New Colors and Panorama — a queer film festival SUNNY BUNNY announces non-competitive program

‍Panorama's program is dedicated to queer-themed films from well-established directors who received recognition from leading film festivals. The program includes 7 films from France, Brazil, the United Kingdom, the USA, and North Macedonia.

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One of the most significant events of the SUNNY BUNNY festival will be the Ukrainian premiere of All of Us Strangers, last year's biggest movie hit, directed by Andrew Haigh, and starring Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal as the story's main heroes. The movie cast also includes the star of the Crown series, Claire Foy. All of Us Strangers is based on Taichi Yamada’s 1987 novel Strangers. Many consider the film to be the most important independent movie of the year, which is included in the top-10 2023 films according to the National Society of Film Critics Awards. The film received 6 BAFTA nominations, including the Outstanding British Film nomination. One night in his near-empty London tower block, Adam (Andrew Scott) has a chance encounter with mysterious neighbor Harry (Paul Mescal), puncturing the rhythm of his everyday life. As a relationship develops between them, Adam finds himself drawn back to his childhood countryside home, where his parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell) appear to be living just as they were on the day they died 30 years ago.

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The Guardian rated the movie 5 stars, describing it as an “emotionally moving masterpiece”.

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Another undeniable hit of this year’s SUNNY BUNNY is Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero. It follows trailblazing rapper, singer, and songwriter, Lil Nas X, as he embarks on his first-ever tour. This diaristic film is an intimate portrait of an artist navigating identity, family, expectations, and acceptance within the legacy of black queer artists. The documentary premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023. Lil Nas X is one of the prominent rap artists of the modern music industry, whose song "Old Town Road" topped the Hot 100 for nineteen consecutive weeks five years ago. It was an absolute record in the history of the chart.

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Panorama program will also include The Visitor by Bruce LaBruce, a cult queer cinema Canadian director. The film’s world premiere was within the Panorama program at Berlinale this year. The film is an artistic interpretation of Pasolini’s Teorema. Bruce LaBruce movies were previously a part of the SUNNY BUNNY program at the Kyiv International Film Festival Molodist, and the director personally visited Kyiv before.

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Among other significant movies of the program - Along Came Love, directed by Katell Quillévéré. The movie had its world premiere at Cannes Film Festival in 2023, where it got nominated for Queer Palm. The director admits that she was partially inspired by her grandmother's story when she was creating the film.

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Brazilian movie Rule 34, directed by Julia Murat, received the Golden Leopard Prize at the 75th Locarno Film Festival in 2022. The film follows the double life of a law student who focuses on women's defense and rights and at night discovers the world of sex and lust.

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French movie The Origin of Evil also had a world premiere at the Category A festival, at the Venice Film Festival in the Orizzonti Extra program in 2022. The film was nominated for the Saturn Award. The thriller about a woman who visits her father’s new family has a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

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Macedonian drama, Housekeeping for Beginners, received the main LGBTQIA+ award Queer Lion at Venice Film Festival last year. The film was also nominated for The European Film Academy Award. The film tells the story of a woman, who never wanted to be a mother, but has to raise her girlfriend's two daughters.

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Panorama program:

All of Us Strangers, Andrew Haigh, United Kingdom, USA 2023, 105’

Along Came Love, Katell Quillévéré, France, Belgium, 2023, 125’

Rule 34, Julia Murat, Brazil, 2022, 100’

The Visitor, Bruce LaBruce, United Kingdom, 2024, 101’

The Origin of Evil, Sebastien Marnier, France, 2022, 121’

Housekeeping for Beginners, Goran Stolevski, North Macedonia, Poland, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Sweden, United States, Australia, 2023, 107’

Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero, Zac Manuel, Carlos Lopez Estrada, USA, 2022, 95’

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The New Colors program is dedicated to new queer cinema from all around the globe, therefore, the majority of films are feature film debuts. Among them, there’s a British musical Chuck Chuck Baby, a drama about Korean transgender woman Peafowl, a Spanish-Bulgarian queer drama Liuben, a movie about three queer friends living in Canada Soft, and a Pakistan movie The Queen of My Dreams, about a woman who comes out to her parents. The last two movies premiered at Toronto International Film Festival, the largest festival in the world.

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A documentary, Nicolas Herzog’s Elda and the Monsters premiere will be among other significant events at SUNNY BUNNY. The documentary tells the story of Elda, who dreams of becoming a rock star. Offstage, people know her as Diego, a teacher, who lives with his family.

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New Colors program:

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Chuck Chuck Baby, Janis Pugh, United Kingdom, 2023, 101’

Peafowl, Sungbin Byun, South Korea, 2022, 115’

Soft, Joseph Amenta / Жозеф Амента, USA / США, 2022, 87’

The Queen of My Dreams, Fawzia Mirza, Canada, Pakistan, 2023, 97’

Liuben, Venci Kostov, Spain, Bulgaria, 2023, 109’

Elda and the Monsters, Nicolas Herzog, Argentina, 2023, 73’

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The queer-cinema festival SUNNY BUNNY will run from 19 to 26 April.

You can buy a Festival Pass and tickets.