‘Blue Film:’ Kieron Moore & Reed Birney On Their Daring, Queer-Themed Work And How It Scared Everyone [VIDEO]

Blue Film, a bold and provocative queer-themed indie by first-time writer-director Elliot Tuttle boasts two beguiling performances by Kieron Moore and Reed Birney.

The film world-premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival last year after being turned down by many major fests including Sundance and SXSW.

The very first shot of the movie audaciously introduces us to Aaron Eagle (Moore) a Dom camboy, turning on, and greeting his viewers with, “What’s up, faggots?” Aaron is a bit powermad and sees himself as a hyper-masculine savior to Sub gay men who enjoy being mistreated and/or humiliated.

But Aaron’s surface persona will be shaken, stirred and distinctly altered by the film’s end as layers of his protective shell are stripped away, and a more honest person emerges.

Aaron boasts that someone has agreed to pay him 50K for his time. And when he arrives at the Air B&B, he’s greeted by an older man in a ski-mask who turns out to be his former middle school English teacher, Hank Grant (Birney). Hank crushed on the boy when he was a young teen and was fired for the attempted assault of a 12-year-old boy.

What follows is a tantalizing two-hander filled with frank (and not-so-frank) conversations, sexual tension and startling revelations from two very lonely and damaged individuals.

Hank doesn’t deny his attraction to young boys, but he isn’t proud of it either– quite the contrary. He’s abstained from sex and is meeting Aaron hoping he’s still attracted to him.

Aaron, whose real name is Alex McConnell, is a bit of an enigma, sexually uninhibited, shameless and yet shameful.

“Were you attracted to me?” Alex sheepishly asks Mr. Grant, slipping back into a teen version of himself, almost wanting the answer to be yes. Both characters are naturally curious, something an indie film can do, even in these faux puritanical times.

Read my full REVIEW.

Tuttle never judges his characters but presents them with great nuance and compassion. “I think what scares audiences the most, Moore offers, “is the fear of their own empathy.”

Birney imbues Grant with a refreshing humor and grace. This isn’t a monster portrayal. It’s a deeply flawed human.

Moore is simply mesmerizing, achieving the sublime with his intense, deeply moving, magnetic performance.

DP Ryan Jackson-Healy perfectly captures both actors, penetrating that veneer we all carry and reaching something pure and authentic.

Blue Film pushes boundaries by daring an audience to sympathize with a cocky manboy and, most unsettling, a pederast.

Astonishingly, this is Moore’s first feature and it’s quite the auspicious debut.

“I couldn’t bear the idea of watching someone else do it and (wonder) what would my version had been,” Moore shares on being both scared and excited by the material.

His performance is a star making one, for certain.

Moore recently appeared on TV in episodes of Emmerdale, Sex Education, The Sandman and Master of the Air and has been a series regular on Vampire Academy, Code of Silence and the wonderful queer-themed Netflix series Boots, sadly not renewed for a second season.

The actor completed a short, The Intimacy Coordinator, opposite Lindsay Duncan as well as an upcoming feature with Jason Isaacs titled Crave.

Birney is a seasoned Tony-winning, three-medium actor. He appeared in the original cast of Gemini off and then on Broadway in 1977. Other stage credits include the Broadway productions of the 2013 revival of Picnic, Casa Valentina(2014 Tony nomination), The Humans (2016 Tony Award) and 1984 (2017).

His extensive TV resume includes Eight is Enough, Tales from the Crypt, Law & Order, From the Earth to the Moon, Gossip Girl, The Good Wife, House of Cards (17 episodes), Girls, The Blacklist, The Americans, Titans, Home Before Dark (18 episodes), The Handmaid’s Tale, Succession, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and American Horror Story: Delicate. He’s currently shooting the Netflix series, Rabbit, Rabbit with Adam Driver.

Among his many film credits: Four Friends (1981), Changeling (2008), Morning Glory (2010), The Hunt (2020), Mass (2021) and The Menu (2022).

“We have no idea what’s coming, Birney shares, “who is going to go see this movie?”

I think the answer will surprise both of these fantastic artists.

Blue Film is in select theaters May 8, 2026, via Obscured Releasing—who are to be commended for securing distribution!

The Contending had a terrific VIDEO conversation with both Birney and Moore.