Flashback scenes with his mother, Maryam (Myriam Acharki), are touching, as is a moment when he confides his gender dysphoria with a coworker, Amira (Rehanna MacDonald). Kashmiry gives an impassioned performance, discussing words that mean their opposites, or trying to talk with a mental health nurse (Stephen McCole) and an asylum official (Neshla Caplan) about his situation. Cleverly shot on a stage, the story depicts Adam’s efforts to get asylum in Glasgow while flashing back to his life as a woman (Yasmin Al-Khudhairi) in Egypt. “Adam,” is another filmed play - a National Theatre of Scotland production - inspired by the life of and performed by the transgender Adam Kashmiry. Droege reveals his character’s insecurities in a scene between James and Callisto that is quietly moving and this modest film’s high point. Bennett is purposefully shrill (it is always a relief when she’s off screen), and Urie and Marcel provide good foils, but it is Drew Droege’s soulful performance that makes “The Extinction of Fireflies” resonate.
Walsh’s film is stagy, but it works because the actors deliver the sharp (one might say bitchy, or bitter) dialogue well. Tensions run high throughout the weekend friction develops between Jay and Charlotte as well as between Charlotte and James. Jay’s boyfriend Callisto (Kario Marcel) also attends, and he has some “notes” for James, which makes the sensitive writer bristle. Here is a rundown of what to watch.ĭrew Droege is generally known for his comic roles, but he gives a fantastic dramatic performance as a frustrated playwright in writer/director James Andrew Walsh’s “The Extinction of Fireflies.” This absorbing film - a screen adaptation of Walsh’s play, shot in the director’s home during the pandemic - has James (Droege) hosting his actor friends Charlotte (Tracie Bennett) and Jay (Michael Urie) for a read through of his new play. PrideFLIX, the month-long, online LGBTQ film festival taking place June 1 to July 4, offers a curated selection of queer-themed features, shorts, and documentaries from around the world. Cover image: “Boy Meets Boy,” directed by Daniel Sanchez Lopez.