I Love You, Beksman - Queer Cinema x IFFR
Welcome to LantarenVenster’s Queer Cinema, a monthly movie night dedicated to showcasing the best of queer cinema. This time, we have joined forces with IFFR and will screen the amazing, colorful I Love You, Beksman. There will be an introduction by IFFR curator Lyse beforehand.
I Love You, Beksman
Everyone thinks Dali is gay. He colours his hair red, sports flamboyant clothes, works as a make-up artist and fashion designer for his gay parents, Papshiekels and Mamshiekels. But when he falls for Angel, a female model from a family of iron-pumping, shoulder-slapping straight men, Dali’s parents go into a tizzy. “Whenever we see beautiful girls, we dress them up, design clothes for them, but we don’t date them”, says a panicked Papshiekels.
With its bright colour palette, soft focus compositions and peppy song-and-dance sequences, Percival Intalan’s buoyant romantic comedy I Love You, Beksman is a cinematic sugar rush. While it turns the premise of the standard coming-out story on its head, the film doesn’t play this reversal for its scandalous value. In creating an intriguing incongruity between Dali’s sexuality and his behaviour, it seeks to clear preconceptions about identity prevalent in both straight and gay communities.
The film’s exaggeration of stereotypes allows it to bring out the performative aspect of sexuality, but also better carve out the liminal character of Dali, portrayed with charm and earnestness by Christian Bables, whose wide-eyed vulnerability cuts through layers of camp. A work with broad appeal and an uplifting message, I Love You, Beksman has the capacity to leave viewers grinning through tears.
– Srikanth Srinivasan
Introduction by IFFR curator Lyse
Lyse Ishimwe NSENGIYUMVA is a film curator and photographer. Lyse is currently based in Belgium, where she founded Recognition in 2016. Recognition is a Brussels-based initiative with the aim of increasing the visibility of African and African diaspora art, literature and culture via community-based film screenings. In her work for this project, Lyse curates a film programme that takes place at art and cultural spaces in various cities across Europe. Lyse currently works at IFFR as a programmer for the Sub-Saharan African region. Previously, she was a film consultant for Berlinale Forum.
Kies tijdstip
- filmspecial
Welcome to LantarenVenster’s Queer Cinema, a monthly movie night dedicated to showcasing the best of queer cinema. This time, we have joined forces with IFFR and will screen the amazing, colorful I Love You, Beksman. There will be an introduction by IFFR curator Lyse beforehand.
I Love You, Beksman
Everyone thinks Dali is gay. He colours his hair red, sports flamboyant clothes, works as a make-up artist and fashion designer for his gay parents, Papshiekels and Mamshiekels. But when he falls for Angel, a female model from a family of iron-pumping, shoulder-slapping straight men, Dali’s parents go into a tizzy. “Whenever we see beautiful girls, we dress them up, design clothes for them, but we don’t date them”, says a panicked Papshiekels.
With its bright colour palette, soft focus compositions and peppy song-and-dance sequences, Percival Intalan’s buoyant romantic comedy I Love You, Beksman is a cinematic sugar rush. While it turns the premise of the standard coming-out story on its head, the film doesn’t play this reversal for its scandalous value. In creating an intriguing incongruity between Dali’s sexuality and his behaviour, it seeks to clear preconceptions about identity prevalent in both straight and gay communities.
The film’s exaggeration of stereotypes allows it to bring out the performative aspect of sexuality, but also better carve out the liminal character of Dali, portrayed with charm and earnestness by Christian Bables, whose wide-eyed vulnerability cuts through layers of camp. A work with broad appeal and an uplifting message, I Love You, Beksman has the capacity to leave viewers grinning through tears.
– Srikanth Srinivasan
Introduction by IFFR curator Lyse
Lyse Ishimwe NSENGIYUMVA is a film curator and photographer. Lyse is currently based in Belgium, where she founded Recognition in 2016. Recognition is a Brussels-based initiative with the aim of increasing the visibility of African and African diaspora art, literature and culture via community-based film screenings. In her work for this project, Lyse curates a film programme that takes place at art and cultural spaces in various cities across Europe. Lyse currently works at IFFR as a programmer for the Sub-Saharan African region. Previously, she was a film consultant for Berlinale Forum.
