From: fswilling@mindspring.com (Frank Swilling) Subject: The GLBO-Centered Film List Date: Mon, 03 Nov 1997 01:43:13 GMT The GLBO-Centered Film List compiled by Frank Swilling fswilling@mindspring.com November 1997 Edition ***** GLBO-Centered U.S. Documentaries ***** Acting Up For Prisoners Eric Slade and Mic Sweney, Directors 1992 : 27 minutes : GLBO : Record of AIDS activists forcing US authorities to take action in a prison where HIV+ women were being abused. All Out Comedy 1993 : 78 minutes : GLBO : Bohdan Zachary, Director Laugh Out: local comedians Scott Capurro, Marilyn Pittman, Tom Ammiano, and Karen Ripley -- taped live at Josie's Cabaret and Juice Joint in San Francisco. Alternative Conceptions Christina Sunley and Vicki Funari, Directors 1985 : 35 minutes : Lesbian : A look at artificial insemination for lesbians. American Fabulous Reno Dakota, Director 1990 : 103 minutes : Gay : A gay comedian/commentator named Jeffrey Strouth, who has since died of AIDS, sits in the back seat of an old car and tells stories about his life. Anxiety of Inexpression & the Otherness Machine Quentin Lee, Director 1992 : 53 minutes : Gay : Twenty-something director Lee turns his camcorder on himself in this pastiche of genres as he moves among friends, family, and especially in brazen repose with his lover. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community Robert Rosenberg and Greta Schiller, Directors 1984 : 87 minutes : GLBO : Gay and lesbian culture before the Stonewall uprising. (Winner of 2 Emmys for best historical program and best research.) Berenice Abbott: A View of the 20th Century Martha Wheelock and Kay Weaver, Directors 1993 : 57 minutes : Lesbian : Extensive archival film footage, photographs, and interviews with scholars help to reveal the life of one of our greatest women artists, who not only endured, but triumphed, writing books, patenting inventions, teaching at prestigious universities, and giving the world a grand body of work. Beyond Imagining: Margaret Anderson and the Little Review Wendy Weinberg, Director 1991 : 30 minutes : Lesbian : Anderson's Review published work by Gertrude Stein, Djuna Barnes, Emma Goldman and many others. This profile of her life, loves, and work details her extensive travels and her "romantic friendships" with co-editor Jane Heap, and singers Georgette Leblanc (with whom she is buried) and Dorothy Caruso (Enrico's widow). A Bigger Splash Jack Hazan, Director 1974 : 100 minutes : Gay : Four years with David Hockney and friends. Bloodsisters: Leather, Dykes, and Sadomasochism Michelle Handelman, Director 1995 : 70 minutes : Lesbian : An examination of the political activities and sexual choices of women in the leather S&M community. The film focuses on nine central figures who represent a cross-section of the leather S&M community, and by following them, the film provides an in-depth look at the world of women into leather S&M. Cancer in Two Voices Lucy Massie Phenix, Director 1993 : 43 minutes : Lesbian : This deeply moving film documents the struggle and courage of a lesbian couple dealing with one partner's breast cancer. As an intimate home-movie journal, "Cancer in Two Voices" deals with their anger and grief, sexuality and friendship, and the painful process of confronting death. Carmelita Tropicana (Your Kunst Is Your Waffen) Ela Troyano, Director 1993 : 30 minutes : Lesbian : A sumptuous stew of Puerto Rican lesbians, colonial betrayals, tragic Spanish ballads, and contemporary class consciousness. The Castro [Neighborhoods: Hidden Cities of San Francisco, The Castro] Peter L. Stein, Director 1997 : 90 minutes : GLBO : A history of the Castro district, from Irish family neighborhood to beacon of gay liberation. Rare photos and narration by present and former residents helps make this a poignant and fascinating look at the evolution of a community. A Celebration of Lesbian and Gay Life and Love Martha Wheelock, Producer 1990 : Gay/Lesbian : Music Video celebrating the ubiquity and strength of the gay and lesbian experience. The Celluloid Closet Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, Directors 1996 : 102 minutes : GLBO : Lily Tomlin narrates this absorbing "clips and interviews" look back at how Hollywood has handled the subject of homosexuality since the birth of cinema. The Celluloid Closet is, of course, based on Vito Russo's book of the same name, and he would have been very pleased with the way Epstein and Friedman have taken his thesis and turned it into an eloquent statement of the extent to which Hollywood might be responsible for the homophobia we have to combat today. Changing Our Minds: The Story of Dr Evelyn Hooker Richard Schmiechen, Director 1992 : 75 minutes : GLBO : Using archive footage and interviews charts courageous life of the (straight) woman who established that homosexuality is not a mental disorder. Fascinating and heart-warming. Nominated for Best Documentary in 1993 Academy Awards. Chicks in White Satin Elaine Holliman, Director 1993 : 27 minutes : Lesbian : Two Southern California Jewish lesbians get married in full bridal gowns, and the marriage receives mixed support from their families. Choosing Children Debra Chasnoff and Kim Klausner, Directors 1985 : 45 minutes : Lesbian : A look at some of the issues surrounding lesbians who became parents after coming out. Coming Out Under Fire Arthur Dong, Director 1994 : 71 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : Gays and lesbians who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II talk about their experiences. A Common Flower Doreen Bartoni, Director 1992 : 26 minutes : Lesbian : A touching portrayal of two older women in love. Paula plans to go to Russia with her lover Sylvia. When Sylvia dies, Paula prepares to make the trip alone. Common Threads: Stories From The Quilt Robert Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, Directors 1991 : 79 minutes : GLBO : Several random stories of people represented by squares on the AIDS memorial quilt. Complaints of a Dutiful Daughter Deborah Hoffman, Director 1994 : 42 minutes : Lesbian : A jarring account of Hoffman's own struggle with her mother's Alzheimer's. As her mother's condition worsens, she becomes more accepting of her daughter's lesbianism. A Conversation With Brian McNaught On Being Gay [On Being Gay] Ron Robin, Director 1986 : 86 minutes : Gay : Activist, lecturer counselor, and author McNaught discusses being gay in a straight world. Cut Sleeve N. A. Diaman, Director 1992 : 24 minutes : GLBO : Kitty Tsui and other local interviewees speak about the experience of being gay and Asian. A Day in the Life of Edmund White Bill Cory, Director 1993 : 37 minutes : Gay : America's best known gay novelist, who now lives in Paris, tries to prepare for a dinner party, but gets sidetracked by fantasies about his personal trainer, an anonymous sex date, and a ghastly lunch with the Countess. Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon Marion Barling, Director 1975 : 28 minutes : Lesbian : The founders of "The Daughters of Bilitis" speak their minds. Denajua: I Like My Name Susan Wehling, Director 1993 : 29 minutes : Transsexual : A moving portrait of a charming fashion designer who happens to be a male-to-female transsexual. Dry Kisses Only 1990 : Lesbian : Lesbian subtexts of Hollywood movies are revealed through inventive editing, hilarious commentaries and interviews. The Families We Choose Cheryl Qamar and Lisa Pontoppidan, Directors 1985 : 37 minutes : Lesbian : Four lesbian families and other women talk about their lives. Fast Trip, Long Drop Gregg Bordowitz, Director 1993 : 54 minutes : Gay : This stunning film goes for the jugular, speaking out with honesty and humor about the state of living with (or dying from) AIDS. Employing historical allegory and documentary footage, "Fast Trip" expands our understanding of AIDS, while focusing on the filmmaker's complex relationship with his parents and Jewish identity. Fated To Be Queer Pablo Bautista, Director 1992 : 29 minutes : Gay : A moving documentary that illuminates issues and concerns for the Filipino American gay community. Fertile La Toyah Jackson Video Magazine 1993 : 53 minutes : Gay Transvestite/GLBO : Vaginal Creme Davis hosts her first hour-long video magazine! See Vaginal and her Taste Of Latex publisher pal play Valley Girl twins! See Santa Monica hookers reveal their fashion secrets. See Vaginal out-Leeza Leeza Gibbons! The Films of Barbara Hammer: Lesbian Sexuality Barbara Hammer, Director 1974-76 : 57 minutes : Lesbian : Compilation on videotape of short films by the prolific lesbian filmmaker, with moods varying from frankly erotic to warmly introspective. For Love and For Life: The 1987 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights Joan E. Biren, Director 1988 : 60 minutes : GLBO : Vibrant photographic essay recounting the 1987 March on Washington and surrounding events, including the display of the Names Quilt, the Wedding, and the massive civil disobedience in front of the Supreme Court. This program also provides a brief history of the lesbian and gay rights movement and key events that led up to the March. Also available in an open-captioned version. Framing Lesbian Fashion Karen Everett, Director 1992 : 60 minutes : Lesbian : A look at the evolution of lesbian attire and identity, featuring interviews with Sally Gearhart, JoAnn Loulan, Arlene Stein, Kitty Tsui, and others. Gay for a Day/Costumes on Review Tom Palazzolo, Director 1976 : 45 minutes : GLBO : "Gay for a Day" looks at the 1976 Gay Pride Parade, and "Costumes on Review" is a funny look at a gay Halloween party. Gay Games II: Highlights Male Entertainment Network and Wolfe Video, Producers 1986 : 60 minutes : GLBO : You guessed it -- highlights of the second Gay Games. Gay Games II: Women's Physique Male Entertainment Network and Wolfe Video, Producers 1986 : 90 minutes : Lesbian : The women's bodybuilding competition. Gay, Proud, and Sober Jesus S. Trevino, Director 1978 : 21 minutes : GLBO : About alcoholism and its treatment in the gay community. Gay Voices, Gay Legends 1988 : 58 minutes : Gay : Famous and lesser-known gay men talk about their lives. Gay Youth Pam Walton, Director 1992 : 46 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : The stories of two teens -- Bobby Griffith, who killed himself at the age of twenty, and Gina Gutierrez, a 17-year-old high school senior who received acceptance and support for her sexual identity. Green on Thursdays 1993 : 80 minutes : GLBO : Dean Bushala and Deirdre Heaslip, Directors An important, urgent documentary about anti-gay violence in America. Has a snappy, modern, no-voice-over style. Greetings From Out Here Directed by Ellen Spiro 1992 : 60 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : Made-for-PBS video in which director Spiro goes on a road trip throughout the South, interviewing gays and lesbians she finds along the way. Greetings from Washington, D.C. Lucy Winer, Director 1981 : 28 minutes : GLBO : Highlights from the first National Gay and Lesbian Rights March on Washington, held on October 14, 1979. Growing Up Gay Art Cohen, Director 1983 : 30 minutes : GLBO : Kids in their teens talk about what it's like to be young and gay. The Historic March on Washington: The Largest Gay Rights Demonstration Ever Carl David, Director 1987 : 58 minutes : GLBO : Report on the week's events surrounding the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, held on October 11, 1987. Homo Promo 19?? : GLBO : A collection of trailers for GLBO films from the 30s to the 80s. Homoteens Joan Jubela, Director 1993 : 60 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : Video director Jubela helped five New York City gay and lesbian teens produce their own vivid autobiographical video portraits. Honored by the Moon Mona Smith, Director 1990 : 15 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : Documentary about homosexuality among Native Americans. If She Grows Up Gay Karen Sloe, Director 1983 : 23 minutes : Lesbian : About the life of a 19-year-old black lesbian who talks her pregnancy and about raising her daughter with her new lover. In the Best Interests of the Children Elizabeth Stevens, Cathy Zheutlin, and Frances Reid, Directors 1977 : 53 minutes : Lesbian : Eight diverse lesbian mothers talk about parenting and child custody. Also gives the children's views. Joggernaught Doug Mobley, Director 1994 : 50 minutes : Gay : Spend an imaginative hour with Doug and his daily obsessions: car trouble and straight teenagers. Juggling Gender: Politics, Sex and Identity Tami Gold, Director 1992 : 27 minutes : Lesbian : Savvy documentary about a bearded lesbian performance artist. Just Because of Who We Are Toni Dickerson, Director 1986 : 28 minutes : Lesbian : About physical and psychological violence and harassment directed against lesbians. Kiev Blue 1992 : 28 minutes : Lesbian : Heather MacDonald, Director A warm and engaging portrait of nine gay men and lesbians in Kiev who tell their stories about growing up, coming out, and trying to create a community. In Russian with English voiceover. Kim Arlyn Gajilan, Director 1988 : 27 minutes : Lesbian : About the coming out process of a young Puerto Rican lesbian in New York. Labor More Than Once Liz Mersky, Director 1983 : 52 minutes : Lesbian : About Marianne MacQueen, a lesbian mother who's trying to regain custody of her son. Last Call at Maud's Paris Poirier, Director 1992 : 45 minutes (approximately) : Lesbian : Billed as a "work-in-progress", this film focuses on the closing of the world's oldest lesbian bar in the world, Maud's in San Francisco. Tracking lesbian history from the WWII lesbian bar scene, to the birth of The Daughters of Bilitis, to the closing of Amelia's in 1991, Last Call at Maud's documents the lives and histories of some of the major figures in San Francisco's lesbian community. Lesbian Mothers Billie Carroll and Ellen Frank, Directors 1979 : 26 minutes : Lesbian : About the social stigma of lesbian motherhood. Lesbian Tongues 1989 : 90 minutes : Lesbian : Prominent lesbians talk about love, sex, and coming out. Licensed to Kill Arthur Dong, Director 1997 : 80 minutes : Gay : This chilling documentary takes a point-blank look at men whose hatred of gay men led them to murder. Dong's skillful interweaving of on-camera interviews, police videos of murderers confessing their crimes, news reports and actual footage of gay-bashing incidents makes it darkly fascinating, but this one is not for the weak of stomach. Lifetime Commitment: A Portrait of Karen Thompson Kiki Zeldes and Susan Bruce, Producers 1988 : 33 minutes : Lesbian : About the legal struggles between Ms. Thompson and her lover's family over visitation rights after her lover, Sharon Kowalski, is critically injured in a 1983 auto accident. Love Makes a Family 1992 : 30 minutes : GLBO : Marla Leech, Dan Veltri, and Remco Kobus, Directors A San Francisco Bay-Area-made portrait of three families, demonstrating different ways that lesbians and gays are becoming parents today. Open-captioned for the hearing- impaired. Male Couples: How Relationships Develop Peter Frisch, Director 1985 : 90 minutes : Gay : Discussion of the stages of a male couple's relationship, using dramatized vignettes of a male couple's life. The Male Escorts of San Francisco Matthew Link, Director 1992 : 42 minutes : Gay : Thoughtful, unsensational, this tape answers almost all the questions you might ever have about male escorts. Meet Bradley Harrison Picklesimer 1987 : Gay Transvestite : Profile of a Kentucky drag queen. Mondo Rocco [It's a Gay World] Pat Rocco, Director 19?? : 120+ minutes : GLBO : Over two hours of Rocco's classic erotic vignettes along with documentary footage of GLBO protest marches. Features early footage of performer Jim Bailey. Nitrate Kisses Barbara Hammer, Director 1992 : 67 minutes : GLBO : Lesbian filmmaker Hammer's "experimental" (read: non-traditional filmic styles) film explores the history of lesbian and gay culture. Part oral history, part collage, part film montage, the film might sometimes get unwieldy, but it remains interesting throughout. No Need to Repent: The Ballad of Rev. Jan Griesinger 1989 : Lesbian : Reverend Jan Griesinger is an "out" minister in the United Church of Christ who has integrated her ministry, her politics and her personal life. The story of a courageous contemporary feminist, this film reveals some of the many levels of her activism. Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien Marlon Riggs, Director 1992 : 30 minutes : Gay : Through music, poetry, and (at times chilling) self-disclosure, five serio-positive black gay men speak of their individual confrontation with AIDS. Not All Parents are Straight Kevin White, Director 198? : 58 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : A look at parent-child relationships in several gay- or lesbian-parent households. One Foot on a Banana Peel, the Other in the Grave (Secrets From the Dolly Madison Room) Juan Botas and Lucas Platt, Directors 1993 : 83 minutes : GLBO : A doctor's office becomes the unlikeliest salon in this moving film produced by Jonathan Demme. "Banana Peel" documents the poignant relationships formed among a group of AIDS patients as they confront their illness while exchanging humorous anecdotes and sexy stories. Filmmaker Juan Botas was, among others, the inspiration for Demme's Philadelphia. One Adventure Pat Rocco, Director 1972 : ?? minutes : Gay : Troy Perry and six other members of ONE, Inc. travel to European countries to meat with other gay rights organizations. Rocco includes an erotic vignette of scantily clad local boys in each of the countries they visit. One Nation Under God Teodoro Maniaci, Francina Rzeznick, and Zinka Benton, Directors 1993 : 83 minutes : GLBO : Focusing on the contemporary religious Right Wing proliferation of curative therapies for homosexuality, this riveting documentary offers historical context as well as a political analysis of this frighteningly large movement. Out For Laughs Shan Carr, Director 1992 : 30 minutes : GLBO : Your favorite queer comics show their stuff in this brilliant half-hour TV variety show. Out In Surburbia Pam Walton, Director 1988 : 30 minutes : Lesbian : Filmmaker Walton described herself (upon reaching her 40th birthday) as a woman with a middle class background, in the closet and incredibly unconscious. This film is about other women like herself at the time. It centers round the lives of several of her friends, all of whom are basically middle class and very mainstream. Paris Is Burning Jennie Livingston, Director 1991 : 72 minutes : GLBO : A look at the drag balls of Harlem and interviews with some of the people who enter them, in which drag of every description is featured. Part of the USA: The Official National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights Video Estelle Dillon, Director 1987 : 30 minutes : GLBO : The only video endorsed by the organizers of the event. Pink Triangles: A Study of Prejudice against Lesbians and Gay Men 1982 : 34 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : Historical view of homophobia from the Nazi era through the present. Political Funerals James Wentzy, Director 1995 : 29 minutes : GLBO : A forceful and moving documentary that reveals a bold new new movement within AIDS activism which rejects the notion that one should die of AIDS quietly and peacefully. Portrait of Jason 1967 : Gay : Interview with hustler Jason Holliday. The Potluck and the Passion Cheryl Dunye, Director 1992 : 22 minutes : Lesbian : What happens when you and your lover invite your very different friends to a potluck? Sparks fly, that's what. Pride 1989 : Gay/Lesbian : ACT-UP New York's DIVA TV (Damned Interfering Video Activists) celebrates events of Lesbian and Gay Pride Weekend 1989. Pride and Prejudice Dorothy Engleman, Director 1992 : 30 minutes : Gay : A primer whose topics include homophobia, the closet, and coming out today -- nicely spliced together with visual jokes and in-the-know references. The Queen Frank Simon, Director 1968 : 68 minutes : Gay Transvestite/Transsexual : Behind the scenes of the 1967 Miss All-America Camp Beauty Pageant. Full of playfulness, humor, back-biting competition, and no-holds-barred glamour. Queens of Columbus: Performance and the Art of Illusion Thomas Baumann, Director 1992 : 28 minutes : Gay Transvestite : Everything you ever wanted to know about drag queens (old school.) Unapologetic, tightly focused, and very engaging. Queers Among Queers: A Bay Area Perspective C. B. White, Producer 1994 : 30 minutes : Bisexual : An articulate series of interviews with bisexual community activists. Ray Navarro Memorial Tape Catherine Saalfield and Gregg Bordowitz, Directors 1990 : 30 minutes : Gay : A tribute to the AIDS activist and videomaker, who died while making a work about Latino gay male assimilation into white gay culture. Resident Alien 1990 : 85 minutes : Gay : A look at the life of Quentin Crisp as an aging gay man living away from his native England in New York City. Rights and Reactions: Lesbian and Gay Rights on Trial Phil Zwickler and Jane Lippman, Directors 1988 : 56 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : About the passage of the 1986 Gay and Lesbian Rights bill in New York. The Salt Mines 1990 : Gay Transvestite : A group of homeless, urban, Hispanic drag queen prostitutes on crack live in a junk yard in a secluded area alongside the Hudson River known as the Salt Mines. Powerful and grim. Sacred Lies, Civil Truths Catherine Saalfield and Cyrille Phipps, Directors 1993 : 60 minutes : GLBO : The GLBO community responds to the Christian Right's slanderous pseudo-documentary "The Gay Agenda". Sex Is... Marc Huestis, Director 1992 : 80 minutes : Gay : Radical, graphically illustrated dialogue on gay male sexuality, including -- but not limited to -- oral sex, anal sex, S&M, B&D, cross-dressing, masturbation, phone sex, home-video porn, nipple stimulation, smooching and fondling, slow dancing, and the finer points of eroticized, comdom-equipped "safer sex." She Don't Fade Cheryl Dunye, Director 1991 : 23 minutes : Lesbian : A self-reflexive look at the sexuality, love life, and friendships of a young urban black woman. Silent Pioneers Lucy Winer, Director 1984 : 43 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : Interviews and profiles of six gay and lesbian senior citizens. Also examines services available to gay seniors around the US. Silverlake Life: The View From Here Tom Joslin and Peter Friedman, Directors 1993 : 99 minutes : Gay : Video diary of Tom Joslin and Mark Massi's life together, their love for and commitment to each other, and both their battles against AIDS. Sisters in the Life Yvonne Welbon, Director 1993 : 23 minutes : Lesbian : An experimental narrative focusing on Donna, a thirtysomething black lesbian, who recalls her first experience with platonic love as a fourteen-year-old. The Sluts and Goddesses Video Workshop, or How To Be A Sex Goddess In 101 Easy Steps Maria Beatty and Annie Sprinkle, Directors 1992 : 50 minutes : Lesbian : Learn how to have more sensual and sexual pleasure in your life. Follow along as Annie Sprinkle catalogs the joys of sex, along with her "Transformation Facilitators", which include Diviana Ingravallo, Jocelyn Taylor, and Carol [Scarlot Harlot] Leigh. Sonia Johnson: Going Farther Out of Our Minds 198? : 100 minutes : Lesbian : Author Sonia Johnson explores how women can leave patriarchy behind and begin living in a new world right now. Split: William to Chrysis: Portrait of a Drag Queen 1992 : 58 minutes : Transsexual Drag : Andrew Weeks and Ellen Fisher Turk, Directors Witty and tender portrait of a New York "chick with a dick", a companion of Salvador Dali, who recreated herself as various stars and danced and stripped from seedy joints to glamorous nightclubs. Storme: The Lady of the Jewel Box Michelle Parkerson, Director 1987 : 21 minutes : Female Transvestite : Intimate profile of Storme DeLaverie, former emcee and male impersonator of the celebrated Jewel Box Revue -- America's first integrated female impersonation show. Tim Miller: Loud and Queer Richard L. Harrison, Director 1993 : 30 minutes : Gay : Excerpts from performance artist Miller's work "My Queer Body" are intercut with interviews and images spanning his 15-year career. The Times of Harvey Milk Robert Epstein, Director 1984 : 88 minutes : Gay : The life and death -- by assassination -- of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk. Tiny and Ruby: Hell Divin' Women Greta Schiller and Andrea Weiss, Directors 1988 : 30 minutes : Lesbian : Biography of jazz trumpeter Ernestine "Tiny" Davis and her lover/partner of over 40 years, drummer Ruby Lucas, aka Renee Phelan. TLC: Year With A Leather Club Randy A. Riddle, Director 1994 : 80 minutes : Gay : A look at Greensboro, North Carolina's Tarheel Leather Club, a social/political/educational group devoted to Leather and S/M. Through extensive interviews with the club's members, the history and culture of this traditionally Gay male underground movement is discussed, along with TLC's activities and the daily lives of the members themselves. Toc Storee Ming-Yuen S. Ma, Director 1991 : 21 minutes : Gay : A multilevel narrative in which stories from Japanese and Chinese history as well as the contemporary experiences of three Chinese and Japanese American gay men -- and texts by James Baldwin and T. Minh-ha -- are juxtaposed with each other to create an open sense of tradition and resonance. Tongues Untied Marlon Riggs, Director 1989 : 55 minutes : Gay : Director Riggs uses poetry, rap, interviews and dramatic situations to express the oppression faced by black gay men in America today. Turnabout: The Story of the Yale Puppeteers Dan Bessie, Director 1993 : 60 minutes : Gay : They're entertainers, they're 92 years old, and they're gay. "Turnabout" is the amazing story of The Yale Puppeteers -- Harry Burnett, his cousin Forman Brown, and Brown's lover Roddy Brandon -- who travelled through America for more than 70 years with their unique puppets and satirical songs. Two Spirit People Lori Levy, Gretchen Vogel, and Michel Beauchemin, Directors 1991 : 23 minutes : GLBO : Charts Native American beliefs about sexual orientation and gender. Two Spirits T. Osa Hidalgo, Director 1993 : 27 minutes : GLBO : Lesbian and gay Native Americans reflect on identity, gender, culture, and race. Unzipped Douglas Keeve, Director 1995: 86 minutes : Gay : This documentary about the making of designer Isaac Mizhrahi's fall 1994 collection is filmed with style and is interesting as a glimpse into the fashion world. But as the film's focus, Mizrahi becomes nattering and tiresome. Voices of Life Patrick Wright, Director 1991 : 33 minutes : Gay : A clever deconstruction of conventional AIDS documentaries, which alerts us to how appearances can be deceiving. War on Lesbians Jane Cottis, Director 1992 : 35 minutes : Lesbian : Drawing on various pop culture conventions and referents, director Cottis poses as a gallery of characters and incorporates the subject of lesbianism into every imaginable area. We Are Family Dasal Banks, Director 1987 : 57 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : Examines daily life of parents and children in gay and lesbian families. West Coast Crones: A Glimpse at the Lives of Nine Old Lesbians Madeline Muir, Director 1991 : 28 minutes : Lesbian : Nine old lesbians, ranging in age from 61 to 76, speak about their lives, their sexuality, internalized and external ageism and the process of growing old. Who Happen To Be Gay Dale Beldin and Mark Krenzien, Directors 1979 : 23 minutes : Gay : Six openly gay professional men talk about their lifestyle and its impact on them, their families, friends, and colleagues. Wigstock: The Movie Barry Shils, Director 1994 : 82 minutes : Gay Transvestite : Once an underground happening, Wigstock has blossomed into a world renowned event where some of the biggest names in music perform alongside drag superstars and queer idols. This is a refreshingly real but celebratory look at the high-polish event and the pioneers who started it all, including founder and emcee The Lady Bunny, and with a dazzling cast of thousands including RuPaul, Lypsinka, Joey Arias, Deee-Lite, Debbie Harry, and Jackie Beat. Wild Life John C. Goss, Director 1985 : 40 minutes : Gay : Examines the social milieu of two 15-year-old Latinos in LA, mixing documentary-style interviews with vignettes about their fantasy lives. A Woman's Place is in the House Nancy W. Porter and Mickey Lemie, Directors 1976 : 28 minutes : Lesbian : Portrait of Elaine Noble, first woman and self-avowed lesbian elected to the Massachusetts legislature. World of Light: A Portrait of May Sarton Marita Simpson and Martha Wheelock, Directors 1979 : 30 minutes : Lesbian : Interviews with and readings from the works of 70-year-old author May Sarton. Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives -- Conversations with 16 Gay Men and Women Andrew Brown, Director 1977 : 45 or 130 minute versions available : Gay/Lesbian : Interviews with gays and lesbians from different backgrounds and discussions of how they deal with their sexuality and with society's attitude towards them. You Can Fight City Hall Vivian Schaefer, Director 1986 : 30 minutes : GLBO : Details the struggle of the Columbus, Ohio gay community to add the words "sexual orientation to existing job protection legislation. ***** GLBO-Centered Non-U.S. Documentaries ***** After the Revolution Lizzie Thynne, Director 1993 : UK : 27 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : In this made-for-Channel-Four production, sexual repression in the former Czechoslovakia is examined from the points of view of gay and lesbian couples who recount how they found each other and what they've gone through to maintain their relationships. All Out Dancing in Dulais Lesbian and Gay Support the Miners Group, Directors 198? : UK : Gay/Lesbian : Recounts the formation of an unusual alliance between a group of young gays and lesbians from London and a group of miners from Wales during a Welsh miner's strike in 1984-85. Anatomy of Desire Jean-Francois Monette, Director 1995 : Canada : 50 minutes : GLBO : An exploration of the role science has played -- for good and ill -- in shaping society's understanding of homosexuality throughout the 20th century. Armisted Maupin is a Man I Dreamt Up Kate Meynell, Director 1992 : UK : 60 minutes : Gay : A made-for-BBC look at San Francisco, and the man whose "Tales of the City" series have inspired thousands to move there. Army of Lovers, or Revolt of the Perverts Rosa von Praunheim, Director 1978 : West Germany : Gay : Highly subjective, heavy-handed view of the gay movement in America, telling its story through a series of interviews interspersed with newsreel footage, still photo montages, snippets of marches and rallies, and agitprop gay theatre. Black Bag: Gender Bender Laurens C. Postma, Director 1993 : UK : 25 minutes : Gay Transvestite : Made-for-Channel 4 episode of a series about black issues, called "Black Bag." This episode, called "Gender Bender," is a short portrait of Winston, England's answer to RuPaul and a dead ringer for Naomi Campbell. Boy Next Door? A Profile of Boy George Mark Kidel, Director 1993 : UK : 50 minutes : Gay Transvestite : This portrait of Boy George covers 9 years, from the sudden success of Culture Club to George's rebirth as a solo act. An hypnotic story of narcissism and neediness, drugs and drag. Bright Eyes Stuart Marshall, Director 1986 : UK : 85 minutes : GLBO : Made-for-BBC 3-part video which examines the historical and social factors influencing current reactions to homosexuality and AIDS. Coming Out of the Iron Closet Larry Peloso, Director 1995 : Canada : 40 minutes : GLBO : The filmmakers visit several Soviet Bloc countries and inter- view political activists, entertainers, transsexuals, and one very supportive mother of a gay son. You won't want to miss the scenes at the gay nude beach in Moscow or the opening of their first-ever state sanctioned gay nightclub. Confession of a Pretty Lady Kris Clarke and Sarah Mortimer, Directors 1993 : UK : 70 minutes : Lesbian : Everything you ever wanted to know about Sandra Bernhard, from home movies to interviews with her mother, aunt, uncle, directors she's worked with, famous people who know her, and extensive footage taken from her movie and stage performances. Corps de Parole Suzanne Vertue, Director 1989 : Canada : 37 minutes : Lesbian : The life and times of French writer Michele Causse. Cover Comrades in Arms 1990 : UK : Gay/Lesbian : Six lesbians and gay men recall living, loving and serving in the British armed services in World War II. Daddy and the Muscle Academy Ilppo Pohjola, Director 1992 : Finland : 55 minutes : Gay : Combines interview material with Tom of Finland, and hundreds of his drawings, with testifying "Tom's men", from Drummer Daddies to fellow artists. This controversial film also includes some steamy invented sequences -- a sort of "journey to the center of Tom's psyche." Darker Side of Black Isaac Julien, Director 1993 : UK : 55 minutes : GLBO : Director Julien (Young Soul Rebels) takes a hard look at the controversial trend among reggae and rap artists of calling for the death of gays and lesbians. The film includes interviews with rappers Shabba Ranks and Buju Banton, who use religion to justify their homophobic brand of music. Derek Jarman, Know What I Mean Laurens C. Postma, Director 1988 : UK : 52 minutes : Gay : An overview of the controversial artist's life and work. Desire Stuart Marshall, Director 1989 : UK : 90 minutes : Gay : A view of gay life in Germany before the Holocaust. Enchanted [Verzaubert] Dorothee von Diepenbroick, Jorg Fockele, Jens Golombek, Dirk Hauska, Sylke Jehna, Claudia Kaitenbach, Ulrich Prenn, Johanna Reutter, and Katrin Schmersahl, Directors 1993 : Germany : 89 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : Life for suspected gays and lesbians in the 40s and 50s in Hamburg, Germany, is recounted by the thirteen men and women interviewed here. Looking back on a forgotten period of German history, they recall appalling anecdotes with calm, charm, and courage; and through their spirit, the film becomes an inspiring story about gay and lesbian heroism and endurance. In German with English subtitles. Equinox: The Gay Gene Simon LeVay, Director 1992 : UK : GLBO : LeVay examines the scientific, political and social motives for and of his research on the pre-determination of sexual orientation in this film made for a scientific program slot on the UK's Channel 4. Every Conceivable Position: Inside Gay Porn Clare Beavan, Director 1992 : UK : 50 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : A fresh and thoughtful look at the modern gay and lesbian porn industry, including behind-the-scenes interviews with stars, producers, and commentators. This documentary was commissioned by the BBC, who allowed the filmmakers to include clips, so long as genitals weren't visible. Eunuchs: India's Third Gender Michael Yorke, Director 1991 : UK : 40 minutes : Gay : A made-for-BBC look at some of the more than half a million eunuchs -- or hijiras -- in India today. This film captures the pleasures and contradictions of a living alternative to Western ideas about gender. Feed Them To The Cannibals Fiona Cunningham Reid, Director 1992 : Australia/UK : 67 minutes : GLBO : All about the annual Mardi Gras in Sydney, Australia. Female Misbehavior Monika Treut, Director 1983-92 : Germany/USA : 80 minutes : Lesbian/Bisexual/Transsexual : Four short portraits of "misbehaving" females compiled: 'Bondage', about lesbian S&M-er, 'Annie', about ex-porn star Annie Sprinkle, 'Dr Paglia' and 'Max', about a female-to-male transsexual. Flesh & Paper 1990 : UK : Lesbian : The life and writings of the lesbian writer and poet Suniti Namjoshi, who is from an Indian royal family and resides in England. Includes interviews with her friends and with the young Indian women who take her as a role model. Flowing Hearts: Thailand Fights AIDS John Goss, Director 1992 : Thailand/USA : 32 minutes : GLBO : The White Line Dance Troupe uses Thai and modern dance to enact AIDS awareness. Thai gay/AIDS activists are interviewed. Forbidden Love Aerlyn Weissman and Lynne Fernie, Directors 1992 : Canada : 85 minutes : Lesbian : The history of lesbians in Canada during the era of lesbian pulp fiction like Anne Bannon's novels of the 50s and 60s is brought to life with humor, newsreel footage and Sapphic memorabilia. Women ranging in age from 40 to 70 share their experiences. Framed Youth Jeff Cole and others, Directors 1983 : UK : 50 minutes : GLBO : British teens confront straights in London about their views on homosexuality with amusing and revealing results. Fresh Talk Teresa Marshall and Craig Berggold, Directors 1992 : Canada : 30 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : After a 10-day workshop on youth and sexuality, thirty young Canadians (gay and straight) expressed themselves to the camera. In this excerpted version, the gay and lesbian youth in the group talk frankly about race, sex, abuse, body image, coming out, and the emotional aspects of their lesbian and gay sexuality. The Gay Rock and Roll Years Shauna Brown, Director 1991 : UK : 60 minutes : GLBO : A history of the gay/lesbian movement from 1954-1991 as seen from clips from the BBC archives and set to the rock'n roll music of those years. Glad To Be Gay, Right? 1993 : The Netherlands : 48 minutes : GLBO : Andre Reeder, Director Made for Dutch TV, this documentary features five gripping coming-out stories, of which three are told by people of color. Glitterbug Derek Jarman, Director 1994 : UK : 52 minutes : Gay : A luminous, lyrical history of the director's life between 1970 and 1986, set to new music by Brian Eno, and composed entirely of Super 8 footage Jarman shot through the years. Handel und Wandel Katharina Geinitz, Director 1983 : West Germany : Lesbian : Loving docudrama about the filmmaker's girlfriend -- a vital, energetic lesbian. The Hunting Season Rita Moreira, Director 1992 : Brazil : 30 minutes : GLBO : Brazil's gay and lesbian population are being slaughtered in a ghastly series of hate crimes. Intercutting scenes from Hollywood movies (The Deer Hunter and Cruising), director Moreira stops people on the streets of Sao Paolo for a quick health check on the state of the nation. "They should be killed," is the most common reply. Improper Conduct [Mauvaise Conduite] Nestor Almendros and Orlando Jimenez-Leal, Directors 1984 : France : 112 minutes : Gay : Documents all persecution in Castro's Cuba, including that of gays. I Need a Man Like You ... To Make My Dreams Come True Kalli Paakspuu and Daria Stermac, Producers 1986 : Canada : 24 minutes : Lesbian : Variety : Inside a lesbian/feminist cabaret which lampoons sex roles and stereotypes. Includes performances by comedian Sheila Gostick, the singing group The Clichettes, and storyteller Helen Potter. In the Out Tray Albany Video, Director 198? : UK : 76 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : Examines the issue of lesbian and gay employment rights. A Kind of Family Andrew Koster, Director 1992 : Canada : Gay : A profile of the relationship and family life of a gay city counselor and his straight, street-kid, hustler, drug-abusing, HIV+ foster son. Ladies Please Andrew Saw, director 1996: Australia :50 minutes : Gay Transvestite : A profile of three real-life drag performers who inspired the film "Priscillia, Queen of the Desert." Ladyboys 1992 : UK : 60 minutes : Male Transvestite : Jeremy Marre, Director Made-for-Channel 4 look at two teenage Thai boys as they try to escape rural poverty by becoming successful "katoi", or female impersonators. Lesbians Against the Right 1981 : Canada : 45 minutes : Lesbian : Addresses the attempts by the New Right to blame society's ills on gays, immigrants, and the women's movement. Looking for Langston Isaac Julien, Director 1988 : UK : 48 minutes : Gay : Documents the life and times of gay black poet Langston Hughes. The Making of "Monsters" 1991 : Canada : Gay : George Lukacs is a Marxist literary critic and has made films such as Star Wars, about American Imperialism in the space age. Berthold Brecht is a catfish and renowned playwright. They team up to film the musical "Monsters", about 4 Toronto schoolboys who killed a gay highschool teacher. Indescribable, absurd, and hilarious. Maybe I Can Give You Sex? Part I Jurgen Bruning, Director 1992 : Philippines/Germany : 30 minutes : Gay/Bisexual : Parts I and II of this tape are a collaboration between directors Rune Layumas in Manila and Jurgen Bruning in Germany. The videos look at gender roles in the Philippines and examine the lives of macho dancers, bar boys, and their customers. Maybe I Can Give You Sex? Part II Rune Layumas, Director 1992 : Philippines/Germany : 19 minutes : Gay/Bisexual : Parts I and II of this tape are a collaboration between directors Rune Layumas in Manila and Jurgen Bruning in Germany. The videos look at gender roles in the Philippines and examine the lives of macho dancers, bar boys, and their customers. Memoire de notre hystoire 1972-1987 Diane Heffernan and Suzanne Vertue, Directors 1987 : Canada : 184 minutes : Lesbian : Depicts lesbian history in Canada through the years 1972-1987 as seen by two lesbian feminists. Michael, A Gay Son Bruce Glawson, Director 1981 : Canada : 27 minutes : Gay : Explores the feelings and experiences of gays coming out to their families by following one man through the process. Minoru and Me Toichi Nakata, Director 1992 : UK : 45 minutes : Gay : A brutally honest real-life, as-it-happens drama of a man with cerebral palsy trying to come out to the filmmaker, his friend. As the filmmaker becomes increasing obsessed with portraying the physically challenged man as disabled and dependent, the man with cerebral palsy becomes increasingly disgusted and unable to state what he's traveled all the way from Japan to say. Montgomery Clift Claudio Masenza, Director 1985 : Italy : 90 minutes : Gay : Biography which deals extensively with the actor's homosexuality. My Living Room is a Theatre Claudia Prietzel, Director 1992 : Germany/UK : 48 minutes : Gay : A front room in Brixton is a venue for gay performers, and for the host, Ernst Fischer. Off the Rails Stephen Hawthorne, Director 1991 : UK : 48 minutes : Gay : This is a segment from a BBC show called "Video Diaries", in which ordinary people are given a camera and allowed to create their own personal video diaries. In this one, 18-year-old gay male Stephen Hawthorne revisits his strictly religious provincial parents, and chronicles a few weeks in the life of his relationship with his urban boyfriend Bertie. On Her Baldness Wendy Rowland, Director 1991 : Canada : 30 minutes : Lesbian : Bold testament to women coming out as bald. Over Our Dead Bodies 1991 : UK : GLBO : Documentary examining the direct action gay movement, including ACT-UP, Queer Nation and OUTRAGE in the United States and the United Kingdom. Oy Gay Rosalind Haber, Director 1992 : UK : 29 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : A made-for-BBC account of the political and cultural concerns of gay and lesbian Jews, primarily those in the United Kingdom. A Place of Rage Pratibha Parmar, Director 1991 : UK : 52 minutes : Lesbian : Lesbian filmmaker Parmar directs this tribute and celebration of African-American women and their accomplishments. Positive 198? : West Germany/USA : Gay/Lesbian : A documentary about the rise of the AIDS activist movement in the US. The focus is on New York City. Footage of GMHC, ACT-UP etc. Prison for Women [P4W, Pan Canadian Prison for Women] Janis Cole, Director 1981 : Canada : 81 minutes : Lesbian : A film about a woman's prison in which lesbians, among others, are jailed. Pout #3 Pout Collective, Directors 1993 : UK : 60 minutes : GLBO : The hilarious antics of the irreverent British Pout collective focus on Safer Sex in this third wild episode of their made- for-home-video series. Queers Are Not Enough 1992 : Canada : 30 minutes : GLBO : This vigorous overview of 1990's Gay Games critiques issues around assimilation, diversity, co-optation and representation. Rasen No Sobyou [Sketch of a Spiral (?)] Yasushi Kojima, Director 1991 : Japan : Gay : A group of gay men in Osaka prepares a theater play. Robert Mapplethorpe Nigel Finch, Director 1988 : UK : 60 minutes : Gay : Made-for-BBC profile of controversial photographer Mapplethorpe, tracing his development from Brooklyn art school bad boy to Man- hattan celebrity darling. Saint Genet Nigel Williams and Charles Chabot, Directors 1985 : UK : 60 minutes : Gay : Made-for-BBC interview with author Jean Genet, who granted the interview just days before his death. Seams Karim Ainouz, Director 1993 : Brazil/USA : 30 minutes : GLBO : A personal account of Brazil's social and sexual constraints for women and gay men, seen through the eyes of the women in the director's family. Sex Wars 1993 : UK : 30 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : Cheryl Farthing and Penny Ashbrook, Directors A made-for-BBC exploration of the questions: what do gay men think about lesbians, and what do lesbians think about gay men? Sharing the Secret John and Rose Kastner, Directors 1981 : Canada : 84 minutes : Gay : The lives and feelings of several gay men are explored as they go through their day-to-day lives. Silence = Death 198? : West Germany/USA : Gay/Lesbian : A documentary about several New York-based performance artists, including Diamanda Galas, David Wojnarowicz, and Emilio Cubeiro, whose work discusses issues related to AIDS. Storm in a Teacup 1992 : UK : 44 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : Emma Hindley, Director This made-for-Channel 4 history of lesbian and gay pre-70s meeting places in London includes and introduction to "Polari", the unique British gay slang. Susana Susana Munoz (Some sources list Susana Blaustein), Director 1980 : Argentina/USA : 25 minutes : Lesbian : Autobiographical sketch of a young Argentine lesbian who has to deal with her family's disapproval as well as her emerging lesbian identity. Thank God I'm a Lesbian Laurie Colbert and Dominique Cardona, Directors 1992 : Canada : 60 minutes : Lesbian : Refreshing challenge to myths and demons as diverse dykes talk about lesbian identity. Issues range from coming out, racism, feminism, and bisexuality to S&M and outing. Includes Sarah Schulman, Nicole Brossard, Dionne Brand, Julia Creet and Lee Pui Ming. That's Masculinity Marc Munden, Director 1991 : UK : 40 minutes : Gay : Campy and erotic answers to the ever pervasive questions about sex and gender. Trojans 1990 : UK : Gay : A look at nineteenth century Greek poet Constantine Cavafy, whose work is loaded with homoeroticism and motifs from Greek history. The film reflects the same heady ambience using sexy Derek Jarmanesque super-8 visuals and the poet's work on the soundtrack. To My Women Friends 1993 : Russia/Germany : 64 minutes : Lesbian : Natasha Sharandak, Director Revealing interviews with six Russian women convey the joys and hardships of being lesbian in Russia. Touches on a range of issues including women's prisons, trassexuality, lesbian and gay community, organizing, coming out, and homophobia. Two or Three Things I Know About Them Anson Mak, Director 1991 : Hong Kong : 39 minutes : Lesbian : An experimental four-part video that deals with the issues and concerns of an emerging lesbian community in Hong Kong. Veronica 4 Rose Melanie Chait, Director 1985 : UK : 45 minutes : Lesbian : A made-for-BBC documentary about teenage lesbians growing up in several diverse English cities. Walk on the Wild Side James Marsh, Director 1993 : UK : 40 minutes : Gay Transvestite : Meet some of the people behind the classic Lou Reed song celebrating '60s transgenderism, including Joe Dallesandro and Holly Woodlawn. We've Been Framed Cheryl Farthing, Director 1991 : UK : 25 minutes : Lesbian : Lesbians talk about the best, worst, and first lesbian film they've seen. What Shall We Do Without Death Elfi Mikesch, Director 1980 : West Germany : 105 minutes : Lesbian : A female couple who have vowed to spend the rest of their lives together are the focus of this film about a retirement home in Hamburg. When Shirley Met Florence Ronit Bezalel, Director 1994 : Canada : 28 minutes : Lesbian : Shirley, a Polish refugee, is straight. Florence is a lesbian. These two remarkable Jewish women talk about their fifty-five year friendship, about Shirley's marriage to Florence's brother, about Florence's lover Sophie, and about the traditional Yiddish music they play together. Whoever Says the Truth Shall Die Philo Bregstein, Director 1981 : The Netherlands : 60 minutes : Gay : A made-for-Dutch-TV film about the life and murder of filmmaker/poet Pier Paolo Pasolini. Witches, Dykes, Faggots, and Poofters Digby Duncan, Director 1979 : Australia : 45 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : Documents the oppression of gays and lesbians throughout history, focusing on Sydney and New South Wales. A Woman of My Platoon Marilyn Burgess, Director 1989 : Canada : 20 minutes : Lesbian : Juxtaposes the experiences of lesbians serving in the Canadian armed services during WWII against a modern debate in the Canadian parliament concerning a bill which would prevent discrimination against lesbians and gays in the armed services. Women Like That Suzanne Neild, Director 1991 : UK : 25 minutes : Lesbian : Follows eight of sixteen lesbians who participated in the 1990 British TV documentary "Women Like Us." Here the women discuss how their lives have changed since the broadcast of the original program. Working Class Dykes From Hell Jacquie Lawrence, Director 1992 : UK : 20 minutes : Lesbian : A Made-for-BBC look at working class British lesbians, who talk about class differences in the lesbian community, organizing political consciousness, and developing a sense of community. ***** Gay-Centered U.S. Films ***** Abuse Athur J. Bressan, Junior, Director 1983 : Gay : Drama : A young boy, abused at home, finds love with a gay filmmaker. Agora Robert and Donald Kinney, Directors 1992 : 73 minutes : GLBO : Drama : An agoraphobic gay man meets a gay couple and a lesbian couple in midwest hotel. Parallels between GLB repression and his phobia are drawn in this complex, meditative melodrama. Alexander: The Other Side of Dawn John Erman, Director 1977 : 106 minutes : Bisexual : Drama : This made-for-TV movie is a sequel to one called "Dawn: Portrait of a Teenage Runaway". This time, Dawn's boyfriend, Alexander, runs off to Hollywood looking for her, and ends up turning tricks for women and men on Hollywood Boulevard because he can't find a job. All About Alice Ray Harrison, Director 1974 : 80 minutes : Gay Transvestite : Drama : Drag reworking of 'All About Eve', starring Warren Fremming as Frieda, who plots to steal a Broadway star's career and muscle-bound boyfriend. And the Band Played On Roger Spottiswoode, Director 1993 : 141 minutes : GLBO : Drama : Dramatization of the events surrounding the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, taking the point of view that just about everybody who was in a position to do something to stem the spread of AIDS at the outset failed to act because of politics or petty ego. An Empty Bed Mark Gasper, Director 1988 : 56 minutes : Gay : Drama : A day in the life of 60-something Bill Frayne, a gay man living in Greenwich Village. Flashbacks connect his past with the present. As Is Michael Lindsay-Hogg, Director 1986 : 86 minutes : Gay : Drama : A man who has contracted AIDS from a lover who then abandoned him moves in with his caring ex-lover. Bike Boy Andy Warhol, Director 1967 : 110 minutes : Gay/Gay Transvestite : Drama : Young working class motorcyclist Joe Spences is the object of everyone's desire, but he's completely out of his element in the sophisticated world of Warhol's Superstar friends -- Viva, Ingrid Superstar, Brigid Polk, and Ed Weiner. The Birdcage Mike Nichols, Director 1996 : 118 minutes : Gay/Gay Transvestite : Comedy : This, of course, is "La Cage Aux Folles" without the subtitles. That's the only reason I can see for the remake, as I found the French orginal more witty, more charming, and more humane. But if you absolutely can't abide subtitled or dubbed films, read the plot description of La Cage Aux Folles and pick this one up. You could do worse. The Boys in the Band William Friedkin, Director 1970 : 118 minutes : Gay : Drama : The first Hollywood movie to feature male homosexuality, in which a straight man is the accidental guest at a birthday party with one of each of the major gay male subgroups except for leather. Boys Life 2 Mark Christopher, Tom DeCerchio, Nickolas Perry, Peggy Rajski, Directors 1997 : 74 minutes : Gay : Comedy/Drama : A compilation of four short films. In "Trevor", a young sissy boy has to deal with homophobia and his first crush. "Nunzio's Second Cousin" has a gay cop turn the tables on a would-be basher by forcing him at gunpoint to come to his home and have dinner with him and his mom. "Alkali, Iowa" is a bittersweet farm story about a gay man uncovering his dead father's secrets. "Must Be The Music" follows a quartet of sarcastic, beeper-carrying teens looking for love in the San Fernando Valley dance clubs. Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story Steven Hilliard Stern, Director 1997 : 121 minutes : Gay : Biography : The Olympic champion swimmer narrates, but does not star in, his life story. Racism (he's half Samoan, and the other kids called him "nigger"), a difficult relationship with his demanding, distant adopted father, trouble with alcohol, coming to terms with his gayness, discovering his abusive manager-lover and he are both HIV-positive -- there's a lot of darkness in this man's life, and this biopic doesn't back away from it. But his gifts as a diver help him find courage and the strength to cope. Buddies Arthur J. Bressan, Jr., Director 1985 : 81 minutes : Gay : Drama : A gay activist who has AIDS starts out hating the yuppie volunteer who comes to take care of him out of a sense of duty, but their brief relationship is both poignant and intense. Cabaret Bob Fosse, Director 1972 : 124 minutes : Bisexual/Gay/Transvestite : Musical : A brilliant, if loose, interpretation of Christopher Isherwood's "The Berlin Stories", about life in pre-WWII Berlin. Some kink, some camp, and a love affair between Liza Manelli's Sally Bowles and Michael York's Brian that is doomed by his homosexual urges. The Christine Jorgensen Story Irving Rapper, Director 1970 : 89 minutes : Transsexual : Biography : The world's most famous male-to-female sex change story. Citizen Cohn 1992 : 112 minutes : Gay : Biographical Drama : Frank Pierson, Director Made-for-HBO movie about infamous lawyer Roy Cohn, a Jew who prosecuted the Rosenbergs, a queer-hating homosexual who was the prime shaker behind Senator Joe McCarthy's anti-communist & homosexual witch-hunt in the 1950's. Includes such delightful scenes as Cohn being entertained after dinner at J. Edgar Hoover's home by Hoover's true love -- Deputy FBI Director Clyde Tolson -- at the piano, and a restaurant scene with Cohn eating from the plate of one the other most influential right-wing closet-cases of the day: Francis Cardinal Spellman. The Clay Farmers A. P. Gonzalez, Director 1988 : 60 minutes : Gay : Drama : Young farmhand Dan is paired with Mike, a handsome drifter hired to work for an absentee landowner. Their idyllic friendship is shattered when the abusive father of Gary, their 10-year-old neighbor, spies the trio bathing in the nude at a secluded swimming hole. Unjustly accused of wrong-doing, Dan and Mike must face the true meaning of their intimacy -- and the misdirected anger of a suddenly hostile town. Compulsion Richard Fleisher, Director 1959 : 103 minutes : Gay : Drama : Two wealthy, neurotic teens who are obviously loversplan the murder of a young boy to prove their superiority to others. Based on the Leopold-Loeb murder case in Chicago, the film makes the homosexual relationship very apparent for a film of its time. Consenting Adult Gilbert Cates, Director 1985 : 100 minutes : Gay : Drama : Made-for-TV movie about a teenage boy who comes out to his parents. Mom eventually comes around, but Dad would rather die, and does. Cruising William Friedkin, Director 1980 : 106 minutes : Gay : Drama : Extremely negative film about gay murders and the undercover cop trying to solve them, but who turns into a killer faggot himself from exposure to the New York leather scene. The Dead Boys' Club Mark Christopher, Director 1992 : 25 minutes : Gay : Comedy : Toby's cousin gives him a pair of shoes previously owned by the cousin's deceased lover. When Toby wears the shoes, he's transported to the 70s pre-AIDS world of disco, hot guys, and glitter balls, juxtaposing the generational differences that AIDS has wrought. Deaf Heaven Steve Levitt, Director 1993 : 25 minutes : Gay : Drama : An accomplished and affecting drama about a young man tending to his dying lover, which touches on AIDS, angels, faith, and the Holocaust. Death In Venice, CA P. David Ebersole, Director 1994 : 30 minutes : Gay : Drama : A handsome scholar is suddenly plunged into a passion he has studied but never known, and the object of his passion is a drop-dead gorgeous 18-year-old youth. Deathtrap 1982 : 116 minutes : Gay : Mystery : Sidney Lumet, Director Michael Caine plays a has-been playwright who may get another chance at fame whem former student Christopher Reeve sends him his script. Caine plans to murder his former student and take the script as his own. Ah, but there's a lot more here than meets the eye, as counterplot follows plot, hidden relationships get uncovered, and an elaborate hoax is slowly revealed. Deathwatch Vic Morrow, Director 1967 : ?? minutes : Gay : Drama Rarely-seen film version Jean Genet's play of a brutal prison love triangle. Leonard Nimoy and Paul Mazursky are deadly rivals for the attentions of Michael Forest. A Different Story Paul Aaron, Director 1978 : 107 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : Drama : A gay man and a lesbian are thrown together by circumstances, come to feel great affection for one another, fall in love, get married, and have a baby. The Disco Years Robert Lee King, Director 1992 : 30 minutes : Gay : Drama : Set in the times of pet rocks, gas lines, and macrame, a high school student's sexual passions are stirred in his gym class. Dog Day Afternoon Sidney Lumet, Director 1975 : 130 minutes : Bisexual/Gay : Drama : A gay man robs a bank to pay for his male lover's sex-change operation. Based on a true story. Doing Time on Maple Drive Ken Olin, Director 1992 : 90 minutes : Gay : Drama : A teenager comes to grips with his gay identity and tries to come out to the rest of his dysfunctional suburban family in this made-for-TV movie. Drum Steve Carver, Director 1976 : Gay : Drama : A white plantation owner and his gay pal rape black men. An Early Frost John Erman, Director 1985 : 100 minutes : Gay : Drama : Made-for-TV movie about a family having to deal with their son's AIDS. A Friend of Dorothy Raoul O'Connell, Director 1994 : 25 minutes : Gay : Comedy : Forms and Motifs Margaret Hetherman, Director 1994 : 40 minutes : Gay Transvestites : Comedy : This award-winning film was inspired by Kalman Egyed's collection of exquisite beadwork and embroidery designs. A young woman, CeCe, is not satisfied with the direction her life is taking when she discovers her grandfather's portfolio of designs. She decides that these exquisite patterns need to come to life and enlists the help of her surrogate family, 3 lively drag queens. Fortune and Men's Eyes Harvey Hart, Director 1971 : 102 minutes : Gay : Drama : A tough, tragic story involving violence, sex roles, and epic bitchiness in a men's prison. Frisk Todd Verow, Director 1995 : 90 minutes : Gay : Drama : Based on Dennis Cooper's novel of homosexuality, sadism, and insanity, this still-unfinished movie-in-progress is structured as complexly as the novel itself. Two brothers traveling on a train read letters written by the protagonist, Dennis, who may or may not be a serial killer. In what may or may not be fictional letters, Dennis explicitly details his gruesome acts of sexual torture, which culminate in murder. Apparently the movie was a little too rough in all respects for the S.F. International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival crowd -- crowds of angry patrons were headed for the exits long before the movie was over. Fun Down There Roger Stigliano, Director 1988 : 89 minutes : Gay : Drama : The life and loves of a guy who leaves his home in upstate New York for Manhattan. The Genesis Children Anthony Aikman, Director 1972 : 84 minutes : USA/Italy : Gay : Drama : A joyous celebration of innocent youths on a journey of self-discovery. Controversial even today because of its uninhibited naturist sentiments. Grief Richard Glatzer, Director 1993 : 87 mintues : Gay : Comedy : The creative staff of a Grade-Z daytime courtroom soap opera is the focus of this good-natured comedy by writer/director Glatzer. The hero, like Glatzer in real life, has lost his lover to AIDS, is afraid to take the HIV-antibody test, and doesn't know how to get back into the dating scene. He's surrounded by a gang of sardonic gay underachievers and unlucky-in-love straight women who get along better with their gay pals than with their would-be boyfriends. Their lives are almost as bizarre as the soap opera they write, called "The Love Judge", which features an assortment of of legless lepers, stripper nuns, and lesbian trapeze artists. Harold and Hiroshi Ed Askinazi, Director 1989 : 38 minutes : Gay : Drama : College romance between a Jewish boy and a Japanese boy, set in a New England university on the eve of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Horror Vacuii Rosa von Praunheim, Director 1984 : Gay : Drama : A gay man tries to save his lover from a religious cult. Hustler White Bruce La Bruce and Rick Castro, Directors 1995 : 80 minutes : Gay : Pseudo-documentary : A wild ride along Santa Monica Boulevard, the boy-toy walk of fame, following streetwise but accident-prone hustler Monti. Along with Bruce and an assortment of underground dignitaries and porn divas, we track Monti through his typical routine of various sordid and bizarre encounters with hustlers, johns, and pornographers. I'll Love You Forever... Tonight Edgar Michael Bravo, Director 1993 : Gay : Drama : An aimless, painfully slow film by first-time director Bravo which concerns the life of a young gay photographer in Los Angeles and the romantic machinations of his small circle of friends. All talk and no action. In and Out Frank Oz, Director 1997 : 90 minutes : Gay : Comedy : We've come a long way, baby. 1997 will be remembered as the year straight male actors were falling all over themselves playing gay men in the movies. In this one, Kevin Kline and Tom Selleck do a very funny job of it. Kline plays a deeply closeted midwestern English teacher who is outed when a former student blurts out to the world that he's gay at an Oscar telecast. Kline denies it, and is due to marry long-time fiance Joan Cusack within days of the Oscars. Selleck is a a gay TV-news-show reporter who's hot on the trail of the story. And from there it's just one funny gag after another. It's mindless, silly, gay-positive fun, and maybe it's even paving the way for out gays and lesbians to openly play straight characters to packed theatres. In Plain View Felix Olivier, Director 1993 : USA/France : 25 minutes : Gay/Bisexual : Drama : In New York, day after day, and old writer watches the tumultuous lives of his neighbors, Pierre, and his bisexual Brazilian lover, Ulyseus. It's My Party Randal Kleiser, Director 1996 : 105 minutes : Gay : Melodrama : Nick Stark has AIDS, and it takes the form of brain lesions that are going to wipe his personality and leave him a vegetable. He decides to take matters into his own hands and take a life- ending overdose of pills after gathering all his loved ones for a big farewell bash. Of course, his estranged ex-lover hears about it, and against everyone else's wishes, has to show up and and make his peace. It's maudlin, it's stagey, but it worked for me, and there are some wonderful cameos interspersed among what I thought were some very affecting performances. Jeffrey Christopher Ashley, Director 1995 : 92 minutes : Gay : Comedy : Paul Rudnick adapted his play for the screen, with mixed results. The dialogue and situations are funny enough, but the pacing seems slow, and Steven Weber's Jeffrey isn't nearly as appealing a character as Patrick Stewart's Sterling. Johns Scott Silver, Director 1997 : 96 minutes : Gay : Drama : John and Donner are two teenage male hustlers plying their trade on Santa Monica Boulevard. John is a burn-out whose only dream is to earn $300 so as to spend the eve of his 21st birthday in a posh hotel. Donner is an urchin whose father has disowned him. He's in love with the older boy, and wants them both to escape to Camelot, a medieval theme park in Branson, Mo., where redemption, deliverance, and jobs as lifeguards supposedly await them. Kiss Me, Guido Tony Vitale, Director 1997 : 92 minutes : Gay : Comedy : In New York slang, a "Guido" is a stereotypical Italian guy: self-absorbed, macho, not too bright, and much too fond of gold chains. In this happy little sex farce, Frankie is a "Guido" who thinks his path to show biz will be paved by his ability to quote lines from De Niro and Joe Pesci movies. When he meets up with Warren, an actor/ choreographer who has just dumped his unfaithful boyfriend, and desperately needs a roommate, what follows is a romp of mistaken identities, false assumptions, culture clashes, and a whole new meaning for GWM. (Frankie reads Warren's ad for a roommate, and thinks GWM means Guy With Money.) Lie Down With Dogs Wally White, Director 1994 : 84 minutes : Gay : Drama : Tommie, fed up with his tawdry life in New York, decides to escape to fabulous boy-filled Provincetown, where he begins searching for the ideal houseboy gig. During his frustrating job hunt, he meets Guy, a tireless party animal who lets *nothing* get between him and a good time. Tommie also gets sexually involved with Tom, a good- for-nothing but incredibly hot moocher who survives by bumming everything from cheesburgers to cigarettes. It's an emotionally unfulfilling but sexually gratifying adventure, but then Tommie meets up with seemingly unattainable mega-hunk Ben on the bike trail. The Living End Gregg Araki, Director 1991 : 85 minutes : Gay : Drama : Two fatalistic L.A. boys -- one an impulsive, on-the-edge psycho cutie, the other a lover of Godard movies who listens to The Smiths a lot -- discover they're HIV positive and set off on an unplanned, unhinged cross-country spree of violence and abandon. Longtime Companion Norman Rene, Director 1990 : 96 minutes : Gay : Drama : In 1970s New York, a bunch of gay friends are having wonderful lives, until one by one, most of them start getting sick with AIDS. Love! Valor! Compassion! Joe Mantello, Director 1997 : 115 minutes : Gay : Drama : Eight gay men come to terms with life, death, infidelity, and the meaning of friendship over the course of three holiday get-togethers at one of the friend's country home. Making Love Arthur Hiller, Director 1982 : 112 minutes : Bisexual/Gay : Drama : A handsome young doctor leaves his beautiful young wife for a handsome young writer. Mala Noche Gus van Sant, Director 1985 : 78 minutes : Gay : Drama : A well-adjusted young gay grocery clerk falls in love with a 16-year-old Mexican illegal alien who doesn't return his feelings. Man of the Year Dirk Shafer, Director 1996 : 85 minutes : Gay : Pseudo-documentary : In 1992, Dirk Shafer was Playgirl's "Man of the Year." Now, Shafer has made a "mock documentary" about what that was like. The thing is, Shafer's dramatic focus is that he thinks he has to keep the Playgirl editors from finding out he's gay, or they'll take his title away, or something. Interviews with friends, the only woman he ever slept with, his sister -- all actually written by Shafer. Oh, well, he ain't hard to look at. M. Butterfly David Cronenberg, Director 1993 : 101 minutes : Gay Transvestite : Biographical Drama : This film is based on the real-life story of a French diplomat who fell in love with a mysterious opera singer in 1960's China. He became a spy out of love for her, and was devastated to learn, after he had been caught and brought up on charges, that his "female" lover was a man. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters Paul Schrader, Director 1985 : 121 minutes : Gay : Biography : An unusual dramatic film done in three unique visual styles, shifting from a quasi-documentary view of Mishima, Japan's finest post-war author, to black-and-white flashbacks and excerpts from his novels. Mountains of the Moon Bob Rafelson, Director 1990 : 135 minutes : Gay : Biographical Drama : Epic about explorers Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke and their 1857 expedition to discover the source of the Nile. The film makes it quite clear that Speke is homosexual, and, in fact, quite taken with Burton. This storyline is not the main thrust of the film, however. My Own Private Idaho Gus van Sant, Director 1991 : 105 minutes : Gay : Drama : A narcoleptic hustler looking for some love in his life and a bisexual hustler who'd do anything to outrage his father go on a search for their own identities. Naked Lunch David Cronenberg, Director 1992 : 115 minutes : Bisexual : Drama : A dazzling, disturbing adaptation of William Burrough's landmark novel in which bug poison (drugs), death, and the creative process are interwoven into a surrealistic nightmare from which there is no wake-up call. Nocturne Mark T. Harris, Director 1989 : 100 minutes : Gay : Drama : A contemplative coming of age story about Martin, a shy pianist new to New York, who meets the handsome Gino. Martin thinks he's found his match, but Gino only wants a casual sexual liaison. As Martin slides into obsession he is forced to deal with a terrible secret from his past. Norman, Is That You George Schlatter, Director 1976 : 92 minutes : Gay : Comedy : A butch gay black youth is in love with a nelly white youth, and the black youth's parents are both about to have a heart attack over it. Ode to Billy Joe Max Baer, Director 1976 : 100 minutes : Gay : Drama : Bobbie Gentry's song gets turned into a movie and you get to find out what Billy Joe was doing up there on Tallahatchee Bridge. Our Sons 1992 : Gay : Drama : Made-for-TV movie about the mothers of two gay sons who are lovers; one of the sons is dying of AIDS. Parting Glances Bill Sherwood, Director 1986 : 90 minutes : Gay : Drama : Lovers find their relationship is falling apart because one is getting ready to take a job in Africa; the other has to also cope with his ex-lover and dear friend, who has contracted the AIDS virus. Partners James Burrows, Director 1982 : 98 minutes : Gay : Comedy : Insulting, homophobic, and crude story of a straight cop posing as a gay man along with a real gay man in order to solve some murders in the gay community. Philadelphia 1993 : 119 minutes : Gay : Drama : Jonathan Demme, Director A gay lawyer is fired because he has AIDS, but the lawyer he hires to sue his former firm is as homophobic as the people he's suing. Pink Narcissus 1970 : 70 minutes : Gay : Drama : Caballeros and bike boys, striptease and tearoom sex. This film delves beneath the surface of gay sex fantasies. Poison Todd Haynes, Director 1991 : 85 minutes : Gay : Drama : A trio of stories based on the writings of Jean Genet, which explore patricide committed by a young boy, the influence of horror films on American society, and sex in a men's prison. Pool Days Brian Sloan, Director 1993 : 27 minutes : Gay : Drama : A new pool attendant finds himself the object of desire for both the health club's aerobics instructor and a male club member. Public Opinion Ted Dvoracek, Director 1993 : 24 minutes : Gay : A stylized, serious piece about a priest, an actor, and a bathhouse. The Ritz Richard Lester, Director 1976 : 95 minutes : Gay : Comedy : I keep taking this one off the list because none of the central characters are GLB or O, and people keep writing me asking why it isn't on the list, so I give up. This riotously funny farce centers around a straight garbage collector hiding out from his Mafia-connected brother-in-law. What does he pick as his hide-out? A gay bathhouse full of zanies. Rock Hudson's Home Movies Mark Rappaport, Director 1992 : 62 minutes : Gay : Comedy : A Rock Hudson look-alike impersonates the star as he takes us through an array of cleverly-edited clips of Hudson's films and confesses to all the homosexual connotations in this comic pseudo-documentary. Roommates Alan Metzger, Director 1994 : 100 minutes : Gay : Drama : Made-for-TV movie about two men with AIDS-related illnesses, one straight and one gay, who become unwilling roommates in an apartment building run for AIDS patients. Sergeant Matlovich vs. U.S. Air Force Paul Leaf, Director 1978 : 104 minutes : Gay : Docudrama : Made-for-TV movie about Matlovich's fight to stay in the Air Force despite his revealed homosexuality. Six Degrees of Separation Fred Schepisi, Director 1993 : 111 minutes : Gay : Comedy : A glib, savvy young black man cons his way into the lives of an affluent white couple on the basis of his pretense of being the son of actor Sidney Portier and a friend of their own son from college. Smoke Mark D'Auria, Director 1993 : 90 minutes : Gay : Drama : Michael, an alienated loner with a penchant for fiftysomething men, works as bathroom attendant in a fancy Manhattan hotel. Submerged in a self-deprecating search for a father figure, he pursues a married detective (whom we never see), and is in turn pursued by a mafia-type ex-boyfriend who bullies and intimidates him throughout the film. Religious, erotic, obsessive and inescapable. Some of My Best Friends Are... [The Bar] Mervyn Nelson, Director 1971 : 109 minutes : Gay : Drama : One night in the life of a pre-Stonewall bar in Greenwich Village. Something For Everyone Harold Prince, Director 1970 : 110 minutes : Bisexual : Comedy : A bizarre black comedy with a dash of sophistication and wit. A sexy opportunist in lederhosen wants the castle of the Countess Von Ornstein and is perfectly willing to sleep with -- and kill -- everyone in sight to get it. Streamers Robert Altman, Director 1983 : 118 minutes : Gay : Drama : On the eve of being shipped to Vietnam, four soldiers confront each other with mounting tension over death, madness, and homosexuality. Summer Kiss 1987 : 48 minutes : Gay : Drama : Falling in love story about two young men who go to the same school, meet on a Provincetown Ferry, and begin to build a relationship. Recalls much of the universal pain, confusion, and embarrassing foolishness of first love. Swoon Tom Kalin, Director 1991 : 92 minutes : Gay : Drama : A reexamination of the infamous Leopold and Loeb murder case, focusing on their homosexuality and its relevance to their crime. That Certain Summer Lamont Johnson, Director 1972 : 73 minutes : Gay : Drama : Made-for-TV movie about a father trying to re-establish a relationship with his son after leaving the boy's mother for another man. Thundercrack Curt McDowell, Director 1976 : 150 minutes : GLBO : Comedy : A bizarre black comedy wherein the visitors to an "old dark house" are terrorized by a bunch of perverts who sexually assault them. Tidy Endings Gavin Miller, Director 1988 : 60 minutes : Gay : Drama : Made-for-TV movie about the aftermath of a man dying of AIDS: his male lover and his ex-wife have to come to legal and emotional terms. Token of Love H. D. Motyl, Director 1993 : 31 minutes : Gay : Drama : This tale of a gay breakup adds an erotic shower scene, and blends it all into an eerie Twilight-Zone style drama. Torch Song Trilogy Paul Bogart, Director 1988 : 121 minutes : Gay/Gay Transvestite : Comedy/Drama : Harvey Fierstein wrote and stars as a professional drag queen looking for love and respect all through the '70s in New York. To Ride a Cow Quentin Lee and Deeya Loran, Directors 1993 : 24 minutes : Bisexual : Drama : A salty and deeply atmospheric story about a young Asian guy who won't commit to his girlfriend (who's too smart for him anyway) or to the boy he screws when he just wants sex. Totally F***ed Up Gregg Araki, Director 1994 : 85 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : Drama : A pessimistic and unsentimental exploration of the lives of a group of disaffected gay and lesbian teens living on the fringes in L.A. To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar Beeban Kidron, Director 1995 : 108 minutes : Gay : Comedy/Drama : Vida and Noxeema are two sophicated New York drag queens who let hard-luck "drag princess" Chi-Chi tag along with them as they drive to Hollywood in pink Cadillac for a major drag competition. On the way, they run afoul of a sexist, homophobic cop, get stuck in a small Nebraska town, and change the lives of everyone they encounter there. The Twilight of the Golds Ross Marks, Director 1997 : 95 minutes : Gay : Drama : This made for Showtime movie examines the possible consequences of genetic testing. What if you were pregnant and a genetic test revealed that your child would be gay? Well, in this particular Los Angeles Jewish family, the reactions would be extreme from all parties, from your husband to your parents to your gay brother. By the time the family has finished melting down over the issue, everyone's cards are on the table and the hands they show aren't very pretty. Vaudeville Ira Sachs, Director 1990 : 55 minutes : GLBO : Drama : Comic portrayal of a third-rate theatrical troup and their love-hate relationships. A Very Natural Thing Christopher Larkin, Director 1974 : 80 minutes : Gay : Drama : This film tries to explore gay male relationships first from the point of view of trying to maintain a monogamous relationship and when that fails, from the POV of having a lot of empty, meaningless sex. Victor Christopher Leo Daniels, Director 1992 : 30 minutes : Gay : Drama : A sublime, substantial, and sexy dream-drama about an African-American soldier, whose relationship with his boyfriend and father are revealed in flashbacks during a military interrogation. Victor, Victoria Blake Edwards, Director 1982 : 133 minutes : Gay : Comedy : Female to male cross-dressing is featured in this farce about a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman in 1920s Paris, but there is also some campy male-to-female cross-dressing. What Really Happened to Baby Jane Ray Harrison, Director 1963 : 50 minutes : Gay : Drama : Remake of the legendary movie as a 'silent'. World and Time Enough Eric Mueller, Director 1995 : 90 minutes : Gay : Drama : Mark is a sculptor who mounts politically-based environmental installations, and Joey is his teddy-bear boyfriend, a highway garbage collector. When Mark's father dies, he starts to make a cathedral with his own hands -- a way to build "something that's going to last forever." ***** Gay-Centered Non-U.S. Films ***** The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Stephan Elliott, Director 1994 : Australia : 102 minutes : Gay Transvestite/Transsexual : Comedy : Three drag queens, one of whom is actually a male-to-female transsexual, lip-synch their way across Australia on their way to a summer gig at a resort in the middle of the country. They bicker, get drunk, get chased by mobs, wear lots of wild, wild outfits, and generally have a queenly good time. The Affairs of Love [Las Cosas del Querer] Jaime Chavarri, Director 1990 : Spain : 100 minutes : Gay : Drama : The life of a gay man in the 1940s and the power of music are the intertwined themes of this film which follows the lives of three vaudeville performers; a gay man, a straight man, and a straight woman. Afflicted Amos Guttman, Director 1985 : Israel : 25 minutes : Gay : Drama : The story of a young, closeted gay man who visits a drag bar one night in search of sexual expression. Amazing Grace Amos Gutman, Director 1992 : Israel : 95 minutes : Gay : Drama : Dysfunctional families and brief shared moments of love and hope in the face of everyday life, set in gay mileux of Tel Aviv. A naive Israeli teenager falls in love with a 30ish musician who is HIV+. Best Feature of 1992 Jerusalem Film Festival. In Hebrew with English subtitles. Among Men Wieland Speck, Director 1980-91 : Germany : 80 minutes : Gay : Drama : Five shorts compiled. 'David Montgomery and I', 'The Sound of Fast Relief', 'Chez nous', 'Room 303', and 'November'. In German with English subtitles. Angel [Angelos] George Katakouzinos, Director 1982 : Greece : 126 minutes : Gay : Biographical Drama : This violent but moving account of a handsome young gay man accused of murder is based on a true story and contains explicit love scenes. Another Country Marek Kanievska, Director 1984 : UK : 90 minutes : Gay : Biographical Drama : Romanticized version of the Guy Burgess and Donald MacLean story, in which homosexual love among upper-crust English schoolboys causes them to grow up to be notorious traitors to their country. Apartment Zero Martin Donovan and David Koepp, Directors 1989 : UK/Argentina : 122 minutes (film), 114 minutes (video) : Gay/Bisexual : Drama : Politics, murder, and sexual repression ignite the screen when a gay cinema owner picks a mysterious stranger to be his roommate in Buenos Aires. Lots of sexual tensions develop between the two, but the plot centers around the mystery of recent news headlines and the new tenant's relationship to them. At Home Jonathan Segal, Director 1991 : Israel : 29 minutes : Gay : Drama : Alex and his older lover, Gershon, are both playwrights, but are not both equally successful. Still, they manage to maintain a longtime companionship, negotiating sex and love in ways which are all too familiar. Bad News Bachelors 1990 : Australia : 26 minutes : Gay : Comedy/Drama : A gay man and his straight female friend trade stories (in flashbacks) of their romantic misadventures. Cheerful. Beautiful Thing Hettie MacDonald, Director 1995 : UK : 90 minutes : Gay : Drama : This sweet coming-of-age story centers on two high school boys in a southeast London housing project. One is a boy everyone at school has pegged as gay, and is constantly harassed by everyone but his tough mother, and the other is a more macho type with an alcoholic father and abusive older brother. The unfolding romance between the boys is layered with other dramas, including the mother's drive to better her lot in the world, and a black neighbor girl who wants more than anything to be Mama Cass Elliot. Behind Glass Ab van Ieperen, Director 1981 : The Netherlands : 70 minutes : Gay : Drama : Two lovers from different backgrounds fight about class, money, education, and sex. Being at Home with Claude Jean Beaudin, Director 1991 : Canada : 85 minutes : Gay : Drama : A student and a handsome street hustler fall in love, and one is murdered by the other. The relationship between the two young men unfolds during the murderer's confession. Based on play by Rene-Daniel Dubois. Shockingly violent yet erotic opening sex scene. In French with English subtitles. The Best Way [La Meilleure Facon de Marcher, The Best Way to Walk] Claude Miller, Director 1976 : France : 85 minutes : Male Transvestite : Drama : A butch athletic coach scorns the advances of the drama teacher, whom he catches experimenting with transvestism, but an eventual confrontation causes the jock to look at his own notions of "correct" sexuality. In French with English subtitles. Between Two Worlds Mark Nash, Director 1993 : UK : 27 minutes : Gay : Drama : A youth working part-time at a flower shop develops an intense relationship with his analyst, to whom he reveals that he thinks he might be gay. The boy's boss at the flower shop is definitely gay. Beyond Gravity Garth Maxwell, Director 1988 : New Zealand : 48 minutes : Gay : Drama : Flamboyant rebel Johnny meets shy glass technician Richard in this offbeat love story. Black and White [Noir et Blanc] Claire Devers, Director 1986 : France : 80 minutes : Gay : Drama : A shy accountant gradually enters into a bizarre sadomasochistic relationship with a black masseur. Blue Derek Jarman, Director 1993 : UK : 76 minutes : Gay : Experimental : This is one of Derek Jarman's last films. He died February 19, 1993. The only visual element to the film is a cerulean blue screen, which you may watch or not while a collage of voices, sounds, and music by Simon Fisher Turner play against the reading of parts of the diaries Jarman kept while he was in the hospital. The Blue Hour [Die Blaue Stunde] Marcel Gisler, Director 1992 : Germany/Switzerland : 88 minutes : Gay/Bisexual : A male hustler and the girl next door fall in love. Blue Jeans Hughes Burin des Roziers, Director 1982 : France : 101 minutes : Gay : Drama : A young boy suffers from an unrequited love for an older teen. Boyfriends Neil Hunter and Tom Husinger, Directors 1996 : UK : 82 minutes : Gay : Drama : Seven gay men get together for a weekend in the country, and before it's over, all gloves are off in this biting, shrewd and scathingly funny dissection of gay relationships. Be warned : this is a very low-budget production, and at times the cinematography is very murky, and between the thick British accents and the poor sound recording, some of the dialog is indecipherable. What remains, though, is viciously true-to-life. The Boys of St. Vincent John N. Smith, Director 1992 : Canada : 186 minutes, in 2 parts : Gay(?) : Drama : Behind the walls of St. Vincent, young orphan boys are sexually and psychologically abused. In part 1 of this tale, loosely based on real events which happened in 1970's Canada, 10-year-old Kevin is the sexual plaything of the deeply disturbed Brother Lavin, while other boys "belong" to other brothers. When young Kevin tries to run away from his abusers, the police bring him right back, where he is beaten so badly by Brother Lavin that he requires hospital care. Brother Lavin, of course, refuses to take the boy to the hospital, and it is only the intervention of a kindly janitor that gets the boy the help he needs, and eventually, gets a police investigation started. In part 2, set 15 years later, the boys have grown to be psychologically scarred young men, Brother Lavin has left the orphanage and the priesthood and has a family and boys of his own. When charges are finally brought against the brothers, the young men have to relive the horrors of St. Vincent, and the price of justice proves to be very high for some of them. Boys Shorts: The New Queer Cinema Chris Newby, Michael Mayson and Jeremy Rogers, Mark Christopher, Stephen Cummins and Simon Hunt, Laurie Lind, and Marlon Riggs, Directors 1990-91 : Australia/Canada/UK/USA : 119 min. : Gay : Drama/Comedy : A feature-length program combining six award-winning short films: The Dead Boys' Club, Relax, Resonance, RSVP, Billy Turner's Secret, and Anthem. Brideshead Revisited 1981 : UK : ? minutes : Bisexual : Drama : Made for BBC-TV miniseries giving painstaking treatment to Evelyn Waugh's story of his conversion to Catholicism. The first two or three hour-long episodes are dominated by the protagonist's schoolboy love affiar with the son of a landed family. La Cage Aux Folles [Birds of a Feather] Edouard Molinaro, Director 1979 : France : 110 minutes : Gay/Gay Transvestite : Comedy : Renato's son is bringing his fiance's conservative parents home to meet the family: Renato (his gay father), and Albin (Renato's lover), a theatrical female impersonator who raised the boy as "her" son. Unfortunately, the son is trying to hide his parents' gayness from his fiance's parents -- the conservative father in particular, who is a politician up for reelection. Complicating the problem is the fact that Renato and Albin live above the nightclub they own and that Albin performs in. La Cage Aux Folles II Edouard Molinaro, Director 1981 : France : 101 minutes : Gay/Gay Transvestite : Comedy : Renato sets out to prove to Albin that he still has sex appeal, and they accidentally get involved in espionage. La Cage Aux Folles III George Lautner, Director 1986 : France : 87 minutes : Gay/Gay Transvestite : Comedy : Albin has to get married and father a son within 18 months if he is to inherit a family fortune and save his and Renato's nightclub. Caravaggio Derek Jarman, Director 1986 : UK : 93 minutes : Gay : Biographical Drama : Life and times of the famous Renaissance painter. Carrington Christopher Hampton, Director 1995 : UK : 123 minutes : Gay : Biographical Drama : Dora Carrington was a shy British painter who existed on the periphery of the so-called Bloomsbury Group of writers and painters. When she meets the bearded, older-by-15-years, and homosexual Lytton Strachey, it hardly seems a match for the ages. And yet Carrington's and Strachey's asexual 17-year relationship outlasts all his love affairs with heterosexual men, and eclipses her marriage to athletic hunk Ralph Partridge. This is a story of transcendent love -- one that crosses borders of age, gender, and sexual orientation, and ignores the nattering bugaboos of convention and common sense. Caught Looking Constantine Giannaris, Director 1991 : UK : 35 minutes : Gay : Comedy : A new virtual reality home computer game soon becomes a sex toy for use in gay men's stereotypical sexual fantasies. The Clinic David Stevens, Director 1985 : Australia : 93 minutes : Gay : Comedy : A gay doctor at an Australian VD clinic has to cope with a lot of wild goings on. Closing Numbers Stephen Whittaker, Director 1993 : UK : 95 minutes : Gay/Bisexual : Drama : A commanding inspection of homophobia, infidelity, and compassion. A housewife reluctantly befriends her husband's lover and his dying friend. Classy and alive with brilliantly rendered characters. Colonel Redl Istvan Szabo, Director 1985 : Hungary/West Germany/Austria : 144 minutes : Gay : Drama : The head of the Austrian imperial secret service gets outed as a homosexual and a spy. Coming Out 1989 : East Germany : Gay : Drama : The story of a young schoolteacher who is confronted with his sexuality after a chance encounter with an old friend. Compromised Immunity Andy Lipman, Director 1985 : UK : 47 minutes : Gay : Drama : A filmed version of one of the earliest stage dramas about AIDS, this is an English "Normal Heart"; about the developing friendship between Britain's first AIDS patient -- a gay man -- and a straight orderly in a typical London hospital. The Consequence [Die Konsequenz] Wolfgang Petersen, Director 1977 : West Germany : 100 minutes : Gay : Drama : Thomas, the cherubic son of a prison warden, seduces Martin, one of his father's inmates. After Martin is released, the pair try to build a life together, but they are thwarted at every turn. In German with English subtitles. The Creation of Adam Yuri Pavlov, Director 1993 : Russia : 93 minutes : Gay/Bisexual : Drama : Andrey is disconsolate. His marriage is on the rocks because his wife thinks he's gay, and there's more trouble in store when he helps a young gay man escape from some queer-bashers. But a work visit from a charismatic, wealthy busnessman turns Andrey's life around. In Russian with English subtitles. The Crying Game Neil Jordan, Director 1992 : UK : 112 minutes : Gay Transvestite : Drama : Well, now that you know the film's "big surprise", what is there left to say except that this film's main strength is not the little shock of finding out about you-know-who, but the fine performances of everyone involved, especially Stephen Rea as an IRA assassin with no heart for the job. Director Jordan won an Oscar for his screenplay, and it was nominated for 5 other Oscars, including Best Actor [Stephen Rea] and Best Supporting Actor [Jaye Davidson]. Death in Venice [Morte a Venezia] Luchino Visconti, Director 1971 : Italy : 130 minutes : Gay : Drama : In turn-of-the-twentieth-century Venice, an aging artist falls obsessively in love with a beautiful young boy but is never able to tell him, and ends up dead of cholera. The Deputy [El Diputado, Confessions of a Congressman] Eloy de la Iglesia, Director 1983 : Spain : 110 minutes : Gay : Drama : A rising young gay politician is the target of blackmail, and gets romantically involved with the hustler his enemies send to do the job. The Devil's Playground Fred Schepisi, Director 1976 : Australia : 107 minutes : Gay : Drama : Priests and young boys at an all-boys seminary try to repress their sexual desires for each other, and as usual, repression leads to all kinds of nastiness. Different For Girls Richard Spence, Director 1996 : UK : 101 minutes : Male-to-Female Transsexual : Romantic Comedy : Kim is a prim, trim, transsexual woman who writes jingles for a greeting card company in London. Kim runs into Prentice, a reckless biker punk who remembers Kim back from boarding school, but as a boy. Prentice's conflicting emotions as he finds himself being drawn to Kim aren't soft-peddled, and Kim (who is played by a man, Steven Mackintosh) has all the reserved, dignified demeanor of someone who has known ridicule and is now finding her hard-won peace disturbed by the possibility of love. Different From the Others [Anders als die Anderen] Richard Oswald, Director 1919 : Germany : Gay : Drama : A silent film about a concert violinist being blackmailed because of his sexual orientation. Dona Herlinda and Her Son [Dona Herlinda y Su Hijo] Jaime Hermosillo, Director 1985 : Mexico : 90 minutes : Gay/Bisexual : Comedy : A doctor has a male lover, but to please his mother, he marries a woman, and everyone ends up living happily together under one roof. Drifting Amos Gutman, Director 1982 : Israel : 80 minutes : Gay : Drama : An aspiring Israeli filmmaker works in his grandmother's store while dreaming of making gay films. Dubbel Leven [Double Lives] 1978 : West Germany : 47 minutes : Male Transvestite : Drama : Events in the life of a young man, told mostly in flashback, as he and those around him slowly discover that he really wants to become a woman. Eclipse Jeremy Podeswa, Director 1995 : Canada : 95 minutes : Gay/Bisexual : Drama : In Toronto, where an impending solar eclipse has created "eclipse fever", a disparate group of ten men and women find themselves intersecting as they cross social, sexual, emotional, and language barriers in their search for love and connection. A minimalist twist on the French film "La Ronde", "Eclipse" is structured as a sexual daisy chain, tracking the ten characters in a series of interconnecting couplings, some of which are more successful dramatically than others, but adding up to a film that's mostly compelling. In English and French and Spanish with English subtitles. Edward II Derek Jarman, Director 1992 : UK : 90 minutes : Gay : Historical Drama : Jarman retells the story of Edward II and his despised low-born lover using Christopher Marlowe's language, sparse sets, and modern dress and imagery. Encore [Once More] 1987 : France : Gay : Drama/Musical : A gay husband and father comes out in mid-life and is caught between his passion for men and his family relationships. Ernesto Salvatore Samperi, Director 1983 : Italy : 95 minutes : Gay : Drama : A middle-class Italian Jewish teenager has an affair with a dock worker and then falls in love with a fellow violin student. A Fairy for Dessert [Eine Tunte Zum Dessert] Dagmar Beiersdorf, Director 1992 : Germany : 84 minutes : Gay/Transvestite : Drama : Earthy, very funny, low-budget celebration of adopted families and colorful characters. Farewell, My Concubine Chen Kaiage, Director 1992 : China : 154 minutes : Gay/Bisexual : Historical Drama : The story of two Peking Opera superstars who meet as young boys, and who, for the next 50 years, are linked by their stage roles. Gorgeous and operatic in its grand sweep of lives played out against vast social upheavals. La Fete Des Peres [Dad's Day] Joy Fleury, Director 1989 : France : 80 minutes : Gay : Comedy : Stephane and Thomas are a gay couple who have been living together for five years. They both work and share the same hobbies, and are very content, except for one thing: they want a child. They decide to adopt a baby, but they get tricked. While they are trying to set up the adoption, they meet a girl who appears to be an ideal candidate to become a surrogate mother for them. Film [Fill 'em] Sky Gilbert, Director 1991 : Canada : 45 minutes : Gay : Drama : A male hustler and his roommate live a Warholesque diary. The Flavor of Corn [Il Sapore del Grano] Gianni da Campo, Director 1986 : Italy : 89 minutes : Gay : Drama : Gentle, compassionate story of a handsome young high-school teacher, who, in spite of his best (and explicitly shown) attempts at a heterosexual relationship, helplessly drifts into an intense and emotionally devastating relationship with a 12-year-old male student. In Italian with English subtitles. For A Lost Soldier Roeland Kerbosch, Director 1992 : The Netherlands : 90 minutes : Gay : Drama: Contemporary choreographer Jeroen recalls his adolescence and first erotic friendships. Sent away as a boy during WWII to a small fishing village, young Jeroen develops a strong friendship with another new boy. Then comes liberation, and with the arrival of the Allies, Jeroen finds a new friend in the person of a handsome Canadian soldier named Walt. Forbidden Passion: Oscar Wilde Henry Herbert, Director 1976 : UK : 120 minutes : Gay : Biography : The whole tragic story of the famous wit's life and ruinous love affair with Lord Alfred Douglas. Forever Mary Marco Risi, Director 1991 : Italy : 100 minutes : Gay Transvestite : Drama : A young gay reform school student teaches a straight teacher something about dignity. The Fourth Man [De Vierde Man] Paul Verhoeven, Director 1983 : The Netherlands : 102 minutes : Bisexual : Drama : A bisexual novelist finds out that the thrice-widowed hairdresser who seduces him is engaged to a fourth man, and together the men discover her deadly secret. Fox and His Friends Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Director 1975 : West Germany : 123 mniutes : Gay : Drama : A working class gay man is victimized for both his sexual and social status. Friends Forever Stefan Christian Henszelman, Director 1986 : Denmark : 95 minutes : Gay : Drama : A charming, exuberant story of friendship and sexuality between three 16-year-old schoolboys. It's sexy, funny, and guiltless. Funeral Parade of Roses Toshio Matsumoto, Director 1969 : Japan : 105 minutes : Gay/Gay Transvestite : Drama : The first Japanese film to deal unabashedly with gay culture, it's a modern parody of the Oedipus legend, except that this time the Oedipus character, Eddie, must eliminate his obstructive mother for the wild embrace of his father. In Japanese with English subtitles. A Hard God 1980 : Australia : 82 minutes : Gay : Drama : A depressing made-for-Australian-TV movie wherein a working class Catholic family in Sydney endure tough times and misery in the 1940s. In the middle of it all, the 16-year-old son tries to cope with falling in love with a male friend. The Heart Exposed Jean-Yves Laforce, Director 1986 : Canada : 106 minutes : Gay : Drama : A middle-aged teacher starts a relationship with an actor fifteen years younger who also has a young son. Hollow Reed Angela Pope, Director 1996 : UK : 106 minutes : Gay : Drama : Martyn, a gay doctor, lives with his boyfriend, Tom. Martyn's ex-wife, Hannah, is currently sharing her bed with Frank, an architect who works at home and cares for Martin and Hannah's son, Oliver. One time, Oliver comes bloodied to his father's house and tells him he was roughed up by some boys. Then he attributes a crushed hand to a car-door slam. Slowly Martyn comes to realize that his son is being abused by his wife's new lover. In trying to save his son, Martyn has to battle homophobia in the courts and his ex-wife's refusal to see that her new boyfriend is a monster. The Hours and the Times Christopher Munch, Director 1992 : UK : 58 minutes : Gay : Biographical Drama : This is more or less a fantasy dealing with Beatle manager Brian Epstein's unrequited love for John Lennon, centering on a weekend they spent together in Barcelona. I Am My Own Woman [Ich bin meine eigene Frau] Rosa von Praunheim, Director 1992 : Germany : 90 minutes : Gay Transvestite : Biographical Drama : True life story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, the best known transvestite in East Germany; a symbol of bravery and idealism for today's German lesbians and gays. It is Not the Homosexual Who is Perverse but the Society in Which He Lives Rosa von Praunheim, Director 1971 : West Germany : Gay : Drama : A gay man in the process of coming out examines all the options. Political, dogmatic, and anti-bourgois, this film assails media-created romantic illusions, capitalist principles, and sexist role playing. I Want What I Want John Dexter, Director 1971 : UK : 105 minutes : Transsexual : Drama : A tender (but unfortunately and melodramatically directed by Dexter as a vehicle for his wife, Anne Haywood, who never convinces) portrayal of problems faced by a young male to female transsexual at the end of the 1960s. Kiss of the Spider Woman Hector Babenco, Director 1985 : Brazil/USA : 119 minutes : Gay Transvestite : Drama : A gay prisoner falls in love with the revolutionary he's supposed to be spying on for the prison authorities. Labyrinth of Passion Pedro Almodovar, Director 1982 : Spain : 100 minutes : Gay/ Gay Transvestite : Comedy : Riza, the gay son of a deposed Middle Eastern tyrant who likes to hang around with Madrid's sleazier denizens, and Sexi, an aspiring rock singer and unabashed nymphomaniac, fall for each other and decide to run away. But first they must deal with their respective rock groups, terrorists who are bent on kid- napping Riza, and a gay man (Antonio Banderas) with unusual sniffing abilities who is smitten with Riza and determined to make him his. In Spanish with English subtitles. The Lady in Waiting Christian Taylor, Director 1992 : UK/USA : 30 minutes : Gay Transvestite : Drama : Prim English spinster housekeeper Miss Scarlet, played by Virginia McKenna, and outrageous Black drag-queen Miss Peaches, played by Rodney Hudson, are flung together in a lift during the 1977 black-out and settle their differences. Nominated for Best Short Live Action Film in 1993 Academy Awards. The Last Island Marleen Gorris, Director 1990 : The Netherlands : 101 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : Drama : The underbelly of patriarchy and the desperation of the human condition are exposed as two women, five men, and a dog struggle to survive after their plane crashes on a deserted island. Two of the men are gay, and one of the women seems to be lesbian, although this is never explictly stated. An apocalyptic allegory of our time, this film takes on the thorniest ethical and moral issues of our time -- reproductive rights, control of the body, mercy killing, the hyprocrisy and tyranny of the Catholic Church in relation to women and in relation to homosexuality, and more. The Last of England Derek Jarman, Director 1987 : UK : Gay : Drama : A post-nuclear fantasy about England with many bootboys and other luscious types. Law of Desire [Ley del Deseo] Pedro Almodovar, Director 1987 : Spain : 100 minutes : Gay/Transsexual : Comedy/Drama : Screwball tragicomedy centering on a gay film director, his transsexual brother (now a sister, who is played by a born-female actress), and two of his young lovers. The Leather Boys Sidney J. Furie, Director 1964 : UK : 107 minutes : Bisexual/Gay : Drama : Against his better judgment, a gay man marries a girl who is bored with her life. The marriage falls apart and the gay man goes to bed with a buddy whom he doesn't know is also gay. Complications ensue. Legal Memory 1992 : Canada : Gay : Docudrama : Plodding but still interesting docudrama about the last man hanged in British Columbia, for the 1958 murder of his sailor boyfriend. Lilies John Greyson, Director 1997: Canada : 95 minutes : Gay : Drama : This is a stunning, highly stylized film about love, religion, and betrayal which leaps back and forth in time, back and forth between "reality" and a staged-behind-prison-walls version of events in the lives of three boys -- one of whom, now a man, is one of the prisoners, and another of whom is now a bishop being held captive by the prisoners, and for whom the production unfolds. If it sounds confusing, it isn't, and it is mesmerizing, erotic, emotionally charged, and a beautiful piece of filmmaking. The Lost Language of Cranes Nigel Finch, Director 1992 : UK : 87 minutes : Gay : Drama : A properly reserved middle-class British family is thrown into turmoil when the son announces he's gay. Mother doesn't want to know about it, and Father starts coming apart because he's been hiding his gay double-life for years, and the guilt and self-loathing finally catch up to him. Adapted from David Leavitt's novel about an American family. Love and Human Remains Denys Arcand, Director 1993 : Canada : 99 minutes : Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual : Comedy-Thriller : The romantic trials and tribulations of a handful of people orbiting around David and Candy, a 30th pair of former lovers who share an apartment in Edmonton, Alberta. David, a former child TV star who now waits tables, has come out as gay, and is interested in his 17-year- old busboy, who isn't sure whether or not he's gay. Candy is straight, but there is a pretty lesbian who's interested in her and Candy is disgusted with men and the lesbian is so persistent and Candy is so passive... Meanwhile, a serial killer is stalking young women through empty streets in the dark and dangerous night. Macho Dancer Lino Brocka, Director 1988 : The Philippines : Bisexual/Gay : Drama : Drama about the lives of boy prostitutes in Manila. Magic Cottage Joe Orr, Director 1993 : UK : 30 minutes : Gay : Horror/Comedy : A hilarious, wildly provocative spoof of "Night of the Living Dead" (to the tune of Streisand singing "Guilty"). The end credits include a list of London's best t-rooms, so have your pencil and paper handy. A Man Like Eva [Ein Mann wie Eva] Radu Gabrea, Director 1983 : West Germany : 92 minutes : Gay Transvestite : Biographical Drama : During the shooting of a Fassbinder movie, gender-bending star Eva ditches an ex-lover, marries the leading lady, and seduces the leading man. Maurice James Ivory, Director 1987 : UK : 140 minutes : Gay : Drama : Two upper-crust English boys are drawn to one another, but one insists on keeping the relationship platonic, while the other one wants someone he can go to bed with. Maybe... Maybe Not Sonke Wortmann, Director 1996 : Germany : 96 minutes : Gay : Comedy : Axel is a straight man who cheats on his girlfriend, Doro, and gets thrown out on his ear. Norbert is a gay man who befriends Axel and lets him stay over, hoping that Axel might prove to be bisexual. What laughs there are come from mix-ups, secondary character situations, Axel's attempts to win back Doro's trust, and Norbert's hopeless infatuation with the straight Adonis. Melody For Buddy Matsumae [Matsumae-Kun No Senritsu] Hiroyuki Oki, Director 1992 : Japan : 50 minutes : Gay : Drama : Chronicles ten days spent at a seaside town; five of them with a visiting boyfriend, and five more after the boyfriend's departure. This is the last film in director Oki's "Matsumae Trilogy". Midnight Dancers Mel Chionglo, Director 1994 : Phillipines : 118 minutes : Gay/Bisexual : Drama : Forced by economic hardship to leave his studies, Sonny returns home to find his two older brothers both working as "Macho Dancers" in a Manila gay bar. The film follows the three brothers as they embark on various relationships and misadventures. The oldest has a wife and child, but is also involved with an older rich man. The second brother lives life on the streets and on the edge in which everything is a hustle, from dancing to car theft. Against his mother's wishes, Sonny enters the sex trade in order to help support the family. While working at the bar, Sonny becomes romantically involved with a transvestite, and their relation- ship provides the love and stability he needs to survive in the pits of the Manila sex industry. Meanwhilte, Dennis's exploits are beginning to bring danger to himself and his family. In Tagalog with English subtitles. Mikael [Chained] Carl Dreyer, Director 1924 : Germany : 74 minutes : Gay : Drama : Zoret, an aging artist, grieves over the loss of his young male model, Mikael, to Princess Zamikoff. Silent film. Mikel's Death [La Muerte De Mikel] 198? : Spain : Gay : Drama : A married basque activist discovers his latent homosexuality, and his friends and relatives desert him. Muscle Hisayasu Sato, Director 1993 : Japan : 60 minutes : Gay : Drama : In Tokyo, a journalist for a physique magazine falls into a demented, operatic S/M relationship with a dangerously charismatic bodybuilder. Not for the faint of heart -- the movie starts off with a torrid sex scene which ends up with one lover cutting off the other's arm. In Japanese with English subtitles. The Music Lovers Ken Russell, Director 1970 : UK : 123 minutes : Gay : Biographical Drama : Gay Russian composer Peter Tschaikovsky feels compelled to marry Nina after an affair with Vladimir. My Beautiful Launderette Stephen Frears, Director 1985 : UK : 98 minutes : Gay : Drama : Race, social class, and sex are some of the issues that need to be dealt with when a British street punk and a young Pakistani entrepreneur fall in love. The Naked Civil Servant: The Autobiography of Quentin Crisp Jack Gold, Director 1975 : UK : 80 minutes : Gay : Biography : Quentin Crisp is *way* ahead of his time when he outs himself in a era where ostracism and intolerance were rampant. Nighthawks Ron Peck and Paul Hallam, Directors 1979 : UK : 113 minutes : Gay : Drama : Realistic, gritty story about the day-to-day life of a gay school teacher who is eventually outed by his class. Grim. Night Out Lawrence Johnston, Director 1989 : Australia : Gay : Drama : When Steve leaves town for a few days, his lover Tony decides to cruise the beach one night, and is brutalized by a gang of thugs The event triggers an examination of the couple's supposedly wonderful relationship. Nijinsky Herbert Ross, Director 1980 : UK : 129 minutes : Gay : Drama : Focuses on the famous ballet dancer's disintegrating sanity as his love affair with impressario Sergei Diaghilev becomes an exercise in manipulation on both their parts. North of Vortex Constantine Giannaris, Director 1991 : UK : 55 minutes : Bisexual : Drama : A studied black and white road movie about a bisexual poet, two hitchhikers, and the American landscape. Okoge Takehiro Nakajima, Director 1992 : Japan : 120 minutes : Gay/Bisexual : Comedy : A young straight woman loves hanging out with gay men and lets two lovers use her apartment for their trysts, to the chagrin of her nosy neighbors. Highly erotic sex scenes. In Japanese with English subtitles. Outrageous! Richard Benner, Director 1977 : Canada : 98 minutes : Gay Transvestite : Comedy/Drama : A gay hairdresser has an interesting relationship with a schizophrenic girl on his way to stardom as a drag queen who does impressions of all the usual gay icons. The Outsiders [aka The Outcasts] Yu Kan-Ping, Director 1986 : Taiwan : 102 minutes : Gay : Drama : An older photographer tries to make a home for a group of gay teens who've been abandoned by their families because of their sexual orientation. Pink Ulysses Eric de Kuyper, Director 1989 : The Netherlands : 98 minutes : Gay : Comedy : The inner struggle of "pink Ulysses" is entwined with a loose adaption of The Odyssey in this sensual film featuring footage from a 1950s bodybuilding show, Eisenstein, and a TV version of "Sleeping Beauty" by the Dutch National Ballet. Pretty Baby [Der Bewegte Mann] Soenke Wortmann, Director 1994 : Germany : 93 minutes : Gay : Comedy : Germany's biggest domestic hit of 1994, _Pretty Baby_, is a side-splitting comedy destined for the Hall of Sexual Fame. The title refers to Axel -- an open-minded heterosexual who has cheated on his girlfriend Doro one too many times. When Doro finds Axel having sex with another woman inside a bathroom stall, he is forced into the streets and finds himself at the apartment of Norbert -- a homosexual _friend_ of a friend. As Axel quickly enters the gay scene of contemporary Germany, _Pretty Baby_ offers piercing commentary on masculinity and sex. In the film's absurd, verging-on-erotic situations, director Soenke Wortmann provides us with the eavesdropper's perspective on conversations where men -- both straight and gay -- talk about other men in overtly sexual ways. When Norbert's queenie friend Waltraud attends a "Straight Men's Support Group" as the _gay_ man who can teach them about gayness, hilarious dialogue highlights a film rich with insightful sexual characterizations. As the narrative unfolds, Axel finds spending time with Norbert and his drag queen friends both fun and liberating -- so liberating that Doro suspects that Axel is actually gay. Prick Up Your Ears Stephen Frears, Director 1987 : UK : 108 minutes : Gay : Biographical Drama : The life and death of playwright Joe Orton, who was murdered by his lover at the height of his fame. Priest Antonia Bird, Director 1994 : UK : 103 minutes : Gay : Drama : A young English priest faces one moral crisis after another as he tries to come to terms with his own homosexuality, the essentially married life of a fellow priest, a young parishioner who is being molested by her father, and his conflicting need to keep the faith in a faithless world. Prince in Hell [Prinz In Holleland] Michael Stock, Director 1993 : Germany : 96 minutes : Gay : Drama : A romantic-anarchist drama in which a trio of disenchanted youths screw each other, then screw each other over. Contains graphic scenes of S&M, unsafe sex, and drug-taking which may be upsetting to some viewers. In German with English subtitles. Privates on Parade Michael Blakemore, Director 1982 : UK : Gay Transvestite : Comedy : The bitterly satirical adventures of a theatrical troop of drag queens during wartime. Querelle Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Director 1982 : 106 minutes : West Germany/France : Gay : Querelle is a devastatingly handsome gay sailor who is also a cold-hearted killer. The Rainbow Serpent Philippe Vallois, Director 1987 : France : 90 minutes : Gay : Comedy/Musical : Investigating a bodybuilder suspected of murder, a rookie cop is propelled into the erotic world of gyms and G-strings. A strange relationship develops between the cop and the suspect. Relax Christopher Newby, Director 1991 : UK : 25 minutes : Gay : A remarkably electric, imaginative, and intense short film in which Steve, a young gay man, explores his feelings leading up to the result of an HIV test. The Rocky Horror Picture Show Jim Sharman, Director 1975 : UK : 100 min. : Bi Male TV : Horror/Comedy/Musical : An innocent young couple take refuge in the castle of Dr. Frank 'n' Furter, that sweet transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania. A Safe Place Amos Guttman, Director 1983 : Israel : 29 minutes : Gay : Drama : About a high school boy's struggle with his emerging sexual identity as he encounters underground sex in a cinema hall. Salome's Last Dance Ken Russell, Director 1988 : UK : Gay : Drama : A typical Russell extravaganza, wherein Oscar Wilde is invited to a bordello to view a wildly decadent version of his banned play "Salome". Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom Pier Paolo Pasolini, Director 1975 : Italy : 117 minutes : Gay S&M : Drama : Pasolini's last film before his murder is powerfully anti-Fascist. During WWII, a group of powerful Fascists play S&M games with a group of young people, culminating in murder. Salut Victor Anne Claire Poirier, Director 1988 : Canada : 83 minutes : Gay : Drama : Two elderly gay men who are complete opposites befriend one another in an old age home. Savage Nights [Les Nuits Fauves] Cyril Collard, Director 1993 : France : 126 minutes : Bisexual/Gay : Drama An HIV-positive bisexual man has indiscriminate, unprotected sexual encounters with not only his male and female lovers but many anonymous tricks under the bridges of the Seine. Sebastian [Sebastiane] Derek Jarman, Director 1977 : UK : 90 minutes : Gay : Biographical Drama : The story of St. Sebastian, who was sent to be outreaches of the Roman Empire after objecting to the murder of a young Christian page. There he carries on an affair with his commanding officer, whereupon he is brutally murdered by his jealous fellow soldiers. The Sergeant John Flynn, Director 1968 : France/USA : 107 minutes : Gay : Drama : A deeply repressed Sergeant Major falls in love with a company clerk, and is unable to deal with his homosexual desires. Slight Fever of a 20-Year-Old [Hatachi No Binetsu] Ryosuke Hasiguchi, Director 1993 : Japan : 114 minutes : Gay : Drama : An audacious teen movie from Japan, featuring a bored middle-class quartet; two hustlers, Tatsuro and Shin, and their two female best friends. Tatsuro is the better hustler, and he spends his days skipping school and entertaining clients, but when Shin declares his love for him, Tatsuro has to enter the real world. In Japanese with English subtitles. Solos Y Soledades Javier Antonio Berrios, Director 1992 : Cuba : 22 minutes : Gay : Drama : A short, superbly crafted story of two men who meet on a bus and find that there is no safe place to consummate their passion. In Spanish only, though there isn't much dialog. A Song of Love [Un Chant D'Amour] 1950 : France : 26 minutes : Gay : Drama : Jean Genet's only film; a notorious fantasy set in a French prison. Speaking in Riddles Mark C. O'Faherty, Director 1994 : UK : 23 minutes : Gay/Lesbian : Comedy : A gay man and his lesbian friend host a fantastically lavish supper party with the aim of seducing a straight man. Staircase Stanley Donen, Director 1969 : UK : 96 minutes : Gay : Drama : Rex Harrison and Richard Burton are a couple of gay barbers trying to adjust to the onset of old age, but the two actors are little more than a pair of walking stereotypes. Stonewall Nigel French, Director 1995 : UK : 98 minutes : Gay/Gay Transvestite : Drama : This recreation of events leading up to the watershed Stonewall riot is completely fictionalized, told through the characters of La Miranda, a Puerto Rican hooker/ transvestite, Matty, a fresh-from-the-farm greenhorn wowed by the big city, and Ethan, a preppy, conservative activist who thinks that drag queens are bad news in the gay fight for equality. Strawberry and Chocolate [Fresa y Chocolate] 1993 : Cuba : 104 minutes : Gay : Comedy/Drama : Tomas Gutierrez Alea, Director A young political science major meets a limp-wristed cliche of a gay man and sets out to entrap him and turn him over to the government; but along the way, the gay man turns out to be more than a cliche, and the straight man turns out to be more than a homophobe, and a platonic friendship develops as the two discover each other's humanity. Street Kid Peter Kern, Director 19?? : Germany : 89 minutes : Gay : Drama : Axel Glitter is a brash, 14-year-old street hustler whom even the local cops in Dusseldorf acknowledge is the trickiest little hustler in town. But when Axel forcefully invades the life of an unhappily married man, he unwittingly triggers a tragic chain reaction of unleashed passions and dark pursuits. In German with English subtitles. The Summer of Miss Forbes 1988 : Spain : 86 minutes : Gay : Drama : A made-for-Spanish-TV movie about a frustrated and slightly unhinged teutonic governess with a passion for Greek Tragedies and alcohol who is hired to mind two children at a beach house for six weeks. She becomes obsessed with Achilles, a beach boy reminiscent of a Greek God, adopted by the family; then goes bananas when she eventually discovers that he is gay. Not for those who like happy endings. Summer Vacation 1999 [1999 NO NATSU YASUMI] Shusuke Kaneko, Director 1988 : Japan : 90 minutes : Gay : Drama : In a school in Hokkaido, three boys have to stay during summer vacation. The summer before also three boys stayed and one of them died. One of the remaining boys was in love with the one who died. A guy who looks like the dead boy appears. All the characters are played by female actors. The Sum of Us Geoff Burton and Kevin Dowling, Directors 1994 : Australia : 100 minutes : Gay : Romantic Comedy : A heterosexual father and his gay son living in Sydney, Australia are trying to find Ms./Mr. Right, respectively. The film shows their relationships with one another and the objects of their affections as tradgedy strikes. There is no overt 'message' in the film, just a very natural, entertaining story-telling. Sunday, Bloody Sunday John Schlesinger, Director 1971 : UK : 110 minutes : Bisexual/Gay : Drama : A bisexual man carries on an affair with a woman and man at the same time, and claims to love them both. Tall Dark Stranger 1987 : UK : Gay : Drama : Starts off as a salty tale of casual sex and cross-purposes, and settles down into the classic tale of a new boy in town, which is London in this case. Taxi Nach Cairo [Taxi to Cairo] Frank Ripploh, Director 1987 : West Germany : 90 minutes : Gay : Comedy : Our hero stages a marriage to a woman to remain in his mother's will, but he and his bride fall in love with the same man. Taxi zum Klo [Taxi to the Toilet] Frank Ripploh, Director 1981 : West Germany : 92 minutes : Gay : Autobiographical Drama : Escapades of a gay man who wants as much sex as he can get, while his lover just wants them both to stay home. Tell Me No Lies Neil Hunter, Director 1993 : UK : 30 minutes : GLBO : Comedy : The complications of coming out, as experienced by a group of university students. Tenue De Soiree [Evening Dressing] Bertrand Blier, Director 1986 : France : Bisexual/Gay Transvestite : Comedy : Gerard Depardieu stars as a gay man who seduces a dead-broke married man. The gay man, the married man, and his wife all start to live together on petty larceny but soon end up as prostitutes (both men as transvestites.) Lots of good dialogue and trashy scenes like the men making love on the bed while the woman is trying to get some sleep on the carpet. The Terence Davies Trilogy Terence Davies, Director 1976-1984 : UK : 101 minutes : Gay : Autobiographical Drama : Director Davies tells the story of his life as a character named Robert Tucker in three films. Part One (Childhood) focuses on scenes from his childhood: bullying at school, a violent, sick father, early sexual fantasies. Part Two (Madonna and Child) is a portrait of Tucker in middle age, trapped between his public and private personae. In Part Three (Death and Transfiguration), Tucker revisits his life with a new and less tortured perspective. He seems to accept his sexuality, which is transfigured by the love between his mother and himself. This Special Friendship [Les Amities Particulieres] Jean Delannoy, Director 1964 : France : 105 minutes : Gay : Drama : A relationship between an older boy and a younger boy at a strict Catholic boy's school ends in disaster when the priests voice their disapproval with increasingly heavy-handed tactics. Together Alone 1991 : Canada : Gay : Drama : Brian and Bryan talk after sex, about honesty, safety, sexuality, fidelity, power, companionship and more. Too Outrageous! Richard Benner, Director 1987 : Canada : 100 minutes : Gay Transvestite : Comedy/Drama : Sequel to "Outrageous!", following the further exploits of schizophrenic writer Liza and campy female impersonator Robin. To Play or To Die [Spelen of Sterven] Frank Krom, Director 1990 : The Netherlands : 50 minutes : Gay : Drama : An introverted schoolboy, bullied by his handsome schoolmates, invites the ringleader home with plans of revenge, but the other boy gets the upper hand. Total Eclipse Agnieszka Holland, Director 1995 : UK : 110 minutes : Gay : Biographical Drama : The story of Arthur Rimbaud, the 19th century French symbolist poet and all-around bad-boy, and his affair with fellow poet Paul Verlaine. It's easy to see what draws Verlaine to the arrogant, sassy, passionate youth, whom he calls "the voice of the future", but what is it about the conventional, married older man that draws Rimbaud to him? This we never learn, and it becomes a nagging point when their messy relationship turns violent and destructive. The Trials of Oscar Wilde Ken Hughes, Director 1960 : UK : 123 minutes : Gay : Drama : Based on the court transcripts of the show trial of the celebrated author. Stars Peter Finch, John Fraser, Lionel Jefferies and James Mason. Produced after 1957 Wolfenden Report shifted homosexuality from the unmentionable to a subject of enthusiastic debate. The Truth About Alex Paul Shapiro, Director 1987 : Canada : 48 minutes : Gay : Drama : The friendship between a West Point hopeful and a budding pianist is tested when the pianist comes out as gay. Twinkle [Kira Kira Hikaru] George Matusoka, Director 1992 : Japan : 103 minutes : Gay : Comedy/Drama : Shoko, a translator with a drinking problem and Mutsuki, a handsome gay doctor, decide to come together in a marriage of convenience to satisfy their parents. The arrangement falls apart when Mutsuki's student boyfriend becomes jealous, Shoko decides she wants to have a baby, and her parents find out about Mutsuki's homosexuality. In Japanese with English subtitles. Two of Us Roger Tonge, Director 1986 : UK : 60 minutes : Gay : Drama : Made-for-British-TV show about two working class teens who become lovers. Urinal John Greyson, Director 1988 : Canada : 100 minutes : Gay : Comedy/Drama : Surrealistic portrayal of famous gay artists from the past reassembled to discuss various aspects of public washroom sex. Via Appia 1992 : Germany : Gay : Drama : A Lufthansa steward goes to Rio de Janeiro, trying to find a hustler named Mario who purposefully infected him with the AIDS virus during a one-night stand and left behind the message, "Welcome to the AIDS club." Victim! Basil Dearden, Director 1961 : UK : 96 minutes : Gay : Drama : A respected barrister gets involved with a lonely young drifter and is forced to confront his own homosexuality. A Virus Knows No Morals Rosa von Praunheim, Director 1986 : West Germany : Gay : Comedy : A gay bathhouse owner finds AIDS a drag on business in this funny, campy satire on society's attitudes toward homosexuals and AIDS. You Are Not Alone [Du Er Ikke Alene] Nielson and Johansen, Directors 1982 : Denmark : 91 minutes : Gay : Drama : Coming of age love story about two adolescent boys in a boys' school. The Wedding Banquet [Hsi Yen] Ang Lee, Director 1993 : Taiwan : 104 minutes : Gay : Comedy : A Taiwanese immigrant who lives happily with his male lover agrees to marry a Chinese woman to appease his tradition-bound parents. A ribald comedy of manners and traditions in transition, with some very good performances and well-written characters. Westler: East of the Wall Wieland Speck, Director 1986 : Germany : 94 minutes : Gay : Drama : A West Berlin boy falls in love with an East Berlin boy on a day trip. The border guards start getting suspicious when the West Berliner starts making frequent trips, and the boys plan an escape for the East Berliner. We Think The World of You Colin Gregg, Director 1988 : UK : 94 minutes : Gay/Bisexual : Drama : In the 1950s, an uptight Londoner is pushed around by his bisexual lover's family and wife. We Were One Man [Nous Etions un Seul Homme] Philippe Vallois, Director 1978 : France : 90 minutes : Gay : Drama : In occupied France during WWII, an escaped mental patient nurses a wounded German soldier back to health and they have a highly erotic love affair. What The Butler Saw 198? : UK : Male and Female Bisexual : Comedy/Drama : BBC production of the Joe Orton play. Where the Sun Beats Down 1989 : Portugal : Gay : Drama : A haunting film of a young man determined to break the sexual and class taboos of his culture, modern day Portugal. Nuno returns from the city to his sister's farm where a relationship develops between him and Alberto, a young farm worker, which threatens the stability of Nuno's snobbish family. Who Killed Passolini Marco Tullio Giordana, Director 1996 : Italy : 100 minutes : Biographical Drama : When the famous - and infamous - director-poet-novelist and social critic Pier Paolo Passolini was murdered in a Rome slum in 1975, the official view was that he was murdered by an enraged teenaged boy he had picked up for a sexual encounter. This film, set up in the form of a docudrama, looks at the murder first in a straightforward manner, but then raises several provocative questions: was the boy acting alone or with a gang, was it an impulse killing or was the killer or killers hired to murder Passolini? Why Not? [Pourquoi Pas?] Coline Serrault, Director 1979 : France : 93 minutes : Gay/Bisexual : Comedy : Happy bisexual threesome of two men and a woman becomes a strained foursome by the addition of another woman. The Wild Reeds [Les Roseaux Sauvages] Andre Techine, Director 1994 : France : 110 minutes : Gay : Drama : A beautiful coming of age story with takes place in a small village in the south of France during France's war with Algeria. Francois accepts the challenge when one of his schoolmate's proposes that they masturbate in their school dormitory, but they end up having sex. Francois discovers that he prefers boys to girls and falls in love with his friend, who still prefers girls to boys. In French with subtitles. Wittgenstein Derek Jarman, Director 1992 : UK : 75 minutes : Gay : Drama : Fictional life of the philosopher who changed the meaning of truth and logic. Highly stylized, stunning, yet sparse and witty, with Jarmanesque queer iconographic detail. Wonderland [aka The Fruit Machine] Philip Saville, Director 1988 : UK : 103 minutes : Gay : Drama : The surrealistic adventures of two gay working class teens, who are running for their lives after witnessing a gangland hit by a murderer armed with a sword. The Wounded Man [L'Homme Blesse] Patrice Chereau, Director 1985 : France : 90 minutes : Gay : Drama : A teenage boy stops an attack in a toilet, gets passionately kissed by the attacker, finds he is drawn to homosexual sex, and becomes infatuated with a sociopathic hustler. Winner of the French Cesar for Best Direction. Zero Patience 1993 : Canada : 100 minutes : Gay : Musical : John Greyson, Director The late Gaetan Dugas, the alleged "Patient Zero" who is alleged to have spread AIDS hither and yon in the early days of the infection, is brought back to life as a gay ghost, along with Sir Richard Burton. The two become lovers and set out on a mission to expose the media and the medical establishment for their negligent response to the epidemic. The Busby Berkeley-style musical numbers include such unforgettable numbers as "The Butthole Duet". ***** Lesbian-Centered U.S. Films ***** 27 Pieces Of Me Gerald Donahoe, Director 1994 : 88 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : Two sisters, Tanya and Ramona, haven't seen each other in ten years when the younger sister, Ramona, arrives in Seattle for an unannounced visit that finds Tanya unprepared to suddenly deal with ancient family issues. Tanya's roommate Bold, a gay performance artist who dreams of being an Alaskan Dog-sledder, attempts to reconcile the two sisters, but when he inadvertently shocks Ramona with the news that Tanya is a lesbian, Ramona reveals the real reason behind her sudden arrival. The film features songs from over 10 Seattle bands, including The Tiny Hat Orchestra, The Laura Love band, Ganja Farmers, and Lisa Koch. Alicia Was Fainting Nuria Olive-Belles, Director 1994 : 37 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : A bittersweet story of a 14-year-old girl dealing with her mother's death, the onset of womanhood, and her own awakening sexuality. Alicia, resistant to the idea of traditional women's roles, works in a butcher shop, where she daydreams about her mother and writes letters to her best friend, a girl she's known all her life and with whom she must part upon their graduation from elementary school. All Fall Down Stacey Foiles, Director 1993 : 30 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : A powerfully crafted family drama in which two sisters, one straight, one lesbian, travel to their mother's home on the second anniversary of their brother's suicide. Dark memories of their childhood come to the surface as they struggle through the issues of guilt and truth around the secret of their grand- father's death. Bar Girls Marita Giovanni, Director 1994 : 95 minutes : Lesbian : Comedy : ``Bar Girls'' does for lesbians what numerous American movies have done for heterosexuals, examining courtship and dating, attraction and jealousy, separation and reconciliation. Adapting her stage play to the screen, Laura Hoffman has transplanted the familiar locale and interactions of a neighborhood bar to a specifically lesbian milieu. Because the Dawn Amy Goldstein, Director 1988 : 40 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : An alluring, upbeat, modern day vampire musical comedy set to swing tunes. Sax-playing Vampire Marie seduces sports photographer Ariel from behind the camera. Becoming Colette Danny Huston, Director 1992 : 97 minutes : Bisexual : Drama : In the process of becoming a writer, the young Sidonie Colette endures the coldness of her philandering husband and eventually enters into a menage a trois with him and his mistress. Born in Flames Lizzie Borden, Director 1983 : 90 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : After a socialist revolution goes sour, a diverse group of women unite to spread the truth about the government. Bound Larry and Andy Wachowski, Directors 1995 : 110 minutes : Lesbian : Thriller : Violet, the sexy moll of Caesar, a Mob accountant, makes a play for Corky, an ex-con fixing up the apartment next door. As the two women begin to create a bond, Violet enlists Corky's help in stealing two million dollars that Caesar is in temporary possession of. From here it's one astounding plot twist after another. The actors are outstanding, the story is riveting (though violent), and the direction is flawless. A Certain Grace Sandra Nettelbeck, Director 1992 : 40 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : Zelda and Alice are working together on a photography project, and as their relationship develops, Zelda's boyfriend starts to think the women are spending too much time together. Chasing Amy Kevin Smith, Director 1997 : 105 minutes : Lesbian/Gay : Comedy/Drama : Holden and Banky are cartoonists, the creators of the cult comic book "Bluntman and Chronic". They are roommates as well as business partners, and have been best buddies since childhood. When Holden meets and starts hanging out with Alyssa, a self-avowed lesbian, Banky is not amused. By the time Holden discovers he's in love with Alyssa, and that Alyssa (who has a most interesting past) may be in love in him, Banky has become nearly hysterical in his constant jabs at Alyssa, her lesbianism, feminism, and women in general. As things get ever more complicated, it becomes clear to everyone but Banky that he's in love with Holden, too, and wants him all to himself. This is a *very* talky movie (made for only $250,000, and shot in Smith's hometown of Red Bank, New Jersey, by the way), and Alyssa's change from practicing lesbian to heterosexual wannabe seems more like straight-boy wishful thinking than real life, but "Amy" has a lot of humor, some very interesting characters, and some outrageously funny situations. The Children's Hour William Wyler, Director 1962 : 107 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : The lives of two young women running a school are ruined -- with one driven to suicide -- by the prejudices of the town against lesbians. Based on Lillian Hellman's Broadway hit, which was probably itself based, in turn, on a real situation in Scotland many years earlier. Claire of the Moon 1992 : Lesbian : Drama : Claire, an irreverent humorist given to one-night stands with men, discovers the emotional fulfillment she has been seeking when she and a controversial, openly lesbian psychologist are thrown together at a picturesque beachside writer's retreat. Comedy in Six Unnatural Acts Jan Oxenberg, Director 1975 : 26 minutes : Lesbian : Comedy: Casts a satirical eye on the myths surrounding lesbians by humorously depicting stereotypes in six vignettes: Wallflower, Role-Playing, Seduction, Non-Monogamy, Child Molester, and Stompin' Dyke. Damned If You Don't Su Friedrich, Director 1987 : 43 minutes : Lesbian : Drama Experimental, avant-garde film portraying a young nun's struggle against her sexual desires, which have been aroused by a stranger from outside the convent. Desert Hearts Donna Deitch, Director 1985 : 90 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : An English professor goes to Reno to get a divorce, and falls in love with a young woman who works at a dude ranch. Desperate Living John Waters, Director 1977 : 90 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : Waters's most outrageous movie ever, in which a housewife and her maid enter the fictitious kingdom of Mortville after the woman kills her husband. Enough blood, guts, camp acting and camp dialogue to make it a cult favorite. The Elegant Spanking Maria Beatty and Rosemary Delain, Directors 1995 : 30 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : This highly erotic film beautifully details the S&M relationship between a mistress and her maid. We are treated to an aesthetic subversion of sexual perversion as mistress and maid indulge in punishment, seduction, submission, spanking, strapping, piss drinking, spike heel and foot worship. Erotique Lizzie Borden, Monika Treut, and Clara Law, Directors 1994 : 90 minutes : Lesbian/Bisexual : Comedy/Drama : A trio of films showcasing feminist erotica. Lizzie Borden's "Let's Talk About Sex" (co-written by Susie Bright) follows the erotic entanglement of a spunky, bisexual Latina phone-sex worker and her sleazy male client. Monika Treut's "Taboo Parlor" is the stylish adventure of a pair of lusciously predatory, lipstick lesbians. Clara Law's "Wonton Soup" puts us in Hong Kong, where we look in on a straight couple's erotic encounters and reflections on Chinese identity. Everything Relative Sharon Pollack, Director 1997 : 110 Minutes : Lesbian : Comedy : A Sapphic twist on "The Big Chill", this film looks at seven college friends who reconvene after fourteen years, when Katie, a Jewish psychotherapist, invites them all to a weekend sleep- over after her baby son's bris. Back in the 70s, the gang were part of a political street-theatre group. Today they're hitting 40, drinking less, eating low-fat, enjoying the benefits of lesbian mainstreaming, and wondering where the time went and what they've learned. The Fox Mark Rydell, Director 1968 : 110 minutes : Lesbian/Bisexual : Drama : Two women running a remote chicken farm in Canada are lovers until a man comes along; then one of them discovers her latent heterosexuality, and the other ends up dead. Fresh Kill Shu Lea Cheang, Director 1993 : 80 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : An interracial lesbian couple make a life for themselves and their daughter on the edge of Staten Island's Fresh Kills garbage dump. Computer hackers, cable-access personalities, and Tent-City residents inhabit a world of corporate manipulation and media surveillance. Go Fish Rose Troche, Director 1994 : 85 minutes : Lesbian : Comedy : A comic and realistic representation of lesbian life, which serves up bundles of gossip, drama, and sex as it eyes the lives of an extraordinary group of lesbian friends. Illusions 1982 : Lesbian : Drama : A black woman who passed as white in Hollywood during the 1940s has a relationship with a black woman singer who provides the voice for a white movie star. The Incredibly True Adventure Of Two Girls In Love Maria Maggenti, Director 1995 : 93 minutes : Lesbian : Comedy : The comic misadventures of two high school girls experiencing first love -- with each other. Randy, a cute, out, white tomboy from the wrong side of the tracks lives with her two lesbian aunts and works in a gas station after school. Evie, middle class, smart, pretty, popular, and black, lives with her mother in a mansion-like house and drives a Range Rover. They meet when Evie drives into the gas station convinced that something is wrong with the vehicle. It's love at first sight, and the girls begin to develop a friendship that blooms into a tender, but hilarious, romance. Infidel Catherine Saalfield, Director 1989 : 45 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : Experimental film about a black lesbian designer, Arroe, dealing with such issues as racism in the fashion industry and the formulation of a positive self-image. In The Glitter Palace Robert Butler, Director 1977 : 106 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : The first made-for-TV movie in which the lesbians are allowed to walk off happily into the sunset, but with the slightly negative thread of blackmail. The fears of lesbian mothers, and some of the problems of lesbians in the 1950s are explored along the way in a contemporary movie filmed in LA. With the Gay Media Task Force credited for advice. I Shot Andy Warhol Mary Harron, Director 1996: 103 minutes : Lesbian/Gay/Gay Transvestite : Biographical Drama : Valerie Solanas is a self-described lesbian feminist who makes her living with a street hustle here and some prostitution there, but whose real drive in life is radical feminist writing. Through her friend Candy Darling she connects with Andy Warhol and his Factory gang, and comes to believe that he is going to produce one of her plays. He keeps stringing her along, and she keeps getting more desperate, and finally, in 1968, she goes over the edge. This is her story. Joe Joe Cecilia Dougherty and Leslie Singer, Directors 1993 : 52 minutes : Lesbian : Comedy : An irreverent and dynamic featurette starring Dougherty and Singer as gay British playwright Joe Orton. Bizarrely hilarious dialogues between Joe and Joe in their daily lives as working-class dykes in the Mission district are intercut with campy musical interludes and sex scenes. Lake Consequence 1993 : 85 minutes : Bisexual : Drama : In this episode from the made-for-cable series "The Red Shoe Diaries", a housewife gets accidentally locked in a trailer of a man who has been trimming the trees in her neighborhood. She awakens after a long trip to find herself in the mountains, a long way from home. She struggles to come to grips with her past and her own sexuality. Lesbionage Joyce Compton, Director 1988 : 90 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : Two detectives who are also lovers investigate a blackmail plot against a lesbian congresswoman. Lianna John Sayles, Director 1983 : 110 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : A young mother falls in love with her psychology professor and slowly comes to terms with her sexuality and independence. Long Awaited Pleasure 1987 : Lesbian : Comedy/Drama : Two lesbians leave their emotional baggage behind and start over. Love Game 1990 : Lesbian : Comedy : A famous lesbian tennis player meets a girl she wants to get to know. My Father is Coming Monika Treut, Director 1991 : USA/Germany : 82 minutes : Lesbian/Bisexual/Gay : Comedy : A bisexual woman living in New York has to prepare for her father's sudden arrival from Germany with the help of her gay male friend. Naomi's Legacy Wendy Levy, Director 1994 : 26 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : A beautifully layered fictional account of a Jewish lesbian girlhood, incorporating old photographs and home movie footage. No Saintly Girl Claire Whitaker, Director 1993 : 32 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : A lively memoir of the Catholic girl's boarding school of the director's youth and of her coming to terms with her sexual identity. Out of Our Time Back Porch Productions, Director(s) 1989 : 70 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : This film contrasts the personal choices, experiences, and desires of a contemporary lesbian couple named Valeri and Marilyn with those of Valeri's grandmother in the 1930s. Personal Best Robert Towne, Director 1982 : 124 minutes : Lesbian/Bisexual : Drama : Two female jocks training for the Olympics fall in love and have an affair, but at least for one, lesbianism is just a phase she's going through. The Potluck and the Passion Cheryl Dunye, Director 1993 : 22 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : Sparks fly when a black lesbian couple invite their different sets of friends over for a potluck. A Question of Love Jerry Thorpe, Director 1978 : 90 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : A made-for-TV movie about a lesbian mother's fight for custody of her son. Her homophobic ex-husband drags her through the mud and the courts. Rules of the Road Su Friedrich, Director 1993 : 31 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : An Oldsmobile station wagon serves as the touchstone to a love affair. Separate Skin Deirdre Fishel, Director 1987 : 26 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : Using flashbacks, Emily, the daughter of Holocaust survivors, contrasts her childhood dreams and doubts with the realities of her adult relationships. Serving In Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story Jeff Bleckner, Director 1995 : 120 minutes : Lesbian : Biographical Drama : On June 11, 1992, while being interviewed for a top-secret security clearance, Colonel Cammermeyer admitted that she was a lesbian. Subsequently, she became the highest ranking military officer ever discharged because of sexual orientation. This movie follows her military life through her discharge and reinstatement on June 1, 1994, by a Seattle Federal judge, who said that discharge based on sexual orientation was unconstitutional. Colonel Cammermeyer has resumed her duties while awaiting an appeal. She Likes Girls 1992 : 34 minutes : Lesbian : Comedy : A few days in the life of a young New York Lesbian (without a cliche in sight!) She Must Be Seeing Things Sheila McLaughlin, Director 1987 : 90 minutes : Lesbian/Bisexual : Drama : A lawyer and a filmmaker are lovers, and while the lawyer has a jealous fit over the filmmaker's diaries, which describe her past exploits with male lovers, the movie juxtaposes scenes from the filmmaker's film, which is about a nun fighting sexual repression in a 17th century convent. Things We Said Today John Miller-Monzon 1992 : 34 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : A light-hearted depiction of an idiosyncratic young woman who drifts from job to job and between her lover and her friend. Three of Hearts 1993 : Lesbian/Bisexual : Drama : A female couple split up, and one of the women hires a male escort to seduce her ex-lover and break her heart, so as to drive the ex-lover back into the arms of the still-in-love former lover. Two in Twenty: A Lesbian Soap Opera Laurel Chiten, Cheryl Qamar, and Rachel McCollum, Directors 1988 : 270 minutes : Lesbian : Comedy : A 5-part lesbian soap opera which focuses on the day-to-day problems of two lesbian households. Includes satirical lesbian/feminist commercials and outtakes. Vegas in Space Phillip R. Ford, Director 1991 : 85 minutes : Lesbian : Musical Comedy : The four-man crew of the U.S.S. Intercourse races on a secret mission to the planet Clitoris, a 23rd-century all-female pleasure planet where men are forbidden to touch down. Ordered by the Empress of Earth to swallow gender-reversal pills, the spacemen swap their sexes to go undercover as 20th-century showgirls and are propelled into a dizzying caper to capture the perpetrator of a heinous crime that has hurled the orbiting resort on its path to doom. The Village Idiot Patrick Snee, Director 1992 : 26 minutes : Lesbian : Comedy : Kate either wants to be Marilyn McCoo, or else she's in love with her. This hilarious tale of girlhood and self discovery offers pointed insights on race, sexuality, culture, and identity. Waiting for the Moon Jill Godmillow, Director 1983 : 87 minutes : Lesbian : Biography : Beautifully filmed but emotionally uninvolving exploration of the relationship between Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. Waking Up: A Love Story Greta Schiller, Director 1988 : 60 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : A young woman gets a taste of lesbian love and soon becomes the town's number one lesbian. The War Widow Harvey Perr, Director 1976 : 83 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : Made-for-TV movie about a woman who falls in love with another woman while her husband is off fighting WWI. When he returns, she has to decide whether or not to leave him and her child to be with her lover. The Watermelon Woman Cheryl Dunye, Director 1996 : 90 minutes : Lesbian : Comedy : The story of Cheryl, an aspiring filmmaker working "temporarily" as a video store clerk with her best friend, the quick-witted Tamara. As Cheryl explores the history of a documentary subject with whom she has become obsessed -- a "mammie" character actress from the thirties who was probably a lesbian, Cheryl begins to question her own identity, and not just because she's falling for a whiter-than-white rich girl and getting grief from Tamara about it. "The Watermelon Woman" is like a film within a film, with many parts being played by popular black, lesbian, gay, and feminist academics. Both hilarious and provocative, "The Watermelon Woman" won the Teddy Award at the Berlin Film Festival and was the recipient of Frameline's Completion Fund Award. Without You I'm Nothing John Boskovich, Director 1990 : 99 minutes : Lesbian : Comedy : Film adaptation of Sandra Bernhard's one-woman stage show. Among the pieces: a lesbian version of "Me and Mrs. Jones", a Patti Smith send-up, and lots of lesbian shower action. ***** Lesbian-Centered Non-U.S. Films ***** Anna und Elisabeth Frank Wysbar, Director 1933 : Germany : Lesbian : Drama : A peasant girl's touch heals the paralysis of the lady of the manor, and the lady soon discovers that she can't live without the girl. Anna und Edith Gerrit Neuhaus, Director 1975 : West Germany : Lesbian : Drama : Made-for-German-TV movie about two clerical workers who fall in love while trying to get better working conditions. Anne Trister Lea Pool, Director 1986 : Canada : 115 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : An Israeli artist goes to Montreal, stays with a psychologist friend, and falls in love with her. Another Way [Egymasra Nezve] Karoly Makk, Director 1982 : Hungary : 109 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : Two journalists fall in love against the backdrop of the 1956 Hungarian uprising. Bad Girls [Les Biches] Claude Chabrol, Director 1968 : France: : 99 minutes : Lesbian/Bisexual : Drama : A young woman (Jacqueline Sassard) who is picked up by a stylish Parisian woman (Stephane Audran) and taken away for the summer gets her own back after being spurned for another. This is the 'Lesbianism as best avoided' school of voyeur cinema, but unique in its time. The Banker [La Banquiere] Francis Girod, Director 1980 : France : Lesbian : Drama : The rise and fall of a masculine self-made bank president in the 1920s in Paris. Belle 1993 : The Netherlands : 99 minutes : Lesbian/Bisexual : Drama : Irma Achten, Director Existential tale of a woman in search of herself and meaning in her life. Belle's lifelong commitment to her lover, Marthe, is the emotional lynchpin of her life. But when Belle's desperate desire for independence mutates into an obsession with power and control, she pushes Marthe out of her life. Still, though she marries to gain independence, her repressed love for Marthe continues to influence her life. The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant [Die Bitteren Tranen der Petra von Kant] Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Director 1972 : West Germany : 124 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : A decadent fashion designer plays the dominant role in a sado-masochistic relationship with one of her employees, but she meets someone who turns the tables on her. Butterfly Kiss Michael Winterbottom, Director 1995 : UK : 88 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : This harrowing film of obsession, murder, and dependence begins when Eunice, a passionate and impulsive psychopath, meets Miriam, a lonely, introverted, and naive young woman who works at a gas station, cares for infirm mother, and constantly eats noodles. Eunice completely dominates Miriam with her directness and power. They embark on a search for Judith, the only person who ever loved or accepted Eunice before Miriam, and along the way Eunice constantly tests Miriam's devotion. Miriam sticks with her, though, even after she discovers that Eunice likes to pick up and murder men. By Design Claude Jutra, Director 1981 : Canada : 88 minutes : Lesbian : Drama/Comedy : A lesbian couple who decide to have a baby "the old-fashioned way" encounter humorous obstacles. Can't You Take a Joke? 1989 : Australia : Lesbian : Comedy : A woman cartoonist, with the help of pet character Lady Dick, sets about recovering her mysterious female client's lost sense of humor. Celine and Julie Go Boating [Celine et Julie Vont en Bateau] Jaques Rivette, Director 1974 : France : 192 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : A magician and a librarian meet in Montmartre. Costa Brava Marta Balletbo-Coll, Director 1996 : Spain : 92 minutes : Lesbian : Comedy : Anna is a tour guide/performance artist trying to raise money to mount her latest monologue-in-progress and take it to San Francisco, her "Holy Grail". Instead she gets sidetracked by a bisexual seismic engineer named Montserrat. The problem? Anna is a hotheaded narcissist, and Monserrat is a buttoned-down, sexually unresolved scientist. Opposites attract, but can they stick together? Daughters of Darkness [La Rouge aux Levres, Blud an den Lippen, Bloed and de Lippen] Harry Kumel, Director 1970 : Belgium/West Germany/France : 87 minutes : Lesbian/Bisexual : Horror : Campy cult lesbian horror film which features a lesbian vampire as its most sympathetic character and makes heterosexuality seem abnormal. Depart to Arrive [Weggehen um Anzukommen] Alexandra von Grote, Director 1981 : West Germany : Lesbian : Drama : The story of the separation of a photographer and a journalist from the photographer's point of view. Desperate Remedies Stewart Main and Peter Wells, Directors 1993 : New Zealand : 93 minutes : Lesbian/Gay : Comedy : A warped, campy, deliberately excessive, and deliriously silly spoof on the cliches of 19th century Gothic romance, complete with heaving breasts, darting eyes, and furtive confessions. Dorothea wants Lawrence to marry her opium-addicted sister Rose. Rose wants to marry flamboyant queen Fraser. Lawrence wants to devour Dorothea , who's in love with Anne. Anne wants Dorothea to enter into a marriage of convenience with a sleazy local politician. An off-the-wall tale of lesbian triumph. Domestic Bliss Joy Chamberlain, Director 1984 : UK : 52 minutes : Lesbian : Comedy : Made-for-British-TV soap opera about a lesbian couple and their chaotic adventures. The East is Red Ching Siu-tung and Raymond Lee, Directors 1993 : Hong Kong : 95 minutes : Transsexual : Martial Arts/Fantasy : A warrior wizard who gave up his penis to become Asia the Invincible is the world's first transsexual lesbian superhero(ine). Asia is out to rid the world of pretenders to her title of conqueror of the world in a visual extravaganza of bloody violence, sex, and special effects. In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles. Entre Nous [Between Us, Coup de Foudre] Diane Kurys, Director 1983 : France : 110 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : In 1950s Lyons, France, two married women meet, develop a friendship, and leave their husbands for one another. Entre Tinieblas [Dark Habits] Pedro Almodovar, Director 1983 : Spain : 95 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : In a convent in Madrid, the Mother Superior has fallen in love with the female singer Yolanda. A hard-eged, intentionally offensive religious satire, not as original or as funny as Almodovar's later films. Erika's Passions [Erikas Leidenschaften] Ula Stockl, Director 1978 : West Germany : Lesbian : Drama : A butch lesbian and her femme lover are accidentally locked in a room together after a long separation and are forced to confront each other's differences and complaints. Extramuros 1985 : Spain : Lesbian : Drama : A dark story of love and ambition behind convent walls. Sister Angela decides to fake stigmata to save her convent from ruin; her devoted lover reluctantly agrees. But Angela's scam brings them unexpected fame as well as new enemies who could destroy their relationship. The Farewell [Avskedet] Tuija-Maija Niskanen, Director 1980 : Finland/Sweden : 90 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : In the 1930s, a young Finnish woman defies her tyrannical father to have a relationship with a young German woman. In Finnish with English subtitles. Fire Deepa Mehta, Director 1996 : Canada/India : 104 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : Two women, sisters-in-law in contemporary New Delhi, India, are trapped in loveless marriages. One is the meek wife of a celibate eclectic. The other is newly-married to his brother, who is so busy with his sex-kitten mistress that he doesn't have time for his new wife. The two women turn to one another for comfort and find erotic pleasure and desire in their connection. In English. Flaming Ears Angela Hans Scheirl, Dietmar Schipek, & Ursula Purrer, Directors 1992 : Austria : 84 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : A fragmented and bizarre tale of lust, jealousy, and revenge among three lesbians in the far, far future. Technically innovative, staking out a new lesbian aesthetic for the 90s. French Twist [Gazon Maudit] Josiane Balasko, Director 1995 : France : 107 minutes : Lesbian/Bisexual : Comedy : When super-butch Marijo, a DJ and handywoman, drives her hippie van through town, it breaks down at Loli's house. Loli is the neglected, Spanish-emigre wife of Laurent, a philandering real- estate agent. Marijo asks to use the phone, Loli says yes, and the stage is set for the most original slant on the French sex farce to come along in years. In French with English subtitles. La Fuga Paolo Spinola, Director 1967 : Italy : Lesbian : Drama : A well-to-do wife finds fulfillment with a lesbian interior decorator. Full Moon in New York 1989 : Hong Kong : Lesbian : Drama : Three Chinese women immigrants in New York -- one from mainland China, one a Taiwanese actress, and one a successful entrepreneur and restaurateur from Hong Kong -- try to cope with their new surroundings. The film can be taken as a symbol of the struggles of the three Chinas to come together. The Getting of Wisdom Bruce Beresford, Director 1977 : Australia : 100 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : A gifted young pianist becomes inseparable with a classmate in an oppressive finishing school in turn-of-the-century Melbourne, Australia. Girls in Uniform [Madchen in Uniform] Leontine Sagan, Director 1931 : Germany : 89 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : Considered by many to be the first radical lesbian-feminist film, in which a student at a repressive authoritarian Prussian boarding school finds comfort only in the companionship of a sympathetic teacher. It was remade in 1958 in English. See the original German version. The Gold Diggers Sally Potter, Director 1983 : UK : 90 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : An actress and a mysterious woman on horseback come together while the actress searches for social roots. Heavenly Creatures Peter Jackson, Director 1994 : New Zealand : 98 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : This film is a dramatization of a notorious murder case which occurred in Christchurch in the fifties. Two teenage girls became very attached to each other, and when their parents decided to separate them by taking one away from New Zealand, they brutally murdered one of their mothers. In This House of Brede George Schaefer, Director 1975 : UK : 100 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : A young nun gets a crush on older one who wants to reciprocate but cannot. I've Heard The Mermaids Singing Patricia Rozema, Director 1987 : Canada : 81 minutes : Bisexual : Comedy : An "organizationally-impaired person Friday falls in love with her boss, the sophisticated curator of an art gallery. I, You, He, She [Je, Tu, Il, Elle] Chantal Akerman, Director 1974 : Belgium : 90 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : Conflict-ridden relationship between a woman and her lover and a strange man. Features an 18-minute love scene between the two women. Johanna d'Arc of Mongolia Ulrike Ottinger, Director 1988 : West Germany : 35 minutes : Lesbian : Adventure : Our heroine is invited on a trip by an affluent older woman. They travel to Mongolia where they are kidnaped by Mongolian Amazons, and the adventure begins. Just Passing Through Judy Rymer, Director 1985 : New Zealand : 50 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : While scouting locations for a documentary on Maori myth and legend, two filmmakers meet Rhea, a Maori woman, who takes them on a mystical quest. The Killing of Sister George Robert Aldrich, Director 1968 : USA/UK : 153 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : An aging lesbian actress loses everything, including her young lover, when the character she plays on a BBC soap opera gets killed off. Note that although this film was produced jointly by the US and the UK, it takes place in London, features a famous British lesbian bar, and almost everyone in the cast is British. The Life that We Dreamt [Het Leven dat we Droomden] Robbe de Hert, Director 1981 : Belgium : Lesbian : Drama : Two women fall in love with the same man, but soon discover that they love each other. Loss of Heat Noski Deville, Director 1994 : UK : 20 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : An expressive portrayal of two lesbian couples, one in Spain, the other in London, dealing with epilepsy. Lune Bille Eltringham, Director 1993 : UK : 28 minutes : Lesbian : Romance : A precocious girl with a serious crush pursues an older woman in this charming seaside romance. Madame X -- Eine Absolut Herrscherin Ulrike Ottinger, Director 1977 : West Germany : Lesbian : Drama : Women cannot resist the pirate Madame X, and board her ship in quest of gold, love, and adventure. Mano Destra Cleo Ueblemann, Director 1985-86 : West Germany : 53 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : A relentless physiological experience of cinematic bondage and sensory manipulation. A European lesbian cult classic, *this* is S&M cinema. The Mark of Lilith Bruna Fionda, Polly Gladwin, and Isiling Mack-Nataf, Producers 1986 : UK : 32 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : Lillia, a white vampire, meets Zena, a black lesbian, at a horror movie, and the two embark on a bizarre relationship. The Minders Judy Rymer, Director 1985 : New Zealand : 50 minutes : Lesbian : Science Fiction : An extraterrestrial paradise is ruled by a magnanimous intergalactic female populace that keeps watch over the Earth and intercedes through telepathic mindlink to offer insight, solace, encouragement, or inspiration whenever an Earthling is in need. Miss A and Miss M 1987 : UK : 60 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : A young girl slowly becomes aware of the true nature of the relationship between two school teachers. Night Visions Marusia Bociurkiw, Director 1989 : Canada : 60 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : Racism and homophobia are explored in two overlapping stories, one about a Native American single mother fighting social welfare authorities and her white ex-husband for custody of her daughter, the other about a lesbian photographer whose erotic photographs have been seized by the police. Nocturne Joy Chamberlain, Director 1990 : UK : Lesbian : Drama : A woman returns home for her mother's funeral and meets memories which are the key both to her self-repression and her desire. Novembermoon [Novembermond] Alexandra von Grote, Director 1984 : West Germany : 106 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : During WWII in France, a Frenchwoman hides her lover, a German Jew, from the Nazis. Olivia [Pit of Loneliness] Jacqueline Audry, Director 1950 : France : 100 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : In the latter half of the 1800s, an English schoolgirl falls deeply in love with one of her headmistresses in the French boarding school she attends. On Guard Digby Duncan and Susan Lambert, producers 1983 : Australia : 51 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : An aerobics instructor, a disillusioned nurse and two other lesbians conspire to sabotage a reproductive engineering facility and alert the media to a Brave New World bioproduction line. A heist movie which incorporates frank portrayal of the characters' domestic and sexual, personal and political struggles. Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit Beeban Kidron, Director 1989 : UK : 144 minutes, theatrical version; 3x120 minute episodes, mini-series version : Lesbian : Drama : Coming of age story about an iron-willed young woman who's been raised in a strict evangelical environment, and whose lesbianism scandalizes her equally iron-willed adoptive mother, and pretty much the rest of the church, too. Made by the BBC from the semi-autobigraphical -- and often very funny -- first novel by Jeannette Winterson. Pandora's Box G. W. Pabst, Director 1928 : Germany : 110 minutes : Bisexual/Lesbian : Silent screen classic about a girl whose loose morals take her from promiscuity to whoredom to a fatal encounter with Jack the Ripper. Along the way, she has a torrid affair with a lesbian countess and the countess's stepson. Pepi, Luci, Bom (and Other Girls in the Heap) Pedro Almodovar, Director 1980 : Spain : Lesbian : Drama : An angry lesbian declares war on the Madrid police. Portrait of a Marriage Stephen Whittaker, Director 1990 : UK : Lesbian/Bisexual : 4x50 minute episodes : Biographical Drama : A made-for-TV period drama series featuring the relationships among Violet Keppel and Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson (played by Cathryn Harrison, Janet McTeer and David Haigh). Sumptuously made by the BBC and co-produced by WGBH. Based on the book by Vita and her son, Nigel Nicolson. Prisoners of Cell Block H 197?-198? : Australia : Lesbian : Soap Opera : A long-running series which has attained cult status, set in a women's prison, with several long-standing lesbian characters. Richard's Things Anthony Harvey, Director 1980 : UK : 104 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : Made-for-British-TV movie about a dead businessman's widow and mistress, who go from open hostility to falling in love with each other. Rites of Passage Gerda Heijnis, Director 1992 : Holland : 22 minutes : Female Transvestite : Drama : Operatic, industrial, and idyllic, this allegory of a cross-dressing girl and her mother offers an exquisite portrayal of lost and regained gender identity. Salmonberries Percy Adlon, Director 1991 : Canada : 94 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : A middle-aged German librarian searches for meaning in her life in Alaska and makes contact with a sullen half-Eskimo mining worker who is mistaken for a boy wherever she goes. Seduction: The Cruel Woman [Verfuhrung: die grausame Frau] Monika Treut, Director 1985 : West Germany : 84 minutes : Bisexual/Lesbian : Drama : Wanda is a gallery owner in Hamburg specializing in S/M art. Being a dominatrix isn't easy for her when she insists that all is performance, but her clients and would-be lovers want a "real" relationship. The Silent Thrush Sheng-fu Cheng, Director 1992 : Taiwan : 100 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : Backstage lesbian romance between a young girl who joins a Taiwanese opera company and the company's leading lady highlight this portrait of theater life in modern Taiwan. The young woman finds the opera company not at all what she expects: audiences are deserting the opera, the program now includes less than respectable girly shows, and the star's long-time lover is intensely jealous of her. In Hokkien and Mandarin with English subtitles. Simone Christine Ehm, Director 1984 : France : 90 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : Simone, a mysterious stranger, enters the life of Francoise, a suicidal woman, and the two explore their fantasies. Sister, My Sister Nancy Meckler, Director 1994 : UK : 102 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : Raised in a convent and separated at an early age, sisters Christine and Lea are reunited in the house of the tyrannical Madame Danzard, where they work as maids. Slaving away under the cruel eye of their mistress, they become acquainted with each other while battling demons of abuse and neglect. Tensions build to the breaking point when the Madame's daughter, Isabelle, triggers Christine's jealousy and fear of abandonment. Finally, when Madame becomes suspicious of the true nature of the sisters' love for each other, the stage is set for tragedy. Ten Cents a Dance [Parallax] Midi Onodera, Director 1986 : Canada : 30 minutes : Lesbian/Gay : Drama : Experimental film exploring contemporary forms of sexuality and communication between a lesbian couple, a gay male couple, and a straight couple. Therese and Isabelle Radley Metzger, Director 1968 : France/West Germany/USA : 102 mintues : Lesbian : Drama : A woman reminisces about a love affair she had with a girl in boarding school. To Forget Venice [Dimenticare Venezia] Franco Brusati, Director 1979 : Italy : 105 minutes : Lesbian/Gay : Drama : In 1920s Italy, Anna and Claudia live in the country with Anna's Aunt Marta. Anna and Claudia have become bored with each other, but one day Aunt Marta's brother Nicky shows up with his young lover Picchio, and things start to change. Twice a Woman George Sluizer, Director 1985 : UK : 90 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : A man becomes obsessed with the young female lover of his ex-wife. The Twin Bracelets Yu-Shan Huang, Director 1990 : Hong Kong/Taiwan : 100 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : A young woman in an oppressive Chinese fishing village seeks love and escape in the arms of her childhood girlfriend against a backdrop of customs and mores that treat women as property with no human rights. Vera Sergio Toledo, Director 1986 : Brazil : 87 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : A young woman believes she is a man trapped in a woman's body in this intense investigation of sex roles. When she falls in love with another woman, they both struggle painfully with her gender dysphoria. In Portugese with English subtitles. The Virgin Machine Monika Treut, Director 1988 : West Germany : 91 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : A naive German journalist searches for love in San Francisco's lesbian underground. When Night Is Falling Patricia Rozema, Director 1995 : Canada : ?? minutes : Lesbian : Drama : A professor at a religious school has to examine her life, her sexuality, and her religion when she meets and falls in love with a woman circus performer. Wild Flowers Robert Smith, Director 1989 : UK : Lesbian : Drama : Two women discover love for each other in a fairly repressed corner of Scotland. A Woman In Transit [La Femme de l'Hotel] 1984 : Canada : Lesbian : Drama : A director and her leading lady search for someone to play the central figure in their movie and find her in the hotel where they're all staying. A Woman Like Eve [Een Vrouw als Eva] Nouchka van Brakel, Director 1979 : The Netherlands : 90 minutes : Lesbian : Drama : On vacation in France, a married Dutch woman falls in love with a French lesbian. When she attempts to divorce her husband, a bitter custody battle ensues. Zoe The Boxer [Zoe le Boxeuse] Karim Dridi, Director 1992 : France : 24 minutes : Transsexual : Drama : A clever faux documentary which examines the story of a female boxer who became a man and murdered her manager. ***** Directory of GLBO Film and Video Distributors ***** Cambridge Documentary Films P.O. Box 385 Cambridge, MA 02139 (617) 354-3677 Charis Video (Many Lesbian Videos) P.O. Box 797 Brooklyn, NY 11231 (718) 855-4458 Cinema Guild 1697 Broadway, Suite 802 New York, NY 10019 (212) 246-5522 Cinevista 353 W. 39th St. New York, NY 10018 (212) 947-4373 Dangerous To Know 66 Offley Road London, England SW9 OLS Tel: (44) 171 735 8330 Fax: (44) 171 793 8488 E-Mail: @dtk.co.uk Direct Cinema Ltd. P.O. Box 10003 Santa Monica, CA 90410 (310) 396-4774 Drift Distribution 611 Broadway, Suite 742 New York, NY 10012 Tel: (212) 254-4118 Fax: (212) 254-3154 Exportfilm Bischoof & Co. Isabellastrasse 20 D-8000 Munich 40, West Germany Facets Multimedia, Inc. 1517 West Fullerton Ave. Chicago, IL 60614 (800) 331-6297, (312) 281-9075 in IL Filmmakers Library 124 East 40th St., #901 New York, NY 10016 (212) 808-4980 First Run Features 153 Waverly Place New York, NY 10014 Tel: (212) 243-0600 Fax: (212) 989-7649 Frameline Distribution 346 Ninth Street San Francisco, CA 94103 Tel: (415) 703-8654/5 Fax: (415) 861-1404 Insider Video Club P.O. Box 93399 Hollywood, CA 90093 Tel: (800) 634-2242 Fax: (213) 661-8330 LadySlipper P.O. Box 3130 Durham, NC 27705 (919) 683-1570 Lambda Rising Bookstores 1625 Connecticut Ave., NW Washington, DC 20009-1013 (800) 621-6969, (202) 462-6969 E-Mail: lambdarising@his.com Maya Vision 43 New Oxford St. London, WC1 A1BH, England Moonforce Media 903 Maplewood Ave. Takoma Park, MD 20912 (301) 585-8886 New Yorker Films 16 W. 61st St. New York, NY 10023 (212) 247-6110 Outspoken Productions 202 S. Pearl Street, Suite 4 Charlotte, MI 48813 (517) 541-1630 Pop Video P.O. Box 60862 Washington, DC 20039 (202) 726-1650 Strand Releasing 8033 Sunset Blvd., #4002 Los Angeles, CA 90046 Tel/Fax/Productions/Acquisitions: (213) 937-4500 Film Bookings: (818) 342-9006 Tapestry Productions 924 Broadway New York, NY 10010 (212) 677-6007 Third World Newsreel 335 W. 38th St., 5th Floor New York, NY 10018 (212) 947-9277 TLA Video 1520 Locust St., Suite 200 Philadelphia, PA 19102 (800) 333-8521, (215) 790-1510 Water Bearer Films 205 West End Avenue, Suite 24H New York, NY 10023 (212) 580-8185 Winds of Change Productions 12 Grove Ave. Toronto, Ontario M6J 3B6, Canada Wolfe Video (Primarily lesbian films) P.O. Box 64 New Almaden, CA 95042 (408) 268-6782) Womankind Books, Inc. 5 Kivy St. Huntington Station, NY 11746 (800) 648-5333, (516) 427-1289 Women Make Movies, Inc. 462 Broadway, Suite 500E New York, NY 10013 Tel: (212) 925-0606 Fax: (212) 925-2052 wmmnyc@aol.com Yoyo Film, Video & Theatre Prods. 108 Grove Park London SE5, England ***** Notes and Acknowledgements **** Don't be shy about e-mailing me any GLBO-centered films that you don't find on this list, folks, but remember that to qualify for this list a film has to either be *about* a central GLBO character or have a GLBO character (or theme) so central to the plot that the film couldn't exist the same way without that character (or theme). Please try to provide as much information about the films as you can, including a capsule plot summary, and don't forget to sign your name to your letters so that I can acknowledge your contribution. Please note that I have arbitrarily established a 30-minute minimum length requirement for films to be included on this list. This is because I view this list primarily as an entertainment resource, and feel that if you're looking for a couple of films to watch with your loved one(s) on a weekend, you're going to be much more interested in feature-length films than you are in experimental short subjects. There are literally hundreds of film shorts from 1 minute in length to 29 minutes in length which do not appear on this list, although if a film is, say, 25 minutes long and is about a subject or group which doesn't get much film time it just might find its way onto the list. Many, if not all, of the distributors above will provide you with a catalog of their films, including film shorts. For more information regarding these and other GLBO-centered materials, notably books, periodicals, music, and some film shorts, get yourself a copy of this outstanding reference book: Gay and Lesbian Library Service edited by Cal Gough and Ellen Greenblatt MacFarland and Company, Inc., Publishers Many thanks to Ellen Greenblatt for giving me access to the film lists from this excellent resource book. There are several books that will be of interest to LGBO videophiles: The Celluloid Closet by Vito Russo Russo's book is mostly about Hollywood's mistreatment of gay characters in films, but by the last chapter, films featuring accurate, sensitive, or at least interesting portrayals start showing up with more regularity. And these next three are wonderful encyclopedias of GLBO film and video: Gay Hollywood, Film and Video Guide by Steve Stewart Images in the Dark, An Encyclopedia of Gay and Lesbian Film and Video by Raymond Murray. The Ultimate Guide to Lesbian & Gay Film and Video by Jenni Olson Want another perspective on GLBO film and video? Visit Jenni Olson's web site, called PopcornQ, at www.popcornq.com. This is one gorgeously- produced web site, and Jenni includes a lot of films and videos you won't find here on my little list (like all the movies with a GLBO character who isn't the lead.) Check it out! A thousand thanks to Frameline of San Francisco, without whose "San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival" program booklets, this would be a *much* shorter list! And finally, thanks for the contributions from Tom Abell, Sim David Aberson, Arne Adolfsen, Diane Bailey, Nancy Barbour, Didier Beaumelle, Hector Bellmann, Richard Boehringer, Allen Briskin, Blair Buchta, Ron Buckmire, Mary Cardenas, Thomas Carlin, Vince Cavasin, David Peter Coster, Fred Curtis, Jeff Dauber, John DeSantis, Mike Drayton, James Drew, Michael Dunn, Ken Dykes, David Edelsohn, Lars Eighner, Michelle Elliott, Ellen Faed, Rob Fein, Beth Freeman, Tina Giangrande, Ellen Greenblatt, William Tzun-Yuk Hsu, Curtis Johnson, Karen Kinney, Richard Lamberty, Lew Lasher, Glenn Lewis, Tracey McCartney, Deacon Maccubbin, Gary Marcos, Robert A. J. Marshall, Bret Marquis, Valerie Mead, Steve Misek, Jorge Morales, Michele Mueller, Manuel Pece, Chip Phillips, Katie Phillips, Tim Pierce, Roy Radow, Randy A. Riddle, William Bradley Roberts, Jeff Shaumeyer, Glenn Slayden, Mike Shepherd, Daniel Sonnenfeld, Steve Stofflet, Tane' Tachyon, Alex Tan, Max Meredith Vasilatos, Ian Watters, Dave Williams, Jim Woulfe, and David Wyatt. Frank Swilling fswilling@mindspring.com