The new film version of Vera Brittain’s classic First World War memoir Testament Of Youth arrives in UK cinemas on January 16th. It tells the true story of Brittain and three young men during the war, showing both how Vera’s experiences as a nurse changed her and how the carnage of war decimated an entire generation of young men.
However while it is a true story, it may not be the whole truth – as it could be missing how the fate of one of the young men who is central to the story, might have been tied to his sexuality. To be fair, the movie is actually more upfront than the book, as while Brittain’s tome has extremely vague allusions that her brother, Edward (played by Taron Egerton), had ‘difficulty’ with women, the film is a little more explicit on what that difficulty might have been.
There may have been much more to the story though, as Vera Brittain biographer Mark Bostridge believes that Edward had several affairs with men and the discovery of this may have led to his death. The official account, as recounted in Testament Of Youth, is that Edward was killed by a sniper – the only officer who died in a June 1918 attack against Austrian forces on the plateau of Asiago in the Italian Alps. [Read more…]
The race is on! The Oscar nominations have been announced, so we now know the people and movies that will be vying for a win when the gongs are handed out February 22nd at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
If you’re a celebrity these days you really need to do your research. When Forrest Gump and CSI: New York star Gary Sinise signed up to make an appearance at a summit organised by the Catholic organisation Legatus, he probably thought it was a relatively innocuous gig.
The Golden Globes may be over and the Oscars may be a month away, but what is undoubtedly the most important gongs of the year have just announced their nominees – the Dorian Awards, as handed out by GALECA (Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association). And yes, part of the reason it’s the most important is that I’m a member, but of course that doesn’t sway my opinion of it at all.
Every year the Iris Prize Festival – the celebration of LGBT-themed short films which takes place in Cardiff each autumn – gets bigger and better, and this year that includes the main prize itself. Organisers of the Iris Prize have today confirmed that the Iris Prize, awarded to the best LGBT short film, has been increased from £25,000 to £30,000 thanks to the generous support of The Michael Bishop Foundation.
For quite a long time now Matt Bomer has been involved in developing a biopic of gay/bisexual actor Montgomery Clift (we first reported on it back in 
Sometimes with Kickstarter campaigns for gay-themed films, the funding targets are so huge it’s clear those behind it are being way too ambitious. It’s nice then to get one that’s almost the other way around, as a group of young Danish filmmakers are seeking just 6,000kr (about £630 or $960) to get their planned short film, We Are Okay Now, made.
In the last few days there’s been a firestorm of protest about the fact that the DVD cover of the US version of the film