SHOWstudio's Top Picks For BFI Flare Film Festival 2025

As one of the world's leading LGBTQI+ culture events, this year's BFI Flare Film Festival (where 34 films are also set to receive their world premieres), certainly isn't for the fainthearted. From new releases to remakes of classics, there's plenty of material to cut your teeth on this March 2025 with screened films divided into three categories: Hearts, Bodies and Minds. Don't know where to turn your head first? Let the SHOWstudio team help you...

Hot Milk, Rebecca Lenkiewicz

Nothing beats the feelings I have for Hot Milk. No, not the drink, the book.

Any fan of writer Deborah Levy will be familiar with the author’s knack for making the ordinary feel absurd. Reading only a couple of pages from any of her works of fiction will make you feel like you’re waking up from a deep slumber, aware of your surroundings but also deeply confused, where you can explain events with clarity but any critical sense of understanding has fled with all else. This is especially true of the author’s 2016 novel Hot Milk in which the protagonist Sofia travels to Spain with her mother Rose to seek treatment for a condition that is never revealed to the reader. Deciding to confront Levy’s Kafkaesque penchant for channeling the farcical head on is director Rebecca Lenkiewicz (sister of SHOWstudio contributor and artist Von Wolfe) whose directorial debut sees her cast fresh light on the novel while offering the screen to stellar performances from Emma Mackey, Fiona Shaw and Vicky Krieps. Hot Milk is a great book. And Mackey, Shaw and Krieps are all great actresses. As for Rebecca Lenkiewicz, how wrong can it go? Hopefully not very.

Christina Donoghue, Art and Culture Editor

Memorabilia, Charles Lum

I’m really excited to see Memorabilia. Drawing inspiration from the late Charles Lum’s cruising diaries, the film offers a poignant, erotic exploration of a dying man’s sexual encounters across his lifetime. Entirely composed of Super 8 footage, shot by both Lum himself and long-time collaborator Todd Verow, the film promises to evoke a sense of intimacy and nostalgia through its raw, provocative imagery. I’m intrigued to see how it all comes together on screen.

Nicola Gribben, Senior Film Editor

Queens of Drama, Alexis Langlois

I’m most excited about this film because it looks like pure, unfiltered chaos - pop star vs. punk rebellion, queer spectacle, and over-the-top drama. Cannes reviews called it visually stunning and full of rock musical energy, with some saying it’s a future cult classic - and apparently, it’s deranged in the best way. Even better. I need to experience it for myself as this is exactly the kind of thing I look for in a film. Plus, I love French cinema, so this feels like a must-watch.

Kasia Williams, Project Manager

I'm Your Venus, Kimberly Reed

There are many documentaries on the programme at BFI's Flare Film festival which I'm dying to see but no question, Kimberly Reed's I'm Your Venus will be at the top of my list.

Paris Is Burning was groundbreaking in bringing attention to the New York ballroom scene, and I'm Your Venus continues that vital conversation. It’s great to see documentaries like this are being given a platform at BFI's Flare Film festival, helping to ensure the lives of figures like Venus Xtravaganza are remembered and that the ballroom scene’s cultural impact is acknowledged. Despite the profound influence and artistry of Ballroom culture, it’s been unfairly cast to the sidelines. I’m only hoping that I'm Your Venus has the power to change all that for the better.

Esme Warren, Film Editor

Peaches Goes Bananas, Marie Losier

Would Brat Summer have happened if it weren’t for Peaches? Her influence on music today is undeniable—her genre-defying sound and boundary-pushing performances have paved the way for countless artists who challenge conventions and embrace unapologetic self-expression. In Peaches Goes Bananas, director Marie Losier follows the feminist queer icon—aka Merrill Nisker—across two decades, tracing her highs and lows. While some artists soar to the mainstream, Peaches' cult status has long left her out of the spotlight as one of today's influential icons. To fully grasp her impact, one must look to her history, where every rebellious note and defiant lyric serves as a bold declaration of identity, sexuality, and artistic freedom, solidifying her legacy as a cornerstone of modern music.

Joshua Graham, Fashion Features Editor

A Night Like This, Liam Calvert

I love films that are just conversations between people and A Night Like This promises to be just that. Watching these types of films can only lead to one of two thoughts - ‘that seemed forced’ or ‘this is the most important film i’ll ever watch’. I’m excited to find out which one this would be. Also, it’s fair to say that the queer film genre was in desperate need of a Before Sunrise-esque addition to the archive. Now we have it.

Vidhi Agrawal, Editorial Intern

Ponyboi, River Gallo

River Gallo’s Ponyboi first graced the BFI Flare Film Festival in 2019. The (then) short film mapped an Intersex sex-worker’s plight to escape their life in New Jersey - with a little help from the man of their dreams. Expanding on the same concept for Ponyboi (2024), Gallo enlists Dylan O’Brien, Victoria Pedretti and Indya Moore for the feature length film in this year’s festival. Taking place over the course of 24 hours, the film is set to explore and tackle a multitude of prejudice, illegality and, of course, love.

Some early criticism accuses Ponyboi of failing to subvert its genre’s clichés, but perhaps here, that’s the point. Maybe it is by introducing Intersex characters, stories and representation in ‘familiar’ cinematic worlds that Gallo can hope to have the most impact. Either way, I’ll certainly be watching to find out for myself.

Stella Hughes, Social Media Editor

Winter Kept Us Warm, David Secter

I’m excited for the long-awaited return of Winter Kept Us Warm (1965), directed by David Secter, and I can’t wait to experience this tender portrayal of two university students grappling with love and longing on the big screen. Influenced by the cultural shifts of the 1960s and the rise of Canadian filmmakers, the film is a groundbreaking exploration of queer love and identity. After such a standout year for independent filmmaking (Anora, I’m looking at you), it’ll be a total pleasure to watch this rare piece of Canadian cinema, offering a poignant narrative of self-discovery, vulnerability, and love during a time of limited representation.

Hollie Hunsdale, Gallery Assistant

If I Die, It’ll Be of Joy, Alexis Taillant

Tackling the subject of mortality is interesting to everyone as it concerns us all, but I find it particularly special to see the subject through the lens of an older generation of people. I am excited to see and be inspired by the hope, fight and defiance that the characters in Taillant's If I Die, It’ll Be of Joy seem to have in abundance.

Michael Gossage, Art Director

The Muleteer, Isabel Cristina Fregoso

The Muleteer (La Arriera) reminds me of Princess Mononoke by Studio Ghibli in its exploration of the complex relationship between humans and nature, as well as its depiction of moral ambiguity. Set in 1930s Jalisco, The Muleteer is about a teenage girl who flees her adoptive family, disguises herself as a muleteer, and embarks on a journey to find her biological father and her freedom. The natural beauty in the film serves as both a sanctuary and a battleground, highlighting the tension between progress and preservation. Ultimately, both films leave viewers pondering the impact of human intervention in the world around us.

Denise Khoo, Digital Designer