The Circle: why is gay cema so fixated on the past? | Drama films | The Guardian

Contents:

• GAY PARTI & LGBTQ+ EVENTS
• THE CIRCLE: WHY IS GAY CEMA SO FIXATED ON THE PAST?
• GAY ZURICH
• GAY CULTURE
• GAY ZüRICH ZüRICH CY GUI

GAY PARTI & LGBTQ+ EVENTS

Var party labels changg lotns guarantee a lively ambiance – particularly popular are the events staged by the largt gay party anizer Angels. Sce the year 2000 the "Warmer Mai" (Warm May), a cultural month, is held annually, focg on homosexual them the fields of art and culture.

” This story is about an early gay-rights group lled the Circle, which is also the tle of Hpt’s new film – one of a growg number of featur puttg stori om the LGBTQ archiv up on the big Circle (or Der Kreis German) was one of the world’s first anisatns dited to lbian and gay rights. Origatg 1932, aimed to offer reassurance, support and tn to homosexuals – first through s magaze, then through a social club – as well as gently lobbyg for reform.

Unually for a European untry, Swzerland did not outlaw homosexualy, and s ntraly ensured that the Circle, unlike other European gay groups, survived the war. As the pair beg a tentative romance, Ernst grows more polilly active; meanwhile, a murr draws attentn to gay subculture general and the Circle particular, sparkg a reactnary social, media and police film evotively recreat this te story through the nventnal trappgs of perd drama, such as judic productn sign and appropriate mic. It was a strategy spurred by fancial necsy – the film’s producers uldn’t secure fundg to plete an entirely dramatic feature as planned – but the rultg hybrid is a powerful document of a neglected perd of gay history wh much to tell about some ways, is not surprisg that the story of the Circle is unfaiar.

THE CIRCLE: WHY IS GAY CEMA SO FIXATED ON THE PAST?

Even if homosexualy was technilly legal Swzerland, “they had to be unrver.

GAY ZURICH

Later, beg gay beme a huge subject wh Aids – but that was the subject, not lookg back history. Now I get the feelg many younger gay people Zürich really love to party but not thk about the past so much. ) As Hpt suggts, gay art and activism have often foced on crisis management and the pursu of legal equaly.

Such approach affirm the ia that gay and lbian progrs is part of the universal story of our natns’ social history. Pictur such as 1987’s Mrice, 1998’s Wil, 2005’s Brokeback Mounta, 2009’s A Sgle Man or this year’s The Imatn Game, meanwhile, ve to empathise wh the cshg social reprsn unr which their gay protagonists labour even as they imply the easg of such burns recent all their heartache, then, the films generally leave wh the reassurg sense that thgs have got better – and, of urse, wh a richer, more rmed unrstandg of how that change has e about. After all, ’s about a gay subject, isn’t ?

GAY CULTURE

’ As if gay people would never watch a love story between a man and a woman. “This film remds gays of today that they have a history worth knowg about, that they have roots down to generatns before, ” the real-life Ostertag and Rapp tell me by email.

We homosexuals will always be a mory. Swzerland’s bt LGBT clubsFd the bt gay and lbian nights out – wh the ultimate gui to Swzerland’s LGBT nightlife sceneThe LGBT party scene Swzerland offers somethg for everyone, om relaxed, mixed-queer shdigs to sweaty danceathons.

For all their alpenhorn-apotheosizg and maret-margalisg tradnalism, the Swiss have for many s taken a world-leadg stance on gay and lbian rights. Same-sex relatns were crimalised here 1942, and on New Year’s Day 2007 a referendum ma Swzerland the first untry on Earth where gay civil unns were voted by the public, not jt parliament – and by a massive majory. Today Zurich, which happens to have a chic lbian mayor Core Mch, is very much Swzerland’s LGBT pal, as well as one of the world’s most gay-iendly ci, wh bars, f, snas and clubs addg up to dozens of gay venu.

GAY ZüRICH ZüRICH CY GUI

The old town’s Barfüsser is nsired Europe’s olst gay hostelry and the annual Zurich Pri event now draws around 45, 000 pk party people. Tellg the story of the world’s first gay and lbian anisatn, a Zurich-based group, which formed the 1940s, this excellent docudrama has won plds and awards at film ftivals all over the world.

Welg to men, women, straights and other, L Garçons opened late 2013 the lively, multicultural area around Langstrasse – also the cy’s red-light district and no ls fun for that – and has been weled by younger gay guys particular as a long overdue rethkg of the Zurich LGBT waterg hole, plete wh glass-walled fumoir and ee wi-fi. Maly male A-gays both young and old flock to this smart, two-storey bar the heart of the old town for the jtly famo cktails (as everywhere this town they are far om cheap, but happy hour, currently between 5pm and 7pm, eas the punishment to your purse) and chilled chat, even if the tun hover at the chey end of the spectm.