[rating=4]
18:20 NFT2 • UK: 42 min • Pathetique Films • 2012

Polari‘s reviewer Michael Langan thinks that every Friday night should be Peter de Rome night.

“As for watching gay porn in a cinematic, communal environment, it felt excitingly liberating and much less sleazy than you might imagine.”

Rowan Williams Says It’s Time For Minorities To Step Back.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has come to the indefensible conclusion that identity politics and minority rights are fragmenting society.

“Williams fudged the issue so completely that he sidestepped it, and proved that the old guard does not understand the implications of cultural diversity.”

Pick of the Day: 1 April.

Pick of BFI London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, 1 April. North Sea Texas, a beautiful coming of age tale and The Green, a story about a teacher accused of sexual assault.

Pick of the Day: 31 March.

Pick of BFI London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, 31 March. Órói (Jitters), a powerful teen drama set in Iceland and 365 without 377, a documentary about the legalisation of homosexuality in India.

[rating=3]
Hong-Kong-China: 92 min • Heart Production • 2012

Simon Chung’s Speechless is interesting yet not quite successful, says Polari‘s reviewer Michael Langan.

“Speechless is a film of two halves, beginning as a slow-burning mystery-cum-romance before turning into a love-triangle thriller, but it doesn’t really manage to pull off making those parts into a cohesive whole.”

[rating=4]
Belgium: 96 min • Indeed Films • 2011

Polari‘s reviewer Michael Langan is charmed by the coming-of-age story North Sea Texas.

“Jelle Floorizoone’s performance as Pim is restrained and assured, and he is the film’s palpitating heart.”

[rating=4]
233 pages • Serpent’s Tail • April 5, 2012 [HB]

Tim Bennett-Goodman is moved by this multi-layered family saga.

“A Stone’s Throw is a work of two distinct halves, deftly stitched together by Shaw into a satisfying whole.”

Pick of the Day: 30 March.

Pick of BFI London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, 30 March. Fragments: The Incomplete Films of Peter de Rome, which shows unseen work by the gay porn pioneer, and Speechless, a thriller from modern China.

Pick of the Day: 29 March.

Pick of BFI London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, 29 March. Two insightful documentaries: This Is What Love In Action Looks Like, a look into the murky world of ex-gay ministries and Jobriath A.D., a celebration of Glam Rock star Jobriath.

A History of Newspaper Homophobia.

Paul Baker looks at the history of homophobia in the British press.

“Although the name-calling has largely disappeared, the negative attitudes took longer to shift, and the newspapers more narrowly focused their ire on ‘the gay lobby’ who kept demanding bizarre and unreasonable things like the right to fight for their country, or have their relationships acknowledged.”