Beyond Tragedies

Undressing Israel: Gay Men in the Promised Land

January 2013 •English

When many people think of Israel, it is often in terms of modern war or ancient religion. But there is much more to the Jewish state then missiles and prayers. In his debut as a documentary filmmaker, adult-film entrepreneur and political columnist Michael Lucas examines a side of Israel that is too often overlooked: its thriving gay community. Undressing Israel features interviews with a diverse range of local men, including a gay member of Israel's parliament, a trainer who served openly in the army, a young Arab-Israeli journalist, and a pair of dads raising their kids. Lucas also visits Tel Aviv's vibrant nightlife scene-and a same-sex wedding-in this guided tour to a country that emerged as a pioneer for gay integration and equality.

Affirmations

June 1990 •English

A look at what it's like to be gay and black in America.

Nana's Boys

November 2022 •English

An intimate peek into the relationship of two black gay men. On the morning of his 30th birthday, Amari struggles to make decisions on what’s next and defining his purpose. Q is on track become the youngest partner at his law firm and plans an elaborate soiree to celebrate this milestone of his long-time partner. The day takes a rattling turn when an explosion cuts off utilities across New York City and forces the city into a mandatory lockdown. Their relationship is tested as the couple grapples with memories that could shatter their plans altogether.

Boys in Love

February 1996 •English

The Best of Boys in Love is a wildly diverse collection of films that mixes styles, settings, and stories ranging from "elegant gay romance" (Frontiers), to a musical send-up of Hollywood, to an "exquisite period piece" (Village Voice) set in New Zealand. The DVD features seven audience favorites selected from our collection of award-winning gay short films.

Sweetheart

September 2021 •English

A socially awkward, environmentally-conscious teenager named AJ is dragged to a coastal holiday park by her painfully 'normal' family, where she becomes unexpectedly captivated by a chlorine smelling, sun-loving lifeguard named Isla.

Muxes

December 2016 •English

In the indigenous communities around the town of Juchitán, the world is not divided simply into males and females. The local Zapotec people have made room for a third category, which they call “muxes” - men who consider themselves women and live in a socially sanctioned limbo between the two genders.

Even Lovers Get the Blues

October 2016 •French

After the sudden death of one of them a group of friends grieves trough sexual encounters.

Central Station

April 1998 •Portuguese

An emotional journey of a former school teacher, who writes letters for illiterate people, and a young boy, whose mother has just died, as they search for the father he never knew.

Desert Hearts

October 1985 •English

While waiting for her divorce papers, a repressed literature professor finds herself unexpectedly attracted by a carefree, spirited young woman named Cay.

Summer Storm

September 2004 •German

Tobi and Achim, the pride of the local crew club, have been the best of friends for years and are convinced that nothing will ever stand in the way of their friendship. They look forward to the upcoming summer camp and the crew competition. Then the gay team from Berlin arrives and Tobi is totally confused. The evening before the races begin, the storm that breaks out is more than meteor-logical.

Mala Noche

May 1988 •English

Walt is a lonely convenience store clerk who has fallen in love with a Mexican migrant worker named Johnny. Though Walt has little in common with the object of his affections — including a shared language — his desire to possess Johnny prompts a sexual awakening that results in a tangled love triangle.

Transamerica

February 2005 •English

A transgender woman takes an unexpected journey when she learns that she had a son, now a teenage runaway hustling on the streets of New York.

Pierrot Lunaire

February 2014 •English

Invited by the conductor Premil Petrovic to stage Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, a musical theater work from 1912 based on the poems of Albert Giraud, LaBruce transposed a strange and tragic episode of true crime onto the composition. Complementing the original atonal score is a narrative about a trans man who is outed by his girlfriend’s father and forbidden from seeing the young woman again. Crestfallen, the protagonist decides to prove the fact of his manhood by castrating a taxi driver and then revealing his newly transplanted member to the two of them. This story, which for LaBruce “serves as a kind of allegory for all gender radicals and outcasts driven to extremes by the disapproval and hostility of the dominant order,” is rendered in a visual style that nods to the era of Schoenberg’s melodrama. LaBruce cheekily appropriates the formal vocabulary of silent cinema with black-and-white photography, irises, and intertitles like “A cock, a cock, my kingdom for a cock!”

Land of Storms

February 2014 •Hungarian

Szabolcs plays in a German football team, as does Bernard. They are roommates, best friends, inseparable. A lost match makes him reconsider his life and he goes back to Hungary in hope for more simplicity. Yet his solitude does not last long. Soon after his arrival he meets Áron and a mutual attraction between the two boys develops when suddenly Szabolcs receives an unexpected phone call from Bernard: he has arrived to Hungary...

Titanic

November 1997 •English

101-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater tells the story of her life aboard the Titanic, 84 years later. A young Rose boards the ship with her mother and fiancé. Meanwhile, Jack Dawson and Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets aboard the ship. Rose tells the whole story from Titanic's departure through to its death—on its first and last voyage—on April 15, 1912.

City of God

August 2002 •Portuguese

In the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, two young men choose different paths. Rocket is a budding photographer who documents the increasing drug-related violence of his neighborhood, while José “Zé” Pequeno is an ambitious drug dealer diving into a dangerous life of crime.

Sinais

December 2024 •Portuguese

That Is All

September 2019 •English

While trying to navigate life as he enters his 30s, Ryan slips further into loneliness. A chance meeting with a friend's boyfriend, Sam, changes that and as they grow closer. Ryan must now come to terms with who he is, and what that means for him.

My Name Is Violeta

June 2019 •Spanish

Violeta leads a normal life in a well-off family, with loving parents, surrounded by everything the heart of an eleven-year-old girl might wish for. But she hasn’t always been the pretty girl she is today; she was born a boy. At age 6, she baffled her parents (the famous adult movie stars Nacho Vidal and Franceska Jaimes) when she told them she wanted to be called and dress as a girl. After the initial shock, they decided to give her all their support on the long and tough road that will lead to her becoming a woman someday. Violeta faces many challenges, medical (such as deciding whether or not to take hormone-blockers to stop the development of masculine features as soon as puberty kicks in) and legal (obtaining an ID card with her new name and gender). Later, she may consider getting a sex reassignment procedure, or the possibility of becoming a mother through adoption.

Dear June

June 2023 •English

After June and Charlie break up, Theo finds a scrapbook containing their fondest memories together, and he becomes obsessed with their relationship. He convinces June to try and win Charlie back by recreating moments from the book. Dear June follows the intricacies of a relationship going downhill and explores how straight men view and tokenize sapphic relationships.