What to See at Boston's Wicked Queer 2023

Boston's celebrated Wicked Queer LGBTQ+ Film Festival is in its 39th year and will screen Queer content in theaters March 31 through April 9, 2023, and then have a virtual encore presentation April 10-30th.

This year's exciting lineup boasts the Opening Night selection "Big Boys," written and directed by Corey Sherman, with Vuk Lungulov-Klotz's "Mutt" as the Closing Night feature.

Films will screen at the Brattle Theatre, Emerson College's Bright Family Screening Room at the Paramount Center, the ICA, Museum of Fine Arts, and partner screenings will happen at Boston University, the French Library, and as part of the Bright Lights Cinema Series at Emerson. Many of the films and shorts collections will be available to everyone for a virtual encore on Eventive after the in-person festival starting April 10th.

Tickets and the full schedule can be found at WickedQueer.org.

EDGE sampled a slew of feature titles and highly recommends the following (but please seek out the other amazing cinematic offerings).
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'L Homme Blesse' ('The Wounded Man')

Patrice Chéreau's "L´Homme Blessé" is a bold, edgy, nasty and wholly beguiling coming-of-age tale made in 1983, right before AIDS would redefine everything for gay men. A fully committed Jean-Hugues Anglade plays Henri, a confused, sexually repressed 20-year-old who becomes obsessed with the enigmatic and dangerous Jean (brooding and intense Vittorio Mezzogiorno), whom Henri encounters in a train station rest room, beating a guy up. A crazy kiss stirs desires in Henri, and he can't shake Jean, even agreeing to prostitute himself for the Fagin-esque charmer in his need to rob older men. In a memorably hot scene, Henri seeks out another hot young man (Hammou Graïa), and the two endlessly search for a place to make out. But Henri's true passion is for Jean, and the erotic danger at the core of the film ultimately results in an unforgettably shattering ending that recalls a famous Oscar Wilde quote. Kudos to Wicked Queer for rediscovering this fascinating gay-themed gem. In French, with English subtitles.

'Lie With Me'

Olivier Peyon's "Lie With Me" examines the heartbreaking and destructive powers of shame and internalized homophobia, especially in small towns, but also the human potential for understanding, acceptance, and change. Celebrated French writer Stéphane Belcourt (a powerful Guillaume de Tonquédec) returns to his boyhood home to take part in a local cognac commemoration, where he unintentionally unearths the answers he's been searching for all his adult life via his long-lost lover's son (charismatic Victor Belmondo, grandson of Jean-Paul). Based on Philippe Besson's novel, the film is gorgeously shot, affectionately written, and beautifully acted. Jérémy Gillet and Julien De Saint Jean both excel as the teen boys who fall hard for one another in flashbacks. De Saint Jean is an especially exciting newcomer to watch. In French, with English subtitles.

Note: "Lie With Me" will screen at the French Library on April 21st.

'Body Shop'

For a bracing, perplexing, and bizarre queer film experience, look no further than the SCUD (Cheng) cinematic creation "Body Shop," which boasts the most male nudity I believe I have ever seen in a non-porn film – certainly the most full-frontal. The Hong Kong-based director and provocateur has courted controversy in his country for nearly two decades for featuring homoeroticism and nude men. Ironically, both those things have made his oeuvre quite popular with the worldwide festival crowd. "Body Shop" is my first SCUD viewing, but it certainly will not be my last. The film begins with a series of sexual assaults on a young man who then hangs himself, becoming a rather horny ghost who possesses and haunts living bodies (sometimes of unfaithful lovers), journeying from Taiwan to Japan to Spain to Thailand. And that's just for starters. There's also a parallel plot involving a business that allows the bequeathing of human body parts. Evoking Pasolini at his most enigmatic, this mesmerizing work will have you craving a second viewing. In Cantonese, Japanese, Spanish, Thai and English, with English subtitles.

'Blue Jean'

Rosy McEwen's understated, yet potent, performance anchors Georgia Oakley's impressive debut feature, "Blue Jean," set in late '80s England and centered on a closeted gym teacher forced to live a double life, always fearful that her sexual orientation will be exposed and cause her to lose her job. Many queer people today do not realize that just a few decades ago this was the frightening norm. Thatcher's terribly conservative government promoted homophobia (as did Reagan's here in the U.S.), and this film captures that anxiety-ridden time and milieu perfectly. "Blue Jean" ends on a hopeful and transcendent note of defiance, one of the many admirable aspects of this terrific, truly engrossing film.

'Chrissy Judy'

A worldwide queer festival favorite, Todd Flaherty's exquisite first feature, "Chrissy Judy," is a deceptively simple story about two queer friends who find themselves estranged and must navigate life without their respective better half. Queer cinematic force Flaherty wrote, directed, produced, edited, and stars in the films as NY drag artist Judy on a journey of self-discovery after his bestie, Chrissy (Wyatt Fenner), abandons him. Gorgeously photographed in black and white by Brendan Flaherty, this dark comedy digs deep in its exploration of a fragile soul and his stumbles and falls – and the results are exhilarating. Flaherty the director is assured and bold in his choices. Flaherty the writer is incisive, sassy, and authentic, taking stereotypes and inverting them. Flaherty the actor is mesmerizing.

'The Blue Caftan'

Maryam Touzani's "The Blue Caftan," Morocco's shortlisted International Oscar entry, is an exquisitely-crafted meditation on love in a world where same-sex desire could mean alienation, prison – even death. Halim (Salem Bakri) is a devoted husband to his ailing wife, Mina (Lubna Azabal). His suppressed yearning for men only manifests in brief trysts at the local bathhouse. Halim is a master tailor who handcrafts his work, a dying art. The couple hire the young, attractive Youssef (Ayoub Missioui) to apprentice, and feelings develop between the two men. Touzani has woven together a sensitive, graceful, touching work about repression, connection, and acceptance. All three actors are extraordinary. In Arabic, with English subtitles.

'El Houb' ('The Love')

Shariff Nasr's incredibly poignant and funny film, "El Houb (The Love)," examines the world of Karim (Fahd Larhzaoui), a Moroccan-Dutch man who is forced to come out to his uber-conservative Muslim parents and his homophobic brother. Their outrage force Karim to literally lock himself in the family closet as he attempts to reach them and change narrow minds. He also ruminates on the damage his repression has done to his own life. "El Houb" is a captivating, urgent film about having the courage to be one's true self in the face of hatred and adversity (cultural/religious). The final moments are transcendent. In English, Arabic, and Dutch, with English subtitles.

'Joyland'

Pakistani director Saim Sadiq's debut feature, "Joyland," takes a brutally honest look at the horrific consequences brought on by the patriarchal mindset. The film centers a too-nice, closeted young man, Haider (a terrific Ali Junejo), who is ill-treated by his father and brother for not being strong and manly. Haider takes on a job at an erotic theater as a dancer (which he is hilariously bad at) and falls for one of the show's divas, who happens to be trans (Alina Kahn). Haider is in a sexless marriage, and his wife longs for a different life. All three characters (and even Haider's father) are desperate for sexual fulfillment, but unable to find it because of the dictates governing their worlds. This stunning film, which made the Oscar shortlist this past year, is a call for acceptance and understanding. In Punjabi and Urdu, with subtitles.

'Mutt'

Feña (Lío Mehiel) is a young trans guy still coming to terms with his past while navigating life in NYC, as well as dealing with familial issues, when he runs into his ex, John (Cole Doman). The two fall into old patterns as they navigate new realities. Vuk Lungulov-Klotz's lovingly dissects a complicated relationship in her directorial debut, "Mutt," and, along with Mehiel's modulated performance, shows us what the in-betweenness of trans life is like. Doman is deeply affecting. The film could have explored the central relationship a bit more, but Mehiel and Doman are so good that they transcend the limitations of the script.

'Big Boys'

Writer-director Corey Sherman has crafted a sweet and affectionate coming-of-age tale about an overweight teen boy who is sometimes shy, sometimes blatheringly overbearing, and coming to terms with his burgeoning feelings of desire for men – specifically, one dude. In "Big Boys," 14-year-old Jamie (Isaac Krasner) goes on a camping trip with his obnoxiously hetero brother Will (Taj Cross) and his favorite cousin, Allie (Dora Madison). But Allie brings along a new boyfriend, bear-like Dan (David Johnson III), who Jamie initially resents for infringing on the "family" outing. But he quickly finds himself desiring Dan, and trying to figure out what to do with those feelings. Sherman's film is subtle and careful (sometimes too careful), but also loving and sympathetic.

'Youtopia'

Scout Durwood's "Youtopia" is irreverent, entertaining, insightful, and madcap – for starters! This hilarious concoction weaves 11 music videos into a zany narrative about a young millennial woman who, after being dumped by her girlfriend, starts her own self-involved cult called "Scoutopia." Durwood is the writer-director-star, and she is a gleaming beacon delivering a much-needed message about our current Us vs. Them social/political/cultural climate, without ever devolving into polemics.