Queers on Film: A Trip Through Time

The Dickson Experimental Sound Film

Also known as "The Gay Brothers," this short film showed two men dancing together.

1894

Wings

Best Picture at the Academy Awards and also depicted one of the earliest onscreen same-sex kisses.

1927

Rope

Alfred Hitchcock's "Rope" tells the story of two heavily coded gay men who murder one of their classmates for the sheer thrill of it.

1948

Rebel Without a Cause

The well-known drama includes clear, coded gay subtext between troublemaking teen protagonist Jim Stark (James Dean) and his new classmate, Plato (Sal Mineo who later came out)

1955

The Killing of Sister George

Robert Aldrich's film about the breakdown of an aging lesbian TV actress included a lesbian sex scene that broke down a major taboo associated with the Code's erasure of gay characters on screen.

1968

Pink Flamingo

John Director Waters, challenged the concept of camp by making deliberately filthy, transgressive films that let their queer, outcast characters gleefully behave badly.

1972

Cruising

William Friedkin's "Cruising" was reviled by many gay viewers, with one pamphlet saying that, in the film, "gay men are presented as one-dimensional sex-crazed lunatics."

1980

Desert Hearts

Donna Deitch's "Desert Hearts" tracks the romance that develops between repressed English professor Vivian and free-spirited rancher's daughter Kay. It's regarded as the first mainstream lesbian film with a happy ending.

1985

Paris is Burning

Jennie Livingston's acclaimed documentary chronicles New York City's Black and Latino Harlem drag ball scene of the late 1980s, bringing the vital subculture into the public eye in a major way.

1990

The Watermelon Woman

Director Cheryl Dunye plays a Black lesbian filmmaker working on a project about "The Watermelon Woman," an obscure 1940s Black actress.

1996

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

Hedwig Robinson, a gay East German rock singer develops a relationship with a younger man, Tommy, becoming his mentor and musical collaborator, only to have Tommy steal her music and become a rock star.

2001

Brokeback Mountain

Ang Lee's film about the long-term secret romance between two cowboys (Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger) made history as one of the first big mainstream movies that centered on a gay love story. The film became a critical and box office success and won three Oscars, proving to Hollywood that LGBTQ+ stories had a place outside of strictly independent filmmaking.

2005

Pariah

Lesbian filmmaker Dee Rees arrived on the scene with her 2011 debut narrative feature film, "Pariah." The semi-autobiographical film centers on a Black Brooklyn lesbian's experiences with coming out and reckoning with her identity.

2011

Moonlight

Moonlight tells the story of a young Black gay man named Chiron as he grows up and comes to terms with his identity. It made history as the first LGBTQ+ movie and the first movie with an all-Black cast to take home the top prize.

2017

Rafiki

Director Wanuri Kahiu's "afro bubblegum" film "Rafiki," which tells a love story between two teenage girls, became the first Kenyan film to screen at the Cannes Film Festival.

2018

Flee

The animated documentary "Flee" centers on a man identified as Amin Nawabi, a refugee from Afghanistan who left his country for a new life in Denmark, as he shares a painful hidden past ahead of marrying his soon-to-be husband.

2021

Framing Agnes

In the early 1960s, Agnes Torres β€” a pseudonymized transgender woman β€” participated in sociologist Harold Garfinkel's gender health research at UCLA, making her the first subject of an in-depth discussion of transgender identity in sociology.

2022
Are you a black identified 2SLGBTQIA+ student who needs some supports? Then check out the Onward Onyx award from @calgaryblackchambers and @calgfoundation For more info and to apply by June 1st go to either organization’s  website.
Look back, look ahead, look outwards and inwards. But mostly, look in the mirror and know that you are enough because you’re here, you’re queer and everyone else can just get used to it. πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆπŸ³οΈβ€βš§οΈβ€οΈ
Make the Yuletide gay this holiday season. πŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆπŸ³οΈβ€βš§οΈ
According to the folks at @whiteribboncanada , there has been a 164% increase in hate crimes targeting sexual orientation since 2018. And those are only the ones we know about. 2SLGBTQIA+ folks have always had to fight to exist but today we honour and remember transgender individuals whose lives have been stolen by hate.

For information and support in Calgary, you can reach out to @skippingstoneca . For Canada-wide information check the out transgandermap.com. 

#neverforget #neverforgotten #transgenderlivesmatter #transgender #transgenderdayofremembrance
Coming out never happens once. We are forced to do again and again and again. But we will do it over and over and over again because we belong. Everywhere. #nationalcomingoutday🌈
Today is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation where we honour the children who never came home from residential schools and the Survivors who continue to deal with the unimaginable trauma inflicted upon them. We can no longer run from the past. Today reminds us that we must all take action. The first step is to learn the truth no matter how awful. Read. Educate yourself. Confront the truth. Start with Bob Joseph's book.
Please join us for a very special Fairy Tales encore screening of HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH co-presented by our friends @springboardyyc at the Containr Art Park, this Friday, September 1st @ 9 PM! Tickets are $5 but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. We can't wait to see you there!
So much cool stuff to do during Pride in Calgary. One of the coolest is spending time with Kevin Allen this Wednesday at 5:30PM on his walking tour of queer history in #yyc. From protests to Pride marches and so much more, Kevin knows. Connect with @yycgayhistory to learn more and gaily stroll through @yycbeltline on a lovely summer night in August. πŸ³οΈβ€βš§οΈπŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆ
So the sweet folks and kick 🫏 allies at @zeroissuebrewing are throwing a 🦌 our way for every pint and 4 pack sold in their taproom from now until the 4th. Gotta say that the craft breweries in #yyc are the πŸˆβ€β¬› 🫏. You rock friends. β€οΈπŸ³οΈβ€πŸŒˆπŸ³οΈβ€βš§οΈ
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