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.

This film tells the story of a young man who finds a wallet outside his home. This wallet gives him a strange feeling he seldom feels, if felt anytime at all. He doesn't want to steal this wallet but deep inside is something that tells him to do it. And he does. Later on he is plagued with so much guilt that he decides to try and make up for this terrible mistake he feels he has done. But that's where the trouble first begins.
Highlighting the many ways in which AFF 2023 illustrated that the queer experience is not a monolithic one.
The original series is now on Netflix, you should definitely give it a watch. And if you’ve already seen it, watch it again.
... La huesera haunts her daily life, leaving people to question her viability as a mother, and Valeria’s lack of satisfaction with her life leave her asking similar questions. These misgivings reach their peak after the baby is born, when Valeria, visibly in a state akin to possession, locks her in the fridge when she won’t stop crying through the night
Despite its glaring flaws, First Girl I Loved is not entirely undeserving of a watch. For people who can handle the more difficult aspects of the story and graphic scenes, it is worth looking into. It’s not a film worthy of rewatch, but it may still resonate somewhat with those who need a story like this. It is a genuine, if flimsy attempt at a coming-of-age tale. Were the film to be directed by someone with experiences more similar to Anne, it would likely be more powerful--as it is, it feels like a man’s perspective of what it means to come to terms with your identity as a lesbian.
An indie production of a romantic drama with a country-western feel meant to explore lost love.
This current year, as well as the past several, has seen a slowly building increase in something the horror genre has required for quite a while in this critic's opinion...originality. I've stated before that I am very hard to please when it comes to this vein of the film industry's offerings, always leaning more towards that which sends chills through my very being in lieu of buckets of blood and gore.