A Smothering Embrace: ‘The Holy Boy’ (2025) by Paolo Strippoli
KARLOVY VARY 2026: The young Italian filmmaker moulds a new face for folk horror in his newest work, which ties the monstrous to the act of repression.
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‘It’s a story we’ve seen before in some ways, but never here and never about us’: Šimon Holý on ‘Chica Checa’
KARLOVY VARY 2026: The Czech filmmaker tells us about the necessity of this film in his country right now, pushing back against homophobia disguised as fear, and using an approachable and accessible tone.
‘If we look from this point of view, I can say that this might be my first film’: Nader Saeivar on ‘Hijamat’
KARLOVY VARY 2026: The Iranian filmmaker shares his approach to this Berlin-set drama that examines the echo chamber of conservative religion as it clashes with the realities of queer life.
‘It’s such a luxury to sit in flaws and humanness’: Elliot Tuttle, Kieron Moore, and Reed Birney on ‘Blue Film’
NEW RELEASES: The team behind the year’s most controversial queer film explore its nuance as they look back on their experience.
‘I’m on the side of making films where being queer isn’t a big deal’: Matthias Lintner on ‘My Boyfriend the Fascist’
ONE WORLD PRAGUE 2026: The Bolzano-born director shares his own journey of political self-questioning in his highly reflexive new documentary, exploring the relationship between himself and his Cuban-born partner.
‘Sexuality stays with us even when our mind fades’: Jose Mari Goenaga and Aitor Arregi on ‘Maspalomas’
STOCKFISH / BFI FLARE 2026: The co-directors of the Basque film making waves across the festival circuit talk about collaboration, change in social policy, and coming out of one’s own closet in different ways.
As Far from the Sea as Possible: Deceit, Survival, and Home in Kai Stänicke’s ‘Trial of Hein’
BERLINALE 2026: In his feature debut, the German writer-director offers up a triad of interconnected concepts that shape our understanding of decisions made in the pursuit of queer livelihood.
‘It was always the queer experience at its core’: Kai Stänicke on ‘Trial of Hein’
BERLINALE 2026: The Berlin-based filmmaker shares the importance of using a personal story for his first feature, exploring the tension between the past and present—as well as the memories that come embedded within them.
Scent Memories: ‘Tell Me Everything’ (2026) by Moshe Rosenthal
SUNDANCE 2026: Hateful thinking might be difficult to unlearn, but words are the most powerful way to disrupt a socially enforced fear of queerness in the director’s moving sophomore feature.
‘I was trying to understand who I was by looking to another generation’: Marcelo Caetano on ‘Baby’
PINK SCREENS 2025: The Brazilian director shares his thoughts on creating cinema as a testament to life, found family, and the city of São Paulo.