The streaming platform is adding to its catalogue this Thursday 8 September the short film Hideous in which the singer Oliver Sim explores the feeling of shame that has long plagued him, in front of the camera of Yann Gonzalez.
Screened at the 75th Cannes Film Festival last May, Hideous has found a new home: Yann Gonzalez’s daring short film is available on the arthouse film platform MUBI as of this Thursday, September 8. An eminently queer nugget that it would be a shame not to discover, featuring singer Oliver Sim, member of the trio The xx, as the protagonist. A role more than tailor-made, since he plays himself…
Clocking in at around twenty minutes, Hideous invites us to follow Oliver Sim as he prepares to give a television interview. But – without giving too much away – this innocuous exchange opens the door to a surreal introspective journey of monsters, tenderness and haemoglobin. Interviewed by têtu- during his visit to Cannes, the singer described this very personal project as “a fantastic journey through shame and fear”, of the order of “celebration” rather than “self-pity”.
Hideous Bastard
Divided into three acts, the film is distinguished by its sense of metaphor and aestheticism, which is partly due to Yann Gonzalez (A Knife in the Heart). Oliver Sim is joined on screen by Fehinti Balogun (Viewpoint), Kate Moran (Vampires), singer Jimmy Somerville and Bimini bon Boulash, a finalist on season 2 of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.
Finally, it should be noted that Hideous includes three tracks by Oliver Sim, which appear on his first solo album Hideous Bastard, available this Friday 9 September. This album deals with some pretty heavy themes, but I wanted it to remain festive,” explains the 33-year-old artist in the summer issue of têtu, still on newsstands. I didn’t want to sign an album that would make me sound like a dark and tortured soul because that’s not what I am at all.” Can’t wait!