chong_an

Hamed is trying to throw a surprise party for his friend / roommate Ramen, both for his birthday and his going away (abroad). The site is an unused warehouse owned by his now-deceased father. With the help of a close circle of friends, they clear out enough of the space for the party. But they run into a problem with his older brother, who threatens to call the police. Earlier, there was a scene with Hamed's sister, who despairs of their older brother being controlling, and not distributing the family assets.

Along the way, various repressive influences are mentioned. A dry soccer watch party in 2014 (World Cup Brazil vs Germany) caught the attention of the police, who showed up hunting for alcohol. This raises the question of when the events of the film took place, and what was the age of the participants. Another sub-plot relates to a friend who ar recently burned to death in a mishap involving making his own alcohol - black market alcohol could contain poisonous methanol. Meanwhile, the DJs are leery about performing for unknown clients.

I saw this at the Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ film festival. There was only one reference to Hamed being gay. Otherwise, the mostly-single guest list is the only "chosen family" by implication.

Christian and Aske used to be a couple, but these two university students in Denmark have now broken up. While Aske has moved on, Christian is still stalking Aske, and trying to persuade Aske to reunite. Meanwhile, Christian seeks solace in internet dates, but only gets sexual encounters - one date is shown rejecting his offer to stay the night. Christian also has a supportive sister and mother, but he is not about to divulge everything to either of them.

This is a decent exposition of Christian's turmoil, but I don't see much character development. There is an epilog, and I would be more interested in the period in between.

This is a good documentary of the Pride movement from the 1950s persecution to almost the present. It features interviews with various notable individuals, and archival footage (including some from activists' private libraries).

For those who lived it, it is a piece of our history. For younger folks, it is instructive as to how we got to the freedoms we might take for granted. For some sub-communities (women and racialized groups), it is a reminder of the internal battle to be recognized - that Pride is not just a white male event.

My one disappointment is that this seems a bit centered on Toronto, but that is where most of the archival material could be found. I saw it at the Inside Out film festival, and the director was sad at potentially useful material in private collections that had been lost or thrown out. The Q+A closed with a member of the ArQives urging people to donate material that might be significant to them for safekeeping for the future.