By Gary M. Kramer—
As Frameline50 draws to a close, there are still some worthwhile films to see before the festival wraps up with the closing night screening of Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. Here is a guide to a dozen films playing now through Saturday.
Test (June 25 2:30 pm, Vogue Theatre) is a fascinating character study of Eddie (Brock Yurick), an up-and-coming bodybuilder. Eddie is a gentle giant who lives with his alcoholic mother Joanne (Tammy Blanchard), who manages him and his competitions. He has never won first place and desperately wants to get his pro card. When Mike (Mike Edward) gives him a posing tip, Eddie asks him to be his coach. Eddie also gets support from his ex-girlfriend, Abby (Paloma Garcia-Lee), who teaches him some ballet moves to help him with his stability (a nice metaphor). But, just as Abby and Eddie may be rekindling their relationship, Eddie also becomes sexually involved with Mike. As Eddie tries to manage his mother’s jealousy, his inchoate feelings for his coach, and prepare for a state competition, he is racing to the bottom. Test is riveting because Yurick delivers an outstanding performance that conveys how outwardly proud Eddie is of his body—he frequently displays it to everyone’s admiration—while masking a deep, internal pain. Eddie’s conflicts about his family, his faith, and his sexuality take a toll on him and Yorick artfully expresses his emotional body blows silently as Eddie grits his teeth, poses, and smiles. (The film only hints at ‘roid rage when Eddie self-harms). Director Sam McConnell’s film is at times hard to watch—it feels like a documentary—but Yurick’s riveting performance and his jacked body will keep viewers glued to the screen.
The Last Guest of the Holloway Motel (June 25, 3 pm, BAMPFA) is a candid and wistful portrait of Tony Powell. In the 1970s, he was a successful football (soccer) star for Norwich in the U.K. But, in 1984, he moved to West Hollywood, where he fell in love with a man named David, and eventually took a job managing the Holloway Motel. Directors Ramiel Petros and Nicholas Freeman capture Tony at a critical time in his life. The motel is being closed, and he starts reconnecting with family members he has not had contact with for nearly 40 years. In revealing interviews, Tony addresses his fear of being gay—both in football and with his family—as well as the freedom he found for himself in America. The Last Guest of the Holloway Motel respectfully bears witness to Powell’s complicated emotions as this engaging, aging man reconciles the various facets of his life.
Out gay actor and writer John Early’s arch feature directorial debut, Maddie’s Secret (June 25, 3 pm, Roxie), has the title character (Early, in drag), as a recipe developer secretly struggling with bulimia. The film cleverly plays up the foodie influencer and TV show craze as well as the classic “woman’s picture” tropes. Early’s fabulous performance pays homage to women in TV movie-of-the-week issue dramas. It is amusing when Maddie lies to her husband Jake (Eric Rahill) that she is pregnant after he catches her vomiting, or when Maddie stares blankly at the camera after being triggered by a shocking past trauma. But Maddie’s Secret falters a bit in its second half when Maddie must confront her issue as well as her shrewish mother (Kristen Johnston). Early’s satire is earnest, but never campy, which is its greatest strength. Maddie’s Secret may be a little one-note, but it plays that note perfectly.
Montreal, My Beautiful(June 25, 5:30 pm, Vogue Theatre) is a gentle romantic drama about Feng Xia (Joan Chen), a married, menopausal Chinese immigrant in Montreal who has an affair with Lisa (Charlotte Aubin), a 30-year-old she meets on a dating app. Feng Xia is shy about her same-sex desires, but, after a few meetings, including one where both women are honest with each other—Lisa confesses her real name is Camille—a strong bond develops between them. Their secret romance gives Xia a much-needed confidence boost, but it also strains her relationship with her husband Wang Jun (John Xu), who becomes more controlling and abusive. Chen gives a luminous performance, expressing deep emotions. Writer/director Xiaodan He’s film is pretty and a little slow, and it is sure to melt some hearts.
The intense Mexican drama On the Road(June 25 at 8:30 pm, Vogue Theatre) has the gay Veneno (newcomer Victor Prieto Simental in a phenomenal performance), asking the straight Muñeco (Osvaldo Sãnchez Valenzuela), a trucker, for a ride. Veneno offers Muñeco, an addict, drugs as well as a percentage of what they get from selling coke on the road. When their friendship turns intimate, it scrambles Muñeco’s circuits. Veneno is, indeed, trouble; he is on the run having crossed a powerful man. On the Road is compelling as the relationship between Veneno and Muñeco unfolds, and the actors have an excellent rapport. But writer/director David Pablos’s film, which won the Queer Lion at last year’s Venice Film Festival, is not a cozy romance. It features moments of grim, gritty realism and savage violence, as well as dreamlike episodes that explain Veneno’s past. This tough, but mesmerizing, road trip is a helluva film for adventurous moviegoers.
Sparks (June 25, 8:30 pm, Roxie) is a modest little hangout film set in the titular Nevada town. “The Crop” consists of a group of friends who spend time together and participate in a monthly ritual at a reservoir they believe—or want to believe—is a portal that can send them back in time. When the Jean-Luc Godard-obsessed Cleo (Elsie Fisher) joins the group, she intrigues Antoine (Charlie B. Foster) and draws him away from his maybe boyfriend Max (Denny McAuliffe). Cleo also prompts Antoine to revise some of the Crop’s rules before she disappears. Writer/director Fergus Campbell’s film features amusing moments, such as the gang’s encounter with a group of older gay men, and Max and Kane (Thomas Deen Baker) share a sexy kiss in a bathroom, but Sparks never quite ignites despite its youthful exuberance.
Barbara Forever (June 25, 8:45 pm, Castro) is a warm, elegiac, and celebratory documentary about the groundbreaking lesbian avant-garde filmmaker Barbara Hammer, who passed away in 2019. Hammer documented herself and her lovers in her films, and “opened a space for queerness” as there was little to no visibility for lesbians in cinema. Her shorts, such as Dyketactics, were invitations to explore female bodies and pleasure. Hammer’s significant body of work has been sold to the Beinecke at Yale, and Barbara Forever shows her partner Florrie Burke managing that undertaking. The documentary also recounts Hammer’s claim that she “was born” when she became a lesbian. She lived and worked in San Francisco and New York City creating films that were as experimental as lesbian and queer lives. She had a breakthrough with her first feature film Nitrate Kisses in 1992, and continued to make shorts right up until her death from cancer. Hammer talks with candor about trying to find a work/life balance, and it is engaging watching her negotiate with a lover about filming her or meditating on horses and dying. Barbara Forever is an illuminating portrait of the pioneering filmmaker.
Skiff (June 26, 12:30 pm, Roxie) is a sensitive coming-of-age drama about Malou (Femke Vanhove), a teenage girl who likes to wear her brother’s clothes. Rowing provides Malou with purpose and an escape, but she is teased by her fellow female athletes. When her brother Max (Wout Vleugels) starts dating Nouria (Lina Miftah), Malou develops a crush on his girlfriend. As Malou and Nouria spend more time together, a secret romance blossoms. However, they are conflicted about Max—a situation that will inevitably come to a head. Skiff is an engrossing character study about a teen grappling with her gender and sexuality. Malou also navigates tensions with her mom (Natali Broods), who is trying to build a stronger relationship with her daughter. As Malou experiences the pleasure and pain of first love, and the need to make her own choices, Femke Vanhove makes viewers feel her every emotion. It is why Skiff succeeds.
Something You Should Know About Me (June 26, 3 pm, Vogue Theatre) is writer/director Andy Fidoten’s cute enough romcom about Al (EJ Marcus), a trans cartoonist with low self-esteem who heads out to a queer comics intensive (not “gay cartoon camp”) with his trans bestie Jesse (Morgan Sullivan). At the program, however, Jesse forms a connection with Mason (Sydney Mae Diaz), which causes Al, who is secretly in love with Jesse, to become quite jealous. As Al tries to process his emotions in his drawing, he drinks too much, gets stoned with Fred (Julian Guerrieri), and participates in a literal penis-measuring contest against Mason. Something You Should Know About Me features a buoyant soundtrack that keeps the tone lively as Al suffers a series of humiliations. Viewers will hope the poor guy just catches a break. (Spoiler alert: He does!)
Hunky Jesus(June 26, 6 pm, Castro) is Jennifer Kroot’s celebratory documentary on the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence’s annual Easter event. (Kroot, along with the film’s Executive Producer Robert Holgate, are former columnists for the Bay Times.) Chronicling the 2023 contest in Dolores Park where the Sisters crown a Hunky Jesus and Foxy Mary, the film also charts the origins of the Sisters—activists who create joy and expiate stigmatic guilt, as well as raise money for charities and provide support for AIDS patients and organizations. While the Hunky Jesus event may be seen as blasphemous by some—and Kroot gives some screen time to the offended—the film shows the irreverence that answers the question, “What is sexy about Easter?” The interviews with co-hosts Sister Roma and Honey Mahogany are amusing and the winner definitely deserved his crown. The screening will be followed by a Pride Kickoff Party at The Chapel, 777 Valencia Street.
On the Sea (June 27 11 am, Castro)puts the familiar romantic drama about Jack (Barry Ward), a closeted married man, in the unfamiliar setting of a North Wales fishing village. The raw beauty of the landscape is matched by the rugged characters as Jack falls for Daniel (Lorne MacFadyen), a handsome skipper who has come to town to work. Daniel is largely ostracized by the community because he is gay, and Jack himself is wary of being seen in public with Daniel even for a pint at the local pub. However, the men carry on an intense romance in private. Jack struggles with more than his sexuality; he has a lingering health issue and a teenage son, Tom (Henry Lawfull), who does not want to participate in the family fishing business, which is starting to fall on hard times. On the Sea adds nothing new to the genre, but the film is absorbing because Ward and MacFadyen are both compelling characters, and the actors give lived-in performances.
Loves Company(June 27, 3 pm, Castro) is a woefully unfunny comedy about the gay Blake de Troy (Jack Plotnick), an egocentric former TV star, who is taken in by Antoinette Funk (Rachel Dratch) after a car accident. The film, written and directed by Jason Lauritis, spoofs Misery with Antoniette admitting twice to being Blake’s “number one fan,” and, yes, there is the expected sledgehammer gag, but it all feels painfully strained. Blake sees his situation as an opportunity for a comeback by blackmailing Antoniette into being his kidnapper. Then things get worse. Dratch and Plotkin give shrill performances. They—and viewers—deserve better.
© 2026 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 IG @garyemkramer
Film
Published on June 25, 2026
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