Matt Carter’s film debut, 2022’s In from the Side, which cost just $60,000 to make, has been a real box-kick of a movie. Though the rugby-team gay romance did well on the LGBTQ2S+ festival circuit, word of mouth has made it a streaming success—three years after its release, it was picked up by Australian public broadcaster ABC. “I get a few messages every week from people saying that they watched the film and how it meant a lot to them, how it reflects their experiences,” says Carter.
Carter, who has lived in London, UK, for the last 15 years, has not been resting on his laurels. He’s been working on a TV series—a sequel of sorts to In from the Side. He’s a cinematographer and visual effects artist for film and TV projects that are not his own, a musician who has been working on a new album, and a rugby player and coach. Did we mention that Carter is also a painter and a downhill skier?
“I’ve been skiing since I was two years old. My parents owned a ski business in the French Alps, so as soon as I could walk, they put me on skis. It’s like riding a bike for me,” says Carter.
Wander+Lust tracked Carter down to talk about travelling with a rugby team versus travelling solo or with a partner, and why he thinks sports are so important for building LGBTQ2S+ communities.
What’s been keeping you busy since you launched In from the Side and your promotional tour for the film?
I have a regular job as a visual effects artist, doing effects for TV and film, a lot of stuff for Amazon and Disney. That’s my bread and butter. I’m also a musician—I’m working on an album that’s been taking up a lot of my time the last few months. We are also developing a pitch for a series, a followup to In from the Side. It’s set six years later and continues the story, but it’s also a standalone show that’s accessible to new audiences who haven’t watched the film.
Your website says you were brought up between “Bournemouth and the French Alps.” What was that like?
As soon as I was born, my parents emigrated to France to start a ski business. I went to school in France for two years, then came back to the U.K. to finish school. My parents still have a place in Saint-Martin-de-Belleville. It’s in what’s called the Les Trois Vallées, a large region of interconnected ski resorts. I go there during the winter for Christmas time and sometimes in the early spring for skiing. Skiing never gets boring. It’s just a way to unwind. And I go during the summer because it’s beautiful then, it looks like something from The Sound of Music.
Have you ever been to a gay ski week?
I’ve been thinking about it. Skiing can be quite an expensive holiday. I take it for granted because I have a place to stay and my own skis. All I pay for now is the ski pass—when I was younger and still a student, I got a free ski pass because my family worked there.
In from the Side is about a rugby team, and you’re a player and a coach, so that’s a big part of who you are.
I’ve played rugby now for about 12 years, coaching and refereeing. I mostly coach for a team down in Brighton, which is also where my partner lives. Twice a year we have an eight-week program where we get 20 absolute beginners, adults who’ve never played rugby before, and through 16 sessions, I teach them every skill and they get a graduation game at the end. The people who turn up probably had very bad experiences with sports of any kind in school, and you watch them over eight weeks as their confidence completely changes and grows. It’s very satisfying to be part of that.
How has rugby helped you see more of the world?
I’ve travelled with professional rugby groups as one of them and because of the film, which is, you know, about rugby. I’ve even played in a number of international tournaments around the world. Every two years we have something called the Bingham Cup, where every inclusive team around the world is invited to participate. [Named after the 9/11 hero Mark Bingham, who was an openly gay rugby player. The next one is in Brisbane, Australia, in 2026.] It’s been Ottawa, Nashville, Amsterdam and last year Rome. Then there are local tournaments—a European one, a North American one, a Southern Hemisphere one. The tournaments have allowed me to travel quite a lot. So has the movie. When it first came out, I was invited to San Francisco, Turin, Athens. It was nice to be sort of forced to go somewhere different, to explore, but also have a reason to be there.
Do you like travelling in groups?
It’s fun to travel with a big group of people. When you go with, like, 30 people from your rugby club, sometimes with supporters, it’s a “lads on tour” type of thing. You’re working together toward something, but then it’s also fun to travel with people you’ve built good relationships with. It’s a lot of camaraderie, a lot of fun nights out. You’re making great memories—Rugby players are usually fun, exuberant people.
I am also happy to travel with my boyfriend or a group of friends. For film festivals, I was travelling with some of the actors and, after making the film, you know each other so well, they become almost like family in a way. Just recently I’ve been exploring travelling alone more, which is something I’d been nervous about doing. When you get over that fear, you suddenly realize that you can go anywhere, anytime, without anyone saying no or waiting for someone else to agree to go.
What made you wary about travelling solo?
When I was younger, I was, I guess, insecure. I wasn’t confident about doing my own thing or feeling lonely. I enjoy going with someone to talk about things while you’re doing them, and you also have someone you can remember the experience with afterwards. When you go on your own, you’re only sharing those memories with yourself. But now that I’ve been travelling on my own, I enjoy the freedom of it. You can just enjoy the moment yourself. It’s almost the exact opposite—you’re savouring the fact that you’re the only person to experience that moment. You’re only sharing those memories with yourself in a way. I really like just the freedom of it. You don’t have to travel with someone else. You don’t have to. You can just enjoy the moment yourself. It’s almost the exact opposite.
And if I want to have a nap in the afternoon because I’m tired and don’t want to go to the beach, I can just do that. No one’s going to complain and go, “Oh, come on!” You answer to nobody. You can get as much or as little out of the holiday as you want without feeling like you’re letting anyone down.
I go to Sitges a lot. This year was the first time I went on my own. Especially for a gay holiday, when you’re not with a partner or friends or whatever, you can really be quite liberal because there’s no one there to judge you.
Liberal how?
If, say, you want to go to a more expensive restaurant but someone in your group might not be able to afford it, you can just go treat yourself. When you go as part of a rugby club, you’ve got so many people to worry about, and sometimes trying to pick which restaurant can take forever because everyone wants this or that. It’s the freedom to make my own schedule without having to worry about keeping other people happy.
And travelling as a couple is different again?
Ricky’s come with me to a lot of places around the world. We’re both pack hunters when we get together, especially on gay holidays. We work very well to meet people and have a lot of fun together. We end up dressing the same a lot of the time, so we get a lot of funny comments, people at the airport asking, “Are you brothers?” “No, we’re in a relationship.”
You mentioned being “forced” to go places. What’s been your favourite place you were forced to go?
Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The guys there really know how to party. I knew a few locals who I’d met on an Atlantis cruise, so I caught up with them and they introduced me to all their friends. I went there not knowing anyone, and I left having this large group of friends who basically just took me around everywhere. The afternoon of the film screening, someone was throwing this big pool party, and I arrived and there were, like, 100 shirtless guys in amazing shape. It’s just a random weekend in October and this is how people were socializing. It was a very surreal experience, being thrown into that, especially as a Brit. I was thinking, “How has this happened?” I didn’t feel like an outsider in any way.
Are there things you need to bring, or things you need to do, when you go on a trip?
For long-haul flights, I always bring my own people, because I can’t sleep without a proper pillow.
Every time I interview someone from London about where they like to go in their city, I get different answers. What’s your number one gay venue in London?
The Royal Vauxhall Tavern (372 Kennington Ln., London). There’s lots of stuff going on there for the bear community. Roast (different venues, lately 7 Torrens St., London) has a pretty good club night every second weekend. I know the guy who runs it. It’s taken over what XXL used to since XXL closed in 2019. We actually filmed part of In from the Side at XXL just before it shut down. Roast is the same sort of thing: slightly beefier guys, bears, rugby players, with a dark room. It’s an intense experience over, like, four floors.
What’s some advice you’d give LGBTQ2S+ people?
I’m a huge advocate of getting involved in sport, whether it’s rugby or anything else. For so many gay men, it’s a pretty common experience, of not having a good time in school with sport and feeling that it isn’t for them. But there are so many inclusive clubs for any sport, and they’re a great way to meet people and make friends. A lot of people miss out on it because they don’t realize that it’s a thing.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
