Brendan Peterson, Ticketing.Frameline.org

Forbidden love is always complicated. But when love is virtually outlawed by your country’s government, the emotional and physical fallout can reach epic proportions. DMW Greer’s intense adaptation of his own play, Burning Blue, tackles these issues with stinging insight and unbridled passion. Dan (Trent Ford) is a Navy fighter pilot who seems to have it all: a promising career, a beautiful fiancée, and a loyal best friend, Will (Morgan Spector). Of course, nothing is ever as it seems.

After a thrilling and unexpected shore-leave night on-the-town with fellow navy pilot Matt (Rob Mayes), Dan’s life is turned upside down. As Dan abruptly struggles to make sense of his own identity, his government bosses circle the waters, anticipating a disturbance in the heterosexual order they’ve so carefully crafted. Filmmaker DMW Greer, a former Naval aviator, infuses this tragic love story with real-world details, going behind the curtain to capture the emotional fallout of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” era.

Stunning shots of slick, steady fighter jets and carriers are juxtaposed against the messy human challenges of military men who have been trained in the ways of straight relationships. Absorbing and moving from the opening frame, Burning Blue exposes the mechanics and consequences of modern-day witchhunts that attempt to put restrictions on who and how we love.