Reverend's Interview: Reach Out and Touch Jordan Gavaris

Who wouldn’t want a hot, polysexual guy dedicated to saving the world from climate change as a lover? But the fact that he also has tentacles and is devoted to “cross-species intercourse” could give one pause.

Such is the dilemma faced by longtime, co-dependent friends Joey and Craig in the wild new horror-comedy Touch Me. Written and directed by queer filmmaker Addison Heimann, it will be available on demand and digital April 7^th following a limited theatrical release.

After a series of unfortunate events leaves their house uninhabitable, Joey (played by Olivia Taylor Dudley) and Craig (Jordan Gavaris) find themselves homeless and out of options. That’s when Joey’s mysterious ex Brian (Lou Taylor Pucci) resurfaces. He wants her back. Along with being hot, Brian also happens to be an alien whose touch makes anxiety and depression disappear. Craig and Joey venture to his compound for the weekend with the hope of being healed from past traumas, but underneath Brian’s veneer of healing is a sinister plot filled with murder, mayhem and sex.

“Touch Me came from a place of astounding depression, as I suppose all my stories come from,” says writer-director Heimann. “I made my first film (2023’s Hypochondriac) about how mental illness can be overcome by learning to exist with it instead of against it. And here I was standing waist deep in my own sadness not taking my own advice. I wished, begged even, for something that could zap away my OCD, so I would never have to deal with the pain again.” 

He continued: “I also happened to be going through a profoundly sad friendship breakup at the time, and ultimately found that those were the two themes I wanted to explore. And what better way to do it than through the wacky, weird and stylistically feverish lens of Japanese hentai cinema of the 1960s and 70s? This film is a love letter to that style of cinema, it is a love letter to those suffering with things the eye cannot see, and it is a love letter to myself.”

Out Canadian actor Jordan Gavaris co-stars in the film as Craig, who along with Joey finds himself wrapped up in Brian’s tentacles. Gavaris previously starred in the comedy series The Lake. That show, which ran for two seasons, was the first scripted Canadian Amazon Original. Gavaris played Justin Lovejoy, a gay man returning from abroad in the hopes of reconnecting with his 16-year-old daughter. The actor first came to prominence in BBC America’s cult hit Orphan Black, in which he starred alongside Tatiana Maslany. His portrayal of Maslany’s foster brother Felix earned him fan-favorite status, as well as a Canadian Screen Award (Canada’s equivalent to an Emmy). He can also be seen in Hulu’s PEN15 and Max’s critically acclaimed series Hacks.

Gavaris recently sat down with Reverend via Zoom to talk about his new movie in advance of its release. Though he is still relatively young at 36, Gavaris shared during our interview that he has been acting professionally for an impressive 20 years now. Please note: Some of his answers have been edited for space and/or clarity.

Touch Me is a very interesting movie, to say the least. (Both laugh.)  I don’t know that I quite enjoyed it but I was definitely engrossed by it and found it interesting. What drew you to this story or this project?

Primarily Addison, our director. I had met with him about something else and I was getting ready to go to England to go to a wedding. He had talked about this film that he was putting together and he was in the throes of the casting process, which had been kind of riddled with a couple of ups and downs. I left the Coffee Bean with like “Good luck with the movie.” He had pitched me the concept and, as a big genre fan and as a person that really likes movies that try to do something different and are provocative, the movie sounded great.

Then, a few weeks later, he just offered me the film. I didn’t really have a lot of time to prepare, so I think that was the scariest part about jumping in. I had seen his first movie too—my partner Devon Graye is one of the stars in it—and I just knew there was promise to this filmmaker. I thought he was really gifted, and hearing him talk about the film and hearing his inspirations for it and what he wanted to do. Particularly the practical effects, which are kind of a lost art and nobody does them anymore because it’s so easy to lean on VFX. I couldn’t say no to something that was so bold. I just thought I would be crazy to not go and have fun for a month and try to realize this really intensely wild idea.

I actually wanted to ask you about the practical effects because, yeah, you don’t see that very often anymore.  Did that require anything different from you as an actor or an approach you hadn’t taken before?

Yeah, I would say so. Just spinning technical plates while also juggling the emotional. I remember doing on Orphan Black years ago and just the emotion control element of that show, dealing with the multiples of the characters. That kind of required a little extra imagination but this was different. This was very physically technical. I was even describing a scene where I had to stab somebody’s face and there are so many things where you have to, like, sell the moment and you have to be in the scene and feel your feelings while also not going too deep on a prosthetic in case you actually hurt yourself or, God forbid, you hurt somebody else. There’s just more to juggle, so I think having my brain kind of in split focus where I don’t just get to release and be in a scene where I’m talking to another person, that’s tricky. It’s much more complex. Oh my god, even handling multiple props—which is, no lie, a challenge sometimes—if something requires a lot of physicality in the blocking. This was next level, just trying to do two things at the same time.

You mentioned that your husband worked on Hypochondriac with the director. Did you and Devon compare notes, either while you were in production or afterwards, about your experience of Addison?

I’m not sure if we compared notes so much as he just had to talk me down because, once you get offered something or you’re joining a project, there’s that rush of excitement where you’re like “I’m gonna do something new, this is really great!” And then there’s the flood of fear, which is “Oh my god, what if I let everybody down? What if I’m really bad? What if I let Addison down and I’m not what he’s actually looking for?” So I think, more than anything, poor Dev just had to reassure me the entire way. He was, like, “Addison will steer you, you’re gonna be fine, he’s a really good director.” Dev just kept saying over and over again how great Addison was, and his experience on Hypochondriac was really, really positive.

Addison is really decisive, and I think (not being decisive enough) tends to be one of the biggest stumbling blocks with younger, newer directors. It’s no fault of theirs whatsoever. I cannot imagine being in that position. I don’t have the vision or the decisive nature in order to just say “Yeah, we got it; we’re moving on.” I’d want to stay on something for the entire day which, of course, you can’t because you don’t have the money. (Laughs) I was really impressed with Addison’s ability to know what he wanted. And by his vision. What is on screen is what was executed on the day. There wasn’t a lot of fussing and editing. He knew what he was going for and we didn’t shoot much more than that. I think that’s really impressive.

That’s great. I think we have like 30 seconds left. Any quick advice for young, gay or queer, aspiring actors?

Oh man, be yourself. I know, that’s so stupid! That’s the dumbest thing. But here’s the real truth: You can play anything, you can change your physicality, you can change the way you walk, you can change the way you speak. You can do all of those things and that’s fine, that’s part of the craft and it’s great. But your heartbeat, the thing or the stuff that queer people—and I’m speaking mainly from my personal experience—try to hide is the stuff that looks really, really good in front of a camera. That’s the secret sauce. It’s your vulnerability, and it’s really scary when you’re a queer person because that vulnerability is weaponized against us a lot. But if you can find a way to dig it out and just put it on camera—you don’t have to walk around the world with it—if you can just sit in front of a camera…Oh my god, it looks great. 

To watch the film’s trailer and for more information, visit www.touchmemovie.com

The Most Reverend Chris Carpenter is editor of Movie Dearest and chief contributor. He has been reviewing movies and theatre since 1996 and also contributes to Rage Monthly magazine (ragemonthly.com). He is a founding member and former Vice President of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Critics (galeca.com) and currently serves as a nominating/voting member of its New York-based Theatre Wing. Reverend Carpenter has been an ordained minister since 1995.

Reverend's Interview: "Jimpa" Honors Our Community’s Pioneers

There may well be a “greatest generation” among older gay, bisexual or queer men and their allies. They witnessed and maybe even participated in the 1969 Stonewall riots. They participated in early marches for LGBTQ rights. They founded Pride parades and festivals. They endured the horrific early years of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and organized to challenge political leaders who refused to acknowledge the crisis. Some of them survived and continue to thrive, thankfully.

They have been our partners, friends and family members. A funny yet deeply moving new movie, Jimpa, celebrates these men. It will be available for streaming beginning March 24th following a limited theatrical release. I highly recommend it. 

Jimpa follows filmmaker Hannah (Oscar and Emmy Award winner Olivia Colman) as she takes her trans non-binary teenager Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde) to Amsterdam to visit their gay grandfather, lovingly known as “Jimpa” (two-time Tony Award winner and Oscar nominee John Lithgow). When Frances expresses a desire to stay with Jimpa for a year abroad, Hannah is forced to reconsider her parenting beliefs and the stories she has long told about her family. Meanwhile, Jimpa faces the difficulties of aging as a gay man in a generation that never expected to grow old, and Frances grapples with the disappointment of heroes falling short of their ideals.

Inspired by her own experiences as part of a queer family, this intimate film from acclaimed filmmaker Sophie Hyde is her most personal story yet. She is a founding member of Closer Productions and social impact company The Unquiet Collective. In 2022, Hyde directed Emma Thompson in the BAFTA and Golden Globe nominated comedy Good Luck to You, Leo Grande. Her debut feature drama 52 Tuesdays won the Directing Award at Sundance and the Crystal Bear at the Berlinale. She also directed and produced the feature comedy Animals, based on the novel of the same name by Emma Jane Unsworth. Hyde believes strongly in nurturing the voices of other filmmakers and therefore also works as a producer and EP on various projects including the Netflix original documentary The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone.

Reverend was privileged to speak with Hyde recently via Zoom while she was premiering her film in Amsterdam, where most of it was shot. Note: Some of her answers have been edited for length and/or clarity. 

Hello Sophie, how are you?

Hello Chris! I’m good. It’s getting a little dark here, so hopefully it’s ok for you to see me.

Yes, I can. Thanks for your time and thank you for Jimpa. I appreciated how it respects and honors not just your father but that whole generation of gay and queer men and their stories. How long was it, or how quickly was it, after your father’s passing that you started to think “Oh, I ought to make a movie or tell his story this way?”

I think my dad always wanted me to make a movie about him. In fact, he wanted me to make all sorts of movies about him totally different from this one. (laugh) It wasn’t long after he died that I kind of had this urge to put my child Aud and my dad in a room together and talk about the idea of being queer and being public about it, and knowing the attacks that are going to happen to you as well as the joy and things that you gain from it. I wished for that, especially as Aud got older. 

The idea (for the film) kind of came from that. But honestly, even when I was sitting by my dad’s bedside while he was dying, I remember thinking about the visuals of it; thinking about his tattoos, the cords in his arms, and the fact that he couldn’t speak to us. And I had this very strong urge, which is reflected in the film, to tell my dad his story as I knew it because I wasn’t sure if he remembered things. I went over and over telling his story, but I really didn’t know what that would turn into while it was happening. 

Interesting. What was it about John Lithgow in particular that told you “Ok, this is Jimpa; this is who I’m going to cast”?

You know, originally I was looking at Australian and British actors because I felt that would be relevant (Hyde and her father hail from Australia). I knew I needed someone who had a big-ish presence, which John has, and I needed someone who was going to be robustly ready to kind of leap, and John is that kind of actor. Coming from theater and comedy, I knew that he would be ready to make a fool of himself but also ready to just be deeply and kind of physically in something, and that was very important to me even though John has a very different physicality to what I was thinking of. Obviously, I think he’s an excellent actor and I’d seen a bunch of different things where he was in very different kinds of roles, which excited me.

Then we had a conversation, John and I, and his curiosity about my dad and about the characters that surrounded him was really cool. His history of working in theater and therefore his connection to and memory of AIDS was really significant. He lost a lot of friends and we had an amazing conversation about that too, which was a very important part of the texture (of the film) for me. It helped me a great deal, our conversation, because that felt like such a big lived experience to have. 

That’s great. And you know it really resonated with me, even though I’m younger, the depiction of the AIDS era and his experience. I was coming of age during the 1980’s and that was terrifying.

It was terrifying and I so often think “My God, do lots of people not actually know about this still?” We had COVID and we sort of didn’t look to gay men who made this amazing sort of peer response to a health crisis. We just ignored this amazing thing that happened. You know, I grew up with my dad and his friends so there was a lot of death around. It was such a significant thing. And there was all that fear- mongering in Australia and we had these really scary ads about AIDS. It’s still something that has made such a big difference in so many of our lives but I don’t think it’s spoken about a great deal.

No, not as much as it should be anyway. Similarly, in terms of casting, what was it about Olivia Colman that told you “Oh, I want her to play me!”

(Laughs) Who wouldn’t? I had to choose someone really brilliant and gorgeous and I just said, “You’ll do!” You know, when I was writing her character I kept saying to everyone “It could be anyone; she could be much older, much younger, it doesn’t matter.” For some reason, everyone else was much clearer than Hannah. I also wanted to leave a bit of space so that we could cast someone and they could bring something to it that I wasn’t aware of. But I also knew that we were leaning on a bit of the coldness of the character. She was a little bit unemotional at times and in some ways a little callous or an artist thinking about art, you know? 

I knew to make a film that resonated for people I needed an actor in that role that was quite warm. That putting an actor in that was very intellectual or felt like that would be too much. Olivia is just the warmest actor I can think of. So brilliant, so loving, and so I knew that there’s this whole layer of her that would be there and therefore all the other things would be kind of interesting underneath. She also has that kind of depth, of like other things are going on underneath. I really wanted her to play it but it was really hard to get it to her, so I was so excited when it finally happened.

What have been some of the reactions to the film at Rotterdam or Sundance or wherever it’s played thus far? What reactions have touched you or moved you the most?

It’s a very moving experience for me, taking the film out to film festivals and screenings. It can be overwhelming at times because afterwards people will come and talk to me and tell me their stories. It is very moving, but also I find people think they know certain things about me that aren’t always true and that’s a very interesting experience. People come to me with the ways that the film expresses things that have happened to them, but also the ways that they didn’t have the kind of family that’s in the film. I find those conversations deeply moving. 

The film also has an invitation to disagree, I think, inherent in it and so I’ve been shocked that some people really, really dislike it or dislike certain characters. People send me messages all the time that are like “My sister died” or “I came out at this time” or “My family rejected me,” really big things. We just tried to create something that had some real emotions in it and that we were very sincere about, and so when (audience members) come in with that kind of openness things come up for them about all sorts of parts of their lives. We actually have this beautiful companion project called The Queerest Parts of Us, and people can upload images and share stories about people or moments in their lives. We’ve only just started that but it’s amazing because we get more of those and that’s gorgeous. I’m just really amazed because I wanted to make a film where people had some space for themselves in it and that kind of happens. 

I primarily write for a Southern California audience and a big part of my readership is older, retired gay men in Palm Springs, and a lot of them are HIV positive or AIDS survivors themselves. Based on what you learned about your father and what’s in the film, do you have a special message to them or something you especially want them to know?

Yeah. You know, I’m going to start and see where it goes: I grew up in the era of the AIDS crisis and my dad was heavily involved. He ran the Victorian AIDS Council in Australia at a very critical moment and there was a lot of conflict. There was an amazing community response to the AIDS crisis, and I will never forget how difficult that was but also how people became peer supporters and looked after each other and are still friends now, many of the people that survived. I find that a remarkable thing that happened in terms of the various communities that were impacted.

My dad became HIV positive when I was a teenager and I thought that he was going to die, like we all went through. I thought “I’m going to have to nurse him to death soon,” you know.  And then the drugs all came in and people started to survive and my dad survived. I never thought that he would meet a child that I had, but then I had a child and my dad was there and they got to know each other. It was such an amazing thing, and I feel really lucky that I had my dad and the people that I still know from that generation and that era in my life because they’ve been very significant for me. 

But I also feel really sad that there were a lot of people that we lost, so many people. Culturally I feel really sad about that too, you know? The things that we lost that were being made and could have been talked about and could have happened. I wish that we were looking at that era more in terms of how we look after each other and treat each other. There’s something amazing about watching the people who survived. My dad and his friends would always be like “Oh no, we’ve got old people things now; I never thought we’d contend with old people things!” I think that’s gorgeous.

Reverend's Rating for Jimpa: B+

The Most Reverend Chris Carpenter is editor of Movie Dearest and chief contributor. He has been reviewing movies and theatre since 1996 and also contributes to Rage Monthly magazine (ragemonthly.com). He is a founding member and former Vice President of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Critics (galeca.com) and currently serves as a nominating/voting member of its New York-based Theatre Wing. Reverend Carpenter has been an ordained minister since 1994.

Reverend’s Reviews: Oh, the Humanity…On Stage

We are currently experiencing the good, the bad and the downright ugly, especially those of us living here in the United States of MAGA. I hesitate to quote Charles Dickens just yet (“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...”) Oops, I guess I just did. At any rate, I’m firmly convinced our humanity is being tested. Time will tell whether we succeed or fail.

Thankfully, theatre professionals and other artists are responding in their time-honored, reflective ways. Here are my responses to a few of their recent endeavors I was able to attend/witness.

Complications in Sue (World Premiere at the Philadelphia Academy of Music)

Writer and composer Michael R. Jackson has made quite a name for himself in the theatre world these last few years. His revolutionary musical A Strange Loop won not only multiple Tony Awards but the Pulitzer Prize, while his subsequent works White Girl in Danger and Teeth (adapted from the provocative 2007 movie) rocked the off-Broadway scene. 

For the queer artist’s next act, Jackson has turned to opera for the first time. He wrote the libretto for Complications in Sue, which just celebrated its world premiere February 4^th-8^th. Reverend was privileged to attend one of the performances and was thrilled to meet Jackson beforehand.

The inspiration for this unique effort came not only from Jackson but also from revered cabaret performer Justin Vivian Bond. Bond is a trans artist perhaps best known as Kiki of the famed duo Kiki & Herb. They sought to explore the life of a woman from her birth to the moment of her death. Perhaps needless to say, the title character Sue’s experience turned out to be…complicated. Bond stars as Sue in the production.

Her life is presented through 10 different vignettes, one for each decade. Jackson wrote the libretto or lyrics for all of them but 10 different composers were employed for the music, one for each vignette. I went in most skeptical about this approach yet emerged a believer. Although the composers did not meet or collaborate directly during the process, their resultant score (beautifully conducted by Caren Levine) sounds and feels of one piece. Bravo/brava!

A very talented cast of 8 singers supported Bond, who actually only sang in one of the vignettes. Most characters in the opera can be seen as an aspect or version of Sue as she progresses through life. Her husband, Santa & Mrs. Claus, and Death (represented by a 4-person Greek chorus) are other figures depicted who are more external to Sue.

I hate to say it, but the biggest flaws I found in Complications in Sue were in Jackson’s libretto. To be fair, this was his first attempt to write an opera. One of his greatest skills or gifts is his unapologetic ability to address social concerns in his work. Racial disparities, religious hypocrisy, sex, celebrity, HIV/AIDS and gender distinctions have all been confronted powerfully in his musicals. Some of these figure in Complications in Sue, but the libretto’s biggest and ultimately redundant criticisms are leveled at modern technology. Smartphones and the internet, along with their inherent algorithms and billionaire creators/sponsors, are the primary targets of Jackson’s disdain here. At least 3 of the opera’s vignettes address these. They are legitimate concerns but exploring more timeless, uniquely personal “complications” in Sue’s life would have been more dramatically compelling.

The single most crowd-pleasing moment of the night was when Justin Vivian Bond spoke directly to the audience as their self during a provided but unscripted interlude in the libretto (a pre-show lecture alerted those in attendance of this and that one never knew exactly what Bond would say). During our performance, Bond first related a conversation they had with actress-activist Jane Fonda about trans lives. This evolved into and culminated in a deliriously foul-mouthed smackdown of President Trump, our current Congress, the US Supreme Court, MAGA and ICE. All of this received greater applause from us attendees than the opera received during its final curtain call, although that applause was generous.

I greatly appreciated the opportunity to experience this new work, especially since its absolutely gorgeous host performance space is the oldest enduring theater in the USA at nearly 170 years old! I affirm the ever-interesting Michael R. Jackson and can’t wait to see/hear what he has up his sleeve next.

Reverend’s Rating: B

Marjorie Prime (Now playing through February 15^th at The Hayes Theater in NYC)

This play, set in the not-too-distant future, also deals with technological advances but is generally more complementary toward them. I attended its world premiere at Los Angeles’s Mark Taper Forum in 2014. Beloved actress Lois Smith headlined the production as well as a 2017 film adaptation. 

Jordan Harrison’s speculative sci-fi dramedy is just now receiving its Broadway premiere, which runs through this weekend. The starry cast includes 96-year-old (!) Oscar nominee June Squibb plus Tony Award winners Danny Burstein and Cynthia Nixon. They play family members who avail themselves of the opportunity to have deceased loved ones re-created as interactive “primes” via AI. However, the living must teach each prime to become more accurate, which proves challenging for both the primes and those struggling to keep memories of their loved ones alive.

Anne Kauffman helms this beautifully staged and designed production. The four-member cast (Christopher Lowell is the other player) is excellent, with Burstein bringing extra poignancy to his role in the wake of his real-life wife’s (actress Rebecca Luker) fairly recent passing. Marjorie Prime becomes more timely and topical with each passing year in terms of its exploration of both technology and humanity. It is frequently staged by local theatre companies, so I recommend everyone who hasn’t yet done so catch a production of it or watch the movie at some point.

Reverend’s Rating: A-

Bug (Now playing through March 8^th at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in NYC)

Carrie Coon is a loooong way from her lavishly, fully dressed character on HBO’s The Gilded Age in this intense revival of Tracy Letts’ paranoia-infused drama. She headlines the production as Agnes, who is trying to escape her abusive husband and a tragic loss by holing up in an Oklahoma City motel room. 

When military defector Peter (played by Namir Smallwood) is introduced to Agnes via a friend, the pair develop a tentative yet tender romance. Unfortunately, Peter’s schizophrenia starts to reveal itself, primarily through his conviction that he is infested with some kind of insect courtesy of military experiments to which he was subjected. Though Agnes is initially skeptical, she soon comes to join Peter in his delusional (or are they?) beliefs.

Coon and Smallwood are superb as they bare their souls and bodies. I expect both to be recognized with Tony Award nominations this season, and Coon could easily win. David Cromer’s taut direction, Takeshi Kata’s scenic design and Heather Gilbert’s lighting are exceptional, and make audience members feel like we are in the hotel room with Agnes and Peter.

But Bug is an unpleasant play and, at times, an uncomfortable viewing experience. I can’t recommend it for everyone, especially any survivors of domestic violence and/or mental illness. Letts’ work also contains some political parallels queasily applicable to our current state of affairs in the USA. While this is a very impressive production, potential attendees should proceed with caution. 

Reverend’s Rating: B

The Most Reverend Chris Carpenter is editor of Movie Dearest and chief contributor. He has been reviewing movies and theatre since 1996 and also contributes to Rage Monthly magazine (ragemonthly.com). He is a founding member and former Vice President of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Critics (galeca.com) and currently serves as a nominating/voting member of its New York-based Theatre Wing. Reverend Carpenter has been an ordained minister since 1995.

Reverend's Reviews: Loving This Year’s Movie Award Nominees

Nothing says “Happy Valentine’s Day” to filmmakers and related film industry talent more than an Oscar nomination. Plenty of them have been feeling the love in the wake of January 22^nd’s announcement of this year’s nominees.

The 98^th annual Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, March 15^th. This year’s leading contender is Ryan Coogler’s vampire thriller/social commentary Sinners with a record 16 nominations. All About Eve, Titanic and La La Land previously shared the crown of most-nominated film with 14 nods each. Being heavily nominated doesn’t always translate into Oscar gold, however. Just ask Steven Spielberg, whose 1985 adaptation of The Color Purple secured 11 nominations but came away empty-handed.

Speaking of empty-handed, the musical epic sequel Wicked: For Good was totally snubbed by the Academy. This was shocking to me and many other observers, since its predecessor was nominated last year in 10 categories and won for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design. I found queer artist Paul Tazewell’s costumes even better in For Good, especially Glinda’s.  I also expected leading ladies Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande to be nominated again, and was hoping at least one of composer Stephen Schwartz's two new songs would be recognized. Some are blaming “Wicked fatigue” for these slights. I suspect the movie’s truly wicked villainess, Madame Morrible, might have had something to do with it.

In addition to Sinners, a handful of other powerful movies dominated the major award categories: One Battle After Another, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, the Norwegian drama Sentimental Value, and Guillermo Del Toro’s lavish remake of Frankenstein. Notably, Jacob Elordi was nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for his memorable, scantily-clad turn as the Creature in Frankenstein.

There are several nominated 2026 movies with significant LGBTQ content or relevance. These include:

Blue Moon. Ethan Hawke gives a truly astonishing, Best Actor-nominated performance as the “omnisexual” 20^th century lyricist Lorenz Hart. Robert Kaplow’s excellent original screenplay is also a contender. 

Come See Me in the Good Light. American poet and activist Andrea Gibson shares their life story in this Best Documentary Feature nominee. Gibson explains how poetry intertwines personal pain and helps spread their messages about the LGBTQ community as well as human and political inequalities.

A Friend of Dorothy. The always delightful lesbian actress Miriam Margolyes headlines this contender for Best Live-Action Short. She plays Dorothy, an elderly widow in declining health whose solitary routine is unexpectedly disrupted when 17‑year‑old JJ sends a football into her garden. This leads to an unexpected connection between them. 

The Secret Agent. This tense drama from Brazil scored several major nominations including Best Picture, Best International Film and Best Actor (Wagner Moura). But it is also noteworthy for the last big-screen appearance by eccentric gay actor and longtime Palm Springs resident Udo Kier, who passed away last year.

Campier Oscar honorees this year include KPop Demon Hunters, nominated for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song (the top 40 hit “Golden”); veteran actress Amy Madigan’s appearance as the deliciously evil Aunt Gladys in Weapons; and The Ugly Stepsister, a gruesomely satirical body horror tale recognized for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.

And the most questionable nominee this year? Avatar: Fire and Ash in the Best Costume Design category. This baffles me, since most of the costumes in this sci-fi epic (as well as its predecessors) consist of military uniforms and CGI loincloths. New villain Varang sports some fancy, Cher-esque headpieces but these are the film’s only wardrobe novelty. Shout out to Spider (actor Jack Champion) though, who presumably wore an actual loincloth.

Also showing their love to a number of movies this time of year is GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (of which this writer is a member). Founded in 2009 and consisting of over 500 members, the group annually honors the best mainstream and LGTBQ+ film, television, and Broadway/Off Broadway productions via their Dorian Awards.

The 2026 Dorian Film Award nominees were announced on January 14^th. They share a number of similarities with this year’s Oscar mentions including Sinners, Hamnet, One Battle After Another and Marty Supreme in major categories. But GALECA also nominated such Academy-neglected movies as Sorry, Baby; Hedda; Pillion; Twinless; the Kiss of the Spider Woman musical remake and, yes, Wicked: For Good!

Here are GALECA’s film nominees in several categories. For the full listing, visit galeca.com. Winners will be announced on March 3rd. 

FILM OF THE YEAR 

Hamnet (Focus Features)

Marty Supreme (A24)

One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)

Sinners (Warner Bros.)

Sorry, Baby (A24)

 

LGBTQ FILM OF THE YEAR

Blue Moon (Sony Pictures Classics)

Hedda (Amazon MGM Studios)

Pillion (A24)

Sorry, Baby (A24)

Twinless (Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions)

 

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)

Ryan Coogler, Sinners (Warner Bros.)

Jafar Panahi, It Was Just an Accident (Neon)

Josh Safdie, Marty Supreme (A24)

Chloé Zhao, Hamnet (Focus Features)

 

SCREENPLAY OF THE YEAR (Original or adapted)

Hamnet, Chloé Zhao, Maggie O’Farrell (Focus Features)

Marty Supreme, Josh Safdie, Ronald Bronstein (A24)

One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson (Warner Bros.)

Sinners, Ryan Coogler (Warner Bros.)

Sorry, Baby, Eva Victor (A24)

 

LGBTQ SCREENPLAY OF THE YEAR

Blue Moon, Robert Kaplow (Sony Pictures Classics)

Hedda, Nia DaCosta (Amazon MGM Studios)

Pillion, Harry Lighton (A24)

Sorry, Baby, Eva Victor (A24)

Twinless, James Sweeney (Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions)

 

NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR

It Was Just an Accident (Neon)

No Other Choice (Neon)

Sentimental Value (Neon)

Sirāt (Neon)

The Secret Agent (Neon)

 

LGBTQ NON-ENGLISH FILM OF THE YEAR

Cactus Pears (Strand Releasing)

Misericordia (Janus Films, Sideshow)

Sauna (Breaking Glass)

The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo (Altered Innocence)

Viet and Nam (Strand Releasing)

 

UNSUNG FILM OF THE YEAR

To an exceptional movie worthy of greater attention

Black Bag (Focus Features)

If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (A24)

Lurker (Mubi) 

The Testament of Ann Lee (Searchlight Pictures) 

Twinless (Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions)

 

UNSUNG LGBTQ FILM OF THE YEAR

To an exceptional LGBTQ-themed movie worthy of greater attention
A Nice Indian Boy (Blue Harbor Entertainment)

Kiss of the Spider Woman (Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions, LD Entertainment)

Peter Hujar’s Day (Janus)

Plainclothes (Magnolia)

The Wedding Banquet (Bleecker Street)

 

FILM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

Rose Byrne, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (A24)

Timothée Chalamet, Marty Supreme (A24)

Leonardo DiCaprio, One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)

Jessie Buckley, Hamnet (Focus Features)

Ethan Hawke, Blue Moon (Sony Pictures Classics)

Michael B. Jordan, Sinners (Warner Bros.)

Dylan O’Brien, Twinless (Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions)

Renate Reinsve, Sentimental Value (Neon)

Amanda Seyfried, The Testament of Ann Lee (Searchlight Pictures)

Tessa Thompson, Hedda (Amazon MGM Studios)

 

SUPPORTING FILM PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR

Benicio del Toro, One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)

Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein (Netflix)

Ariana Grande-Butera, Wicked: For Good (Universal)

Nina Hoss, Hedda (Amazon MGM Studios)

Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Sentimental Value (Neon)

Amy Madigan, Weapons (Warner Bros.)

Wunmi Mosaku, Sinners (Warner Bros.)

Sean Penn, One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)

Stellan Skarsgård, Sentimental Value (Neon)

Teyana Taylor, One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)

 

DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR

Come See Me in the Good Light (Apple)

Cover-Up (Netflix)

My Mom Jayne (HBO)

The Perfect Neighbor (Netflix) 

Predators (MTV Documentary Films)

 

LGBTQ DOCUMENTARY OF THE YEAR

Come See Me in the Good Light (Apple)

Heightened Scrutiny (Fourth Act Film)

I Was Born This Way (JungeFilms / Goodform)

The Librarians (8 Above)

Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story (Zeitgeist Films)

 

ANIMATED FILM OF THE YEAR

Arco (Neon)

Elio (Disney)

KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix, Sony)

Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (GKIDS)

Zootopia 2 (Disney) 

 

CAMPIEST FLICK 

Final Destination: Bloodlines (Warner Bros.)

Kiss of the Spider Woman (Lionsgate, Roadside Attractions, LD Entertainment)

The Housemaid (Lionsgate)

Weapons (Warner Bros.)

Wicked: For Good (Universal)

 

“WE’RE WILDE ABOUT YOU!” RISING STAR AWARD

Odessa A’zion

Miles Caton

Chase Infiniti

Tonatiuh

Eva Victor

 

WILDE ARTIST AWARD

To a truly groundbreaking force in entertainment

Ryan Coogler

Cynthia Erivo

Jinkx Monsoon

Jafar Panahi

Pedro Pascal 

 

GALECA LGBTQIA+ FILM TRAILBLAZER

For creating art that inspires empathy, truth and equity

Gregg Araki

Jonathan Bailey

Kristen Stewart

Tessa Thompson

Eva Victor

The Most Reverend Chris Carpenter is editor of Movie Dearest and chief contributor. He has been reviewing movies and theatre since 1996 and also contributes to Rage Monthly magazine (ragemonthly.com). He is a founding member and former Vice President of GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Critics (galeca.com) and currently serves as a nominating/voting member of its New York-based Theatre Wing. Reverend Carpenter has been an ordained minister since 1995.