Big Read: Our Stories, Our Lives Online Film Festival

(https://www.ﬁlminquiry.com/)

The Robots Are Coming: A Brief “Without This Kind Of Journalism, Queerly Ever After #28: GO FISH (1994) History Of AI In The Movies Democracy Won’t Survive”: Interview (https://www.filminquiry.com/queerly- (https://www.filminquiry.com/a- With Agnieszka Holland, Director Of MR. ever-after-28/) brief-history-ai-in-movies/) JONES JUNE 15, 2020 · 3 MINS READ (https://www.filminquiry.com/interview- JUNE 15, 2020 · 5 MINS READ agnieszka-holland/)

JUNE 15, 2020 · 6 MINS READ

FILM FESTIVALS (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/CATEGORY/FILM-FESTIVALS/), SHORT FILM REVIEWS (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/CATEGORY/REVIEWS/SHORT-FILM-REVIEWS/) Big Read: Our Stories, Our Lives Online Film Festival

BY GARRETT BROWN (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/AUTHOR/GARRETT-BROWN/) JUNE 5, 2020

/ n June 6-7, Seed&Spark will be presenting Big Read: Our Stories, Our Lives (https://www.seedandspark.com/festivals/big-read). This is a block of four short films O created by and featuring intersex, trans, GNC, and non-binary individuals. The making of a short film can be complicated: for a director that is used to the wide canvas of a feature film, the ability to fit a cohesive and concise story into less than a half-hour can be elusive. Many artists, however, can rise to the challenge and allow the restrictions to work for them. These four short films showcase talented individuals, and I’m excited that they get to share their creative voices with the world.

Full Beat (2018) – Source: Trabajo LLC

Full Beat (Kase Pena) Full Beat begins with the deﬁnition “Full Beat: when the makeup applied to a person’s face is so powerful and amazing it makes them look truly stunning. ” Director Kase Pena forgoes words, trusting the actors to utilize movement and facial expressions to communicate. Juliana Joel stuns as Bambi, a young trans teen struggling with her transphobic father. Through space, Joel uses her character to explore what it means when family forces us into the closet. When literal and ﬁgurative space to be yourself becomes a valuable commodity, Pena shows that embracing ourselves and our chosen family can be freeing.

Tell-By-Date (2019) – Source: Extraordinary Alien

Tell-By-Date (Sarah Bell) Brian Michael Smith stars as Ryan in this comedic short film that showcases the importance of the chosen family. Ryan, a trans man, is struggling with when to tell his son that he’s not his biological father. The film adds humor to heighten some of Ryan anxieties, including one of my favorite Star Wars homages ever. With a gentle touch, Tell-By-Date examines how societal expectations of fatherhood and “being a man” can affect our approach to being a family.

/ How To Make A Rainbow – (2019) – Source: Ryan Maxey

How To Make A Rainbow (Ryan Maxey) Ryan Maxey presents an intimate documentary, showcasing the journey of a mother (Jade Phoenix Martinez) and her daughter (Alaizah Rayne Martinez). Over the course of two years, we are privy to mother and daughter as they play together, celebrate milestones, and discuss conformity to gender roles. The audience is invited to join the duo through low, close up camera angles, allowing us to go along with their changing world. We see the support and love Alaizah gives her mother as she goes through gender-conﬁrming surgery, and the love Jade showers on her daughter on her birthday. As the credits roll, we the viewer understand that the future is wide open, and Alaizah and Jade are ready to make it their own.

Ponyboi-(2019) – Source: GapToof Entertainment

Ponyboi (River Gallo and Sadé Clacken Joseph)

Ready to start your LLC?

Don't wait any longer. Form your LLC and make your business ocial!

Ponyboi may take place in a seedy working-class neighborhood in New Jersey, but it feels like the audience steps into an electric dreamland. Ponyboi (River Gallo), an intersex sex worker, walks through a world drenched in neon, with every frame a painting. The cinematography is such a strong point of this ﬁlm, letting colors ﬂow and melt together. However, Ponyboi doesn’t have the will to go out and explore the world, letting himself be resigned instead of obscurity. After a client shows Ponyboi more love than he’s ever seen in his life, the universe seems to open up: the neon / fades to a warm sunrise, and Ponyboi embraces the wide-open unknown. The embrace of his identity and sense of self opens, and Ponyboi is ready to take up space in the world he deserves. It’s an exciting ending and leaves the audience wanting more.

The festival takes place on June & 7 at Seed&Spark. For more information and tickets, click here (https://www.seedandspark.com/festivals/big-read).

SEE ALSO

(https://ww FILM FESTIVALS (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/CATEGORY/FILM-FESTIVALS/), FILM REVIEWS w.filminqui (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/CATEGORY/REVIEWS/) ry.com/rid Ridgefield International Film Festival 2019: A Love For Pizza & Horror Abound gefield- (https://www.filminquiry.com/ridgefield-international-film-festival-report/) internation al-film- festival- report/)

Does content like this matter to you?

Become a Patron and support ﬁlm journalism. Get an ad-free reading experience, access to audio recordings of our articles and exclusive access to giveaways, join our community on Discord, and more.

Join now! (https://www.ﬁlminquiry.com/membership)

TAGS BIG READ FILM FESTIVAL (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/BIG-READ-FILM-FESTIVAL/) KASE PENA (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/KASE-PENA/) LGBTQ CINEMA (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/LGBTQ-CINEMA/) RIVER GALLO (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/RIVER-GALLO/) RYAN MAXEY (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/RYAN-MAXEY/) SADÉ CLACKEN JOSEPH (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/SADE-CLACKEN-JOSEPH/) SARAH BELL (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/SARAH-BELL/) SEEK&SPARK (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/SEEKSPARK/) SHORT FILM COLLECTION (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/SHORT-FILM-COLLECTION/) SHORT FILMS (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/SHORT-FILMS/)

GARRETT BROWN (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/AUTHOR/GARRETT-BROWN/) (http://www.garrettbrownproductions.com)

He/Him or They/Them Garrett loves ﬁlm, theatre, and believes a public library is the soul of a community.Garrett graduated from Paciﬁc University with a B.A. in Anthropology, with minors in Theatre, and Gender and Sexuality Studies. They perform and create art in Portland, Oregon.

(https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php? (https://twit  SHARE u=https://www.ﬁlminquiry.com/big-read-our-  TWEETtext=Big%20Read%3A%20Our%20Stories%2C%20Our%20Lives%20On (httpsts:/o/rieeds-doitu.cr-olimve/sus/)bmit? read-our-st  SHARE url=https://www.ﬁlminquiry.com/big-read-our- stories-our-lives/) (mailto:?  SHAREsubject=Big%20Read%3A%20Our%20Stories%2C%20Our%20Lives%20Online%20Film%20Festival&body=Big%20Read%3A%2/0Our% BILLIONS (S5E5) “Contract”: The Sins Of The Fathers (https://www.filminquiry.com/billions-s5e5/)

BY REYZANDO NAWARA (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/AUTHOR/REYZANDO-NAWARA/) JUNE 5, 2020

illions is a show filled with liars, backstabbers, and cheaters. Everyone is basically a monster who only thinks about themselves. But throughout five seasons, the show has B also never shied away from displaying the humanity beneath its evil-like characters. Take, Bobby Axelrod (Damian Lewis), for instance. On one hand, Bobby is portrayed as a man who will do literally anything, including crime, to maintain his wealth and power. But on the other hand, Bobby is also a man who will drop everything for his family and the small group of people he really cares about. The same thing can also be said about Bobby’s arch-nemesis Chuck Rhoades (Paul Giamatti), or the other characters — because deep down, they are all still human beings with real feelings, not just pathological monsters. Daddy Issues “Contract”, once again, asks us to look deep at this humanity as the two lead characters are grappling with personal problems. For Bobby, it is childhood trauma, while for Chuck, it is his father’s mortality and the complicated unhealthy relationship between them. The last time we saw Bobby, he bailed on a dinner invitation at his Yonkers childhood home. But the reason is far more / complicated than him being a dick. It’s later revealed that while he was a kid and still living in Yonkers, his father was abusive toward his mother, Laurel (Patti D’Arbanville). And when Bobby was twelve, his father left them for good. That’s why it’s really difficult for Bobby to step his foot back into his old house.

The episode, however, does not drop this information immediately. Rather, every moment leading up to Bobby’s ﬁnally acknowledging his issue is built carefully, and with a lot of care. It’s not just the house that triggers Bobby’s trauma though. But it’s also the possibility that his father might have been back in town, and secretly meeting his mother behind Bobby’s back. Bobby suspects this when visiting his mom to go ask for help in dealing with the whole Yonkers ﬁasco. While there, Bobby notices that the Lexus he gave her has gone missing. Her mom says that she sold her a while ago because it’s too sophisticated for her.

source: Showtime

Knowing that something’s not right, Bobby then orders his personal fixer Hall (Terry Kinney) to go find the truth. And turns out, his suspicion is not wrong. His father is indeed back in town, and the Lexus Bobby gave to her mom is now his father’s. Bobby has a plan in dealing with all of these, and painful as it is to revisit his trauma, or hurts other people he cares about in the process of, putting this plan into action is a step that Bobby needs if he wants to finally free of the pain.

The mechanic of Bobby’s plan is secondary to the emotional catharsis that he achieves at the end of the episode. He makes sure that his mom will never be in touch with his father again, or else he’ll cut her oﬀ for good. He also purchases his old home back and gives the family who currently lives in there enough money to get a new house in a better neighborhood. Then to put a cherry on top, Bobby manages to ﬁnd out where his dad now lives, and destroys the Lexus in front of his eyes.

It’s refreshing to see this side of Bobby. Because for once, he does something not for the sake of his wealth and power, but rather for something that is far more personal. What is even fascinating, aside from Lewis’ heartbreaking performance, is how the episode manages to show us that Bobby’s childhood trauma is the reason why he is the way he is right now, and how the pain that comes from it can also perpetuate the cycle of abuse itself.

source: Showtime / read-our-stories-our-lives/)

ALSO ON FILM INQUIRY

SXSW 2020: DRUNK BOSCH SEASON 6: ONWARD: The Pixar Actor Proﬁle: T BUS Consistently One Of … Formula Loses A … Curry

3 months ago • 1 comment 21 days ago • 1 comment 4 months ago • 1 comment 3 months ago • 2 co Drunk bus is edgy and Bosch is an impressively It's Onward and downwards Film Inquiry's Mat heartwarming, bringing crafted ensemble show with for Pixar, as their Dungeons Tschirgi takes a loo powerful performances … a wealth of excellent … and Dragons inspired … the career and ess

0 Comments Film Inquiry  Disqus' Privacy Policy 1 Login

 Recommend t Tweet f Share Sort by Newest

Start the discussion…

Name

Be the ﬁrst to comment.

✉ Subscribe d Add Disqus to your siteAdd DisqusAdd ⚠ Do Not Sell My Data

(https://www.filminquiry.com/cineola- (https://www.filminquiry.com/nfmla- (https://www.filminquiry.com/tribeca- (https://www.filminquiry.com/tribeca- festival-resistir/) june-asian-cinema-shorts-pt2/) 2020-narrative-shorts-pt2/) 2020-narrative-shorts-pt1/)

FILM FESTIVALS FILM REVIEWS FILM FESTIVALS FILM FESTIVALS (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/CATEGORY/FILM(H-TTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/CATEGORY/REV(HIETWTPSS/):,//WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/CATEGORY/FILM(H-TTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/CATEGORY/F FESTIVALS/), SHORT FILM REVIEWS SHORT FILM REVIEWS FESTIVALS/), SHORT FILM REVIEWS FESTIVALS/), SHORT FILM REVIEWS (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/CATEGORY/REV(HIETWTPSS/S:/H/WORWTW- .FILMINQUIRY.COM/CATEGORY/REV(HIETWTPSS/S:/H/WORWTW- .FILMINQUIRY.COM/CATEGORY/REV(HIETWTPSS/S:/H/WORWTW- .FILMINQUIRY.COM/CATEGORY/R FILM-REVIEWS/) FILM-REVIEWS/) FILM-REVIEWS/) FILM-REVIEWS/)

Cineola Festival, Resistir: The Importance Of NFMLA Monthly Film Festival June 2020: Asian Cinema Tribeca 2020: Narrative Shorts Part 2 Tribeca 2020: Narrative Shorts Part 1 Community (https://www.filminquiry.com/cineola- Shorts Part 2 (https://www.filminquiry.com/nfmla- (https://www.filminquiry.com/tribeca-2020- (https://www.filminquiry.com/tribeca-2020- festival-resistir/) june-asian-cinema-shorts-pt2/) narrative-shorts-pt2/) narrative-shorts-pt1/)

EPISODE REVIEWS (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/CATEGORY/TV/EPISODE-REVIEWS/), TV (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/CATEGORY/TV/) / Chuck is facing a different kind of daddy issue. While he is busy trying to prevent Bobby and Axe Capital in getting the bank license, his dad Chuck Rhoades, Sr. (Jeffrey DeMunn), in the show’s most The Godfather moment yet, is having kidney failure. Chuck later finds out that because of his father’s age and history of alcohol abuse, he won’t be a priority at the transplant list. Terrified that he’ll die sooner than he expects, Senior then asks Chuck to use his power as NYAG to put him at the transplant list.

What’s interesting about this is not the dynamic between Chuck and his father, but rather how this request puts Chuck in a very tough spot. On one hand, Chuck promises to never abuse his power again for personal gain. But on the other hand, we know that Chuck will do anything for his father even though their relationship is far from healthy. What Chuck’s decision is, and how it’ll affect his dynamic with Chuck, Sr. is still up in the air, but it’ll be interesting to see it unfolds. A Game Of Trust While Bobby and Chuck are busy dealing with family problems, back in Axe Capital HQ, things get heated up as Wendy (Maggie Siff) and Taylor (Asia Kate Dillon) are officially opening their new impact fund Taylor Mason Carbon. The old employee of Mase Cap, especially Lauren (Jade Eshete) and Winston (Will Roland), disagree with Taylor’s decision of bringing Wendy into the new venture, saying that she is not someone to trust. And they are absolutely right to think so since Wendy’s number one allegiance will always be to Axe Capital.

But instead of listening to her employees’ concerns, Taylor decides to increase Wendy’s share by 40%. It sounds risky and dumb at ﬁrst. But actually it’s a brilliant move. By giving Wendy more share, Taylor manages to put more responsibility to her, thus if Wendy ever messes with Taylor Mason Carbon, she’ll have a lot to lose. This delicate position where Wendy is now will no doubt play a huge part in her dynamic with Bobby going forward, especially if she’ll ever be caught in a crossﬁre between Taylor and Bobby, as is often the case with her.

source: Showtime

Chuck is also playing a tricky game of trust in this episode. Before he has to deal with his father, Chuck and his brilliant assistant Kate Sacker (Condola Rashad) approach Leah Calder (Wendie Malick), the official who would legalize Bobby’s banking application. Chuck wants Leah to stall the process so that he’ll have more time to entrap Bobby. Though Leah refuses at first, she, in the end, says yes to Chuck’s request after he offers to help her get her family’s ring back from his son’s ex- fiancee.

Chuck then calls Jackie Connerty (Michael Raymond-James), the brother of Chuck’s protegee- turned-enemy Brian Connerty (Toby Leonard Moore), who’s now in prison. He wants Jackie to help him crack a safe where the ring is kept, and as an exchange, he will not be arrested for a theft he committed some times ago. Plus, Brian will be relocated to a much better prison. Jackie agrees to do what Chuck asks him to do as long as he pays Brian a visit, which ends up in him getting punched in the face. No big deal.

/ In the end, Chuck gets his wish of preventing Bobby from getting the license come true, even after Bobby manages to expose the local community bank from racist and homophobic acts. The consequences of Chuck’s “illegal” approach remain to be seen, but it won’t be surprising if it will be a boomerang to him in the end, especially considering how Jackie is someone who Chuck clearly cannot trust. Final Thought Much like the previous four episodes, “Contract” is an episode full of thrills, fun, and phenomenal performances. The only diﬀerence is, it moves a little slower, with not much progress aside from Bobby dealing with his childhood trauma. But by giving us more poignant moments, Billions shows so much progress when it comes to how it portrays the characters. And that’s still a win for me.

What do you think of Taylor’s move? Let us know in the comments!

All ﬁve episodes of Billions season ﬁve are available to stream on Showtime App.

Watch Billions

Does content like this matter to you?

Become a Patron and support ﬁlm journalism. Get an ad-free reading experience, access to audio recordings of our articles and exclusive access to giveaways, join our community on Discord, and more.

Join now! (https://www.ﬁlminquiry.com/membership)

TAGS ADAM BERNSTEIN (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/ADAM-BERNSTEIN/) ANDREW ROSS SORKIN (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/ANDREW-ROSS-SORKIN/) BILLIONS (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/BILLIONS/) BILLIONS SEASON 5 (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/BILLIONS-SEASON-5/) BRIAN KOPPELMAN (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/BRIAN-KOPPELMAN/) DAMIAN LEWIS (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/DAMIAN-LEWIS/) DAVID LEVIEN (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/DAVID-LEVIEN/) DRAMA (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/DRAMA/) GREED (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/GREED/) MAGGIE SIFF (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/MAGGIE-SIFF/) MATTHEW MCLOOTA (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/MATTHEW-MCLOOTA/) MONEY (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/MONEY/) PAUL GIAMATTI (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/PAUL-GIAMATTI/) POLITICS (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/POLITICS/) POWER (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/POWER/) SHOWTIME (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TAG/SHOWTIME/)

REYZANDO NAWARA (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/AUTHOR/REYZANDO-NAWARA/) (http://@reyzando) (http://@reyzview)

Reyzando Nawara is a passionate Indonesian based ﬁlm and TV enthusiast who enjoys to write and discuss about cinema or anything TV-related. Big fan of Mia Hansen-Løve, Alex Ross Perry, and Noah Baumbach.

(https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?  SHARE  TWEETtext=BILLIONS%20%28S5E5%29%20%26%238220% u=https://www.ﬁlminquiry.com/billions-s5e5/) (https://reddit.com/submit?url=https://www.ﬁlminquiry.com/billions-  SHARE s5e5/) /  SHAREsubject=BILLIONS%20%28S5E5%29%20%26%238220%3BContract%26%238221%3B%3A%20The%20Sins%20Of%20The%20Fathe

(https://www.filminquiry.com/spring- (https://www.filminquiry.com/realism- (https://www.filminquiry.com/quiz- (https://www.filminquiry.com/im-no- summer-night-1967-review/) of-the-handmaiden/) season-1/) longer-here-2020-review/)

FILM REVIEWS FEATURES SEASON REVIEW FILM REVIEWS (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/CATEGORY/REV(HIETWTPSS/)://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/CATEGORY/FEA(THUTRTPES://)/WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/CATEGORY/TV/(SHETATSPOSN:/-/WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/CATEGORY/R REVIEW/), TV (HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/CATEGORY/TV/) SPRING NIGHT, SUMMER NIGHT: A Rediscovered Work of The Realism of THE HANDMAIDEN: A Better Type Of I’M NO LONGER HERE: Heart Over Craft American Neorealism Historical Fiction QUIZ Miniseries: A Gripping Retelling Of The Infamous (https://www.filminquiry.com/im-no-longer-here- (https://www.filminquiry.com/spring-summer- (https://www.filminquiry.com/realism-of-the- British Gameshow Scandal 2020-review/) night-1967-review/) handmaiden/) (https://www.filminquiry.com/quiz-season-1/)

Creativity for all. The world's best creative apps for wherever your imagination takes you. Join now ›

(https://www.ﬁlminquiry.com/)   (HTTPS://FACEBOOK.COM/FILMINQUIRY) (HTTPS://TWITTER.COM/FILMINQUIRY)  (HTTPS://YOUTUBE.COM/CHANNEL/UCZFZ4DP48M8UZXO46GO30LG)

TEAM(HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/TEAM/) ABOUT(HTTPS://WWW.FILMINQUIRY.COM/ABOUT/) BECOME A PATRON(HTTPS://W©W W20.F2I0L MFiIlNmQ IUnqIRuYir.yC. OAMll /RMigEhMtsB REReseSHrveIPSd).