Entertainment

Film can be pure entertainment, but it can also be a way for us to learn about our history, examine complicated issues, sit with our emotions and work for the future. Today, on World Aids Day, here are three recommendations of films to watch as we commemorate those who have died and work to support those who are living with HIV, uniting to fight the disease globally. We Were Here is a powerful documentary charting the effects of the disease in San Francisco’s gay community. The film is built around testimony from five men and women who experienced those years firsthand: Guy Clark, a flowerseller in the Castro; nurse Eileen Glutzer; Paul Boneberg, who founded Mobilization Against Aids; Ed Wolf, a counsellor; and HIV-positive artist Daniel Goldstein. In the late 1970s San Francisco was a ...

Cocoon is a gorgeous coming-of-age tale, a celebration of the long hot summer of 2018 and a sweet story of a teenage girl discovering her feelings for another young woman. 14-year-old Berliner Nora is waking up to the world – she still nurtures her caterpillars but is watching the world around her and learning about it and about who she wants to be. Her older sister Jule is affectionate but dismissive, caught up in a world of BFFs, parties and boys, plus the terminal embarrassment of having a younger sister hanging around. The pair of them have to deal with a young mother who is out partying more than she is there for the two teenagers; though she clearly loves them, she is wrestling with demons of her own. Then Nora meets Romy, the cool new girl at school, and her life changes. She ...

Two films available this week explore issues around the trans experience, with delicacy and much-needed kindness. Little Girl is a French documentary which follows 8-year-old Sasha, who knows she is a girl, despite being assigned male at birth. She wrestles her way with other people at school, in her dance class, but her family are supportive and know she must be allowed to follow her own path. Filmmaker Sébastien Lifshitz, who regularly explores marginalised and queer experiences, follows Sasha and her family over the course of a year. The film, which is beautifully shot, delicately captures moments of joy and challenges the family face. This is an important film for anyone trying to understand the issues faced by trans children in a world which frequently doesn’t understand them. ...

As we mourn the death at 87 of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and follow the news to see who will be appointed in her place, there are two films that help to tell the story of this inspiring woman. RBG is a 2018 documentary (Netflix) which traces the life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, legendary member of the US Supreme Court. It uses interviews with the judge herself as well as various of her associates, plus news clips and film of her at work and at play (particularly memorable are her trips to the opera and her legendary gym workouts). This is a loving and admiring film, with only one moment of criticism (when RBG openly attacked Trump), but it helpfully puts into context the story of her career and how she was so admired for her legal skills and continued fight for equal rights. Ginsburg was chall...

Starring Henry Golding, this moving film is story of cultural displacement, unexpected romance and the search for a lost home. Kit (Henry Golding, Crazy Rich Asians) returns to Ho Chi Minh City for the first time since he was six years old, when his family fled the country in the aftermath of the Vietnam-American war. He wants to scatter his parents’ ashes in their home country, but also hopes to rediscover his own roots and understand his identity. However, instead of a homecoming, he finds himself in an unfamiliar country – so much has changed in this vibrant, busy country, and he can no longer speak the language. He travels to Saigon and spends time with various people who are also trying to understand their place in the country. His cousin Lee reminds them of their shared youthfu...