The Lesbian Bar Project: FLINTA (2024)

Renaître

Canada as a refuge for LBGTQ+ immigrants: Yazan from Iraq, Nata from Central Africa, Aida from Iran and Eilyn from Colombia all had to flee their homelands, where violence, threats, hate and rejection prevented them from living their lives and expressing their sexual orientation openly. All they wanted was to be free. From Beirut to Montreal, Quebec City or Vancouver, this ensemble documentary follows the journeys of four people who are determined to change their future. From the terrifying realities they had to flee to the heartbreaking sacrifices they were forced to make, Renaître is a vibrant and luminous tribute to their quiet strength.

Kenya

Trans women face extreme violence in Mexico City, and sex workers are even more vulnerable. This raw and deeply affecting portrait of Kenya gives an insider’s view of the impact that violence has on the community, and how complex life is for them. The film begins shortly after Kenya witnesses her friend Paola being murdered by a client. The film follows Kenya closely. Will the family accept burying Paola as she was: a flamboyant trans woman? Kenya approaches Paola’s loved ones with great respect and understanding—something she rarely experiences herself. When the murderer is released, she embarks on a lengthy battle for justice, backed up by her “sisters.”

Mr. Gay Syria

In focusing his attention on the competitors of Mr Gay Syria, director Ayse Toprak shatters the one-dimensional meaning of “refugee”. Using the pageant as a means of escape from political persecution, the organiser Mahmoud — already given asylum in Berlin — hopes to offer the winner a chance to travel as well as bring international attention to the life-threatening situations faced by LGBT Syrians.

In France with Madonna

France is at the heart of Madonna's life. She is inspired by French culture and its values and has surrounded herself with French artists for many years. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Queen of Pop's career, this film revisits the close and unique bond between Madonna and France and features testimonials from close collaborators and French friends who have helped create her unique artistic universe: Maripol, Jean Paul Gaultier, Julien d'Ys, Nicolas Huchard, and Marion Motin. Today's artists such as Florence Foresti, Leïla Slimani, Victor Weinsanto and HollySiz talk about the influence of this emancipating figure, which extends far beyond music.

Queerama

Created from a treasure trove of archive, Queerama traverses a century of gay experiences, encompassing persecution and prosecution, injustice, love and desire, identity, secrets, forbidden encounters, sexual liberation and pride. The soundtrack weaves the lyrics and music of John Grant, Goldfrapp and Hercules & Love Affair with the images and guides us intimately into the relationships, desires, fears and expressions of gay men and women in the 20th century – a century of incredible change.

Go Figure

Two-time Olympian and World Champion, the legendary Randy Gardner, explores his true identity through figure skating and his one man show. With his skating partner of over fifty years, Tai Babilonia, the pair experienced the heights of worldwide glory and devastating personal tragedy. Now that the intense glare of the public spotlight softens, he is free to finally reveal his untold magical and meaningful journey... on and off the ice.

Little Potato

Wes Hurley's autobiographical tale of growing up gay in Soviet Union Russia, only to escape with his mother, a mail order bride, to Seattle to face a whole new oppression in his new Christian fundamentalist American dad.

I Am My Own Woman

The life story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, who survived the Nazi reign as a trans woman and helped start the German gay liberation movement. Documentary with some dramatized scenes. Two actors play the young and middle aged Charlotte and she plays herself in the later years.

No Goodbyes

Love in a concentration camp. A young Jewish gay man, Otto, is protected by a "kapo" (a fellow prisoner) and an SS guard who unexpectedly ends up saving his life.

Montgomery Clift

A documentary incorporating footage of Montgomery Clift’s most memorable films; interviews with family and friends, and rare archival material stretching back to his childhood. What develops is the story of an intense young boy who yearned for stardom, achieved notable success in such classic films as From Here to Eternity and I Confess, only to be ruined by alcohol addiction and his inability to face his own fears and homosexual desires. Montgomery Clift, as this film portrays him, may not have been a happy man but he never compromised his acting talents for Hollywood.

Home Ground

‘Chanel’ in Myeong-dong in the 1970s was the secret hideout for Butches and Femmes. In 1996, young lesbians opened Korea’s first lesbian bar, Lesbos. In the early 2000s, queer teens looking for a community gathered in a small park in Sinchon. Myung-woo, who ran ‘Lesbos’ nearby, was still guarding the place 20 years later. As the coronavirus crisis hit, the bar has lost its customers. Will she able to protect the place this time?​

Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution

A documentary on Queercore, the cultural and social movement that began as an offshoot of punk and was distinguished by its discontent with society's disapproval of the gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender communities.

The Polymath, or The Life and Opinions of Samuel R. Delany, Gentleman

A portrait of Samuel R. Delany, an award-winning African-American gay author whose credits include everything from science fiction to several issues of the Wonder Woman comic book. Using a range of experimental techniques and borrowed footage from Delany's home movies, Taylor captures his subject's thoughts on racism, violence, and his struggles with sexual identity.

Out of Uganda

Philip, Lynn, Hussein and Shammy, young LGBT Ugandans, are fighting for survival. Staying in their country, where religious oppressions and discriminations prevail, endangers their lives. Then, their latest hope is to leave it all behind and experience a long and painful exile.

Yo soy Alma

Alma is a trans woman who was born in Santa Rosa, a small town in the province of Córdoba, Argentina. Before making the decision to change her gender, she served in the police forces of her province, married twice and had four children. At the age of 36, she decided to travel to the city of Buenos Aires to begin her transformation and gender reassignment process, thus fulfilling her desire to live her identity freely.

Australia Says Yes

Packed with drama, high emotions and cliff-hanger moments, Australia Says Yes is the intimate and personal history of struggle and perseverance that propelled Australia to say Yes to marriage equality. The film shows how a group of determined individuals fought tirelessly against unjust laws that treated LGBTIQ people as second-class citizens, creating a movement that saw them go from criminals to legally equal over the course of five decades.

Paris Is Burning

Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.

Outrage

An indictment of closeted politicians who lobby for anti-gay legislation in the US.

Corpus Christi: Playing with Redemption

Terrence McNally’s Corpus Christi is a play retelling the Jesus story, with Jesus as a gay man living in the 1950s in Corpus Christi, Texas. This documentary follows the troupe, playwright, and audience around the world on a five-year journey of Terrence McNally’s passion play, where voices of protest and support collide on one of the central issues facing the LGBT community: religion.

La quête de Khate

This short documentary presents the process surrounding Khate Lessard's sex reassignment surgery.

Always Amber

Amber belongs to a queer generation which no longer wants society to dictate their identity. The teenagers proudly inhabit a spectrum of fluid identities and master their first loves and losses.

How Gay Is Pakistan?

A documentary which explores the lives of gay people and the challenges they face in Pakistan, a country whose laws explicitly outlaw homosexuality.

Unconfessions

Luiz Roberto Galizia died very young, but he left behind a wealth of personal archives. 30 years later, his niece Ana Galizia plunges into these archives to follow the traces of this uncle she never met.

Dear Viv

A tribute to drag superstar, The Vivienne. Friends and family share touching stories of the RuPaul's Drag Race UK winner and her legacy. Her spirit lives on through unreleased footage, showcasing her unique personality and how her passion for entertaining left a mark in the world. Interviews with her dearest drag sisters Baga Chipz, Michael Marouli, Danny Beard, Tia Kofi, Cheryl Hole and more.

Queens of Joy

Monroe, Aura, Marlene: Three drag queens from the Ukrainian LGBTQ+ community raise funds for the frontlines, re-defining resilience and hope between glamorous shows and wartime life.

Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over

The story of the iconic singer's fascinating six-decade career in both music and Black and LGBTQ activism.

Novena

In 2012, Stephen Vaughan and Kay Ferreter are invited to address the congregation at St. Joseph's Redemptorists Church in Dundalk, Ireland for the Solemn Novena Festival. In a powerful speech, the pair describe their experiences being gay and lesbian in Ireland, feeling excluded by Catholic doctrine, and the importance of a more inclusive church.

Latter-Day Glory: The Aftermath of Growing Up Queer in the LDS Church

In this re-worked and expanded version of the original 2018 film, two queer ex-Mormon missionaries embark on a transformative journey across America, uncovering the devastating effects of religious dogma on LGBTQ+ members and former members of the LDS Church, as a single, intimate conversation –spanning from childhood to adulthood– unfolds over the course of seven chapters.

Muxes

Highlighting the unique culture of the Zapotec people of Oaxaca, Mexico, this groundbreaking documentary chronicles the lives of those who identify as muxes, a widely recognized third gender.

Home Movies

In this home movie collection of gay men, memory serves as an act of hope, power, and above all, resilience.

Do I Sound Gay?

What makes a voice “gay”? A breakup with his boyfriend sets journalist David Thorpe on a quest to unravel a linguistic mystery.

CARMEX

An Evil Entity intrudes on a YouTube Vlog by a group of Queer teenagers.

Secrets of the Gay Sauna

Gay saunas are places where men meet strangers to have sex. With exclusive access to one Nottingham business, this candid one-off documentary enters the often controversial and always secretive world of the gay sauna for the very first time. The programme meets the people who go there for sexual pleasure - from teachers to plumbers to Tory councillors - and the staff who clean up after them.

Johanna Dohnal - Visionary of Feminism

Johanna Dohnal, whose political career spans three decades, was one of the very first explicitly feminist politicians in Europe. As a member of the Austrian socialist government and the first Austrian minister for Women’s Affairs from 1990 to 1994, Dohnal was responsible for founding Austria’s first women’s refuge as well as criminalizing of marital rape. Yet her legacy remains yet to be discovered and re-examined. DIE DOHNAL makes a first step, and it makes Dohnal come alive.

Indestructible

He is a sensitive boy who represses his true personality. After experiencing traumatic experiences, our protagonist begins to open to the world on a journey that made him the person who is. This is not the complete story, but shows a trajectory of overcoming and change.

Desolate Rome

Chronicles of a male homosexual drug addict in 1980's in voice-over with long take scenes from Rome, television snippets of news of Gulf War and commercials.

Dear Thirteen

A nuanced portrait of a new generation, Dear Thirteen is a cinematic time capsule of coming of age in today’s world. Through the eyes of nine thirteen-year-olds, we see how pressing social, geographical and political challenges are shaping, and being shaped by, young people: rising anti-Semitism in Europe, guns in America, gender identity and racial divisions across Australia and Asia. With no adult commentary outside the filmmaker, Dear Thirteen offers an intimate view into the universal uncertainty inherent in growing up.

Elton John: Tantrums & Tiaras

Unprecedented access into one of the world's greatest musical talents and his larger than life lifestyle: Elton John. With frank, funny, and touching filmmaking, this documentary is a fascinating and honest look at the complex character of a modern day composer and performing artist.

Limited Partnership

LIMITED PARTNERSHIP is the love story between Filipino-American Richard Adams and Australian Tony Sullivan, who, in 1975, became one of the first same-sex couples in the world to be legally married. After applying for a green card for Tony based on their marriage, the couple received a denial letter from the Immigration and Naturalization Service stating, 'You have failed to establish that a bona fide marital relationship can exist between two faggots.' Outraged at this letter, and to prevent Tony's impending deportation, the couple sued the U.S. government, filing the first federal lawsuit seeking equal treatment for a same-sex marriage in U.S. history. This tenacious story of love, marriage and immigration equality is as precedent setting as it is little known... until now.

Penis Poetry

This is a poetic film about The Penis becoming a diary with a unique story to tell. Penis Poetry is made in collaboration with Andre Medeiros Martins who wrote on his lovers' penises his personal thoughts. Andre's words reflect how much our modern society glorifies the exhibition of The Penis, how much we worship it and how much social media and apps allowed us to share our most private parts with the world.

Sweetheart Dancers

Sean and Adrian, a Two-Spirit couple, are determined to rewrite the rules of Native American culture through their participation in the “Sweetheart Dance.” This celebratory contest is held at powwows across the country, primarily for heterosexual couples … until now.

Le charme de l'ambiguïté

From transvestites to transformers, we will follow the trail that will lead us in different and famous Parisian music-halls, such as the mythical Alcazar of Paris, La Grande Eugène. Whether they are below or beyond their character, often these men who are looking for themselves look at life with the humor of despair. Why this need to "transform" themselves? Why is it always the men who cross-dress and not the women? Why did the public flock to these shows in the 1970s and 1980s? Interpretations of famous characters such as Diana Ross, Josephine Baker, Billie Holiday, the Peter Sisters, the Andrew Sisters, Zizi Jeanmaire, Judy Garland, Sarah Bernhardt, among others, contribute to making this musical document an essential testimony of this era.

I'm a Porn Star

I'm a Porn Star follows the lives of guys in the neighborhood who are likely a lot more famous than you - at least on the Internet. There are an estimated 370 million pornographic websites on-line. Porn is now a thirteen BILLION dollar business. So who's doing all this moonlighting? Turns out -- probably some people you know.