A Queer Review of the Austin Film Festival (2023)
Highlighting the many ways in which AFF 2023 illustrated that the queer experience is not a monolithic one.

A nerd becomes the head of his father's crime family.
Highlighting the many ways in which AFF 2023 illustrated that the queer experience is not a monolithic one.
This is a film that is going to leave some people bored, and some people thrilled.
"Godzilla vs. Kong" is all style and very little substance. It's also the most fun I've had in months.
Seven years after George Miller's previous film, 'Mad Max: Fury Road', he dives back into the scene with an equally daring movie. Although not nearly as action-packed, his newest film 'Three Thousand Years Of Longing' challenges the typical format of a film, giving you a well-known plot in an unexpected way.
Netflix takes some liberties in its portrayal of Madame CJ Walker, a trailblazing Black entrepreneur.
The social issues The Half of it takes on are handled well, between the antagonization brought on to Ellie for her race and the conflict that arises from her being gay. Both aspects of her character are built up over the course of the film and don’t seem abrupt or rushed. The film shows racism towards Ellie and her and father in varying levels, from having her schoolmates specifically address her as "Chinese girl” to the fore mentioned way her Dad is treated due to language barriers. The same can be said about Ellie being a lesbian. While she never truly “comes out” in the narrative, that does not undermine her journey of self-discovery from being meaningful. These ideas aren’t thrust upon the viewer in a preachy manor, the scenarios that occur feel believable given the rural setting. The film presents watchers with problems whom those like Ellie may face, and leaves us to sit with them and reflect.