Femme

Jules, who performs in drag, is badly beaten in the street by a group after a show. Months later he recognises one of them in a sauna: the man does not recognise him, because out of his stage identity Jules looks like someone else. Jules decides to get close and starts a relationship. The film is not interested in revenge. It is interested in what the attacker is hiding: Preston is hard around his friends and someone else alone, and Jules uses that doubleness as a weapon. As it goes on, who is using whom becomes unclear and desire genuinely enters. The form is a night film: neon, small flats, car interiors, club toilets. The sound design and the close-ups keep a sense of threat running. Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping wrote and directed. The film is a feature-length version of their BAFTA-winning short of 2021. It had its world premiere in the Panorama section of the Berlin festival on 19 February 2023 and drew one of the longest standing ovations there. Nathan Stewart-Jarrett plays Jules and George MacKay plays Preston. Who it is for: viewers who like thrillers braided with desire and hard character work. Who it is not for: anyone who avoids hate crime and sexual violence onscreen. The film shows it directly in its first section and never lets up afterwards.