This film is part of Rentals
Real Boy
A 19-year-old trans man navigates family, friendships, and the challenges of young adulthood.
Director: Shaleece Haas
Overview
‘I just want to be loved by my family,’ says Bennett, a 19-year-old trans man. ‘But for my family, it’s not as simple as that.’ Ben’s mum is having a hard time coming to terms with her child changing. His dad and sister no longer speak to him. But, thanks to social media, Ben meets a whole network of people who support him, including best friend Dylan and Joe Stevens, a trans musician. They’re his chosen family. Not that things are ever perfect. Joe faces the return of an old demon of his own.
Real Boy is often raw and breathtakingly honest, but it is to the film’s credit that it never judges its characters. It is impossible not to feel a sense of awe at the resilience, courage and maturity of young trans people.
Related
The Taste of Mango The Taste of Mango
Documentary 2023 75 mins Director: Chloe Abrahams
Sleepwalking into submerged depths of memory, a mother’s dream and a daughter’s beckoning, this fascinating film tenderly untangles the knots of the past.
A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things
Biopic 2024 88 mins Director: Mark Cousins
A striking portrait of an artist deserving of greater recognition, directed by Mark Cousins (A Story of Film).
Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat
Documentary 2024 150 mins Director: Johan Grimonprez
Johan Grimonprez’s involving film essay, anchored by the rhythm of American jazz, reveals disturbing truths about the decolonial struggle between global political powers.
No Other Land No Other Land
Documentary 2024 92 mins Director: Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham
This powerful documentary from a Palestinian-Israeli collective might be one of the most important films of this year.
South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic
Documentary 1919 81 mins Silent Director: Frank Hurley
An extraordinary story of survival in the wastes of Antarctica.
The Ballymurphy Precedent The Ballymurphy Precedent
Documentary 2018 108 mins Director: Callum Macrae
John Pilger's film on the conflict in Northern Ireland is a skilful mix of investigative journalism, documentary storytelling and reflections on contemporary history.
The Pass The Pass
Drama 2016 86 mins Director: Ben A. Williams
Russell Tovey stars as a Premier League footballer who shares a fumbled pass (of the sexual kind) with a teammate (Arinzé Kene), changing everything - both on and off the pitch.
The Handmaiden The Handmaiden
Crime 2016 146 mins Director: Park Chan-wook
Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, Stoker) channels Sarah Waters’ novel Fingersmith, to create a sumptuous twisty psychological thriller full of erotic intrigue.
Tom of Finland Tom of Finland
Biopic 2017 116 mins Director: Dome Karukoski
The story of a gay icon is brought to life in Dome Karukoski’s handsome biopic of Touko Laaksonen, the artist whose homoerotic drawings gave visual expression to a growing gay culture.
Beach Rats Beach Rats
Drama 2017 98 mins Director: Eliza Hittman
Gripping account of repressed sexual desire in a hyper-masculine environment, with British newcomer Harris Dickinson as a virulently macho Brooklyn teen.
Boys on Film 17: Love Is the Drug Boys on Film 17: Love Is the Drug
Romance 2017 142 mins Director: Nicholas Colia, David Ullgren, Andre D Chambers, Brendon McDonall, Lorelei Pepi, Eyal Resh, Martin Edralin, Marco Leão, André Santos and Anthony Schatteman
An intoxicating and entrancing selection of gay short films from around the globe.
The Ornithologist The Ornithologist
Drama 2016 118 mins Director: João Pedro Rodrigues
A lone scientist in Portugal’s Douro region embarks on an unexpected transcendental journey. Beautiful, erotic and baffling.
The Taste of Mango The Taste of Mango
Documentary 2023 75 mins Director: Chloe Abrahams
Sleepwalking into submerged depths of memory, a mother’s dream and a daughter’s beckoning, this fascinating film tenderly untangles the knots of the past.
A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things
Biopic 2024 88 mins Director: Mark Cousins
A striking portrait of an artist deserving of greater recognition, directed by Mark Cousins (A Story of Film).
Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat
Documentary 2024 150 mins Director: Johan Grimonprez
Johan Grimonprez’s involving film essay, anchored by the rhythm of American jazz, reveals disturbing truths about the decolonial struggle between global political powers.
No Other Land No Other Land
Documentary 2024 92 mins Director: Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham
This powerful documentary from a Palestinian-Israeli collective might be one of the most important films of this year.
Only the River Flows Only the River Flows
Crime 2023 102 mins Director: Shujun Wei
Shujun Wei's slow-burn noir draws us inexorably into its mysterious psychological journey.
The Critic The Critic
Period drama 2023 101 mins Director: Anand Tucker
Ian McKellen is in delicious form as London's most vicious critic, who strikes a Faustian pact with a struggling actor (Gemma Arterton).