Wh BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Ftival upon , we ntue our celebratn of queer cema wh a look at some of the bt lbian, gay and trans films om Sndavia and the Nordic untri.
Contents:
- TOP 10 GAY FILMS ON THE BFI PLAYER
- 10 GREAT BRISH GAY FILMS
- 10 GREAT FRENCH GAY FILMS
- 10 GREAT ATRALIAN GAY FILMS
TOP 10 GAY FILMS ON THE BFI PLAYER
From Victim to Weekend, we remember some of the bt Brish gay films. * bfi top gay films *
It was groundbreakg to see a mastream film wh big name stars approach a gay romance such an thentic, sensive manner, and Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger are both exceptnal. Jean Ge’s unbelievably sexy film, set a prison, has one of the all-time top homoerotic moments cema when the two mat share a cigarette through a small hole by blowg the smoke to the mouth of the other. Keanu Reev and River Phoenix give bravura performanc as two gay street htlers Van Sant’s blisterg early 90s exploratn of the unfivg Amerin gay scene.
10 GREAT BRISH GAY FILMS
We look back at the bt French gay cema. * bfi top gay films *
As wh many of my favoure gay films, the specifics of sexualy are never an issue Petra von Kant, leavg room for a universal exploratn of how pric love n be. Although problematic s apparent male gaze and unrealistic gay lovemakg, this featur performanc by Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos that are charged wh snap-cracklg chemistry. Dirk Bogar’s extremely brave performance as a closeted barrister drawn to a gay blackmail se directly fluenced public opn, and played a part changg the law Bra when the Sexual Offenc Act was fally passed 1967.
Although problematic s apparent male gaze and unrealistic gay lovemakg, the performanc of Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos are charged wh snap-cracklg chemistry. Endurgly sad, this betiful portra of a plex love affair between two young men om Hong Kong sets the standard that most romanc, gay or straight, n only hope to match.
It was groundbreakg to see a mastream film wh big name stars approach a gay romance such an thentic, sensive manner, and Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger are both exceptnal. One of the most signifint queer films of the silent age, Dreyer’s then darg pictn of unrequed gay love may be (unsurprisgly) subtle, but ’s heartbreakg nohels. When Victim was released 1961 had an enormo impact on the liv of gay men who, for the first time, saw credible reprentatns of themselv mastream, mercial cema.
10 GREAT FRENCH GAY FILMS
From Dog Day Afternoon to The Handmain, the are 10 of the bt thrillers wh lbian, gay or transgenr them. * bfi top gay films *
BFI Flare should also acknowledge some of the the most fluential and ground-breakg BRITISH film books about lbian and gay cema that have been published sce the 1970s cludg Gays and Film (eded by Richard Dyer) and Vampir and Vlets: Lbians the Cema (Andrea Weiss). A one-of-a-kd cross between an ‘old dark hoe’ melodrama, a John Waters ensemble piece and a hardre sex film that draws no distctn between straight and gay uplg, although they did at least stop short of hirg a real gorilla. A licly tongue--cheek parody not only of portentoly symbol-crammed arthoe cema but also earnt gay melodramas, as an alholic novelist (a fearls Jeroen Krabbé) bet by nightmarish visns gets volved wh a woman who may be a wch bee he has signs on her other (male) lover.
As a Venezolana, gettg to fally see a film that addrs the racism, homophobia and sexism, that are sadly too prent the untry, was very important to me. Too many tl missg of urse, and my choic are heavily weighted towards films that impacted on me personally, as a Brish gay man, pecially my formative years the 1990s crossg to young adulthood.
Drenched gay male sensibily – opera, mp, hunks – but centred on a passnate relatnship between women the early days of whe settlement Aotearoa / New Zealand.
10 GREAT ATRALIAN GAY FILMS
* bfi top gay films *
Named after the parks flankg the Forbidn Cy, a popular cisg grounds for Beijg’s gay men, East Palace, Wt Palace was the first Che film to al wh homosexual them. Almodóvar’s first explicly gay film is an energetic mix of farce and melodrama about a film director (Eeb Poncela) and an obssed fan (Anton Banras). Gay characters have appeared throughout the director’s work; sadly I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone remas one of the few of his films available to UK viewers.
Jennie Livgstone’s cult documentary about New York’s gay black and Lato drag queens blurs the l of inty, and attempts to renfigure such abstract notns of bety and realy a film about the search for personal wholens. Films by queer women and trans people ntue to be hugely unr-fund pared to those by gay men, and as a rult are often far more difficult to get hold of. This tale of a middle aged, closeted, succsful Aikaans bsman who be obssed wh the son of an acquatance is a far om posive pictn of gay life but an exceptnally well realised examatn of the plexi of sexual sire vers social, racial, polil and generatnal nventns.
Derek Jarman went back to royal history to liver a utnary tale for a time when gay rights seemed unr attack – a film rooted s own time, but whose rebell spir and stylistic fervour ntue to spire.