Offscreen Central is horrified by the fires devastating Southern California. As much of our team is based in LA, it is hard for us to go on business as usual. If you are in any of the impacted areas, please stay and stay up to date with precautions needed in your area. The Watch Duty app is a great resource for mapping evacuation updates and orders. The DSA have put together an emergency resource guide for those in the Los Angeles county. The guide includes where to track evacuation warnings, nearby shelter locations and essentials for survival kits.

While we will be dropping work again after a short break, we are hoping to highlight someone in need with each piece dropped. Claudia Zhao, Bill Flores, and their beloved dog Cairo lost everything due to the Eaton Fire. If you can make a small donation, here is their GoFundMe.

Despite the diverse settings, time periods, and moods of Guadagnino’s work, the art direction of his films are always excellent. The rustic midwest of the United States in the 1980s, evocative memories of Northern Italy, or a stark 70’s German dance academy – his films create whole worlds of texture and feeling. His films are often dreamy, yet grounded in real feeling. This balance is achieved in part with detailed production design. Queer is set in mid-century Mexico City, and this commitment to specific intention with the art direction of the film remains even in Guadagnino’s most surrealist work. 

Queer blends old filmmaking tricks with modern filmmaking ideas. The skies are digital matte paintings – pay attention to how the colors change according to the emotional tension of a scene. The film was shot almost entirely on a soundstage in Italy. And yet, the film evokes a world entirely different from its actual location, blending into a dreamy world of drugs and desire. Queer used miniatures to depict Mexico City of this era, working with artist Simon Weisse, a frequent collaborator of Wes Anderson. The miniatures add to the dreamlike quality of the film, and become an important visual cue for the end of the film. 

Queer pays attention to detail – from the glasses that house rum and coke, to the faded colors on building walls, to the evocative blue Jacaranda tree. A fun detail is that during the consequential ending dance, the jungle floor is covered in coffee grounds to mimic a dirt floor. The jungle scenes feel like another world to the rest of the film, representing a deteriorating grasp on reality as these characters travel deeper into the jungle and their psyches. 

Despite these gorgeous sets that populate Guadagnino’s work, none of Guadagnino’s films have ever been nominated for Best Production Design. Queer would be a welcome first nod for Guadagnino’s gorgeous worlds. Guadagnino took a risk with Queer, enlisting the help of Stefano Baisi as production designer on this project. This is Baisi’s first film, and what an incredible accomplishment. A trained architect, Baisi brings a new perspective to the movie-making world. This would be an out-of-the-box nod for the Academy, but the film has earned acknowledgement for this work. 

Queer’s production design is full of texture and attention to period detail. These characters fit seamlessly into this world of wandering expats and lingering desire. Guadagnino’s artful taste is always one of the best elements of his films, and Queer deserves a nomination for Best Production Design for this fantastic work. 

Queer is currently playing in select theaters and available on digital.
You can find our interview with production designer Stefano Baisi here and our review of Queer here.