Through a creative blend of mixed-media and charismatic narration balancing humor, sass and historical gravity, discover the queer history of the carabiner in this latest WaterBear Original, directed by Gianna Mazzeo and made in partnership with Nikon. Follow the carabiner’s story, from its humble 1911 climbing roots (thanks, Otto "Rambo" Herzog), to empowering butch mechanics and postal workers in the 60s, becoming a potent signal of identity and attraction in the 80’s (think Tinder, but with hardware) and as a TikTok fashion sensation today.
Stolen House (2023)
"Stolen House" is a documentary short film that follows the migration story of Mark, a Russian photographer, and Katya, a Ukrainian artist, to Argentina. Through narrations, staged scenes, and archival material, fragments of their lives, feelings, and motivations are explored.
to boyhood, i never knew him (2022)
Archive footage from 2006 - 2010 of a young girl growing up during the ages of four to eight. Only fragments of what is remembered exists. Words from a transgender man float to the surface as fleeting memories go on.
I'm Not Everything I Want to Be (2024)
After the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, Libuše Jarcovjáková, a young female photographer, strives to break free from the constraints of Czechoslovak normalization and embarks on a wild journey towards freedom, capturing her experiences on thousands of subjective photographs.
Teguh (2022)
Teguh was dishonorably discharged as a policeman due to his sexual orientation. With the support of his partner Tonny, Teguh decided to purue justice by bringing his case to court, an act that has never been done before in Indonesia from the LGBTQI+ community. From this, the question arises, why would he put himself in potential danger by going against the institution? The film tells a love story between Teguh and Tonny, which becomes the foundation of why this fight needs to be fought for.
È pericoloso esporsi (NaN)
During the women's demonstration on March 8, 1972, Mariasilvia SPOLATO was there with a placard: Liberazione omosessuale. A month later, Simone de Beauvoir came to Rome to give an interview, and this placard illustrated her article. Mariasilvia could no longer teach, ended up homeless and spent her life on the trains.
Cured (2020)
Mentally ill. Deviant. Diseased. And in need of a cure. These were among the terms psychiatrists used to describe gay women and men in the 1950s, 1960s, and early 1970s. And as long as they were “sick”, progress toward equality was impossible. This documentary chronicles the battle waged by a small group of activists who declared war against a formidable institution – and won a crucial victory in the modern movement for LGBTQIA+ equality.
Sex and Revolution (2021)
In the early ‘70s, in Argentina, a group of homosexuals decided to confront the status quo. With testimonies from its survivors as its denouncement source, Sex and Revolution brings back the voices of those who thought in order to be recognized as political actors in a society that wasn’t prepared for them.
Old Lesbians (2023)
For the last quarter century, Houston native Arden Eversmeyer journeyed across the country to record hundreds of oral "herstories" with a mostly invisible population that is rapidly disappearing. Old Lesbians honors Arden's legacy by animating the resilient, joyful voices she preserved in the Old Lesbian Oral Herstory Project, from first crush to first love, from the closet to coming out, and finally from loss to connection.
My Name Is Violeta (2019)
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.
Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution (2023)
From the sweaty basement bars of 70s New York to the glittering peak of the global charts, how disco conquered the world - its origins, its triumphs, its fall and its legacy.
The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
Harvey Milk was an outspoken human rights activist and one of the first openly gay U.S. politicians elected to public office; even after his assassination in 1978, he continues to inspire disenfranchised people around the world.
Verbotene Liebe - Queere Opfer der NS-Diktatur (2024)
Sexual minorities were oppressed, imprisoned and murdered by the Nazis. Paragraph 175 criminalized homosexual men during the Nazi era - but the Nazis also discriminated against lesbians and trans people. They should be excluded from the national community. More than 50,000 queer people have been proven to have been persecuted. The documentary highlights three poignant fates in the context of Nazi terror: Elli Smula was persecuted as a lesbian, Liddy Bacroff was harassed by the authorities as a "transvestite" and Rudolf Brazda was imprisoned in the Buchenwald concentration camp because of his homosexuality. In order to tell their stories, the actor Jannik Schümann and the activists Julia Monro and Kerstin Thost go looking for clues in archives and talk to historians. You will learn how some people managed to live out their identity and assert themselves as queer people during the Nazi era despite the most adverse circumstances.
There are things in this world that are yet to be named (2020)
"There are things in this world that are yet to be named" centers around Solanum plastisexum - an Australian tomato whose sexual expression is unpredictable and unstable, challenging even the fluid norms of the plant kingdom. Footage of the team of botanists who recently used their Solanum research to explode notions of sexual normativity in any plant or animal is combined with a voiceover of letters sent between science writer Rachel Carson and her lover Dorothy Freeman. "There are things in this world that are yet to be named" is a meditation on erasure, indefinability, and the intersection of queer and environmental histories.
How I Became a Woman (2024)
In the first person, a documentary that shows us the experience of Vida Rodriguez, formerly Inocente Duke, in situations that the Trans Law favors: what happens when entering a sauna, locker room, or a public service (even in the Congress of Deputies). An experience that, with respect and large doses of humor, brings us face to face with a law and its difficulties in its implementation.
Equality from the Heart (2022)
'Equality from the Heart' captures the narratives of various LGBTIQ individuals in Malta, shedding a light on the lived lives of our community throughout the 20th Century, during a time when our identities were considered a taboo, as it reflects on the progress this country has made and looks to the future with optimism.
Lesbiennes, quelle histoire ? (2023)
From her personal experience, Marie Labory sets out on the trail of the lesbians who lived in Europe in the twentieth century. One hundred years of fighting for freedom, told through archives and testimonies.
The Glitterstorm (2021)
A documentary that chronicles the twenty years of Pride parading in Iceland. Filmmaker Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdóttir has shot the parade from the beginning, with all its pride and power, beauty and sometimes ugliness. She mixes old material and new interviews with activists who reminisce about their participation in the parade, it’s impact on society in general, and what Pride means for the LGBTQ+ community.
Pursuit of Equality (2005)
By issuing marriage licenses to same gender couples, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom uproots the status quo and attempts to change the way the nation looks at life, love, and marriage.