By Gary M. Kramer –
This year’s Mill Valley Film Festival will open October 2 with director Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet and will close October 12 with a screening of Rental Family. In between, there will be opportunities to get a sneak peek at hotly anticipated fall films by gay directors, including Bill Condon’s Kiss of the Spider Woman andLuca Guadagnino’s After the Hunt, as well as to discover some independent and foreign gems.
There will be several LGBTQ films screening at this year’s festival. Here is a rundown of what to watch.
Writer/director Ira Sachs’ Peter Hujar’s Day is adapted from the transcript of an interview that Linda Rosenkrantz (Rebecca Hall) did with photographer Peter Hujar (Ben Whishaw) on December 19, 1974. The film consists of Peter recounting his previous day in detail to Linda for a potential project she is working on. He describes visiting Allen Ginsberg, taking two(!) naps, and collecting an order of Chinese food, among other activities. His monologue is at times fascinating and at times boring, and Linda interjects catty and knowing comments. But Whishaw’s performance—from the cadence of his voice to his body language as he eats, drinks, and smokes, and even the way he articulates his thoughts when he lies or remembers something—is astonishing. Sachs shot this talky film on 16mm, and he keeps things nimble with shrewd framing and editing as the characters change locations, or dance. Peter Hujar’s Day reflects on how the characters spend (or waste) their time and it somehow feels both slight and profound.
In the wistful, elegiac Blue Moon, the celebrated and closeted lyricist, Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke), holes up in Sardi’s delivering a series of absorbing and occasionally amusing monologues. Hart is bitter that Richard Rodgers’ (Andrew Scott) new show Oklahoma!—Rodgers’ first collaboration with someone other than Hart—is having its premiere this evening and is going to be a smash hit. He is also hoping that Elizabeth Weiland (Margaret Qualley), a 20-year-old Yale student, will confirm that she has the same “irrational admiration” for him that he has for her. Hawke’s showboating (read: Oscar-baiting) performance is strongest when he has exchanges with Rodgers or Elizabeth, who see through his desperation, but he is entertaining holding court in the bar. Director Richard Linklater, working from a screenplay by Robert Kaplow based on Hart’s letters, never lets the pacing flag even though the film is often stagy. By the end of Blue Moon, viewers may not be as emotionally drained as Hart is after his long, wearying night, but they will appreciate the raconteur.
The enjoyable mystery, A Private Life, features a superb performance by queer icon Jodie Foster (speaking French!) as Lilian Steiner, a psychologist in Paris investigating the possible suicide of Paula Cohen-Solal (Virginie Efira), one of her patients. There is an extended sequence that
suggests Lilian had a possible past romantic relationship with Paula, but the film, directed and cowritten by Rebecca Zlotowski, focuses largely on Lilian’s relationship with her ex-husband, Gabriel (Daniel Auteuil), who helps her investigate various suspects. Foster’s reactions are amusing as Lilian has a really bad time of things or gets ideas in her head that propel her amateur sleuthing. A Private Life is kind of a piffle, but it’s a pleasant diversion.
The Choral, directed by out gay filmmaker Nicholas Hytner and written by the out gay Alan Bennett, is a genteel period drama about making rousing music, but, alas, it rouses little else. In 1916 Ramden, Yorkshire, Alderman Duxbury (Roger Allam), the local mill owner, is planning to stage a performance of “St. Matthew Passion.” He hopes to entice the few men left in the town to sing as they need male voices. After the auditions, however, Duxbury’s chorus master enlists—the war is on, after all—and he must find a replacement. He reluctantly agrees to bring in Dr. Guthrie (Ralph Fiennes), but Guthrie is a bit of an outcast; not only did he spend years in (gasp!) Germany, but he is “not a family man.” (Code for gay; the film does not speak about “the love that dare not speak its name.”) The Choral downplays the homosexuality and focuses on the relationships of the straight (and horny) young men in the chorus. Hytner hits all the expected notes as this polished film unfolds, but the tone, which is meant to be reflective about war, comes off almost too restrained. The music is lovely, though.
State of Firsts, directed by trans filmmaker Chase Joynt, showcases Sarah McBride, the first out trans member of Congress. This admirable documentary shows that McBride is nobly focused more on representing her constituents in Delaware—and being seen as a “whole human”—rather than engaging with Republicans who foment hate, bigotry, and discrimination. The first half of the documentary features McBride on the campaign trail and she balances her hopes with pragmatism. She strategizes how to respond to Marjorie Taylor Greene’s attacks, which extend—after McBride is elected—to anti-trans bathroom bills. How McBride defends her position to comply with the bill shows her grace under pressure. Still, there is a backlash that hurts. State of Firsts illuminates how McBride must always smile to reflect pride, not despair, and not rise to the MAGA bait, such as being misgendered in her new job. (Yes, the film features a clip of Keith Self disrespecting her.) Joynt’s film also captures several highlights, from an unexpectedly sweet encounter McBride has in a convenience store to her election night landslide, and a call from President Biden. State of Firsts is an inspiring chronicle of the start of McBride’s political career, which will hopefully continue for decades to come.
The tough and tender drama, The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo, is set in 1982 and unfolds in a desert region of northern Chile. The abandoned 11-year-old Lidia (Tamara Cortes) has been “adopted” by the trans Flamingo (Matias Catalan). They live with Boa (Paula Dinamarca) and a dozen of other transwomen, creating an incredibly supportive “found family.” Flamingo even tells Lidia, “I couldn’t bear going to hell without you,” and when the pre-teen is bullied by some male youths, the transwomen go beat the kids up, threatening one with “the plague”—a disease that can be transmitted through the eyes. It is a metaphor for AIDS, and possibly a myth, but when a group of male miners in the town try to put blindfolds on these transwomen to curb the plague, they are attacked. Gorgeously filmed, The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo unfolds leisurely—there is not much plot—but it immerses viewers in the lives of these characters who illustrate the power of resistance and resilience.
The Mexican import, Perpetual Adolescent, directed and cowritten by Eduardo Esquivel, has three siblings coming together when their mother, Gemma (Magdelena Caraballo), is hospitalized. The eldest, Cristina (Emma Dib), is religious and lives with her adult daughter, Tati (Ruth Ramos). Her sister, Sony (Teresa Sánchez), left the family decades ago and now works as a psychic on a local TV show. Their much younger brother, Bruno (Andrés David), is a gay man who is involved with Quique (Jesús Estrada Escobedo). While they are concerned about their mother’s condition, much of Perpetual Adolescent has the siblings interacting, talking about aging, family, recalling past memories—Tati asks about an aunt—and working out their differences. They have an extended dinner that turns into ordering pizza. Quique visits with a pregnant dog and Cristina catches the guys kissing. And Sony does a tarot reading that prompts some truth telling. Esquivel lets Perpetual Adolescent unfold like a hangout film, letting viewers share the characters’ shifting moods and attitudes. The drama is peppered with home movie footage of the family from when they were much younger, and this approach adds extra poignancy to the emotions on display. This is an involving, heartfelt drama.
TheBrazilian short, I Don’t Know If I’ll Have to Say Everything Again, sensitively addresses issues of memory as Fernando (Raphael Vianna) tries to communicate with his mother, Ana (Angela Rebello), who has Alzheimer’s. Fernando finds himself having to explain to her, again, that he is gay. What is more, he is marrying Raphael (Matheus Dias). Writer/directors Thassilo Weber and Vitória Fallavena’s short is a bit slight, but it is beautifully crafted—there is a lovely end credit sequence—and the actors give emotional performances.
From Turkey comes the moving short, Hi Mom, It’s Me, Lou Lou. Hakki (Onur Gözeten) is a gay man who performs in drag as Lou Lou. When he gets a call that his mother has died, he returns home and has to face his family members who, unlike his late mother, are unaware of his sexuality. As Hakki navigates the funeral and interacts with various family members, he tries to contain or reveal this hidden side of himself. Gözeten gives a terrific performance as a young man whose supportive mother allowed him to live authentically. Hi Mom, It’s Me, Lou Lou features moments of real emotion as well as queer joy.
For tickets, showtimes, and more information, visit https://www.mvff.com/
© 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 September 25, 2025
Recent Comments