In stark contrast to many documentaries that deal with an aspect of the gay experience, Meet the GlamCocks is a refreshing celebration of positivism. The Burning Man festival is the perfect setting for a bunch of extroverts to indulge in self-expression without fear of judgement or ridicule.
Australian filmmaker Vincent Rommelaere chronicles the most recent meeting of the GlamCocks, an international group of well-groomed gay men that annually form a hedonistic community of like-minded free spirits to spend a week in the desert partying in the makeshift art city of Black Rock. Last year's festival was the first in which the GlamCocks applied for, and were granted, official theme-camp status, giving them the clearance to build the gayest adult playhouse around.
For the bulk of the picture, Rommelaere talks to a great many of the sixty-member-strong group, discussing the sense of kinship and freedom that comes with being a GlamCock. For a group with such a uniform physical aesthetic (all members are generally handsome with an athletic physique) they are represented by diverse personality types; each member interviewed has a specific and personal take on what they get out of being a part of this joyous, flamboyant organization and the internal impact of the greater Burning Man experience.
Between the talking head segments and scenes of half naked (often fully, but blurred) men building an outdoor dance club complete with cosy sex towers, Rommelaere keeps the film moving with footage of the various awe-inspiring structures and idiosyncratic personalities populating the temporary community of Black Rock City.
One of most charismatic of these wild characters is the rather gorgeous Australian drag queen, Courtney Act, who I'm sure has fooled more than a few straight boys before. His performance ranks among the most entertaining moments of a film that is as consistently enjoyable as it is utterly heart-warming.
It's not the most thought-provoking piece but sometimes a joyous and inspiring expression of what can be built from a place of love and acceptance is enough.
(Wallaby Way)Australian filmmaker Vincent Rommelaere chronicles the most recent meeting of the GlamCocks, an international group of well-groomed gay men that annually form a hedonistic community of like-minded free spirits to spend a week in the desert partying in the makeshift art city of Black Rock. Last year's festival was the first in which the GlamCocks applied for, and were granted, official theme-camp status, giving them the clearance to build the gayest adult playhouse around.
For the bulk of the picture, Rommelaere talks to a great many of the sixty-member-strong group, discussing the sense of kinship and freedom that comes with being a GlamCock. For a group with such a uniform physical aesthetic (all members are generally handsome with an athletic physique) they are represented by diverse personality types; each member interviewed has a specific and personal take on what they get out of being a part of this joyous, flamboyant organization and the internal impact of the greater Burning Man experience.
Between the talking head segments and scenes of half naked (often fully, but blurred) men building an outdoor dance club complete with cosy sex towers, Rommelaere keeps the film moving with footage of the various awe-inspiring structures and idiosyncratic personalities populating the temporary community of Black Rock City.
One of most charismatic of these wild characters is the rather gorgeous Australian drag queen, Courtney Act, who I'm sure has fooled more than a few straight boys before. His performance ranks among the most entertaining moments of a film that is as consistently enjoyable as it is utterly heart-warming.
It's not the most thought-provoking piece but sometimes a joyous and inspiring expression of what can be built from a place of love and acceptance is enough.
