you really helps your craft, be it directing, acting, camera-operating etc, so I liked to ask questions and this led to more of an interest. It was in 2010 that I decided I wanted to direct. I produced a pilot written by my friend Daran Little and it went well but wasn’t how I envisaged it, and I realised to have more control I needed to learn to camera operate and direct in order get the exact look and style I wanted.

I went on to write and film some short films, produced some music videos and worked as DOP on other people’s projects for experience. And that’s when I felt I was ready to take on my first feature. It took a few years to get the funding together but then I went out with my tiny, almost nonexistent budget of £17,000 and made it!

I see you also have a new short coming out (Hiding in the Shadows), what can you tell us about that and when people will be able to see it?

Well I’m hoping it will be a DVD extra on Soft Lad! Peccadillo like it and are considering letting me add it. It’s a pretty story of two strangers who meet unexpectedly on a park bench. It deals with aspects of loneliness and hope.

And what are your future plans Leon? What should we be keeping our eyes open for?

I have two films I’m writing with my Craig Stein (who plays Sam in Soft Lad) and I have a TV pilot that I’m developing.

I’m also just about to begin a M.A. in filmmaking. A lot of people have asked me why when I’m already making films, but just like with my acting and performing I am a true believer that we need to keep learning. I want to develop my skills as a filmmaker and am extremely excited!

Credit: James Walpole.

Read the interview from it’s original source: Mr Rumsey’s Film Related Musings.

Peccadillo on the Goggle-box

Peccadillo on the goggle-box

At Peccadillo – we’re film through and through. Nothing will ever beat that moment the lights go down in the cinema, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! That’s why this summer we’re running a tour of LGBT films in cinemas up and down the UK, to prove to cinemas that there’s a big, hungry, queer audience out there looking for some great independent films to watch.

But something you might not realise is the TV stars we’ve had popping up in our films over the years. We love cinema, but we’re not snobs when it comes to the smaller screen. All of us are guilty of pyjama and take-away Netflix binges, nothing better sates the soul.

So we thought we’d give you a quick rundown – for the uninitiated in the smaller screen – a who’s who of who, if you will, in the telly stars who’ve popped up in some of our more outlandish films.

UGLY BETTY’s Mark (played by Michael Urie) was in WTC VIEW

If you were around in the early 2000s, you fell in love with Mark (played by Michael Urie) from Ugly Betty. Though you’d never want to meet him in real life, his bitchy sass was infectious and inspired a whole roster of teenage girls and gayboys to want to be sassy bitches themselves. The residual impact of his character can still be felt in many media offices across the world today.

But did you know that Michael also pops up in our 2005 indie drama WTC View, about a young gay man who moves into his apartment in lower Manhattan on the 10^th September, 2001. A harrowing and unpretentious slice of life in the lead up to New York’s greatest tragedy, WTC View is an unapologetic look at what happened in that fateful period.

Alan Cumming (ANY DAY NOW) and Carrie Preston (WHO’S AFRAID OF VAGINA WOLF?) starred in THE GOOD WIFE

For those who love a bit of Alicia Florrick shade (and who doesn’t?), we love that not only do we have one but two stars from THE GOOD WIFE in our films. The dishy Alan Cumming (a Peccadillo fave who stars in DARE and ANY DAY NOW) plays campaign strategist and crisis manager, Eli Gold. He is a quick talker, blunt and doesn’t waste time when it comes to getting his point across. Initially a guest star, Cumming wowed audiences and quickly became a lead character.

Our second Peccadillo star in THE GOOD WIFE is the delectable Carrie Preston who is remembered for her LOL performance in WHO’S AFRAID OF VAGINA WOLF? In THE GOOD WIFE, Carrie plays Elsbeth Tascioni, a quirky lawyer who thinks on her feet, likes to makes situations uncomfortable and always comes out on top. Also, she is simply hilarious. We <3 her!

Guillaume Gouix and Matila Malliarakis (BEYOND THE WALLS) and Clotide Hesme (ANGELE & TONY) starred in THE RETURNED

All of us at Peccadillo love French cinema. It’s elegant, provocative, and through a screen you can’t smell the garlic. For those who watched the French series The Returned (Les Revenants for the Francophones amongst you), you might not know that the show was based on an original film by EASTERN BOYS director Robin Campillo. Robin’s intellectual and illuminating approach to the supernatural genre gripped all the Channel 4 lefties who beforehand had been too clever-clever for the ‘z’ word (zombie).

When the show was eventually turned into a TV show and ended up winning Best Drama Series at the International Emmies, many fell in love with its unequivocally sexy French actors – Guillaume Gouix and Matilla Malliarkis, both of whom star in our Cannes Film Festival classic BEYOND THE WALLS. The film depicts the boys in an intense, sexual relationship which spirals out of control when Guillame’s character ends up in Prison…

For those who haven’t seen the multiple-award winning ANGELE & TONY, you’re really missing out. ELLE Magazine called it “an astonishing love story” and much of that hinges on Clotide Hesme’s outstanding performance as outside Angele who rocks up at a remote Normandy fishing village. Her performance in THE RETURNED is equally brilliant; she plays young mother Adele, torn over whether or not to marry the captain of what’s left of the Armed Forces: Thomas.

APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR’s Desiree Akhavan was in GIRLS

Desiree Akhavan’s stint as the biting aspiring writer Chandra, whose gothic iciness is a far cry from Desiree’s warm, hilarious demeanour. Never one to pass up a 30 ROCK quote-off, Desiree charmed the pants off the Peccadillo team when we released her debut feature – APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR.

Chandra became Hannah’s (GIRLS’ lead character, played and created by the formidable Lena Dunham [although if you needed telling that, you live under a rock]) nemesis in a writing retreat outside of New York city. New York is central to everything these girls do, and the dreadful public transport, regular sight of crazy people screaming in the street but excellent access to totally unaffordable theatre undoubtedly contributed to their creative process and angsty, frustrated and hilarious writing.

Max Riemelt (off of FREE FALL) and Doona Bae (from our upcoming A GIRL AT MY DOOR) star in the Wachowski siblings Netflix hit SENSE8

If you’re watching Netflix’s latest blockbuster show SENSE8, you won’t have forgotten THAT nude scene with German heartthrob Max Riemelt. We have BIG thanks to give to the Wachowskis, as sales of Max’s gay film FREE FALL have sky-rocketed since he flashed his bum (and other bits) on the show. Definitely check out FREE FALL for its own merits, however. It’s touching (in many ways) and has been touted by many as the German BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN for its portrayal of boy-meets-boy at a Police Academy.

Fans of SENSE8 are also unfailingly charmed by bad-ass Doona Bae’s character Sun-bak. Prim and proper by day, her night-time Fight Club antics often steal the episode. Doona plays equally bad-ass police inspector Young-nam – who, after taking in a young girl from a violent family, becomes both the town’s protector and public enemy number one… Be sure to look out for A GIRL AT MY DOOR when it’s released in UK cinemas this September.

Eastenders, Coronation Street – Jonny Labey & Daniel Brocklebank – SOFT LAD

Leon Lopez’s feature debut is our latest hotly anticipated feature – namely becomes it stars Eastender’s heart-throb Jonny Labey. Jonny’s character has made waves in Albert Square since his first appearance earlier this year – and caught headlines when he and a Mitchell boy were caught romping in a funeral parlour (ah, the soaps.)

Jonny takes the title role in SOFT LAD – playing a young, hot dancer who’s just gotten into the dance school of his dreams. All of this is thwarted, however, when it’s revealed he’s having an affair with his sister’s husband – the slimy but attractive banker Jules, played by Daniel Brocklebank. Many will recognise Daniel as the cuddly gay priest in Soapasaurus Rex Coronation Street.

SOFT LAD is currently playing in cinemas across the country as part of our 2015 POUTFest Tour, and will be out on DVD on November 9^th.

Rebel, rebel (girls on film)

A desire to resist authority, control, and convention, these are just some of the things that come to mind when thinking about rebellion. We’ve all at some point in our lives performed a rebellious act. Refusing an order from a parent, a teacher, or a working task. When we’re told what to do and when to do it, how to act, how to feel and how to look, at what point do these authorities become too much?

A young 16 year old, Alex is a high school dropout who is considered a failure due to her mixing with bad crowds, use of drugs and self-harm. Faced with hardships at a young age, her adoptive mother sends her to a Northern German farm to work with horses. Monika Treut, director of OF GIRLS AND HORSES (2015), presents a display of misbehavior that transcends into a journey of self-discovery and a portrayal of female bonding. A beautiful story that deals with the coming of age with girls and the soothing landscapes of the most Northern tip of Germany at the ocean near the Danish border. Be sure to check this film out!

With rebellion in mind, I thought I’d take a look at rebellious heroines and the theme of female bonding in a selection of my favorite films. Sarah Hentges, in her book, Pictures of Girlhood: Modern Female Adolescence on Film, says that most mainstream films about rebellion are, for the most part, set in the past…the rebellion in these films is usually directed toward parents or society, but in some cases this rebellion has a larger goal to dismantle the structures. These behavioral patterns are triggered in moments of restriction, this upsurge is pushed further if the rebel is in the process of exploring her sexuality.

Love has no limits, especially when its up against the Chinese government. Set in the 1980’s in China, THE CHINESE BOTANIST’S DAUGHTER (2006) tells the story of a young orphan, Li Ming, who takes up an internship at a botanist’s garden and forms a sensual yet forbidden relationship with the daughter of the botanist, during a time when homosexuality was a punishable offence. The film is a beautiful story of two women who attempt to defy every rule of a totalitarian system, that in the end, love will always be the winning answer. No matter what your gender or sexual orientation is, the film brings a relatable urgency of how far one is willing to go for the person they love. The last few minutes of the film will no doubt leave you in tears.

Back track to the 1980’s streets of Los Angeles, littered with fast cars, over-the-top fashion and a group of friends who hit the streets to the theme song of ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stand In Our Way’ by John Farnham. Linda Blair stars in SAVAGE STREETS (1984), an exploitation flick that explores independence against an authoritative society, and a young teenager who must take action into her own hands. After her handicapped sister is raped at school (shot in the Pacific Palisades, the same location as Brian De Palma’s CARRIE (1976) – another film dealing with rebellious teens), Brenda seeks out revenge in a revealing tight leather outfit and cross-bow. The film highlights different levels of female bonding from a girls night out, to sibling love. While the horses in OF GIRLS AND HORSES become the catalyst between the two girls, this female bonding is expressed in the beautiful transition in which Brenda’s sensitive side is revealed only through the love she has for her sister and girlfriends, to a quick mood change of fierce attitudes and the rejection of all order. One cannot forget a naked Linda Blair in a brawl in the showers of the school locker room – a must see!

A teen movie like no other, HEAVENLY CREATURES (1994) is based on a true story from 1954 of two best friends, Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker who form a close bond in which they both share every possible day with each other. Stuck in their own fantasy world, the concerned parents attempt to separate them. To ensure their everlasting connection, they both seek out revenge against their moralistic families. Before we all knew her as Rose from Titanic, Kate Winslet stars alongside Melanie Lynskey in this coming-of-age story; a real testament of teenage friendships and the worlds we invent to escape harsh reality. Sarah Hentges describes these girl genres as empowering in myriad ways, not only for girls and women, but for anyone who recognizes a lack of fit between mainstream expectations and reality. Rebellion in the form of murder, the girls met their tragic ending in a 5 year prison sentence, but the ultimate punishment was on the condition that the girls never see each other again.

The last film on my list breaks away from the coming-of-age genre of teen flicks. Similarly to SAVAGE STREETS, this film marks an important entry into the exploitation genre of rape revenge films which came about in the 1970s. Ms. 45 (1981) directed by Abel Ferrera, is a brutal portrayal of a young adolescent out for revenge after being savagely raped twice in the same day. Taking matters into her own hands, Thana, a mute seamstress, picks up a 45. caliber handgun and hits the streets on a killing spree. This transition from an innocent girl to a cold blooded killer is marked by the ritual process of applying red lipstick, slicking the hair back and dressing from head to toe in black, a common aesthetic in the films from this genre. While the social structures failed in moments of need, the female is then positioned in a negotiating state of unconscious decisions which consequence her final behaviors. Hentges further describes that the formal, institutional powers like school, family, religion and law make rules that girls are expected to follow, but the informal rules of adolescence that come from these structures also restrict girls’ behavior, social and sexual development.

From the coming-of-age teen films, exploitation genres to tragic teen love stories, this rebellious movement of bad-ass girls becomes a welcome departure from the typecast roles of stay at home wives and dutiful daughters, although these films deal with the breaking of structures in the form of death and murder, the beautiful moments of female bonding bridge an underlining message that women are capable of much more than being restricted to the confines of what society tells them. Looking back at OF GIRLS AND HORSES, the film is a good example of this transition of a troubled girl caught in the mix of abuse and lack of support to living on the German landscapes with horses as her form of escapism. This sudden shift of rebellion to the coming-of-age could only be achieved by the understanding of sexuality and the removal of societal expectations. In the words of Hentges: ‘hegemony does not have as tight a hold as it sometimes seems’.

If you’re blind to what is different, this story is not for you. But if your eyes are open, you should listen carefully

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