With both leads shining bright, Cicada is altered, and elevated, by an undercurrent of trauma that haunts its central pair. Full Review

Rating: 8/10 -- Cicada is an affecting depiction of an interracial gay relationship that effectively navigates themes of trauma and intersectionality. Full Review

Fifer's debut feature processes lived experience into a cracked, anguished work of autofiction, raggedly cathartic and needfully unresolved as it sketches young queer lives in different stages of self-acceptance. Full Review

Rating: 4/5 -- Cicada was written out of Matt Fifer's personal experience, and his intrinsic understanding of queer identity and trauma is writ large throughout, every scene rich in introspection and catharsis. Full Review

Rating: B -- "Cicada" is a sexy, sometimes searing act of self-analysis that hopefully not only brings Fifer some proximity to catharsis, but also a steady career in indie queer filmmaking in his future. Full Review

It's a moving study both of personal identity and of past trauma, and a romantic, honest, personal tale of two men who find solace with each other. Full Review

Rating: 4.5/5 -- One of the most beautifully crafted pieces of queer cinema of recent times. Full Review