Movies
‘I Am Samuel’: A family portrait too real for Kenya?
Country banned LGBTQ-themed documentary

If there has been one thing missing in LGBTQ storytelling for a while it has been the framing of LGBTQ people as cogs in greater family mechanisms. The 2020 Kenyan film “I Am Samuel” not only fills this gap but also disrupts how stories of African people of marginalized sexual orientations have been told to the world. When Peter Murimi started chronicling this story over five years ago, he might have imagined that his locale would be primed to receive it as Kenya has a thriving human rights activist scene. This was not the case, and his intimate family portrait was banned from being screened in its proverbial motherland.
When you hear that a film has been banned you immediately think that it contains gratuitous displays of something or the other that go against the fabric of the country or humanity in general. In dictatorial states you might think the film to be excessively progressive. With the film in question, neither one of these things is the case. If anything, Murimiās telling of Samuelās story is in service of nationwide unification. While the principal characters are Sammy and Alex, whom he calls āthe love of my lifeā in the first minute of dialogue in the film, the story really is about the strength and value of family ties with Sammyās aging parents.
The Kenya Film Classification Boardās penchant for banning films it expects to sway people towards cultural enlightenment, what it would frame as corruption of morals, is nothing new at this point with regards to LGBTQ-centric films. This very board banned Wanuri Kahiuās internationally acclaimed “Rafiki”, which was released in Cannes in 2018, due to its āhomosexual themes.ā The case built around “I Am Samuel”, however, is a different one since it shows Sammyās gayness not as rebellion but as affirming his truthāsomething that his parents grow to not fault him for. In their justification of why Murimiās film violates the Films and Stage Plays Act, the acting CEO Christopher Wambua pointedly stated that “additionally, the film tries to influence the viewer into believing that the older generation that was once against LGBTQ+ is slowly buying into the practice and accepting same-sex marriage as a normal the way of life.”
What is sad, yet not unsurprising, about Wambuaās statement is that it reminds us that homophobia is as inherited as colorism in Africa and across former colonies. Given the chance to see what elders growing into their acceptance of what they had been conditioned to believe is foreign, even if they knew better than to buy into that lie, it would appear that Kenyaās moralistic cultural gatekeepers refuse to engage in the decolonial project one of their own, NgÅ©gÄ© wa Thiong’o, continues to challenge the world toward. What Murimi offers in this family portrait is for Kenyans, Africans and all those conditioned to believe that hating one of their own is intrinsic to self-preservation, to view the protagonistās life from the perspective of the aunt/uncle/cousin/sister/mother/father who is in fact their confidante. Murimi allows viewers to see a family thrown into turmoil by the revelation of someoneās truth, and to watch as each party grows to learn how to coexist with the other in an effort to rebuild the tangible love they once had, which is now just hidden behind shame and misunderstanding.
“I Am Samuel” isnāt without expressions romance, sexuality and attraction. When Sammyās father professes that he was happy that heād found his āsweetieā and he wants the same thing for his son, you feel both bashful and pitiful. Sammyās parents, being aging subsistence farmers, are the Africans of anthropologic development reports the West feeds its colonialist appetite with, but Murimi gives them a chance at being multidimensionalābeing people who not only suffer their environment, but also have histories that donāt involve the hardships of their present. Similarly, this film does away with many of the hallmarks of “third world LGBTQ documentaries” in that it really is just about Sammyās life and doesnāt try to paint a broad-stroke picture of how gay men live in Nairobi or rural Kenya.
The commitment that Sammy and Alex show to each other is also given its space without dramatization. Their personal hardships are mundane. What strikes the viewer, however, is that this documentary is not sanitized from the horrors that state-endorsed homophobia can bring to peopleās lives. A case of mistaken identity resulting in unwarranted scars for one of their friends is a reminder that generalist understandings and portrayals of LGBTQ people are dangerous and can be life threatening.
“I Am Samuel” is a timely offering to the world of LGBTQ storytelling in that itās a story of perseverance, acceptance, teaching, mundanity, destiny, faith and simple humanity. The film is by no means a finished story, Murimi doesnāt venture to envelope it in fancy facts or Aristotelian catharsisāwe are left with where the family that we spend the good part of an hour getting to understand are at the point the screen fades to black. We are left hoping that the family unit is able to re-imagine its future. Where questions of offspring might otherwise be framed through surrogacy or adoption, we understand that these are socio-economic privileges that donāt immediately apply in this particular family. We are left hoping that the health of the elders improves and they get to celebrate many more harvests and muse over wedding photos and cake. “I Am Samuel” is the kind of African story that shelves being brave in favor of being seen as human by those closest to you and many families need it. Whether they are in Kenya, Botswana, Russia or the U.S., they need it.
“I Am Samuel” premiered across Africa on Oct. 14 on Afridocs’ website, and the producers invite you to stream it there for free!
Movies
Sexy small town secrets surface in twisty French āMisericordiaā
A deliciously depraved story with finely orchestrated tension

The name Alain Guiraudie might not be familiar to most Americans, but if you mention āStranger by the Lake,ā fans of great cinema (and especially great queer cinema) are sure to recognize it immediately as the title of the French filmmakerās most successful work to date.
The 2013 thriller, which earned a place in that yearās āUn Certain Regardā section of the Cannes Film Festival and went on to become an international success, mesmerized audiences with its tense and erotically charged tale of dangerous attraction between two cruisers at a gay beach, one of whom may or may not be a murderer. Taut, mysterious, and transgressively explicit, its Hitchcockian blend of suspense, romance, and provocative psychological exploration made for a dark but irresistibly sexy thrill ride that was a hit with both critics and audiences alike.
In the decade since, heās continued to create masterful films in Europe, becoming a favorite not only at Cannes but other prestigious international festivals. His movies, each in their own way, have continued to elaborate on similar themes about the intertwined impulses of desire, fear, and violence, and his most recent work ā āMisericordia,ā which began a national rollout in U.S. theaters last weekend ā is no exception; in fact, it draws all the familiar threads together to create something that feels like an answer to the questions heās been raising throughout his career. To reach it, however, he concocts a story of small town secrets and hidden connections so twisted that it leaves a whole array of other questions in its wake.
It centers on JĆ©rĆ©mie (FĆ©lix Kysyl), an unemployed baker who returns to the woodsy rustic village where he spent his youth for the funeral of his former boss and mentor. Welcomed into the dead manās home by his widow, Martine (Catherine Frot), the visitor decides to extend his stay as he reconnects to his old home town and his memories. His lingering presence, however, triggers jealousy and suspicion from her son ā and his own former school chum ā Vincent (Jean-Baptiste Durand), who fears he has ulterior motives, while his sudden interest in another old acquaintance, Walter (David Ayala), only seems to make matters worse. It doesnāt take long before circumstances erupt into a violent confrontation, enmeshing JĆ©rĆ©mie in a convoluted web of danger and deception that somehow seems rooted in the unspoken feelings and hidden relationships of his past.
The hard thing in writing about a movie like āMisericordiaā is that thereās really not much one can reveal without spoiling some of its mysteries. To discuss its plot in detail, or even address some of the deeper issues that drive it, is nearly impossible without giving away too much. Thatās because itās a movie that, like āStranger by the Lakeā and much of Guiraudieās other work, hinges as much on what we donāt know as what we do. Indeed, in its earlier scenes, we are unsure even of the relationships between its characters. We have a sense that JĆ©rĆ©mie is perhaps a returning prodigal son, that Vincent might be his brother, or a former lover, or both, and thatās just stating the most obvious ambiguities. Some of these cloudy details are made clear, while others are not, though several implied probabilities emerge with a little skill at reading between the lines; it hardly matters, really, because as the story proceeds, new shocks and surprises come our way which create new mysteries to replace the others ā and itās all on shaky ground to begin with, because despite his status as the filmās de facto protagonist, we are never really sure what JĆ©rĆ©mieās real intentions are, let alone whether they are good or bad.
Thatās not sloppy writing, though ā itās carefully crafted design. By keeping so much of the movieās ābackstoryā shrouded in loaded silence, Guiraudie ā who also wrote the screenplay ā reminds us that we can never truly know what is in someone elseās head (or our own, for that matter), underscoring the inevitable risk that comes with any relationship ā especially when our passions overcome our better judgment. Itās the same grim theme that was at the dark heart of āStranger,ā given a (slightly) less macabre treatment, perhaps, but nevertheless there to make us ponder just how far we are willing to place ourselves in danger for the sake of getting what ā or who ā we desire.
As for who desires what in āMisericordia,ā thatās often as much of a mystery as everything else in this seemingly sleepy little village. Throughout the film, the sparks that fly between its people often carry mixed signals. Sex and hostility seem locked in an uncertain dance, and itās as hard for the audience to know which will take the lead as it is for the characters ā and if the conflicting tone of the subtext isnāt enough to make one wonder just how sexually adventurous (and fluid) these randy villagers really are beneath their polite and provincial exteriors, the unexpected liaisons that occur along the way should leave no doubt.
Yet for all its murky morality and guilty secrets, and despite its ominous motif of evil lurking behind a wholesome small-town surface, Guiraudieās pastoral film noir goes beyond all that to find a surprisingly humane layer rising above it all, for which the townās seemingly omnipresent priest (Jacques Develay) emerges to highlight in the filmās third act ā though to reveal more about that (or about him) would be one of those spoilers we like to avoid.
Thereās a clue to be found, however, in the filmās very title, which in Catholic tradition refers to the merciful compassion of God for the suffering of humanity, but can be literally translated simply as āmercy.ā Though it spends much of its time illuminating the sordid details of private human behavior, and though the journey it takes is often quite harrowing, āMisericordiaā has an open heart for all of its broken, stunted, and even toxic characters; Guiraudie treats them not as heroes or villains, but as flawed, confused, and entirely relatable human beings. In the end, we may not know all of their dirty secrets, we feel like we know them ā and in knowing them can find a share of that all-forgiving mercy for even the worst of them.
Itās worth mentioning that itās also a movie with a lot of humor, brimming with comically absurd character moments that somehow remind us of our own foibles even as we laugh at theirs. The cast, led by the opaquely sincere Kysyl and the delicately provocative Frot, forge a perfect ensemble to create the playful-yet-gripping tone of ambiguity ā moral, sexual, and otherwise ā thatās essential in making Guiraudieās sly and ultimately wise observations about humanity come across.
And come across they do ā but what makes āMisericordiaā truly resonate is that they never overshadow its deliciously depraved story, nor dilute the finely orchestrated tension his film maintains to keep your heart pounding as you take it all in.
To tell the truth, we already want to watch it again.
Movies
Stellar cast makes for campy fun in āThe Parentingā
New horror comedy a clever, saucy piece of entertainment

If youāve ever headed off for a dream getaway that turned out to be an AirBnB nightmare instead, you might be in the target audience for āThe Parentingā ā and if you also happen to be in a queer relationship and have had the experience of āmeeting the parents,ā then it was essentially made just for you.
Now streaming on Max, where it premiered on March 13, and helmed by veteran TV (āLooking,ā āMinxā) and film (āThe Skeleton Twins,ā āAlex Strangeloveā) director Craig Johnson from a screenplay by former āSNLā writer Kurt Sublette, itās a very gay horror comedy in which a young couple goes through both of those excruciatingly relatable experiences at once. And for those who might be a bit squeamish about the horror elements, we can assure you without spoilers that the emphasis is definitely on the comedy side of this equation.
Set in upstate New York, it centers on a young gay couple ā Josh (Brandon Flynn) and Rohan (Nik Dodani) ā who are happily and obviously in love, and they are proud doggie daddies to prove it. In fact, they are so much in love that Rohan has booked a countryside house specifically to propose marriage, with the pretext of assembling both sets of their parents so that each of them can meet the otherās family for the very first time. They arrive at their rustic rental just in time for an encounter with their quirky-but-amusing host (Parker Posey), whose hints that the house may have a troubling history leave them snickering.
When their respective families arrive, things go predictably awry. Rohanās adopted parents (Edie Falco, Brian Cox) are successful, sophisticated, and aloof; Joshās folks (Lisa Kudrow, Dean Norris) are down-to-earth, unpretentious, and gregarious; to make things even more awkward, the coupleās BFF gal pal Sara (Vivian Bang) shows up uninvited, worried that Rohanās secret engagement plan will go spectacularly wrong under the unpredictable circumstances. Those hiccups, and worse, begin to fray Josh and Rohanās relationship at the edges, revealing previously unseen sides of each other that make them doubt their fitness as a couple ā but theyāre nothing compared to what happens when they discover that theyāre also sharing the house with a 400-year-old paranormal entity, who has big plans of its own for the weekend after being trapped there alone for decades. To survive ā and to save their marriage before it even happens ā they must unite with each other and the rest of their feuding guests to defeat it, before it uses them to escape and wreak its evil will upon the world.
Drawing from a long tradition of āhaunted houseā tropes, āThe Parentingā takes to heart its heritage in this campiest-of-all horror settings, from the gathering of antagonistic strangers that come together to confront its occult secrets to the macabre absurdity of its humor, much of which is achieved by juxtaposing the arcane with the banal as it filters its supernatural clichĆ©s through the familiar trappings of everyday modern life; secret spells can be found in WiFi passwords instead of ancient scrolls, the noisy disturbances of a poltergeist can be mistaken for unusually loud sex in the next room, and the shocking obscenities spewed from the mouth of a malevolent spectre can seem as mundane as the homophobic chatter of your Boomer uncle at the last family gathering.
At the same time, itās a movie that treats its āhookā ā the unpredictable clash of personalities that threatens to mar any first-time meeting with the family or friends of a new partner, so common an experience as to warrant a separate sub-genre of movies in itself ā as something more than just an excuse to bring this particular group of characters together. The interpersonal politics and still-developing dynamics between each of the three couples centered by the plot are arguably more significant to the filmās purpose than the goofy details of its backstory, and it is only by navigating those treacherous waters that either of their objectives (combining families and conquering evil) can be met; even Sara, who represents the chosen family already shared by the movieās two would-be grooms, has her place in the negotiations, underlining the perhaps-already-obvious parallels that can be drawn from a story about bridging our differences and rising above our egos to work together for the good of all.
Of course, most horror movies (including the comedic ones) operate with a similar reliance on subtext, serving to give them at least the suggestion of allegorical intent around some real-world issue or experience ā but one of the key takeaways from āThe Parentingā is how much more satisfyingly such narrative formulas can play when the movie in question assembles a cast of Grade-A actors to bring them to life, and this one ā which brings together veteran scene-stealers Falco, Kudrow, Cox, Norris, and resurgent āitā girl Posey, adding another kooky characterization to a resume full of them ā plays that as its winning card. Theyāre helped by Sublettās just-intelligent-enough script, of course, which benefits from a refusal to take itself too seriously and delivers plenty of juicy opportunities for each of its actors to strut their stuff, including the hilarious Bang; but itās their high-octane skills that bring it to life with just the right mix of farcical caricature and redeeming humanity. Heading the pack as the movieās main couple, the exceptional talent and chemistry of Dodani and Flynn help them hold their own among the seasoned ensemble, and make it easy for us to be invested enough in their couplehood to root for them all the way through.
As for the horror, though Johnsonās movie plays mostly for laughs, it does give its otherworldly baddie a certain degree of dignity, even though his menace is mostly cartoonish. Indeed, at times the film is almost reminiscent of an edgier version of āScooby-Dooā, which is part of its goofy charm, but its scarier moments have enough bite to leave reasonable doubt about the possibility of a happy ending. Even so, āThe Parentingā likes its shocks to be ridiculous ā itās closer to āBeetlejuiceā than to āThe Shiningā in tone ā and anyone looking for a truly terrifying horror film wonāt find it here.
What they will find is a brisk, clever, saucy, and yes, campy piece of entertainment that will keep you smiling almost all the way through its hour-and-a-half runtime, with the much-appreciated bonus of an endearing queer romance ā and a refreshingly atypical one, at that ā at its heart. And if watching it in our current political climate evokes yet another allegory in the mix, about the resurgence of an ancient hate during a gay coupleās bid for acceptance from their families, well maybe thatās where the horror comes in.
Movies
Indie filmmaking is the gift that keeps giving this season
Jacob Elordi delivers strong performance in āOn Swift Horsesā

With all the anti-LGBTQ bias currently being forced down Americaās throat by its own government, you might think that the coming season would be bringing us slim pickings when it comes to movies by, for, and/or about our community.
As the list of highlights weāve compiled for you below clearly shows, you would be wrong. While there are few big studio offerings among them (are there ever?), we are happy to say that the blessing of indie filmmaking is a gift that keeps shining through, with several titles from outside the dominant mainstream system to pique your interest until the summer blockbusters come rolling out.
Young Hearts (March 14, limited release) A Belgian-Dutch co-production that racked up an impressive number of awards and prizes on the festival circuit, this queer coming-of-age story centers on a rural 14-year old (Lou Goossens) who befriends a new neighbor boy (Marius De Saeger) from the big city and finds himself falling in love for the first time. Described by its director (Anthony Schattemen, in his feature filmmaking debut) as a movie he āneeded or wanted to see” in his own youth, itās a queer-centered romance with universal appeal for viewers of all ages, who will easily recognize the strong emotions it evokes as it explores the struggle of of growing up while trying to discover your own identity. Goossensā performance has been widely praised, as has Schattemanās direction, and its suitability for family viewing makes it an even more appealing choice in a time when young queer people might be feeling particularly in need of positive messaging.
Pet Shop Days (March 14, limited release) Another European festival contender, this UK romantic thriller directed by Olmo Schnabel centers on an impulsive young immigrant (DarĆo Yazbek Bernal) who flees his wealthy Mexican family and lands in New York, where he becomes involved with a young pet shop clerk (Jack Irv) and is drawn into an underworld of crime and unrestrained vice. A sexy romance bolstered by the presence of several acclaimed screen veterans ā including Willem Dafoe, Peter Saarsgard, and Emmanuelle Seigner ā and with the prestige of a Venice Film Festival premiere behind it, it has a built-in appeal for queer cinema buffs.
A Nice Indian Boy (April 4) From Independent Spirit Award-winning director Roshan Sethi comes another touch of queer romance, though its premise ā an Indian-American doctor (Koran Soni) falls in love with a white art photographer (Jonathan Groff) and takes him home to win the approval of his deeply traditional immigrant family ā is arguably just as stressful as a crime drama set in the underbelly of NYC. Even so, it comes with a collection of enthusiastic reviews from its festival run, and offers a refreshing twist on the āculture clashā rom-coms that typically deliver the reverse ethnic dynamic when it comes to the challenge of bringing someone from outside the community to āmeet the parents.ā It also offers the charms of both Tony-winner Groff and Soni (āAbbott Elementaryā), whose chemistry only enhances their ācute coupleā appeal. Sunita Mani, Harish Patel, and Zarna Garg also star.
The Wedding Banquet (April 18) One of the highest-profile queer big screen prospects of the season is yet another rom-com, but this one is also a remake. Out gay Korean-American filmmaker Andrew Ahn (āSpa Night,ā āFire Islandā) helms a reinvention of Ang Leeās now-classic āmarriage-of-convenienceā comedy of the same name in which two same-sex couples (Bowen Yang and Han Gi-Chan, Lily Gladstone and Kelly Marie Tran) concoct a ālavender weddingā for a green card in exchange for in vitro fertilization, only to find themselves trapped into an elaborate, traditional Korean marriage ceremony by the closeted-at-home groomās revered grandmother (Oscar-winner Youn Yuh-jung). Well received at its Sundance premiere earlier this year, and also featuring acclaimed veteran actress Joan Chen (āLust, Caution,ā āTwin Peaks,ā āDidiā) as the mother of the bride, this one has serious potential to become the must-see rom-com – queer or otherwise ā of the season.
On Swift Horses (April 25) A literary adaptation – from the eponymous novel by Shannon Pufahl – set in post-Korean War California, this romantic drama revolves around a returning veteran (Will Poulter) eager to start a brand new life with his bride (Daisy Edgar-Jones); when his younger brother (Jacob Elordi) joins them, the trio form a family together – but both bride and brother have secret desires that remain unmet, leading each to explore their individual romantic and sexual impulses and threatening to pull the happy household apart. Highly touted after its 2024 Toronto Film Festival premiere, this one reportedly boasts āitā boy Elordiās strongest performance to date (along with some steamy scenes shared with Diego Calva as his clandestine lover) and gives equal time to the ladies by pairing Edgar-Jones with Sasha Calle as her own secret same-sex flame. Along with āThe Wedding Banquet,ā this is probably the most-anticipated queer movie of the year so far. Directed by Daniel Minahan.
Lilies Not for Me (TBA) Though its release date hasnāt been set yet, this multinational production from first-time director Will Seefried is worth watching out for. Another period piece, this one follows an aspiring novelist (Fionn OāShea) in 1920s England who enters a medical facility to undergo āconversion therapyā for his homosexuality. It might sound like a horror film, but itās really a drama that unwinds the complex psychological process of coming to terms with your sexual identity, and the connections between past, present, and future which trace the path toward acceptance. Also starring Erin Kellyman, Robert Aramayo, Louis Hoffman, and Jodi Balfour.
-
Movies4 days ago
Sexy small town secrets surface in twisty French āMisericordiaā
-
The White House3 days ago
USCIS announces it now only recognizes ‘two biological sexes’
-
Federal Government5 days ago
Mass HHS layoffs include HIV/AIDS prevention, policy teams
-
Argentina4 days ago
LGBTQ seniors in Argentina face uncertain future