MQFF diary Part the Third

Like Cocktales, which I saw a few days ago, Short & Burly, is a collection of of gay-themed short films from around the world; and is definitely the stronger of the two packages.

First up was Grímur Hákonarson's Wrestling (aka Brædrabylta, literally 'Brother Tumble', a word from the vocabulary of 'glima', as Icelandic wrestling is known, which describes a move in which both contenders fall to the ground and no one wins). This subtle, sombre film tells the story of two wrestlers living in rural Iceland who are struggling with their love for one another. Denni (Halldór Gylfason) gives Elnar (Björn Ingi Hilmarsson) an ultimatum: leave your wife or our secretive relationship is over. But Denni, who lives with his elderly and infirm mother, has problems of his own. Beautifully lensed and featuring excellent performances, as well as a haunting soundtrack by Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, Wrestling uses silence and open space to great effect. Masterful and beautiful.

A Scandinavian comedy about the Greek diaspora directed by Nicolas Kolovos, I Am Gay (Jag Äm Bög) is a vividly realised film focusing on Nicolas, a gay man contemplating coming out to his conservative migrant family over dinner. How will his father, his dotting but highly-strung mother, and his yob of a brother react to the news? In a succession of entertaining dream sequences, Nicolas imagines the consequences to his announcement, washing down his thoughts with glass after glass of wine.

Matchstick (Drvce od kibrit) directed by Tony Radevski, is an Australian film that continues Radevski's exploration of the tensions that arise when sexuality and Macedonian culture collide, albeit in a tangential way. Shot in a distinctive style which some viewers found abrasive but which I found compelling, Matchstick explores the impact of childhood sexual abuse through the figure of a man who is literally haunted by his past. Claustrophobic and compelling.

Next up was the Canadian short film Hirsuite, written and directed by A. J. Bond, who also stars as the film's lead - twice. It's rare to see a gay science fiction film, and rarer still to see one that so deftly engages with the paradoxes of time travel. While feverishly working out the complex equations which will enable him to make a time machine, Kyle (Bond) is visited by a future version of himself; a Kyle who is cooler, more stylish and considerably less kind - as well as much less hairy. An imaginative set decorated with post-it notes and billowing sheets of butcher's paper covered in in countless scrawled equations; strong performances; and a thought-provoking plot exploring the way one's actions at a specific moment can cause history can branch off in unexpected directions; add up to a richly rewarding and enjoyable short film.

Writer/director Josh Kim's delightful drama The Postcard concerns two female post office workers competing for the attentions of a handsome young customer who is conducting a subtle flirtation with his postman via a series of postcards. Lushly shot on 35mm before being transferred to digital video, The Postcard is an elegant-looking and beautifully paced comedy of errors, and thoroughly enjoyable.

Last up was US comedy Mano-a-Mano, a lighthearted look at the gay phone sex industry from the perspective of two competitive straight men who are desperate for the one job that's available. Compact and entertaining, it wrapped up Short & Burly on a light note.


Find Part the First of my MQFF journal here, and Part the Second here. Additional MQFF reviews can be read here, and also on Twittter by following rperdio and walypala. Alternatively just go to Twitter and search for 'MQFF'.