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For a troubled teen, Will discovers what is important in life when he attends a summer camp: the people who care about his well being.

It’s 2021 and what few LGBTQ+ films that are produced by major film studios continue to star cisgender heterosexual actors, rather than actual LGBTQ+ people.

The Invitation takes a creeping look at two simple premises: reuniting with forgotten friends and new-age spiritualism. Though one seems a bit scarier than the other, the film heightens social awkwardness to a macabre level that puts an uncomfortable look on when the social taboo of grief is put on public display.

In this short film, writer/director Nikita Hattangady focuses on Jai, a starving artist rooted in the latter category. Though unhoused, he works hard.

A few episodes in, I realized the most prominent theme of In The Long Run wasn't culture, race or even finding independence--but the idea of belonging.

By depicting 4 different stories, Director Sergio Tovar Velarde keeps the focus on the shared humanity and search for love (both self and romantic) of various gay Mexican men.