Stories Untold: Meet Queer SWANA Sex Workers and Drag Performers

Safe Space

October 2023 •English

Following the lives of Queer creatives behind Norwich’s queer collaborative ‘Stripped Sets’. We discover the reasoning behind the need for safe spaces, and the stories that come with them. Through live events, photoshoots and history, we see the process in creating such an important event.

Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis

April 2007 •English

In this entrancing documentary on performance artist, photographer and underground filmmaker Jack Smith, photographs and rare clips of Smith's performances and films punctuate interviews with artists, critics, friends and foes to create an engaging portrait of the artist. Widely known for his banned queer erotica film Flaming Creatures, Smith was an innovator and firebrand who influenced artists such as Andy Warhol and John Waters.

Bootwmn

October 2015 •English

Deana McGuffin is a third generation New Mexico boot maker, hand-crafting wearable pieces of art. When she is approached by a Canadian artist and a San Franciscan tattooer to create a gay themed cowboy boot, a story unravels of a unique collaboration that takes them to the heart of cowboy country in Northern Texas. BOOTWMN is a heart-warming, intimate and at times funny portrait of the queering of a traditional art form.

The Weight of Sight

January 2024 •Norwegian

The Weight of Sight is a playful and very personal essay where director Truls Krane Meby, through a massive archive of his own material - anything from DV-tapes to 35mm - explores the last 20 years of digital development - how it’s influenced the images we make, and our bodies. What kind of images do we get of the world now that everyone is a photographer, and what does it do with how we unfold our identities? How has the internet both captured and freed us? And will Truls even dare to show this film?

We've Been Around

March 2016 •English

In this documentary, director Rhys Ernst tells the previously untold histories of transgender pioneers. Trans people have always been here, throughout time, often hidden in plain sight.

a small island

Invalid date •English

I Am My Own Woman

October 1992 •German

The life story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, who survived the Nazi reign as a trans woman and helped start the German gay liberation movement. Documentary with some dramatized scenes. Two actors play the young and middle aged Charlotte and she plays herself in the later years.

No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics

June 2021 •English

A feature-length documentary film-in-progress chronicling the birth and development of LGBTQ comics through the eyes of several of its pioneers. The film was inspired by the Lambda award-winning book of the same name, and dives deeper into the personal stories at the heart of this unique underground artistic scene. Featuring Alison Bechdel (Fun Home), the recently departed Howard Cruse (Stuck Rubber Baby, Gay Comix), and others, this film aims to show how DIY queer cartoonists have represented, poked fun at, and celebrated LGBTQ lives and experiences in challenging, humorous, and profound ways.

Shelter: Farewell to Eden

June 2019 •English

Pepsi is an individual in sexual transition looking for a stable job as a caregiver. Former member of MILF, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front active in an island of southern Philippines, she escaped from her country to work as a nurse for over 10 years in Gaddafi's Libya. Because of gender discrimination, she has been forced to join the flow of refugees.

Waltz with Bashir

June 2008 •Hebrew

An Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.

A Breath of Life

November 2021 •Italian

Lucy is a 95-year-old lady. In her apartment, photos turned yellow by the passing time tell the adolescence of a boy who at the time was called Luciano and who was going to live the most terrible period of his life. Lucy is the oldest transsexual woman in Italy. She is among the few survivors of Dachau's concentration camp. Lucy's story tells us the story of the 1900s. The events of her turbulent life become a metaphor for a humanity that does not give up and that treasures the most important gift in history, memory, as a unique and irreplaceable starting point.

Radical Brownies

January 2017 •English

Berets, badges, Black Lives Matter and social justice: the youth group for activist girls of colour.The Radical Monarchs is an alternative to the Scout movement for girls of colour in Oakland. Its members earn badges not for sewing or selling cookies, but for completing challenges on social justice including Black Lives Matter, 'radical beauty', being 'an LGBTQ ally' and the environment.

Letter from Tokyo

September 2018 •Japanese

Letter from Tokyo is a documentary film that looks at art, culture and politics in Tokyo, Japan. Shot over three months during the summer of 2018, and with a particular focus on grass roots arts initiatives, the use of public space, and queer politics, the film provides a snapshot of Japan’s capital in the run up to the 2020 olympics.

Isis: The Origins of Violence

May 2017 •English

Historian Tom Holland traces the origins of Isis’ barbaric and sadistic violence which it claims is justified by the tenets and scriptures of Islam.

Shelter at Home: Where Are They Now?

August 2020 •English

Beloved by audiences for over a decade, Here TV's original movie "Shelter" is celebrated with an in-depth discussion with stars Trevor Wright and Brad Rowe, along with director Jonah Markowitz.

Bunny Decides to Go

May 2023 •Azerbaijani

An intimate documentary about a trans woman's isolation and decision to leave her home country of Azerbaijan in pursuit of a safer life. Using the metaphor of a rabbit, that comes from her nickname "bunny," she presents her relationship with her family, country, music, and protest, intercut with home videos.

Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened...

November 2016 •English

This film from acclaimed theater director Lonny Price charts the journey of the original cast of Stephen Sondheim's "Merrily We Roll Along" in the 30-plus years since the musical debuted on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre in 1981.

Rebellion for Love

February 2019 •Spanish

At the end of the seventies, Yan María Castro became one of the founders of the first group of lesbians in Mexico. In a context of discrimination and repression, she and her companions organize a political movement to gain their place in society.

ALTAR: Cruzando Fronteras, Building Bridges

October 2009 •Italian

Examines the life, work, and cultural significance of Gloria Anzaldúa, poet and visual artist, and those she inspired in women's Chicano art. The work highlights the struggle for women's and gay rights.

Mariela Castro's March: Cuba's LGBT Revolution

November 2016 •English

A rare look inside Cuba’s LGBT community, this compelling film follows the efforts of Mariela Castro, daughter of President Raúl Castro, as she champions LGBT social reforms and acceptance of diversity.