In his acclaimed 2022 film Of an Age, director Goran Strzewski draws on his own post-adolescent experiences to create a passionate and deliberate portrayal of two young gay men experiencing their first love. I drew it in a messy manner.
The Macedonian-born, Australian-raised writer and director's latest film, Housekeeping for Beginners, is a bittersweet look at a different side of the LGBTQ+ experience, drawn in part from a decades-old photo shared by a friend. Inspired.
“He posted online snapshots of his youth when he first moved to Melbourne in the 1970s,” Strewski told HuffPost. “He moved in with his boyfriend and eight gay women. I've seen all these queer people in this space, in times and places where it was a little more complicated to exist. . [LGBTQ+]. And I loved that cocooned feeling of being able to relax and live my life when I wouldn't normally be able to do that. And I thought, “This is a great setting for a story.'' ”
Housekeeping for Beginners, which opens in theaters on Friday, follows Dita (Romanian actor Anamaria Marinca), a queer middle-aged social worker whose family of eight in North Macedonia becomes a safe haven for LGBTQ+ youth. It follows the characters played by the actors. Her live-in girlfriend is Suada (Alina Serban), a Romani woman who has two children: Mia (Zada Selim), a five-year-old, and Vanesa (Mia Mustafa), a moody and dissatisfied teenager. She is the mother of someone's daughter.
Suada, who has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, begs Dita, who is seemingly unmotherly, to adopt her daughters. To fulfill her girlfriend's wishes, Dita reluctantly tries to force one of her gay housemates, Toni (Vladimir Tinto), to marry her in order to pretend they are a straight couple. .
To American audiences, such an arrangement may seem stolen from “The Birdcage” and other comedies of the past. However, this is not particularly far-fetched, as LGBTQ+ people still face rampant discrimination and same-sex marriage remains illegal in North Macedonia.
Together, Dita and Toni try to navigate the country's legal system in order to keep their “found family” together, but face challenges as Vanessa becomes increasingly rebellious as she grieves the death of her mother. There are fears that families could be torn apart at any moment.
Similar to “Of an Age,” Strefski originally envisioned “Housekeeping for Beginners” to take place in Australia, where he had spent most of his adult life. However, his interest in avoiding period dramas led him to relocate his story to his hometown, which he described as “a good stand-in for almost all parts of Eastern and Southern Europe”. Stated.
“I lived in a two-bedroom apartment with six different people from three different generations,” he said. “This kind of crowded, communal energy shapes many lives in most parts of the world, except in economically developed Western countries. And I miss that energy.”
He goes on to say: “Queerness varies greatly from place to place. [you are from], and I'm very attracted to their specificity. I like the feeling of documenting a certain time and place and how a certain person feels in that time and place. ”
To keep “Housekeeping for Beginners” believable, Strefsky encouraged experienced cast members to improvise and brought in a number of first-time film actors in major roles. Among them is Samson Selim (Zada Selim's biological father) who plays Ali, one of Toni's much younger lovers.
“There was a real sense of family, not just on screen, but off screen,” Strefsky said. “The movie itself is kind of in charge. I'm just there to nurture it a little bit.”
Early reviews for “Housekeeping for Beginners'' have been overwhelmingly positive, with the Los Angeles Times calling it “a charming domestic drama.''
If the film is a success, it will put Strefsky in the ranks of modern queer cinema alongside Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name) and Andrew Haig (All of Us Strangers). There is a good chance that he will be established as one of the leading authors. Although he remains tight-lipped about details, one of his upcoming projects will explore LGBTQ+ life in India and South Korea.
“Essentially, I want my films to still be around 50 years from now. For lack of a better word, I'm always drawn to outsider characters,” he says. said. “[But] It's a little frustrating because being queer means being niche in a way. I don't want to dilute that queerness because I think my feelings are as universal as anyone else's. ”
Watch the trailer for Housekeeping for Beginners below.
Support HuffPost
Support HuffPost
Already a contributor? Please log in to hide these messages.