The Queer Gaze

Now that La Bola Negra is out in limited release, Conrad and Joe can release our thoughts from TIFF 2026.

From filmmaking (and former romantic) duo, Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, the Spanish Netflix film follows three different stories of queer men dealing with homophobia, storytelling, and living an authentic lives.

Featuring supporting turns from Penelope Cruz and Glenn Close, this is one of the most celebrated queer films of the year!

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Our 'Sad Goodbyes and Roadtrips' sub theme on films dealing with HIV & AIDS continues with Neil Armfield's 2015 adaptation of Timothy Conigrave's 1995 memoir, Holding The Man.

Is the film a mainstream reckoning for Australia's AIDS history (as local critics argued) or is simply a decent tearjerker? Conrad and Joe are divided on its success.

Plus: casting Australian acting royalty; the terrible WIG game; and that punishing ~2 hour runtime.

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Conrad and Joe have a spoiler-free discussion of Herman Yau's "based on a true story" We're Nothing At All (2026).

The film tells the story of Fai and Ike - two vulnerable men in Hong Kong who fall in love despite society's attempt to keep them down. This is cross-cut with another timeline in which a bus explosion kills 16 and injures 30. How and when will the two stories intersect?

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Our HIV & Aids sub theme on 'Sad Goodbyes and Road Trips' kicks off with Longtime Companion (1989).

What's surprising about this film is that it went theatrical! Sure, it was a struggle to shoot and finance (and there's only one actual queer in the cast), but it's something of a marvel regardless.

Plus: Speedos and young Dermot Mulroney; another Mary-Louise Parker performance; and why Campbell Scott's character Willy earns Joe's derision.

Seen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze for ~22 more minutes of spoiler-heavy discussion.

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Conrad and Joe continue their 2026 TIFF coverage with Marine Atlan's 2.5 hour feature directorial debut, La Gradiva (2026). Centering on a French school group who travel to Naples, the film is a coming of age exploration of sex, sexuality, politics, and art. Featuring a trio of leads (one of whom is explicitly queer), this was Joe's favourite film of the festival and one that lingers long after the credits.

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Conrad and Joe wrap up our 'Gay Panic' theme with Neil Jordan's The Crying Game (1992).

The film notoriously features a "trans twist" which dominated pop culture discussions, leading to a flawed legacy (to such a degree that Conrad has never revisited it before now).

On a rewatch: this is a love story with a whole act that follows Dil's revelation and, while Fergus' reaction is initially troubling, there's much more to this film than just the reveal.

Plus: exploring the theme of identity; Joe's appreciation of Jordan's filmography; skirting around the IRA and the Troubles; and celebrating Miranda Richardson's Jude.

Seen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze for ~19 more minutes of spoiler-heavy discussion.

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Conrad and Joe continue their coverage of queer texts at TIFF 2026 with an adaptation that's heavy on the queer coding: Julián (2026).

From acclaimed Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon, Louise Bagnall's adaptation of Jessica Love’s Julián Is a Mermaid is a beautiful, vibrant, gentle animated film with low-stakes conflict.

Plus: a coded Pride parade; speaking Spanish; and Joe's reading of Julián's father.

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Conrad and Joe's TIFF coverage continues with a spoiler-free look at writer/director Lukas Dhont's latest film, Coward (2026).

A love story set in the trenches of WWI, the film focuses on Belgian farmer Pierre and tailor's son Francis as they navigate their developing romance in a time when it's not acceptable to be queer.

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Our TIFF 2026 coverage continues with Bertil Nilsson's feature directorial debut Masc (2026) which explores the intersection of race, queerness, and neurodivergence.

It's a challenging and occasionally confronting film, but a rewarding one, particularly how it employs dance/chroreography to recontextualize the main character.

Seen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze another 25 minutes of spoiler-heavy discussion.

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Conrad and Joe continue our TIFF 2026 coverage with a spoiler free(ish) review of David Turpin’s Ancestors, a "dreamy" 1980s AIDS drama about Irishman Beau (Éanna Hardwicke) searching for enigmatic musician Tiny (Jack Wolfe) across parallel timelines. Also starring queer icon Rupert Everett and Christina Hendricks, this languid film aims at art cinema, but falters from a too long runtime and comparisons to other texts like Longtime Companion.

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Joe and Conrad dig into the first episode of the renowned Brazilian filmmaker Marcelo Gomes' HBO Max series Oxygen Masks Will (Not) Drop Automatically, which tells the true story of a group of flight attendants who smuggle treatment drugs from America into the hands of patients with AIDS in 1980s Brazil.

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Joe and Conrad hit the most popular of our 'Gay Panic' titles with I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (2007).

This is a film that thinks its funny because it's offensive to everyone, but really all of these actors should be put in jail.

Or maybe we're being too mean? Jessica Biel's character is clearly the moral center of the film and the movie clearly sides with queer people.

Seen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze another 15.5 minutes of spoiler-heavy discussion.

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Conrad and Joe continue our 'Gay Panic' theme with Canadian writer/director Xavier Dolan's Matthias & Maxime (2019).

It's a return to his roots for Dolan, who explores the crisis of masculinity that follows a meaningful kiss.

Plus: mocking the English language; more mommy issues; and a significant birthmark.

Seen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze another ~16.5 minutes of spoiler-heavy discussion.

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Our second entry in the 'Gay Panic' theme is John Hamburg's 2009 American bromance I Love You, Man, which we struggled to connect with.

Issues with the ending aside, there's only one joke that truly worked (credit to Thomas Lennon), though we did enjoy seeing Jon Favreau get puked on.

Mostly we just feel bad for Rashida Jones.

Seen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze for ~16.5 more minutes of spoiler-heavy discussion.

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Conrad and Joe kick off a new theme on 'Gay Panic' with a look at Lynn Shelton's Humpday (2009).

Starring Mark Duplass and The Blair Witch Project's Joshua Leonard, the film explores the intersection of intimacy and sex when estranged heterosexual friends drunkenly decide to make a sex tape as an art project.

It's a sitcom-level premise executed to surprisingly good effect (thanks to great direction and excellent lead performances).

Also: Ana is the best.

Seen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze for ~21 more minutes of spoiler-heavy discussion.

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Conrad and Joe tackle their second Jean-Marc Vallée title with 2013's Dallas Buyers Club.

Starring Matthew McConaughey (in full McConaughassance) as real life figure Ron Woodroof, this is more biopic than HIV/AIDS text.

Plus: Jennifer Garner as patron saint of queer films; bemoaning Jared Leto's presence and the depiction of a transwoman; and why the film's message about medicine is troubling.

Seen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze for ~22 more minutes of spoiler-heavy discussion.

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Conrad and Joe return to discuss the back half of Mike Nichols' multi-award winning HBO limited series, Angels in America.

Does the series pay off its lengthy time commitment? Does the visual scope of the production justify its costly expense? And who is the real villain of the piece?

Plus: Conrad's frustration with the ending; baring all (nudity!); and not caring about Mary-Louise Parker's final monologue

Seen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze for ~21 more minutes of spoiler-heavy discussion.

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Conrad and Joe drop a (mostly) spoiler-free review of writer/director Adrian Chiarella's feature debut Leviticus (2026) about two boys who fall in love in a religious community that punishes them by using their attraction against them.

It's a beautifully shot and acted film - more of a romance than a horror film, though several moments still unsettled us. Don't miss this when it plays near you!

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Settle in because we are discussing the first three episodes/hours of the HBO miniseries adaptation of Tony Kushner's Pulitzer-award winning play, Angels in America.

Directed by Mike Nichols and starring a combination of prestige A-list actors (Pacino, Thompson, Streep) and rising newcomers (Wilson, Kirk, Wright), Millennium Approaches proves to be a dense, challenging watch.

Plus: Harper's magical realism; our interest in Joe, Prior and Louis; Thompson's American accent; and how the $62M budget makes things a bit too glossy.

Seen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze for ~20 more minutes of spoiler-heavy discussion.

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We're discussing the most popular title from our slate of 1993 films depicting HIV and AIDS: Jonathan Demme's Oscar winning movie, Philadelphia.

Starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, the film is equal parts character drama (for Washington's Joe Miller), and courtroom/activist piece as Hanks' fights his discriminatory firing.

Plus: Demme's intrusive direction; Washington's (not nominated?!) performance; the film's failure to critique homophobic/uninformed beliefs; and why this film feels soooo 1993.

Seen the film or want to hear more details? Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/TheQueerGaze for ~21 more minutes of spoiler-heavy discussion.

Like the show? Rate, review and subscribe to help others find us

Follow the show on Insta and BlueSky: @thequeergaze.

Email us: thequeergazeshow@gmail.com

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