#I also love stories that are deeply queer but don’t centre on romance (or have much at all

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

The Skin and Its Girl

literary fiction with a little magical realism

follows a queer Palestinian American woman born with blue skin, recounting her childhood, to the great-aunt who helped raise her, and piecing together her great-aunt’s secrets

family, identity, and stories

[denimbex1986]

'Six BAFTA nominations, universal critical acclaim, and not a dry eye in the house: Andrew Haigh’s ghostly gay romance All of Us Strangers is already the must-watch queer film of the year.

Based loosely on 1987 novel Strangers by Taichi Yamada, All of Us Strangers follows Fleabag star Andrew Scott as a depressed and isolated queer writer in his forties, who is still reeling from the death of his parents three decades earlier.

In one week, his world changes: not only does he spark up a deep and beautiful romance with younger neighbour Harry (Paul Mescal), but he returns to his childhood home and reunites with his parents – despite them being dead.

Across weeks, he gets to have the vital, moving conversations with the apparitions of mum (Claire Foy) and dad (Jamie Bell) that he was too young to have when they passed, as his romance with Harry blossoms.

Though Yamada’s original novel features a straight protagonist, Andrew Haigh recently explained to PinkNews why he, as a gay man, couldn’t have told his version of the story without centring the queer experience.

“What I’ve always been interested in doing, and especially with this [film], is talking about queerness in relationship to family, and how complicated it can be in relationship to family,” he shared, “especially if you grew up in a generation of the ’80s and into the early ’90s, where it was very different than it is now – thank God.”

A turning point in All of Us Strangers comes when Adam comes out to his parents, who are stuck in the deeply homophobic Thatcher era, and their response is initially less than approving.

“Back then, it was a pretty rough time for a lot of kids growing up and growing into their sexuality. I felt like that adds so much to the story,” the Looking and Weekend creator shared.

“[Adam’s] not lonely because he’s gay. But being gay and coming from that time has made him feel separate in the world to some degree. It’s almost like the world has made him feel lonely.”

As part of the discourse surrounding the film, Paul Mescal has been forced to explain why it was OK for him, as a straight actor, to portray a gay character, arguing that it depends who is in the driving seat of the film.

Haigh has now explained that gay actor Andrew Scott was always going to take the lead role in the film over Paul Mescal, because the story needed to focus on a particular generation of gay men.

“It always had to be from Adam’s perspective,” the 50-year-old director explained.

“I’m the same age or a little bit older than Andrew Scott’s character. That was the generation that I wanted to talk about.”

The contrast between Adam and Harry is an exploration of how gay men of certain ages live their lives differently, even though they are all profoundly affected by the same trauma that can come with growing up queer.

“In many ways, [Harry] is slightly more liberated in the world, and hasn’t been burdened by some of the things that [Adam] has been burdened by. He releases some freedom in Andrew Scott’s character, which I think is really interesting,” Haigh shared.

“Once you’ve seen the film, you realise there’s also a sorrow and a sadness inherent in [Mescal’s] character too.”

Though it’s emotional, All of Us Strangers also highlights the beauty that comes with being able to live as your true self around those you love the most. In opening himself up to his parents, Adam is able to heal the wounds of their complicated relationship.

“I think it’s amazing how often we aren’t our true selves to people, even if people are still alive,” Haigh reflected.

“You still probably don’t have those difficult conversations that you need to have. I understand why we don’t have those difficult conversations; I think there’s a world inside [all] of us that is tormented and a little bit broken, that we’re trying to deal with almost every day of our lives.”

Haigh hopes the film will show that there is an alternative reality out there for those who don’t feel able to be themselves.

“I think the film for me was to say: ‘You know what, it’s OK. I get that you will feel like that, and there is a way out of that. You can find love and intimacy and be known and be understood.”

Rightfully so, All of Us Strangers is pulling in an impressive slate of award nominations – including a BAFTA nomination for Best British Film. It may have been shockingly snubbed by the Oscars, but Haigh is more assured to see the film resonating with so many queer people worldwide.

“It’s always quite surprising to me when something with queer content actually manages to break through and get talked about,” he admitted.

“Now I’m alright with it not being some big mainstream billion dollar because clearly, that’s never going to happen, and there will still be lots of people out there that won’t go and see this film because of the content, or what they think is the content.

“That’s a shame, because I feel like this is a film for everybody,” he added.

“But it’s amazing that it has been taken under the wing by a lot of people and I love that.”'

[oficmag]

Contributor Spotlight: Mimi

Now that Issue #1 is live, we at OFIC Mag are excited to shine a light on some of the amazing contributors from our inaugural issue. We hope you all love them as much as we do!

Today’s spotlight is on Mimi | @pcandaa, who wrote “i want to get away (you make me want to stay)” for Issue #1.

Tell us a bit about yourself!

Wow. Head empty no thoughts. Why is this question so hard? 

By day I work in gender justice (the field that kid-me said I would never enter), and by night I write sapphic and other kinds of queer fiction, mostly romances, but I've been trying to craft a thriller lately, and it's been interesting. Aside from writing, I like playing boardgames with my friends weekly, trying to convince my knees that I can run cross country again like I used to, and listening to history podcasts. I also do art when I have more than two seconds to spare, and I'm still gunning towards being exhibited someday. 

How did you find fandom?

Through Harry Potter, in 2006. I used to lurk on a website called harrypotterfanfiction.com (which afaik is being imported into AO3 now). Then I discovered fanfic.net, and then later AO3. 

I started posting fanfic on AO3 for Jane the Virgin in 2016, and wrote fics for All For One (the webseries—go check it out it's cool!) and some other small, niche fandoms. 

What fandom are you in now and what brought you here?

I currently almost exclusively read Supercorp fanfic and do very little else, and I hate to say it, but racism brought me here—I adore Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra, but fandom is never really a safe space for fans of colour, and the casual racism implicit in many LoK fics threw me off and stopped me from being able to read most fanfic for it. 

I wanted to continue reading decent femslash, but without having to deal with the racism, hence my pivot to a fandom with two white women placed front and centre. I don't watch Supergirl and never intend to, but I've found several amazing AUs that I've enjoyed deeply over the years, though I'll always wish we had the same energy for non-white characters. 

My experience with ATLA and LoK threw me off participating too deeply in fandom in general, especially for shows with women of colour, so I lurk and enjoy fanart and not much else.

What’s your favorite book of all time and what do you love about it?

I don't think I have a singular favourite book of all time, but a few highlights over the past couple of years would be: 

The Sea and Stars Trilogy by SD Simper: Absolutely sizzling chemistry between the leads of the likes I have rarely read before. Plot is also gripping AF. SD Simper can really tell a story. 

Gideon the Ninth by Tasmyn Muir: Gideon is possibly my favourite protagonist ever, she's hilarious and mouthy and butch and unabashedly loves women—I want more characters like her! 

The Red Country by jilbrais (Ao3): A stunning prequel to Alice in Wonderland with a gutwrenching story between the Queen of Hearts and the Red Queen—I'd highly recommend it, the prose is beautiful and the story is incredible. 

Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers: That book was written for me, about me, and that is all I have to say about that. More books about black girls that include whimsy and dreams and the agonising reality of unrealised dreams please! I would absolutely read anything else Morgan Rogers writes. 

I also really enjoy Jenny Frame's romance novels, she writes in a way that is so earnest and honest, and she handles narratives of grief and loss extremely well. She's also really good and amping up chemistry between her leads, and of course, each of her books has a butch lead in it, which I absolutely adore.

What projects are you working on right now?

I had a whole thing planned to write more fiction this year and I've since been swamped with research projects and prepping a chapter of my thesis for publication. Some Real World Stuff right there bleargh. Ideally I'd be working on the following original fiction projects: 

See Me In Hindsight: A sapphic Ocean's 11 retelling. Featuring cheek and chaos and some family drama thrown in for fun. 

Tightrope: A woman waits for her spouse to return, only to find that they've brought their dead twin's mistress to the house. The two women tiptoe around each other, each believing the other to be the enemy, but the true enemy in the house is not who they think. 

Untitled Spite Novel: In 2011, a 16-year old is overwhelmed by academic pressure and confides in her teacher. As they begin to grow closer as mentor and mentee, and eventually into something less and less appropriate, the girl is plagued by visions of violence, and the unyielding spectre of a woman with no face. 

Untitled Supernatural Romance: Mehreen Kazi is one of the most powerful vampires in Osower and the High Princess of the Osower Council, but she's broken one of the cardinal tenets of the city: no sex with the humans you feed on. But she can't let the girl go, even though she doesn't know who she is and hasn't seen her face, because the dampners at the feeding house prevent her from doing so. Aisha Isa is a mage who's been searching for the secret to immortality, and finds a temp job PA-ing for Mehreen Kazi, who might have the answer she's been looking for. In the meantime, she's part-timing as a feeder for a high-profile mystery client who's broken one of the city's cardinal rules with her, but Aisha's already too hooked on her to care. As the two of them bicker and clash against each other during the day, unknowingly loving each other at night, Mehreen's sister Mira lurks in the background, waiting for just the right moment to see her fall.

What are your aspirations as a writer, big picture or small?

To experiment with different genres and improve my prose style. I'd love to get published one day, indie or big house doesn't matter, and as a writer based outside the Global North, I know my odds are absolutely stacked against me! But I also want to continue to find joy in creating stories and learning to craft them better and better (and I really, really want Untitled Spite Novel out in the world someday). 

If you could give one piece of advice to beginning writers, what would you tell them?

Write what you like! Write badly! I made this mistake as a young writer because I was too much of a perfectionist to write as often as I needed to. It wasn't till I was in my early 20s that I actually learned to tell a good story because I was writing pretty much anything that came to mind, whether it was good or not, whether I completed it or not. 

The more you write, the more you'll understand your own process, the more you'll learn about what to do and what not to do, and the kind of stories that matter to you. Don't think that your stories don't matter just because you don't see other people telling them. They will always matter. Always remember that.

THANK YOU FOR BEING A PART OF THE OFIC FAMILY, MIMI! WE’RE SO THRILLED TO SHARE YOUR WORK WITH THE WORLD.

[amwritingmeta]

i am living for all this meta talk tbh, it makes me feel less Tragically Optimistic and more regular optimistic. SO, we know that Dean and Cas' respective stories, and the story as a whole, doesn’t necessarily NEED that romantic element to be complete, right? supernatural isn’t a romance story. but, dean's response to the idea of “settling down with someone” is never “i don’t want that,” it’s, “i can’t have that,” essentially. which, in my mind, is just really good, ah, cannon fodder

Hello, sweetling! 

Aw that’s so brilliant to read! And regular optimistic is good! Welcome to the fold. :)

supernatural isn’t a romance story.

Exactly! It truly isn’t. And even if the scenes we get between Dean and Cas from here on out, or at least in S15, begin to illuminate the fact that they’re in love with each other, I will still say that the show won’t be about them and so the narrative axis and its main plot points, if you will, most likely won’t have anything directly to do with their love story.

If that makes sense?

We won’t get a finale centred around Destiel, is what I’m saying. Like, I’d bet my hair. (and I’m quite fond of my hair) (never mind it’s greying around the edges) And, can I be frank? Hope so ‘cause I’m gonna be. I actually don’t want a finale centred around Destiel. Or centred completely on the brothers. I would like it to be about TFW!

Adding to that statement the reason for it, which is that I would love the love story to come into bloom slowly and organically and I know these writers and these actors could make something quietly spectacular out of it so I’m just gonna sit here and cross my fingers and toes, yeah? 

That said, if we get high drama then hell, I’m not gonna say no to that. I just hope we get it, and that we get it indisputably on screen, whatever it may be. I have such high hopes that we won’t just get it strongly hinted at (because the commentary will then be lost on every viewer who actually doesn’t read the subtext) or that we land in it in the very final episode or something like NO! GIVE ME SCENES DAMN IT! GIVE ME IT!! GIVE ME THEM TEXTUALLY FLIRTING DARN IT!! GIVE ME LINGERING BLOODY EYE CONTACT AND BUTTERFLIES IN STOMACH SMILES AND JUST WHATEVER!! ALL THE DAMN ROMANCE!! 

Pretty please. With all the cherries.

This may not be a romance story, but it is a story about love and… love. :)

Look, I believe we will get it, but I don’t know we will, so my faith is entirely based in hope here. I just really want to actually witness those moments when they begin to open up to the goddamn truth of their relationship: they love each other equally and they truly balance each other out beautifully. 

They’re so good for each other. They bicker and argue and push and pull, yes, but they both need that, you know? They both need someone to question their behaviour, and it just so happens that the person questioning them is the one person neither wants to let down. It’s gorgeous! It’s the foundation for opening up to change. Someone you respect questioning your actions while never turning away from you, even when you mess up so badly you grow to hate yourself. 

Aw, it’s so important that they have the other there as quiet support no matter what!

And, back to your actual ask, YES! Dean’s issue has always been that he thinks he doesn’t deserve to have good things and his fear of happiness is entirely based in this deeply rooted belief that Good Things Don’t Last, which is entirely tied to Mary’s untimely death, yeah? And this has been, to my mind, what has informed how he relates himself to this man he’s falling madly in love with who happens to kind of sort of be an angel that dicks off at any given moment without so much as a by your leave, good things don’t last, yeah, very aware.

Cas’ unreliability hasn’t stopped Dean falling in love with him, though, which I think is a part of Dean’s character progression. Instead of him having even the whisper of a codependent relationship with Cas (though their reliance on the other is unhealthy in other ways) and it feeding Dean’s insecurities, it’s the complete opposite and it exposes Dean’s insecurities as false. Because CAS ALWAYS COMES BACK. :P

As for the unhealthy part, I do believe that losing the person you love doesn’t have to stop your life in its tracks. I’m not dismissing the incapacitating weight of depression or grief related depression, but I also believe that there’s help to be had, you know? I’ve gone through horrendous grief in my life. It never goes away, that loss. But you can learn to deal with it, yeah?

Losing Cas has derailed or stopped Dean’s progression twice. Hugely. Majorly so. And however romantic the undertones, the reality of it (the way I see it) is that it’s unhealthy. Instead of Dean unconsciously relying on Cas to be his compass, since Cas represents faith to Dean, Dean should have faith in himself regardless. Same goes for Cas, but I think Cas is a little farther along here, because he’s stepped into the place of humanity himself many times over, especially this season, in how he relates himself to Jack (though Cas still refers to himself not as a human of course not but rather as a thing) (never over it), and in how Jack chose Cas as father figure, which is just all shades of pretty.

Dean and Cas’ relationship will be happy and balanced when both of them are moving into their true identities, chill to be themselves, no more armour to be seen.

Gah! I want it for them so badly. *clutches at heart*

Your ask is pretty much you bright-eyed and bushy-tailed agreeing with the idea of Destiel not having to happen, but that it happening will deepen the overall message of the show, once the narrative truly wraps up and we land in what that message was always (or not) meant to be, yeah? 

I mean, I sincerely think they don’t have to deliver on anything, because, as said, the narrative could be tied up without the love story coming to a conclusion, but I believe the writers want the love story to conclude, because of how intentional the subtext has always been, and because of how important Cas has been, subtextually, to Dean’s progression. That takes thought power. That takes awareness and love and care. Immense love and care for these characters and their needs and wants. And huge respect for the narrative as a whole. The writers have worked with these tools for going on fifteen years and for a reason. I cannot fathom that it’d be for no good reason. The reason for it is right there in the narrative.

But I don’t need to argue for this. We all know this. :P

What I believe in, very firmly, is that the writers also don’t want the love story to conclude ahead of its time. Every time its been building towards an actual conclusion they haven’t changed their mind, they’ve just had to draw it out, because there was more story to tell, more character progression to explore, and I’m stoked that they now have the chance to finish this narrative and finish it the way they’ve envisioned it for the last few seasons. Or that Dabb envisions it now, as they know for certain they’re truly wrapping it up. Whichever it is.

Now, as already agreed, the narrative doesn’t need the love story to conclude to end on a good note, it really doesn’t. But like I said in another ask today: if the love story is left open to interpretation, that openness will leave a hole. Perhaps not for the GA, as it were, but certainly for us, right? It won’t diminish the subtext in any way, but leaving it wholly open to interpretation would, at least to me, be taking away from making a more resounding statement about breaking free of societal norms and fear of judgement, which is what I believe has kept Dean away from being openly queer for such a very long time.

Either way, I’m excited to see how much they give us and how far they’ll go. Truly, truly excited. I’d love to get to watch all three characters level out and grow truly comfortable in their own skin. With a fourteen year build towards the show’s climax, the denouement should hopefully be something we get to witness for more than an episode or the very final scene of the entire series. I hope we get more. But I also know the show we’re watching and it’s possible they’ll keep it excruciatingly subtle right to the very end. 

We shall see!! Whatever happens, I’m sure it shall be spectacular!

[ensireads]

SERIES REVIEW // KIRITH KIRIN & THE ORDINARY

TWO BOOKS BY JIM GRIMSLEY, A PROLIFIC NOVELIST AND PLAYWRIGHT

He was writing gay fiction for decades before turning to fantasy with Kirith Kirin. I had read his novel Dream Boys before his SFF stuff, and it was a lush, emotive, compelling and really fucking oddly surreal read. I still don’t know what to make of it, except maybe that it’s a novel that speaks of an experience of being queer entirely outside of my own, and what could I have to make of it?

Kirith Kirin gave me a similar impression in many aspects. I read it at the end of 2015, so my memories are hazier now. It’s a very classic epic fantasy premise – a humble farm boy, Jessex, joins his uncle in the army of Kirith Kirin, a dethroned King fighting to regain his rightful kingdom. Jessex finds himself at the centre of an old prophecy, learns magic, fights for Kirith Kirin – and falls in love with him.

IT’S THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JESSEX AND KIRITH THAT DRIVES THE NOVEL

I love epic fantasy despite all the problems in the genre, and this novel gave me such a classic, fantastical premise – of the prophesised hero and the legendary King fighting to restore peace and the natural order – and then made it unapologetically gay, so much so that normal high fantasy romance trappings – like epic declarations of soulmate bondings in ancient sacred magical shrines with mystical ceremonies and all that – applied to a same-sex couple seemed indulgent.

It was fantastic. When Jessex and Kirith become a couple, there is still much more to their story to be told and Grimsley keeps it interesting, something definitely hard in any romance writing. They became one of my favourite types of literary couples, the kind where after they get together the story’s plot and conflict is faced by them together as a team.

(I will say though, YMMV regarding the age gap between Jessex and Kirith. It’s magic immortal-but-looks-young-and-sexy King and farm boy prophesised hero, and often those age gaps feel negligible, but Jessex is also firmly a teenager, barely ‘of age’ and this is a point that’s made. It never, ever feels like anything less than a relationship of equals. But, you know. That’s there, it certainly didn’t serve much of a purpose)

The supporting cast were also very enjoyable, appealing characters, with Grimsley alluding to a rich mythology and history with each of Kirith’s companions. There was a mix of fierce leaders with some frankly adorable character interactions!.

THE WORLDBUILDING WAS UTTERLY INCREDIBLE.

I appreciated the character-driven story, but I don’t even think I can put into words what I think of the worldbuilding in this novel. It wasn’t a terribly long book, but he just about fit in as lush a fantasy world as I’ve seen in the staples of epic fantasy. Truly the only thing stopping it from being up there with A Song of Ice and Fire’s Westeros or The Wheel of Time’s “Randland” is that it’s just one book. The prose was just gorgeous, the descriptive passages are so detailed and conjure a genuinely beautiful fantasy world. The thought put into the magic and the many races and kingdoms in this world, just for the one book, is incredible.

And my god, the linguistics. For me, fantasy languages are tricky things. Frankly, Tolkien destroyed all competition for hundreds of years to come. He helped create the modern fantasy genre with his books that were just vessels for his many languages. So now, most fantasy that gets too enthusiastic about their made-up words and terms, for me, just seems like a lot of superfluous effort – often because compared to Tolkien, none of it does anything for the story whatsoever. Just a bunch of clever kids showing off how clever they are. Not in Kirith Kirin though. The language is so detailed and thought out and serves a purpose, in constructing the society, the religion, and the magic. Oh the magic.

SADLY, THE EXECUTION FAILED IT FROM BECOMING A GENUINE FAVOURITE.

Because, while the magic system was seriously one of the most impressive magic systems, for how detailed and developed it was, and also how alive it felt, it was also delivered through a lotof info dumps. In the grand epic magical war, the descriptions of the magic could drag it down. Battle scenes, although their depiction of magic was well written, became dry rather than exciting, and I was simply skimming to get to the next scenes between Jessex and his comrades.

NOW, I JUST FINISHED ITS SEQUEL-OF-SORTS, THE ORDINARY.

Grimsley takes the fantasy world of Kirith Kirin, several thousand years in the future, and changes everything.

The premise of The Ordinary is the Hormling, in a futuristic, spacefaring society caught in a war with robots, discovered a gate through space and time to a technologically backwards world and have been exploring this world for decades now. A delegation is sent to meet with this world’s leader, including the linguist and trader Jedda Martele – who gets caught up in this world as magic and technology clash.

This world of course is that of Kirith Kirin’s, thousands of years after.

The plot that unfolds is very interesting. The sci-fi society of Jedda and other characters isn’t as deeply explored as the world in Kirith Kirin, but still interesting. It was a society of conformity and habit; all citizens were linked and recorded, mentally, through technology, and as people who grew up in space they were constantly terrified and unnerved by the wide open fantasy world they were set to explore. Jedda explores this world through the eyes of a linguist – a very believable one, her narration always pays attention to shifting dialects and etymology – and the first half of the novel is very much the exciting build up to a war between civilisations

IT WAS A FASCINATING EXPERIMENT.

I think well worth a read for anyone who likes both sci-fi and fantasy. It pits magic and technology against each other, but on equal footing. The fact that I got excited and a little emotional when places and people from Kirith Kirin speaks of how much that novel really did make an impact on me – that when characters mentioned the Mother Goddess, didn’t quite name her, memories came flooding back and oh my gosh yes they’re talking about the YY-Mother! It was also a fascinating look at a fantasy world that evolves and changes rather than stagnates through the era, manifesting in the linguistics and demonstrating how languages themselves evolve, and what effect that has on cultures.

IT FEATURES PROBABLY ONE OF THE MOST LOVELY, AFFECTING F/F ROMANCES I’VE READ.

The word that comes to mind for me is lush. The relationship between Jedda and Malin, Jessex’s niece and another powerful magician, was intriguing from the start, and only got more emotionally affecting as the twists of the plot were revealed. The way prophecy and time itself brought them together was gorgeous, as was the development of their relationship. The heat and magnetism of attraction appeared immediately, but Grimsley also took his time to show the deeper bond between the two and all its twisting stages of development.

(I was also basically in love with Malin myself. Beautiful, powerful, immortal magician queen meets lively young magician apprentice princess, all in one character. Her life story was just so… gahh hit the right notes, especially having read Kirith Kirin)

Everything queer in this novel made me so happy. What we saw, in various ways, of Jessex and Kirith’s relationship after the events of the first novel was, frankly, gorgeously romantic.

IT HAD ITS DOWNFALLS, THOUGH, JUST LIKE KIRITH KIRIN.

The drive of its initial plot peters out a little over halfway, with the climax mostly happening off-screen and really abruptly. The bulk of the novel serves as an exploration of the conflict between magic and technology, between atheism and god – especially an exploration of magic. Because oh man does Grimsley love his magic.

This is okay, because so do I, in the end. I love his ideas. I love how important same-sex romance is to his fantasy plots, with destiny and soulmates because yes, queer people need this too.

I’D RATE THE SERIES AN OVER ALL 4/5 STARS – INDIVIDUALLY, I’D GIVE KIRITH KIRIN 3/5 AND THE ORDINARY 4/5.

[denimbex1986]

'We knew from the moment we first saw All Of Us Strangers all the way back in January that Andrew Haigh's film, a haunting queer romance centred around Andrew Scott's isolated writer Adam and the connection he makes with Paul Mescal's sad-eyed drifter Harry, was special. Is it a ghost story? A fever dream? A tangible construct formed of a grieving man's subconscious? We didn't — and still don't truly — know, but by God we felt every exquisite moment of its magnetising melancholy, its smouldering sensuality. So much so that when we came to write Empire's 'Best Movies Of 2024 (So Far)' list in June, Haigh's movie sat comfortably in podium place on the list. And now, a full twelve months since the movie first released stateside, All Of Us Strangers has taken root even deeper in our hearts — and soared right to the top of our Best Movies Of 2024 list.

“This is so cool," says director Haigh when Empire shares the news that his latest has just been voted our film of the year, "I’ve read Empire literally since it first came out." And for the Harrogate born filmmaker, whose past works include the likes of Looking, 45 Years, Lean On__Pete, and Weekend, the recognition still being given to his sixth feature offers an opportunity for reflection. "The idea that I could ever be even involved in film, let alone be a director, was so out of my imagination, so it’s very cool to now be here. I appreciate it," says Haigh. "When I made the film, I was never sure if it would find an audience. So it’s been the biggest joy that it has found that audience, and continually finds that audience. The fact that people still even talk about it a year later is really meaningful. It really seems to have resonated. You can’t ask for any more than that. It’s pretty exciting that it’s number one after all this time.

One of the things that has really All Of Us Strangers stand out among its peers in what has been another exceptional year for cinema is just how intensely personal its story of love, loss, and soul-deep longing truly is. Even now, Haigh finds himself wrestling with just how much of himself he poured into this one. “I’m not a particularly extroverted person, and the fact that there is now this kind of personal story about me out there, I’ve found that a little bit hard," Haigh admits. "It’s taken me, actually, a little bit of time to deal with that. Even the fact that I shot it in my [old] house."

But if putting his heart on the line for his art was a huge and, at least for a time, difficult step for Haigh, then it was also one that ultimately felt worth taking. "The want of most filmmakers is to be able to say something about how they see and understand the world, and allow that out into the world, to resonate with other people," the director explains. "So it is really quite a powerful thing, when you are sharing your own personal philosophy of life, and something based on some element of personal experience, and then have that speak to other people. And I can’t tell you how many people have come to me to tell me their own stories, whether it’s about losing a parent, or whether it’s about growing up gay, or whether it’s just about feeling alone in the world. That feels special."

Reflecting on the outpouring of pure emotion All Of Us Strangers has been met with now, almost a full year since it was released into the world, Haigh is as philosophical, poetic, and honest as his work. “If a piece of art can make you feel less alone, even if it’s desperately sad and melancholy, if it allows you to feel like, ‘Oh my God, I am not the only one that suffers in the world’ — that’s a very powerful thing," he shares. "Because we often don’t express how we feel, even to those who are closest to us. And art can tap into that shared loneliness that we all experience in the world. It’s also quite unusual sometimes: I’ve been in places and someone will start talking about the film and they’ll start crying. That’s quite a powerful thing to have to experience. Sometimes you don’t know what to do. You’re sort of, ‘Okay...’ Pat them on the shoulder. ‘I’m sorry for you...’ I literally could not have asked for more for this film. It’s more than I ever dreamed.” That's the power of love, right there, people. And the power of All Of Us Strangers, Empire's film of the year. *Dissolves into the cosmos as Frankie Goes To Hollywood plays us out*'