TIGLFF's
2021 Valentine's Day Viewing Guide
Whether you are spending Valentine’s Day with your partner
or alone with a big box of chocolates …the must-have accoutrement
for this holiday is the romance film. From rom-coms to tragic
love stories, TIGLFF Director of Programming, Derek
Horne, recommends the following ten newly available romance
movies.
…And
remember to spread the love by sharing positive reviews of the
films online:
Our
Closing night film from last year’s TIGLFF which
also won our Jury Prize is opening on VOD this weekend. In addition
to being the official Oscar submission from France for the 2021
Academy Awards, it was just announced as a Golden Globe-nominee
in the category of Best Foreign Film. It’s truly a love story
for the ages as anyone can relate to a devoted partner trying
to surmount physical obstacles to reach the person they love.
The two French actresses playing Nina and Madeleine are très
magnifique. Cheer on the film and show your support by renting
it online and giving it a good review.
Rent
on Amazon here.
Colin
Firth (A Single Man) and Stanley Tucci (Big Night)
play a gay couple who are travelling across England in their
old RV to visit friends and family one last time after one of
the men is diagnosed with dementia. Longtime friends in real-life,
these two actors convincingly portray a deep emotional bond
in this moving drama about enduring love.
This film is currently playing in local theaters including the
AMC Sundial in St. Pete and Cinébistro in Hyde Park. It will
be available online starting February 16.
More info at: https://www.supernovamovie.com/watch-at-home/
Vanessa
Kirby (The Crown) and Katherine Waterston (Inherent
Vice) star in this 1850’s period piece about a secret affair
between two married women who live in the rural countryside
of New York. After winning the Queer Lion award at the Venice
Film Festival, the film played at the Sundance Film Festival
this week. It is a breathtakingly beautiful and poetic movie
with stunning performances by the two lead actresses. After
a somber opening, the film brightens up when the two women meet
and it escalates into a forbidden romance.
This film opens in theaters on Friday, February 12 (including
the AMC Sundial in St. Pete and Cinébistro in Hyde Park) and
then will be available online starting March 2.
More info at: https://bleeckerstreetmedia.com/the-world-to-come
Another
19th century lesbian love story, but this one is set on the
Dorset Coast of England and imagines a passionate romance between
British paleontologist Mary Anning (played by Kate Winslet)
and geologist Charlotte Murchison (played by Saoirse Ronan).
Although there is no historical proof of their love affair any
more than there is proof that Mary Anning inspired the tongue-twister
“She sells seashells by the seashore,” this film makes a hopeful
statement on women who chose to remain free from the societal
restrictions (and the tight corsets) of the Victorian era. The
film is directed by Francis Lee, whose previous film God’s
Own Country portrayed a romance between two men set in the
Yorkshire Moors of England and won him the directing award at
the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. His new film Ammonite
premiered at the 2020 Toronto Film Festival and is now available
to watch online.
Rent on Amazon here
An
audience favorite from last year’s TIGLFF, this Ramadan
Rom-Com tells the story of a gay Muslim man who meets an All-American
white guy. Over a series of nightly Iftars (the traditional
evening meals eaten by Muslims during Ramadan) the two men discover
they have more in common than meets the eye. Breaking
Fast was just released online last month.
Rent
on Amazon here.
If you enjoyed Breaking Fast you can support them
on IMDB by rating the film, and writing a positive comment!
And give a thumbs-up on Google,
and YouTube!
Also
from last year’s TIGLFF, First Blush is
about a woman’s bisexual awakening when she and her husband
add another woman to their relationship. Refreshingly written
and acted, this humorously humanistic film takes us from the
euphoric highs of their first threesome to the dejected lows
of their conscious un-throupling to a balance in between. First
Blush was just released online this month.
Rent on Amazon here.
The
winner of TIGLFF’s Audience Award last October, is a
love letter to PFLAG Moms, as two-time Oscar nominee Jacki Weaver
portrays a conservative church choir director who inherits her
gay son’s drag club. She has an epiphany, falls in love with
her new-found community, and even has a little romance of her
own.
This feel-good, music-filled comedy is available to rent
on Amazon or stream for free with a free
trial subscription to Starz here.
Originally
titled Sell By, this film was the Opening Night film
of TIGLFF 2019 and is now available to watch online. Almost
Love is a playful ensemble rom-com following a group
of friends in New York City as they pursue new loves and try
to salvage old relationships. Like a box of chocolates, the
sheer variety of amusing situations, humorous vignettes and
charming characters should satisfy your craving for some sugar-coated
romance. It’s a bit like the queer version of Love Actually,
except the gay couple are the central characters in the story
instead of on the periphery.
View this with a Netflix subscription or rent on Amazon
here.
Yes,
it’s an episodic series, but each episode is only 15 minutes
long, so with seven episodes in the first season it is literally
like one feature-length film. The lovably sexy Zoe Levin and
the adorably irresistible Brendan Scannell star in this comically
kinky and quirky series about a psychology student turned dominatrix
Tiff (a.k.a. Mistress May) and her gay assistant Peter who is
an aspiring stand-up comedian. Perverse and poignant at the
same time, the title is a double-entendre that refers to their
line of work as well as their evolving friendship. The second
season was just released last month and makes for an addictive
binge-fest.
Watch
this series on Netflix here.
More
Info on TIGLFF Please Visit:
https://tiglff.com/