Longtime Companion

For this episode along with my guest will be dissecting Derek Jarman’s historical, religious, but ultimately queer debut Sebastiane.

Released in 1976, is set in a sun drenched rocky coast line of the Mediterranean island of Sardinian. With a dialogue entirely in Latin, Sebastiane tells the story of the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian.

The film is not a biopic by any means but more of a queer BDSM interpretation of this biblical story. The film, was seen as one of the first unlicensed ‘underground’ queer films, which was allowed into the public spaces of commercial cinema and television and one that featured positive images of gay sexuality, in comparison to previously released queer films. But also, interestingly it was also the first ever film passed by the British Board of Film Censors that depicted an erect penis.

To talk to me about the film, I invited along film critic and writer Robert Stinner. It’s a conversation I very much enjoyed where we able to discuss in depth the films audacious homoeroticism, its timelessness and its influence on future queer filmmaking.

Thank you for listening!

Music: James Jones @james-jones-music

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Paris 05:09 Theo and Hugo (2016)

Dir. Oliver Ducastel and Jacques Martineau

For this episode will be talking about the film Paris 05:09 Theo and Hugo. Released in April 2015, Theo and Hugo is directed by French director duo and real-life couple Oliver Ducastel and Jacques Martineau.

The film stands out for its striking with its 20-minute opening scene which takes place in a Parisian gay sex club, where we are privy to a continuous un-simulated orgy. Visuals which feature copious amounts of naked male flesh and erect penises in all manner of sexual positions. What is most interesting, despite the scene's explicitness it never feels gratuitous, exploitative, or unnecessary. Theo and Hugo explores ever so delicately the boundaries of what is deemed pornographic in the context of arthouse cinema.

Once out the sex club, the film takes a romantic trajectory but one with a twist as the protagonist couple traverse through the Parisian night. The revelation of Hugo’s HIV status complicates matters for the new-found lovers, but in doing so brings forth vital discussions around HIV and gay relationships in the modern world of pep and prep, scarcely explored cinematically elsewhere.

For this episode, I invited back on film critic Gary Kramer. I hope you enjoy our discussion as much as I did. Thank you for listening!

Music: James Jones @james-jones-music

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Greek Pete (2009)

Dir. Andrew Haigh

Greek Pete is a documentary /mockumentary drama released in 2009. It is the debut film by British director Andrew Haigh, who’s camera gains unfettered access into the day-to-day existence of gay male escort Pete Pittaros. Filming him over a prolonged period time, documenting all aspects of his life. From the interactions with clients, his relationship, his friendships, his ambitions, his contradictions, his work ethic, to his family and his immigrant background.

Without it ever being exploitative or judgemental, Haigh’s first feature is a bold, in-depth character study which highlights the life of an individual who functions very much in the periphery. The film is indicative what is to become Haigh’s signature style, a reserved observing style which simultaneously feels very intimate. In Greek Pete he zooms in on the mundaneness of Pete’s life in equal measures as the more extraordinary moments. Scenes of Pete doing house chores muster the same sensation as a full-on explicit sex scene with a client. Further having Pete at points, just ramble on at the camera, he manages to capture what lies beneath the muscled, sexed-up, ambitious bravado, which is a sensitive, young, immature soul, still trying to make sense of his life.

Joining me on this episode is film critic Gary Kramer who boldly agreed to talk to me about the film. Gary has extensively written about queer films and his writing can currently be seen in Salon.com, Gay City News, San Francisco Bay Times, Philadelphia Gay News, The Queer Archives etc

Thank you for listening.

Music: James Jones @james-jones-music

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Martyr (2018)

When I attended BFI Flare a few years back, I came across a Lebanese film by filmmaker Mazen Khaled called Martyr which left quite an imprint on me. I was taken aback by its beauty and its meditative pace which along with its deliberate experimental flourishes created an immersive drama which subtly commented on Lebanese society and further contemplating ritualistic traditions, specifically around tragedy and death.

Mazen’s choice of mise-en-scene in some moments is reminiscent of a renaissance painting, filtered through a Middle Eastern lens, telling the story of disenfranchised young man Hassan from Beirut, who sees an abrupt end to his life when in act of peacocking, jumps into the Beirut corniche, the city’s rocky seaside promenade. And what follows is a continuous, flowing montage of transporting Hassan’s dead body from the water through the city to his parents’ house.  

In retrospect I feel what captured my attention was the film’s tantalising homoerotism even if its subject matter isn’t necessarily queer. With copious amounts of explicit male flesh, predominantly of Hassan’s body, as well as his friend’s and an abundance of scenes of non-sexual physical intimacy between them. I felt that Mazen boldly queerizes a traditional Islamic tradition yet simultaneously highlighted my own affected Western gaze, which is perhaps narrow-minded in its view of male intimacy.I had the privilege  a few weeks back to chat with the director himself, now based in Florida, over zoom. Where he filled me in on the whole process of making Martyr, its unintentional queerness and the meaning of martyrdom in Islam. 

Music: James Jones @james-jones-music

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Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)

This episode is once again horror themed episode where I am joined again by Jonny Long, a visual artist and filmmaker, to discuss and dissect possibly one of the queerest horrors ever, Nightmare on Elm Street2: Freddy Revenge.

The film is the second installment of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and features antagonistic figurehead Freddy Kruger, a malevolent spirit of a child killer who usually plagues and kills people in their dream. His signature burnt face, red and green stripe jumper and trademark metal-clawed, brown leather glove has become the symbol for 80s horror.

A film very characteristic of this golden decade horror, but not just in its horror but also in the setting of the high school and the subsequent stereotypical high-school dynamics, depicting teenagers as high highly sexualized. Yet simultaneously inadvertently or maybe not so inadvertently as we will discover, Freddy’s Revenge is a very gay film, with a copious examples of examples not so subtle subtext, touching upon anxieties present in the time of release in 1985 in the backdrop of the AIDS crisis and a Republican conservative America

Links: substack.com/daniel-theophanous

Music: James Jones @james-jones-music

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The Haunting (1963)

Directed by Robert Wise, it tells the story of a haunted house, centred around a group of individuals who for a research project gather and spend time at the house in a bid to prove the presence of paranormal activity. It’s a film that has influenced the horror genre greatly, spawning, reinterpretations, and remakes, including a Netflix series.

Horror is a fertile genre for queer depictions. In the past horror filmmakers visualised queerness and ‘the other’ as monsters or vampires, in a bid to talk about queer topics. Beings that were dangerous and threatening to religious values, the family unit and society in general. Yet, is not the case with the representation in The Haunting, which is now seen as a subtle queer gem

The film's queerness lies with the character Theodora (Claire Bloom) an empowered, modern, independent woman, the antithesis of the usual queer depictions (of the time and since) portrayed either as monstrous or predatory or is these depressed meek individuals. In the podcast we further look at her relationship and possible mutual attraction with the film's protagonist Nell (Julia Harris).

For this episode we invited along visual artist and animator Jonny Long, where we investigate both the film's queer and horror credentials.

Links: substack.com/daniel-theophanous

Music: James Jones @james-jones-music

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For this episode we chat with writer/ film critic Marina Ashioti about Greek film Attenberg by director Athina Rachel Tsangari.

Released in 2010, Attenberg was part of the Greek New Wave or otherwise known as Weird Wave, usually consisted of independent films released mid to late 00s to the early to mid 10s, reflecting a time of unprecedented economic and political upheaval in Greece. These films were seen to examine authoritarian power structures both at the national and familial level, often through the lens of an alienated protagonist, which is very much the case in Attenberg.

Attenberg's queerness is very much indebted to its unapologetically awkward protagonist Marina (Ariane Labade), who is intrinsically unable to fit into the heteronormative spaces she inhabits. Marina's predominantly asexual nature sees a sexual engagement with both women and men in a manner that's devoid of any emotion or desire. She is going through the motions, taking her mating cues from David Attenborough nature documentaries.

Links: substack.com/daniel-theophanous

Music: James Jones @james-jones-music

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We had the chance once again to interview programmer Brian Robinson to talk to us about this year's edition of the BFI Flare, taking place between 15th-26th March 2023.

Links: substack.com/daniel-theophanous

Music: James Jones @james-jones-music

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For this episode we will be talking about the Greek film Aggelos, a second instalment of what I would loosely call a series focused on films and cinematic themes from Greece and Cyprus. Aggelos is a melodrama released in 1982 by the director Giorgos Katakouzinos who reinterpreted the real-life events of a murder of a young gay man by his partner, a few years before the film.

I invited Panos Poimenidis talk to me about the film. Panos is the one half of Studio Prokopiou, who long with his partner Phillip, they create photography and art inspired by film, theatre, mythology, the club scene and social media.

Panos was a able to give me a very personal take on the film. Even if his own experiences growing up queer in Greece is 20 plus year later, he could still see the remnants of the topics addressed in Aggelos still lingering within Greek society to this day.

Please note there are spoilers in our discussion.

Links: https://substack.com/daniel-theophanous

Music: James Jones @james-jones-music

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For this episode where I had the chance to chat with Diego Aparicio the founder and festival director of Cyprus’ LGBTQIA+ film festival Queerwave. The festival is now in its third edition and is currently running from 25th of November till the 4th of December in venues around the capital Nicosia showing 16 long features and with over 55 shorts.

We talked with Diego of how the festival is seeking out its own identity by providing a platform for creative queer voices locally and internationally.

Links: https://substack.com/daniel-theophanous

Music: James Jones @james-jones-music

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