FIRE!! 2024 – Advanced programming
We preview 5 titles from FIRE!! 2024
L’Arche de Noé (Under the Rainbow)
Dir.: Bryan Marciano. France, 2023, Comedy, 103’
Cast: Valérie Lemercier, Finnegan Oldfield, Elsa Guedj, Olivier Claverie, Eli Letourneur, Fehdi Bendjima
A very disparate group of LGBTI young people in a shelter have just six months to find work, a place to live and a path to self-acceptance. For his part, Alex, on parole for having committed a minor crime, has to do a month of social service in that same LGBTI shelter. Initially very reluctant, Alex can’t help but get attached to the damaged yet exceptional and endearing youths he encounters at the shelter
Solo
Dir.: Sophie Dupuis. Canada, 2023, Drama, 101’
Cast: Théodore Pellerin, Félix Maritaud, Alice Moreault, Anne-Marie Cadieux, Vlad Alexis
Simon is a rising star in Montreal’s drag scene. When he meets Olivier, a new recruit at the cocktail bar where he performs, love is born at first sight. While Simon thinks he’s in for an electrifying love affair, a toxic and destructive dynamic develops between them. At the same time, Simon’s mother Claire, a famous opera singer, returns home to work after a 15-year absence.
Levante (Power Alley)
Dir.: Lillah Halla. Brasil, France, Uruguay, 2023, Drama, 99’
Cast: Ayomi Domenica, Loro Bardot, Grace Passô, Gláucia Vandeveld, Rômulo Braga, Larissa Siqueira
Promising Brazilian volleyball player Sofia, 17, is on the brink of a championship game for her in a gender-fluid volleyball team. When she is faced with an unwanted pregnancy, Sofia is forced to seek help in a country where abortion is criminalized in most circumstances. She then becomes the target of a fundamentalist group determined to stop her at any cost.
Unicorns
Dir.: Sally El Hosaini, James Krishna Floyd. UK, 2023, Romance, 119’
Cast: Ben Hardy, Jason Patel, Michael Karim, Saba Shiraz, Sagar Radia
Luke, a single father working as a mechanic, meets Aysha, a seductive British Indian woman. Their first kiss sets off fireworks, but Luke realizes that Aysha is an extremely feminine drag queen… Embarrassed, Luke departs. Sensing a connection, Aysha tracks Luke down and offers him a night job driving her to performance venues. The two spend time together and face the question of whether or not there is a love that can exist beyond traditional labels
Housekeeping for Beginners
Dir.: Goran Stolevski. Australia, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Poland, Serbia, United States, 2023, Drama, 107’
Cast: Anamaria Marinca, Alina Serban, Samson Selim, Vladimir Tintor, Mia Mustafa, Dzada Selim, Sara Klimoska, Rozafë Çelaj, Ajse Useini
When Suada, a Roma mom to two daughters, a rebellious teen and a five-year-old, receives a cancer diagnosis, her partner Dita faces difficult choices. Her house is a haven for young men and women, ostracized in Macedonian society for being Roma and LGTBQ. Tensions around sexuality and love take a surprising turn when Dita’s gay friend, Toni, unwillingly steps into the role of the girls’ father and Dita’s supposed fiancé.
