BFI Flare Dream Team: Most Anticip-...

As has become tradition here at OBSCURAE, we asked our newly formed BFI Flare Dream Team to give us their most anticipated titles on their docket for the festival. Here's a little intro to each of them – some new faces, and some very familiar ones!

Celeste (She/her)

Remote Correspondent

"The World According to Allee Willis" - I can't believe I hadn't heard of this woman before, she wrote so many iconic songs and was a multi-creative on top of that! Combining art and technology and everything in between, what an inspiration/motivation!

"Really Happy Someday." - As a musical theatre nerd this one is particularly close to my heart. While there are many stories about singers losing and regaining their voice, best recent example 'Maria' - with Angelina Jolie, this story explores a different nuance and I'm excited to see how they're gonna execute it!

Lucie (She/her)

On-the-Ground Written Correspondent

"I Saw The TV Glow" - I thought Jane Schoenbrun's last film We're All Going to the World's Fairwas interesting and thought provoking, and have heard really good things about this, their newest film - plus, I missed out on seeing it in general release, so very excited to get another chance to catch it!

"Lucky, Apartment" - I found the synopsis of this one so intriguing! I have recently moved into a new flat myself, so this situation sounds like my personal nightmare!

Jack (He/they)

Remote Correspondent, Santa Barbara

My most anticipated films for the BFI Flare Festival are the Sporty Spice shorts collection. The shorts listed will feature trans women boxers, lesbian horse whisperers, and homoerotic locker room drama. What more can you want?

Juana (She/her)

Red Carpet and Video Correspondent

Among my most anticipated films, Hot Milk is definitely at the top of my list. It marks Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s directorial debut, and I’m really curious to see how she translates her writing into filmmaking. I’ve really enjoyed her work in theater—some of her plays have been staged at the National Theatre—and she also co-wrote Disobedience, which I loved.

Another film I’m really looking forward to is If I Die, It’ll Be of Joy. I deeply appreciate stories that center elderly queer people—it’s something we don’t see nearly enough in media, and it always gets me emotional. Representation like this is so important, and I’m eager to see how this film approaches it.

And as a bonus, The Wedding Banquet! It’s hard to put into words, but I feel like its themes resonate with my current life in a really personal way. Plus, I have a feeling it’ll be both hilarious and deeply moving—something about it just speaks to me.

Umnia (She/her/any)

Editor-in-Chief and Written/Video Correspondent

I mean, besides "The Wedding Banquet" with the Bowen Yang? "Heightened Scrutiny". I mean, I'm a politics girlie at my core – and Chase Strangio is at the vanguard of civil rights protections in the USA. With a double bill alongside a Short about the legendary Zooey Zephyr, directed by Kimberly Reed (the same director, I believe, of "I'm Your Venus"), I'm eagerly awaiting the chance to go deeper and get more informed about the work both of them are doing, especially as Trans civil rights are being removed here in the UK.