A nephew sets out to uncover the truth behind his infamous great-uncle - Washington D.C.'s forgotten king of porn.
Hidden Master: The Legacy of George Platt Lynes (2024)
An intimate look at pioneering artist George Platt Lynes, who took radically explicit photographs of the male nude. The documentary reveals Lynes’ gifted eye for the male form, his long-term friendships with Gertrude Stein and Alfred Kinsey, and his lasting influence as one of the first openly gay American artists.
Derek (2008)
Derek, in chronological order, records the work and life that stands at the foot of Derek Jarman's humour and spirit of being an artist. The filmmaker and actress, Isaac Julien and Tilda Swinton respectively, have produced and narrated a film on his life whereby the use of language is perpetuated to give some type of palpable meaning to British audiences alone, and to their own personal relationship with him.
Beautiful by Night (2014)
A documentary following three older drag entertainers at Aunt Charlie's Lounge in the Tenderloin area of San Francisco. The film explores the rituals of these performers' transformations, along with themes of ageing, labor, and self acceptance. Featuring Collette LeGrande, Donna Personna, and Olivia Hart.
Luciano (2024)
Luciano lives with his mother and younger sister in a low-income neighborhood in the Argentine city of Rosario. He studies and helps with the housework. Since money is always short, he takes any temporary work he can get to support his family, while he looks for a steady job. After years of spending long hours at the gym, he has managed to see himself in the body he longed for. Life, however, imposes new challenges on him in his relentless journey to pursue his identity.
Chely Wright: Wish Me Away (2012)
After a lifetime of hiding, Chely Wright becomes the first commercial country music singer to come out as gay, shattering cultural stereotypes within Nashville, per conservative heartland family and, most importantly, within herself. With unprecedented access over a two-year period, including her private video diaries, the film layers Chely's rise to fame while hiding in the late 90's with the execution of her coming out plan, culminating in the exciting moment when she steps into the media glare to reveal she is gay. The film shows both the devastation of internalized homophobia and the transformational power of living an authentic life. The film also documents the conflicting responses from Nashville, the heartland and the LGBT community as Chely Wright prepares for an unknown future.
This Is What Love in Action Looks Like (2011)
In the summer of 2005 a 16yo Memphis, TN wrote on his MySpace blog about his parents sending him to a "Fundamentalist Christian" program that strives to turn gay teens straight. This documentary follows the inspirational story of this teens local community standing up for their friend with daily protests at the facility in what would become an international news story. The documentary features several former clients of the organization who tell their personal stories about the time they spent within the programs walls.
Misfits (2015)
In an Oklahoma town with 2,000 churches, OpenArms is a small shelter for LGBT teenagers. This doc follows three teens who find love and friendship in a world that labels them outcasts.
Beefcake (1998)
A look at the 1950s muscle men's magazines and the representative industry which were popular supposedly as health and fitness magazines, but were in reality primarily being purchased by the still-underground homosexual community. Chief among the purveyors of this literature was Bob Mizer, who maintained a magazine and developed sexually inexplicit men's films for over 40 years. Aided by his mother, the two maintained a stable of not so innocent studs.
Walk Away Renee (2011)
A documentary on Jonathan Caouette's cross-country road trip with his mentally ill mother.
Polonia: ¿zona libre de LGTBI? (2021)
Jon Sistiaga takes an immersive trip to Poland, a country divided into two zones: on the one hand, the urban and pro-European, and on the other, the rural and ultra-Catholic, still anchored in the traumas of the war and the post-war period. Is Poland a homophobic country or does it have a homophobic government? How does the European Union allow this situation?
The Adonis Factor (2010)
Gay men and their pursuit of physical perfection. When it comes to looks and body image, gay men can be a pretty tough crowd. Men are visually programmed. And gay men have an appreciation for beauty in all aspects, whether it's other male bodies or just antiques. There's no doubt that attractiveness is key to a man's self-esteem and his impression on others, especially in gay life. The pressure to look good is even more intense in an image- driven culture where near-naked images of masculine perfection abound. Men are being objectified as never before. From super models and muscle boys, to bears and twinks to average Joes, along with experts in the business of beauty, "The Adonis Factor" is a revealing look at gay men's love or lust for all things pretty.
Making the Boys (2011)
Before Prop 8, Milk or Will & Grace, before the AIDS epidemic, gay pride parades or the Stonewall uprising, "The Boys in the Band" changed everything. "Making the Boys" explores the drama, struggle and enduring legacy of the first-ever gay play and subsequent Hollywood movie to successfully reach a mainstream audience. Featuring anecdotes from the surviving cast and filmmakers, as well as perspectives by legendary figures from stage and screen, it traces the behind-the-scenes drama and lasting legacy of this cultural milestone.
We Live Here: The Midwest (2023)
Explore timely, personal stories of LGBTQI+ families who strive to build lives in their communities despite biased legislation and mounting prejudice.
Portrait of Jason (1967)
Interview with Jason Holliday aka Aaron Payne. House-boy, would-be cabaret performer, and self-proclaimed hustler giving one man's gin-soaked, pill-popped view of what it was like to be black and gay in 1960s United States. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Milestone Films in 2013.
Ocaña: An Intermittent Portrait (1978)
A sincere portrait, and in first person, of the multifaceted Andalusian artist José Pérez Ocaña.
The Sons of Tennessee Williams (2010)
Mardi Gras, drag balls and politics – where else could these elements come together but in New Orleans? Interweaving archival footage and contemporary interviews, The Sons of Tennessee Williams charts the evolution of the gay Mardi Gras krewe scene over the decades, illuminating the ways in which its emergence was a seminal factor in the cause of gay liberation in the South.
Men at Work: Selling Sex Online (2023)
Sites like OnlyFans, Flirt4Free, and JustforFans have destabilized the traditional production, distribution, and monetization of X-rated entertainment. The potential and risk to make the big bucks, along with all the headaches of running a business, is now in the hands of porn stars and starry-eyed newcomers working from home. Performers have become their own studios, producing, shooting, and casting their own work - often from their homes. And just like a Netflix account - people pay to watch. Sure, porn is still popular but it’s a one-way experience and guys don’t want to pay for it. They want the opportunity to get to know somebody they’ve seen in a magazine, on TV, or on social media. Meet your roster of online boyfriends.
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.
How to Survive a Plague (2012)
A story of two coalitions – ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) – whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition. Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time.