Big Gay Picture Show

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema and more

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema & more

New Queer Visions: Men From The Boys (VoD Review) – The gay film festival strand brings us a short film collection

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For several years New Queer Visions has been presenting programmes of LGBT short films at various film festivals. Now some of the shorts that have been screened by NVQ have been brought together into a package available for us all to watch via Filmdoo (worldwide) and Amazon (in both the UK and US).

While a previous New Queer Visions collection we covered concentrated on female-led films, this one is all about the boys. They range from how sexuality touches race and ethnicity to dating someone deep in the closet. Take a look at what we thought of the films below. [Read more…]

Boys On Film 17: Love Is A Drug (DVD Review) – Get your fill of gay short films

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There are far worse ways to say goodbye to an old year and hello to a new one than with a brand-new Boys On Film release. The DVD/VoD series is the most successful short film collection in the world – not just gay short films, that’s any short films at all. The series is now on its 17th instalment, once more bringing us a mix of sweet, sexy and thought-provoking gay-themed tales, adding up to over two-hours of entertainment.

So does this one match-up to the great Boys On Film releases that have gone before? Take a look at what we thought of the shorts below.

And if you want to check out our reviews of earlier Boys On Film releases, click here. [Read more…]

Iris Prize Festival LGBT International Short Films 2017 – Part 3 (Short Film Reviews)

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The Iris Prize Festival has now drawn to a close, but its still worth seeking out some of the excellent short film that competed for the world’s largest short film prize, the Iris Prize. We’ve already posted our thoughts on the first 23 short films that screened across the festivals five days, and below you can find reviews of the final 12 (presented in screening order – opinions are mine and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts of the overall jury).

Click here for Iris Prize Festival LGBT International Short Films 2017 – Part 1
Click here for Iris Prize Festival LGBT International Short Films 2017 – Part 2 [Read more…]

Iris Prize Festival LGBT International Short Films 2017 – Part 2 (Short Film Reviews)

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The Iris Prize Festival has now drawn to a close, but its still worth seeking out some of the excellent short film that competed for the world’s largest short film prize, the Iris Prize. We’ve already posted our thoughts on the first 11 short films, and below you can find 12 more (presented in screening order – opinions are mine and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts of the overall jury).

Click here for Iris Prize Festival LGBT International Short Films 2017 – Part 1
Click here for Iris Prize Festival LGBT International Short Films 2017 – Part 3 [Read more…]

Iris Prize Festival LGBT International Short Films 2017 – Part 1 (Short Film Reviews)

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For the last few years Big Gay Picture Show has tried to cover the wonderful Iris Prize Festival in Cardiff as it happened, with reviews being posted while the fest was still happening. However, this year I had the honour of being part of the International Jury, so as a result we decided to wait until the festival was over before we posted our reviews of the 35 shorts that were in contention for the £30,000 prize.

So what did I think? Take a look below at my thoughts on the first 11 short films (presented in screening order – opinions are mine and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts of the overall jury).

Click here for Iris Prize Festival LGBT International Short Films 2017 – Part 2
Click here for Iris Prize Festival LGBT International Short Films 2017 – Part 3 [Read more…]

Girls On Film 2: Before Dawn (DVD Review) – The lesbian short film collection is back

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The gay-male focussed Boys On Film series is the most successful short film collection in the world, and recently celebrated its 16th instalment. A couple of years ago, it was joined by a sister release, Girls On Film, which presented a selection of lesbian-themed shorts.

Although there’s been a bit of a delay between releases, Girls On Film is back with Before Dawn, which features 11 short films from around the world. It’s an eclectic and interesting selection, so take a look at what we thought below. [Read more…]

Boys For Sale (Outfest Review) – Life as a male prostitute servicing gay men in Tokyo

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If there’s a stereotype about being gay in Japan, it’s that the subject is taboo and hidden. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a large, vibrant LGBT community in the country. Boys For Sale looks at one aspect of that – the ‘Urizens’ – the equivalent of rent boys, who work in Tokyo’s main gay district, Shinjuku 2-chome.

The documentary mixes interviews with a variety of urizen with anime style representations of what they’re talking about. It’s a very effective way of presenting their words, as it helps bring it to life in ways just listening to their voices probably couldn’t. [Read more…]

Boys On Film 16: Possession (DVD Review) – 10 more gay short films get a great showcase

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It’s always a good day when a new Boys On Film gay short film collection is released. The most successful short film series in the world is now up to an impressive 16th instalment. You’d think by this point they’d be running out of decent gay-themed shorts to include, but thankfully across the world there are a lot of filmmakers producing great work, which has ensured a steady supply of new films to put on disc.

There’s an interesting and eclectic mix this time around. So what’s included amongst the 10 gay shorts on the discs? Take a look at what we thought below. And you can see what we think of other Boys On Film releases here. [Read more…]

Kings, Queens & In-Betweens (US VoD Review) – Inside the surprisingly bright LGBT drag world of Ohio

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Who knew that Columbus, Ohio was a hotbed of drag? Well, I expect a lot of the LGBT residents of the city knew, but it’ll come as a surprise to most of the rest of us. Director Gabrielle Burton delves deep into that world in her documentary, Kings, Queens & In-Betweens.

Across its 90-minutes the film attempts to highlight the diversity of the drag world, which isn’t just about gay men going on stage dressed as caricatured women. There are also drag kings, some identifying as women, some men and others living between the two genders. Likewise, while most of the drag queens are happy to pull off the costume and makeup, and live as men for the rest of their lives, the documentary introduces us to at least one for whom drag became an outlet until they transitioned to living as a woman full-time. [Read more…]

Love Is Blind – Season 1 (VoD Review) – The gay reality dating show the world has been waiting for?

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Does the world need a gay, reality dating show? Well, Love Is Blind thinks so, offering us seven episodes where guys in New York are set up on blind dates and sent off the see whether it will be love at first sight or total character clash.

The set-up is very simple. There’s a host, Mike Felton, in a studio who introduces the guys and comments on their date at various points. The daters themselves meet, go on an ‘activity’, head somewhere for drinks and food, and then go to a club – and cameras follow them all along the away. The result is that it does sometimes feel a little repetitious, with the main variety provided by what activity they send the guys on, which ranges from wrestling (in tight singlets) and boylesque (where they end up in thongs), to tantric yoga (in just underwear) – this is not a show hiding from the fact people will be watching Love Is Blind hoping it’s a little bit sexy. [Read more…]