PURPLE HOUR

cinema from a queer lens and canted angle

angelica ruffier
‘It’s not just a love story about a teacher—it’s about a person with queer desire going through this world’: Angelica Ruffier on ‘La belle année’
SAN SEBASTIÁN 2026: The Swedish–French filmmaker talks queer (re)discovery, acknowledging both past and present selves, and cinematic inspirations that sink deep into the soul and linger through time.
Massih Parsaei
'I did not want the film to be focused on this one language or one specific feeling': Massih Parsaei on Lovers Sleep Alone’
SAN SEBASTIÁN 2026: We sat down in the Basque Country to talk with the filmmaker about language as embodied, rejecting the concept of home, and perceptions of a queer film.
leyla bouzid in a whisper
'I wanted to give a body and existence to love between two women in Tunisia': Leyla Bouzid on 'In a Whisper'
SARAJEVO 2026: The filmmaker shares her approach to crafting complex family dynamics and reflecting Tunisia's forms of social legitimacy onscreen.

PURPLE HOUR RECOMMENDS

Some of our favourite films of the moment.

Still from 'Love Letters' by Alice Douard
amy-jenkins-adam-sieswerda-adam's-apple
Virages directors - Aline Suter & Céline Carridroit
Still from 'Elephants in the Fog' by Abinash Bikram Shah
teenage-sex-at-camp-miasma
Rose Markus Schleinzer 1
Still from Urška Djukić's 'Little Trouble Girls'
'La belle année' by Angelica Ruffier

REVIEWS

Still from Aung Phyoe's 'Fruit Gathering'
A Longing for the Upcountry: 'Fruit Gathering' (2026) by Aung Phyoe
Still from 'Animol' by Ashley Walters
This Paradise Built in Hell: 'Animol' (2026) by Ashley Walters
Still for Mate Ugrin's 'Petty Thieves'
The Trespass of Intimacy: 'Petty Thieves' (2026) by Mate Ugrin
Still from 'Love Letters' by Alice Douard
The Gaze Always Leads: 'Love Letters' (2025) by Alice Douard
the holy boy
A Smothering Embrace: 'The Holy Boy' (2025) by Paolo Strippoli
Hiam Abbass and Eya Bouteraa in 'In a Whisper'
Retracing Our Steps: 'In a Whisper' (2026) by Leyla Bouzid
Mélanie Thierry and Léa Drucker in 'A Woman's Life'
In the Mundanity of Understanding: ‘A Woman’s Life’ (2026) by Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet
Still from Shan Jiang's 'Ephemera'
In Our Own World By Night: 'Ephemera' (2026) by Shan Jiang

INTERVIEWS

angelica ruffier
‘It’s not just a love story about a teacher—it’s about a person with queer desire going through this world’: Angelica Ruffier on ‘La belle année’
Massih Parsaei
'I did not want the film to be focused on this one language or one specific feeling': Massih Parsaei on Lovers Sleep Alone’
leyla bouzid in a whisper
'I wanted to give a body and existence to love between two women in Tunisia': Leyla Bouzid on 'In a Whisper'
sam-ahern-curator-talks
'Supporting emerging filmmakers has become a really important part of GAZE': Sam Ahern, GAZE festival director
Profile_Viv Li_Claudia Hausfeld
'People who do not eat well are not to be trusted with artwork': Viv Li on 'Two Mountains Weighing Down My Chest'
sullivan-lepostec-midpoint
‘Fiction becomes a great way to externalise and understand these issues’: Sullivan LePostec, MIDPOINT Focus Queer lead tutor
introduction-to-the-film-chica-checa
'It’s a story we’ve seen before in some ways, but never here and never about us': Šimon Holý on 'Chica Checa'
Nader Saeivar KVIFF
'If we look from this point of view, I can say that this might be my first film': Nader Saeivar on 'Hijamat'
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