Finnish-British Director Mikko Makela is tired of queer intimacy censorship!
In an interview with Variety, Makela emphasized that he wants his films to reflect honest portrayals of gay intimacy and sexuality referencing his 2017 directorial debut, ‘ A Moment in Reeds’ where a Syrian refugee and a Finnish man navigate a Tension-filled tryst at an isolated summer cottage.
The director mentioned that queer sexuality has been censored and shied away from the masses making it a difficult balancing act for queer filmmakers to provide representation for themselves. He said that it is unfair but pointed out that they don’t want to alienate the audience and the people who finance their films. He noted however that things are, luckily, starting to improve.
Makela’s sophomore film ‘Sebastian’ which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival explored the power of queer sexuality and the impact of accepting one’s identity. In the film, Max, a 25-year-old aspiring writer living in London, starts a job as a sex worker to research his debut novel.
