Shadows on the Wall | Arthouse Films

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On this page: HUNKY JESUS | 10s ACROSS THE BORDERS | UCHRONIA

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 27.Mar.26

Hunky Jesus
Review by Rich Cline | 4/5

dir-scr Jennifer M Kroot
prd Brian Benson, Gerry Kim, Jennifer M Kroot
with Sister Roma, Sister Vish Knew, Sister Dana Van Equity, Honey Mahogany
Sister Bella Donna Summer, Sister Barbara Battista, Father Donal Godfrey, Sister Flora Good Thyme, Sister Zsa Zsa Glamour, Sister Missionary Position, Sister Tilda Next Time, Connie Champagne, George Takei
release UK Mar.26 flare
26/US 1h25

Now streaming...

Recounting the story of San Francisco's iconic Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, this documentary is hugely entertaining on a variety of levels. Aside from being riotously funny and drenched in vibrant colours and rapturous sunshine, the film is also remarkably informative as it both chronicles the sisters' history and explores their approach to life. Even more important is the way filmmaker Jennifer Kroot provides a series of pointed kicks.

Founded in 1979, the sisters' order is devoted to purging the guilt instilled by established religion and spreading joy. It's no surprise that their camp and resolutely queer counter-culture approach ruffles feathers, especially around their annual Easter celebration, during which they crown Hunky Jesus and Foxy Mary. Cofounder Sister Roma insists that this is not about mocking Christianity: it's about celebrating true compassion and joy. Indeed, the sisters are active in charity work that puts their critics to shame. And seeing how their history has led to such a positive outpouring of happiness is inspirational.

Overflowing with the sisters' intelligent, outrageous humour and sharp-edged sense of justice, this skilfully shot and edited doc centres around the 2023 Hunky Jesus competition, then dives down a range of sideroads to explore the sisters' history with fabulous archival footage and sparky interviews with various sisters. In addition, a real nun and priest (Battista and Godfrey) comment knowingly on controversies surrounding the sisters' more transgressive activities. Indeed, contestants who explicitly sexualise Jesus in a public park cross a line. But as Godfrey notes, this is not remotely sacrilegious compared to how the American government is abandoning poor children and even murdering them globally at the moment.

These kinds of whiplash ideas keep us thoroughly engaged as the film progresses, with a particularly moving segment about the sisters' caring activism during the Aids epidemic. They even performed a public exorcism of callous Pope John Paul II when he visited San Francisco in 1987. But their central point comes through loud and clear, as they identify with a Jesus who didn't fit in to his society and gave people hope. Plus a God who loves community. "This is our Easter," they say of their ribald festival day. They know the reality of persecution, the horrors of conversion therapy and the violence of threats against them, but this day is just about pure joy. And it's infectious.

themes, language, imagery 18.Mar.26 flare

10s Across the Borders
Review by Rich Cline | 4/5

dir Chan Sze-Wei
prd Alemberg Ang, Chan Sze-Wei, Tan Si En, Yasmin C Rams, Sophia Sim
with Xyza Pinklady Mizrahi, Teddy Oricci, Aurora Sun Labeija, Koppi Mizrahi, Twyloit Mizrahi, Kimmy Kuntysha, Cecilia Pang, Rungtawan Kongnuj, Ian Mizrahi, Omari Nina Oricci, Jack Mizrahi, Gillette Nina Oricci
release Ph Nov.25 qciff,
UK Mar.26 flare
25/Philippines 1h39

Is it streaming?

Covering the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand, this documentary captures the exuberant spark of queer young people who find a sense of belonging at voguing balls, carrying on the iconic New York tradition. Using fly-on-the-wall camerawork, filmmaker Chan Sze-Wei allows these bright stars to reveal their hopes and aspirations in conversation with each other. Their big personalities come through in everything they do, especially when they're striking provocative poses.

in Manila, Xyza is mother of the House of Mizrahi, teaching aspiring young people the ropes and taking them to New York to visit the ballroom scene's roots. In Bangkok, Thai-Norwegian performance artist Sun runs affordable voguing classes for locals, and also travels to Scandinavia for a major gig. Acrobatic, tattooed star Teddy is supported by his mother Cecilia in Kuala Lumpur after being abandoned by his disapproving father, and he also makes a splash in New York. Vietnam held its first ball in 2023, and there are plans to keep spreading across the region.

These houses are chosen family, as most of these young people have been rejected by their parents. As in 1970s New York, they feel that their houses saved their lives, kept them from being homeless and now provide the love they need. This is a superb look at how these long-established houses span generations around the world. Xyza jokes that each ball is the last one, because it's so much work to put together. Sun speaks of their gender-fluid identity, which is continually shifting. Teddy laughs that his dad tried to bribe him to be straight, and while making this doc he is arrested for wearing women's clothes.

This film is a cry from a whole generation for a safe space where they can be themselves, regardless of gender or sexuality, letting their inner fire express itself in the most fabulous ways imaginable. Their message is one of kindness and compassion, so it's empowering to see them shine in so many different situations. In addition to spreading awareness and battling discrimination, they are at the centre of HIV health work. Watching them walk in various events is hugely engaging, and the way all of them are able express themselves so openly and honestly on-camera is both charming and inspirational.

themes, language 20.Mar.26

Uchronia
Review by Rich Cline | 3/5

Uchronia
dir Fil Ieropoulos
scr Foivos Dousos
prd Spyros Patsouras, Fil Ieropoulos
with Kristof Lamp, Flomaria Papadaki, Marlo Mortimer, Stelios Parris, Amani, Christos Adrianopoulos, Alexander Voulgaris, Robert Carrithers, Macklin Kowal, Rea Wallden, Alvina Chamberland, Aimee Le, Ashkan Sepahvand
release UK Mar.26 flare
26/Greece 1h37

BERLIN FILM FEST

Now streaming...

Inspired by Arthur Rimbaud's poem A Season in Hell, experimental Greek filmmakers Fil Ieropoulos and Foivos Dousos take a sometimes jarringly surreal look at queer identity and legacy. Their multi-lingual approach inventively mixes documentary and drama, using a kaleidoscopic range of clips. It's a bold film that takes jabs at how society pushes damaging ideas while compromising and commodifying messages. It's also a hypnotic philosophical romp through history.

As a focal point for this collage-style movie, Rimbaud (Lamp) is writing a letter to historian friend Louise Michel (Papadaki) asking for help to understand his legacy. Around this, conference speakers explore more semantic arguments, picking apart Rimbaud's writings to find existential themes and tapping into enormous hot potato topics along the way. Like performance artists, these speakers dramatically present big ideas and philosophical arguments relating to how thought has shifted over the centuries from the 19th century of Rimbaud to today. The central question posed by the film's title is whether utopia is possible.

The barrage of meaty themes is almost as overwhelming as the lavish sets, costumes and makeup. Mixed in with the ambitious scenes is an array of pertinent newsreel footage, while members of a vast ensemble cast depict their roles with earthy intensity. The expressive ideas play out through performance art that taps into every genre imaginable. At one point, the narrator comments that the only way to understand things is to put history in a blender. Central to all of this is the irony that Rimbaud rejected his identity based on traditional measurements. But his life as a gay man has informed the decades that followed him, both in freedoms acquired and ongoing oppression.

The high-minded verbiage is tricky to keep up with, but the cumulative effect is powerful as the various elements connect ideas and events throughout history, with particular notes aimed at nationalism, colonialism and systemic racism. LGBTQ culture is similarly skewered along the way, largely due to its commercialism and lack of true diversity. And everything is seen through a very modern filter, referencing today's controversies in a way that places them in a much wider context. So even if it feels rambling and often bewildering, this film's sharp points are mesmerising.

themes, language, imagery 17.Mar.26

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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL