Cicada (2020 film)

Last updated

Cicada
Cicada-movie-poster-md.jpg
Film poster
Directed byMatthew Fifer and Kieran Mulcare
Produced byJeremy Truong
Ramfis Myrthil
StarringMatthew Fifer
Sheldon Brown
Sandra Bauleo
Jazmin Grimaldi
Cobie Smulders
Scott Adsit
Michael Potts
David Burtka
Jo Firestone
Jason "Freckle" Greene
CinematographyEric Schleicher
Edited byKyle Sims
Matthew Fifer
Music byGil Talmi
Production
company
rubbertape
Distributed by Strand Releasing
Release dates
  • August 20, 2020 (2020-08-20)(Outfest Film Festival)
  • October 29, 2021 (2021-10-29)(Quad Cinema)
Running time
93 minutes [1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$13,370 [2]

Cicada is a 2020 American romantic drama film directed by Matthew Fifer and Kieran Mulcare. [3] Fifer co-wrote the film with Sheldon D. Brown, both of whom starred in leading roles. [4] [5]

Contents

After its original premiere was canceled from Covid-19, the film played at Outfest Film Festival on August 22, 2020, with the European premiere at the 64th BFI London Film Festival. It received a limited theatrical from Strand Releasing in the United States October 29, 2021. It was subsequently nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay.

Synopsis

Ben spends his days living in Brooklyn and taking on a series of odd jobs, while at night he has meaningless one-night stands that leave him feeling empty inside. He suffers from hypochondria and has a set routine that he frequently goes through with his physician, Dr. Dragone. Ben's life takes on new meaning when he meets Sam, a data analyst, while browsing for books.

Over time, the two men each admit personal secrets that they had never really told to anyone else before. Ben comes forward about his childhood sexual abuse and while Sam admits that he has post traumatic stress disorder from being shot and also has not come out yet to his extremely religious father. As the two grow closer still, they soon realize that each must come to terms with their traumas if the relationship is to survive. [6]

Cast

Production

Fifer wrote the script based upon his own life experiences. Cicada was developed with the support of Tribeca's TFI Network, and was produced by Ramfis Myrthil of Beast of the East Productions and Jeremey Truong. [7]

Release

The film was meant to premiere at the BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival in March 2020, but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [8] It instead premiered at the Outfest Film Festival on August 20, 2020, being made available for streaming on Vimeo until August 23. It was also screened at the Outfest Drive-In at the Calamigos Ranch in Malibu on August 22. [9] [10]

The film was released in select theatres in the United States by Strand Releasing beginning October 29, 2021. [11] It premiered at the Quad Cinema in New York City, before being released on PVOD services and in Los Angeles and Glendale on November 5. The film was later released at The Loft Cinema in Tucson on November 10 and the Syndicated Bar Theater in Brooklyn on November 19. [12]

Reception

Critical reception for Cicada has been positive, and the movie holds a rating of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 28 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reads, "A feast for the eyes as well as the heart, Cicada takes a bittersweet -- and beautifully acted -- look at the bonds of love." [13]

Variety 's Guy Lodge reviewed Cicada, stating that it was an "untidy but beguiling study of two Brooklyn men negotiating romance and trauma". [14] The Hollywood Reporter praised the film's characters, while also writing that the "stylistic leaps can also be overdone and vague". [15] Albert Nowicki of Prime Movies labelled the film as "naturalistic", and praised the actors for their "raw", "understated" performances. [16]

Awards

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival</span> European LGBTIQ+ film festival

BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival, formerly known as the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (LLGFF), is the biggest LGBTIQ+ film festival in Europe. It takes place every spring in London, England. Organised and run by the British Film Institute, all BFI Flare screenings take place in the BFI Southbank.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BFI London Film Festival</span> Annual film festival held in London, England

The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. The festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the BFI estimated that around 240 feature films and 150 short films from more than 70 countries are screened at the festival each year.

Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival, the New York Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival, and the Inside Out Film and Video Festival, in launching the North American Queer Festival Alliance, an initiative to further publicize and promote LGBT film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frameline Film Festival</span>

The Frameline Film Festival began as a storefront event in 1976. The first film festival, named the Gay Film Festival of Super-8 Films, was held in 1977. The festival is organized by Frameline, a nonprofit media arts organization whose mission statement is "to change the world through the power of queer cinema". It is the oldest LGBTQ+ film festival in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BFI Southbank</span> Cinema in the UK

BFI Southbank is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Cone</span> American filmmaker and actor

Stephen Cone is an American filmmaker, best known for Henry Gamble's Birthday Party and Princess Cyd. He has received early career retrospectives on the Criterion Channel, Mubi, and at the Museum of the Moving Image, Berlin's Unknown Pleasures Festival and Manchester's Bigger Than Life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewel's Catch One</span> Gay dance bar in Los Angeles

Jewel's Catch One was a dance bar owned by Jewel Thais-Williams. It was located at 4067 West Pico Boulevard in the Arlington Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. Opened in 1973, it was the longest running black gay dance bar in Los Angeles. After nearly closing in 2015, it was purchased by Mitch Edelson and his father Steve Edelson - who reopened under new management. Briefly called Union after the change in management, it has since reverted to the Catch One moniker.

<i>A Million Happy Nows</i> 2017 American film

A Million Happy Nows is a 2017 American independent drama film written by Marisa Calin and directed by Albert Alarr. The film stars Crystal Chappell and Jessica Leccia as a lesbian couple dealing with the diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer's.

<i>Hard Paint</i> 2018 film

Hard Paint is a 2018 Brazilian drama film directed by Marcio Reolon and Filipe Matzembacher. It is set in Porto Alegre and follows a young gay man called Pedro who performs on video chat using body paint as his trademark. The film was screened at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival, winning the Teddy Award for the best LGBTQ feature film of the festival.

<i>Jules of Light and Dark</i> 2018 American drama film

Jules of Light and Dark is a 2018 American drama film directed by Daniel Laabs. It was screened at NewFest's 2018 film festival where it won the Grand Jury Prize for Best U.S. Narrative Feature.

<i>Circus of Books</i> (film) 2019 documentary film

Circus of Books is a 2019 American documentary film directed by Rachel Mason, written by Rachel Mason and Kathryn Robson and starring Karen Mason, Barry Mason and Rachel Mason. The premise revolves around Circus of Books, a bookstore and gay pornography shop in West Hollywood, California, and in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Matthew Puccini is an American filmmaker. He is known for his short films that deal with LGBT-related subject matters. These include The Mess He Made (2017), Marquise (2018), Dirty (2020) and Lavender (2019). His films have played at several festivals including Sundance, SXSW, Aspen Shortsfest, Palm Springs ShortsFest, and Outfest Los Angeles. His work has also been featured on Topic and The Huffington Post.

<i>Dirty</i> (2020 film) 2020 short film by Matthew Puccini

Dirty is a 2020 short LGBT coming-of-age romantic drama film, written and directed by Matthew Puccini. It premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Film.

<i>Cured</i> (film) 2020 American documentary film

Cured is an American documentary film, directed by Bennett Singer and Patrick Sammon and released in 2020. The film depicts the inner workings of the campaign that led to homosexuality being delisted from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1973.

<i>Cubby</i> (film) 2019 American film

Cubby is a 2019 American fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Mark Blane and Ben Mankoff and starring Blane, Patricia Richardson, Jeanine Serralles, Peter Y. Kim, and Joseph Seuffert.

Peter Knegt is a Canadian writer, producer, and filmmaker. He is the recipient of five Canadian Screen Awards and his CBC Arts column Queeries received the 2019 Digital Publishing Award for best digital column in Canada.

<i>Firebird</i> (2021 film) 2021 film by Peeter Rebane

Firebird is a 2021 romantic war drama film directed, co-written, and co-produced by Peeter Rebane, based on Sergey Fetisov's memoir The Story of Roman. The film stars Tom Prior, Oleg Zagorodnii, and Diana Pozharskaya. Set in the Soviet Air Force during the Cold War, it tells the true story of forbidden love between a private and a fighter pilot.

<i>Minyan</i> (film) 2020 American LGBT-related coming-of-age drama film

Minyan is a 2020 American LGBT-related coming-of-age drama film written by Eric Steel and Daniel Pearle. It was directed by Eric Steel, in his feature film debut. It is based on a short story of the same name by David Bezmozgis. The film stars Samuel H. Levine, Ron Rifkin, Christopher McCann, Brooke Bloom, Alex Hurt, Chris Perfetti, and Mark Margolis in his final film role before his death in 2023. It had its world premiere at the 2020 Berlin International Film Festival and was nominated for Best Feature Film. It went on to screen at Los Angeles Outfest, where it won the Grand Jury Award for Outstanding U.S. Narrative Feature. The film was received favorably by critics.

Unidentified Objects is a 2023 black comedy science-fiction road movie directed by Juan Felipe Zuleta in his feature film debut and starring Matthew August Jeffers, Sarah Hay, and Roberta Colindrez.

<i>Big Boys</i> (film) 2023 comedy drama film

Big Boys is a 2023 American coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Corey Sherman on his film debut. It stars Isaac Krasner, David Johnson III, Dora Madison Burge, Taj Cross and Emily Deschanel. The film is about a self-discovery of teenage boy who secretly falls in love with his cousin's boyfriend.

References

  1. ↑ "CICADA (15)". Outfest . August 6, 2020. Archived from the original on September 1, 2020. Retrieved August 6, 2020.
  2. ↑ "Cicada (2020)". Box Office Mojo . IMDb . Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  3. ↑ "This year's BFI Flare line-up has been announced – and it's a doozy (15)". Time Out . February 19, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Outfest Los Angeles Sets 'The Obituary of Tunde Johnson', 'Monsoon', 'Two Eyes' And More For Virtual LGBTQ Film Fest (15)". Deadline . August 20, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2020.
  5. ↑ Rosser, Michael. "LGBTQ+ drama 'Cicada' acquired for UK-Ireland distribution". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on December 21, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  6. ↑ "BFI ANNOUNCES SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS AT 34TH EDITION OF BFI FLARE: LONDON LGBTIQ+ FILM FESTIVAL" . Retrieved January 5, 2021.[ permanent dead link ]
  7. ↑ "Special presentations announced for 34th edition of BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival". British Film Institute . February 14, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  8. ↑ Michael Rosser (March 16, 2021). "BFI Flare festival cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic". Screen Daily . Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  9. ↑ Jude Dry (August 21, 2020). "10 LGBTQ Films We Can't Wait to See at Outfest 2020". Indiewire . Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  10. ↑ Stephen Saito (August 21, 2020). "Outfest 2020 Review: Matthew Fifer and Kieran Mulcare's Evocative "Cicada" Moves at Its Own Speed". The Moveable Fest. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Official Trailer for 'Cicada' About a Summer Fling Between Two Men". October 8, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Cicada: USA| Matthew Filler". Strand Releasing. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Cicada". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  14. ↑ Lodge, Guy (October 16, 2020). "'Cicada' Review: The Pain and Poetry of Being Young, Queer, Troubled and In Love". Variety. Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  15. ↑ "'Cicada': Film Review". Hollywood Reporter. October 29, 2020. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  16. ↑ Nowicki, Albert (February 11, 2022). "Review: 'Cicada', a gay drama directed by Matthew Fifer". Prime Movies. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  17. ↑ "'Cicada'" . Retrieved February 12, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.