Over two decades after her award-winning documentary Gendernauts: A Journey Through Shifting Identities premiered at the 1999 Berlinale, filmmaker Monika Treut returns to the festival to premiere Genderation, which sees her reconnecting with the pioneering trans, gender-diverse, and sex positive subjects she encountered in San Francisco in the late 90s for that film. With many... Continue Reading →
Directors Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt take us on a thought-provoking and emotionally potent journey as they track the life and legacy of trans masculine icon American jazz musician Billy Tipton, who enjoyed a successful career in the 1940s and 50s. When he died in 1989 his story was co-opted and sensationalised by the media,... Continue Reading →
Patrick Sammon and Bennett Singer's riveting feature documentary Cured, which had its world premiere at Outfest and screens this month as part of the virtual 35th BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival, examines the fascinating chapter in queer history that saw gay liberation activists successfully overturn the US psychiatric profession's classification of homosexuality as a... Continue Reading →
The life of transmasculine musician Billy Tipton gives directors Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt the perfect opening to explore the history of transmasculinity in culture in the excellent feature documentary, No Ordinary Man. Billy Tipton’s life is remarkable. Born in 1914, Tipton’s music career began as a radio band leader in 1936 establishing himself over... Continue Reading →
Jonas Poher Rasmussen's remarkable Flee world premiered at Sundance 2021, winning the festival's World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for Documentary. As the film opens a caption tells us that this a true story and that some of the names have been changed to protect the subjects' anonymity. In present day Copenhagen, Denmark we meet 36... Continue Reading →
The richly detailed, fast-paced, and riveting new four-part HBO docu-series The Lady and the Dale explores the extraordinary life of transgender businesswoman Elizabeth Carmichael, who in the thick of the 1970s energy crisis promoted a low-cost futuristic looking fuel-efficient three-wheeled automobile, The Dale. On the back of a successful PR blitz with Carmichael at its... Continue Reading →
This year's week-long Sundance Film Festival, which opens on Thursday January 28th, will run digitally via a custom-designed online platform (festival.sundance.org) alongside drive-ins, screenings at independent arthouses, and a network of local community partnerships. All films in the program will be available online in the United States, with certain titles opting for global availability. The... Continue Reading →
In the wake of the 2016 election and the heightened divisive climate, the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus (SFGMC) was joined by the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir (OIGC) on a 2017 tour of the Southern States with the most discriminatory anti-LGBTQ laws. The tour was documented in the emotionally potent, thought-provoking and ultimately uplifting Gay... Continue Reading →
In examining the life of artist, photographer, writer, actor, musician, filmmaker, and AIDS activist David Wojnarowicz, using his own words, imagery, and music, director Chris McKim (Freedia Got a Gun, Out of Iraq) has created a rich and riveting work that captures Wojnarowicz's unapologetically queer spirit, and serves as a testimony to the enduring power... Continue Reading →
The virtual 11th edition of America’s largest documentary festival, DOC NYC runs from November 11th to 19th and will be available online throughout the US. The 2020 lineup of over 200 films, includes 107 features, with 23 world premieres and 19 US premieres. Over half of the features are directed or co-directed by women and... Continue Reading →
