One of the most striking queer titles at Cannes this year came from Jane Schoenbrun with Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, which walked away with the Queer Palm, the alternative prize celebrating films that tackle LGBTQ+ themes. Reappropriating the codes of the slasher – summer camp, teenagers, desire, danger lurking in the woods – Schoenbrun uses horror grammar to talk about trans identity, dysphoria and the terror of being seen in the wrong way.
Read also : We’re Not Going Back: Cannes 2026 Belongs to Queer Love Stories
Rather than turning transness into a metaphorical “monster”, the film flips the genre on its head: what’s truly horrifying is the violence of normativity, the gaze that refuses to recognise who you are, the pressure to fit a body and a role that were never yours. Between blood, masks and final‑girl tropes revisited, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma joins a growing wave of queer cinema that hijacks horror to make space for trans narratives that are messy, tender, furious and deeply alive. It is no coincidence that this was the film singled out by the Queer Palm jury this year – a sign that the future of queer cinema will also be written through genre.
Read also : JIM QUEEN: the queer animated comedy that turns straightness into… a virus
KET Magazine is a community‑driven, non‑profit magazine run by volunteers based in Brussels. Get in touch to share your thoughts or tell us about your activities. You can also promote your events on our website or support our work with a donation. Contact us at Info@ket.brussels.
You may also like
-
Royalties: turning Belgium into a Queerdom for one queer, royal night
On 26 June 2026, Royalties – Let’s turn Belgium into a Queerdom will bring drag, ballroom and
-
“We are modern people”: what Zelensky’s call for open LGBTQ+ dialogue means in wartime Ukraine
In a rare, explicit reference to LGBTQ+ rights, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on 11 June that
-
Opening Various Voices at Bozar: when Brussels sets the tone
On 24 June 2026, the Opening Ceremony of Various Voices Brussels 2026 at Bozar will officially launch
-
Independance Party Day: Verviers gets its own rainbow beam this summer
On Saturday 4 July 2026, Mix’Cité in Verviers will host Independance Party Day, a free night of music, queer
-
Various Voices Brussels 2026: the choir festival is getting its volunteer chorus ready
In less than two months, Brussels will host Various Voices 2026, Europe’s biggest LGBTQI+ choir festival,