By Gary M. Kramer–
This year’s Frameline Film Festival ends this weekend, but there is still time to catch a few good films. Here’s a rundown of what to watch.
A Mother Apart is a highly personal documentary about lesbian poet Staceyann Chin seeking out her birthmother, Hazel, who abandoned her as a child. “My mother remains a mystery to me,” she says, late in the film, while trying to learn more about Hazel from others who knew her. Chin even meets Hazel a few times and their encounters are interesting. The poet does not mince words when Hazel has issues with her daughter being gay. But what makes A Mother Apart meaningful is the way Chin’s image of her mother conflicts with the reality of her, and how Chin—a mother herself—works to create a loving relationship with her own daughter.
Inspired by a true story, the respectable Canadian drama, Drive Back Home, set in 1970, is a conventional road movie about two very different brothers. Weldon, nicknamed Wid (Charlie Creed-Miles), has never left his hometown of Stanley, New Brunswick, until a policeman in Toronto calls him to come pick up his gay brother Perley (Alan Cumming) who has been arrested. Borrowing his boss’ truck, Wid reluctantly drives across Canada, but it is the drive back home that forms the core of the story. There are the expected disagreements between the brothers who have nothing in common but their parents. They also have car trouble and encounter both danger and unexpected kindness on the road. But it is the moments when they find common ground, help, and understanding that make the film touching. The siblings share a complicated family history that this trip provides a chance to correct. The performances by Cumming and Creed-Miles are pitch-perfect, and the points made about homophobia ring true.
The compelling Filipino import, Some Nights I Feel Like Walking,opens with a fantastic tracking shot that follows Uno (Jamari Angeles) through the streets of Manila. He meets Zion (Miguel Odron) in a bus station bathroom and helps this stranger out of a sticky situation. The guys later, unexpectedly, reconnect performing sex work in a movie theater. There is a palpable attraction between them, but Uno’s buddies, Bay (Argel Saycon) and Rush (Tommy Alejandrino), are wary of the newbie; they sense he “is not one of us.” When the quartet take care of a dicey situation involving a mutual friend, Bay gives Uno an ultimatum about Zion: “us or him.” As a series of dream-like episodes reveal Zion’s backstory, and Uno recounts his childhood bond with Bay, the film emphasizes the heartfelt brotherhood shared by these attractive young men. Some Nights I Feel Like Walking immerses viewers in the gritty world of its characters for a night that is both poignant and inspiring.
There is an abundance of Black queer strength and joy in Assembly,a marvelous documentary about artist Rashaad Newsome and his stunning 2022 commission for the Park Avenue Armory. Newsome, who codirected the film with Johnny Symons, records the preparation and exhibition of his show, Assembly, which is about reclamation, emancipation, and decolonization. The work features international vogue dancers, opera singers, classrooms, sculpture, poetry, “Being,” a digital AI Griot, and so much more. Newsome is infectious and a force of nature as he imagines, improvises, and executes his dazzling vision. Seeing him develop Being, or doing research on a trip to Ghana, is fascinating. Moreover, his responses to the reactions towards his work are thoughtful and meaningful. Newsome is incredibly self-aware, but he is also highly empathetic of others—especially when he hugs several of his collaborators to purge them of their negativity. Assembly addresses queer Black visibility and culture with a sidebar on the trans community and how they turn fear into confidence, a theme echoed in Newsome’s masterwork. The film devotes considerable time to documenting the performances, which were staged for only a few weeks. Assembly will make everyone who missed seeing Newsome’s multimedia production in person regretful yet grateful that this fabulous film exists to show them what they missed.
The mysterious, hypnotic Brazilian film, Only Good Things, has Marcelo (Live Carlos) taken in by farmer and cheesemaker Antônio (Lucas Drummond) after he has a motorcycle accident. There is an unspoken attraction between the men that leads to an intimate encounter in a shower that unites them. However, there are threats to their newfound happiness. Antônio fears Marcelo will leave, and Antônio’s homophobic father, Tavares (Norval Berbari), wants Antônio’s land. At the midpoint, Only Good Things jumps ahead in time and to the city where an older Antônio (Fernando Libonati) is dealing with the sudden disappearance of his husband, Marcelo. He is comforted by his hunky assistant, Eduardo (Igor Leoni), but his housekeeper, Helga (Renata Carvalho), suspects something. Writer/director Daniel Nolasco’s filmunfolds stylishly, with minimal dialogue and maximum eroticism that allow for narrative ambiguity and explicit sex. What it all means is deliberately left for viewers to determine—it is designed to perplex—but the attractive cast and stunning visuals will keep viewers spellbound.
Also from Brazil, and also unapologetically horny, is Night Stage, which has theatre actors Matias (Gabriel Faryas) and Fabio (Henrique Barreira) competing for the same starring TV role. Their rivalry becomes more complicated when Matias hooks up with Rafael (Cirillo Luna), a mayoral candidate who likes to have sex in public. It would spoil the pleasures of this glossy and ludicrous thriller to reveal more, but the way each man manipulates people and things hoping not to get caught will keep viewers riveted. The actors lean into the juicy material—especially the sex scenes—which makes Night Stage ridiculously entertaining.
© 2025 Gary M. Kramer
Gary M. Kramer is the author of “Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews,” and the co-editor of “Directory of World Cinema: Argentina.” He teaches Short Attention Span Cinema at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute and is the moderator for Cinema Salon, a weekly film discussion group. Follow him on X @garymkramer
Film
Published on June 26, 2025
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