From the Editor: Tuesday 21st February

Queer film strand Eyes Wide Open’s screening of Moonlight at the Duke of York’s made for a brilliant Valentine’s Day evening. I’m a romantic person but I dislike a lot of the cloying, mawkish sentimentality that Valentine’s Day elicits.

I’m also not a fan of the sense of sectarianism, with the us and them mentality of those in relationships vs. those who are not. It’s a false dichotomy anyway, which conjures up images of the happy and the unhappy, those with and those without, which isn’t borne out by reality.

I mention this because I know some people who were unhappy last Tuesday because they weren’t with a partner, in case you’re wondering why I’m waffling on about it. I think that social media can also add to these constructed mythologies of happiness, wherein self-promoting types celebrate their relationships while making some singletons feel awkward about themselves. It doesn’t matter to you as a reader if I was with a partner, with friends, or was alone for the Moonlight screening.

The crowd was friendly, creating a nice atmosphere while the whole auditorium was silently, communally riveted by the drama. The film was brilliant: I was wary that it would be overblown Oscar bait but instead it’s a focused, moving, beautiful movie with memorably understated performances. Like a Jane Austen novel, I don’t know if I’ve ever wanted someone to kiss someone more.

So I’d like to thank Eyes Wide Open for arranging the early preview so we could do something a bit different on Valentine’s Day. It was an antidotal balm.

You can check out upcoming screenings and read more about the strand at www.eyeswideopencinema.co.uk

Joe Fuller
editorial@thelatest.co.uk