‘New Gay Sincerity’ and Andrew Haigh’s Weekend (UK, 2011)

By focusing on a close reading of Andrew Haigh’s Weekend (UK, 2011) this article proposes that a fresh style, which it labels ‘New Gay Sincerity’, can be seen in a small wave of recent gay-themed independent films (Keep the Lights On (Ira Sachs, US, 2011) and I Want Your Love (Travis Mathews, US, 2012) are also considered.) ‘New Gay Sincerity’ is centred on modes realism but is in dialogue with a heritage of non-straight cinema. It draws on Jim Collins’s notion of ‘New Sincerity’, and subsequent formulations of it, and is a response to the postmodern characteristics of New Queer Cinema.