BOYS ON FILM PRESENTS: CAMPFIRE

In Campfire a lovesick boy scout goes on a camping trip in the country and tries to choose between his girl and his best friend. Particularly Now, In Spring follows a boy athlete as he takes his first steps into adulthood. Saint concerns the scantily-clad death of Saint Sebastian. Finally, Sailor looks at the love between a teenager and a seafarer. One of many pleasures in Defurne's work is the playful and unforced way in which he references the work of other artists from Dreyer and Eisenstein to photographers Herbert List and Pierre et Gilles. Most significantly, Defurne and his regular team have created an allegorical and headily romantic gay aesthetic that draws on a wide range of influences, but is uniquely their own. Defurne's choice of using largely unprofessional actors brings a charming innocence to the performances that complements the magical, overwrought worlds that they inhabit.