House of Gloss (2024)

Gender Revolution: A Journey with Katie Couric

Katie Couric travels across the U.S. to talk with scientists, psychologists, activists, authors and families about the complex issue of gender.

It's Our Time!

The young generation sees their future at risk. They rebel against a lifestyle that threatens to destroy the world. The corona crisis also highlighted the deficits of our globalized economy and society. Does this crisis hold a chance for change for the better? The film draws a picture of the mood of the young generation and goes on a search for traces of ideas and concepts for a world after Corona in France, Germany and Poland. What is really important for young Europeans and how do they assess their future prospects? What scares them and what makes them hope? And who stands in their way and brakes? The TV presenter Aline Abboud meets young activists and artists for this, but she also listens to the opposing voices. Especially in Poland the youth are deeply divided, more and more are getting involved in conservative or nationalist right-wing organizations, while the country is slowly drifting into an anti-democratic dictatorship.

Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened...

This film from acclaimed theater director Lonny Price charts the journey of the original cast of Stephen Sondheim's "Merrily We Roll Along" in the 30-plus years since the musical debuted on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre in 1981.

A Breath of Life

Lucy is a 95-year-old lady. In her apartment, photos turned yellow by the passing time tell the adolescence of a boy who at the time was called Luciano and who was going to live the most terrible period of his life. Lucy is the oldest transsexual woman in Italy. She is among the few survivors of Dachau's concentration camp. Lucy's story tells us the story of the 1900s. The events of her turbulent life become a metaphor for a humanity that does not give up and that treasures the most important gift in history, memory, as a unique and irreplaceable starting point.

Lady Valor: The Kristin Beck Story

A former U.S. Navy Seal seeks life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness living life as a transgender woman.

Divine Divas

Eight iconic performers of the first generation of Brazilian transvestite artists go on stage to celebrate their 50th career jubilee. The film depicts the human, personal dimension behind these icons, deconstructing gender stereotypes.

Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis

In this entrancing documentary on performance artist, photographer and underground filmmaker Jack Smith, photographs and rare clips of Smith's performances and films punctuate interviews with artists, critics, friends and foes to create an engaging portrait of the artist. Widely known for his banned queer erotica film Flaming Creatures, Smith was an innovator and firebrand who influenced artists such as Andy Warhol and John Waters.

Shelter at Home: Where Are They Now?

Beloved by audiences for over a decade, Here TV's original movie "Shelter" is celebrated with an in-depth discussion with stars Trevor Wright and Brad Rowe, along with director Jonah Markowitz.

The Case Against 8

A behind-the-scenes look inside the case to overturn California's ban on same-sex marriage. Shot over five years, the film follows the unlikely team that took the first federal marriage equality lawsuit to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The World's Worst Place to Be Gay?

Scott Mills travels to Uganda where the death penalty could soon be introduced for being gay. The gay Radio 1 DJ finds out what it's like to live in a society which persecutes people like him and meets those who are leading the hate campaign.

Forbidden: Undocumented and Queer in Rural America

Forbidden: Undocumented and Queer in Rural America is an award-winning 2016 documentary about Moises Serrano, who grew up queer and undocumented in Yadkinville, North Carolina.

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.

Private Diary

Private Diary documents photographer Pedro Usabiaga working with a variety of amateur models. The audience sees how the relationships between the photographer and the subjects changes during their time together, as well as how the individual photographs begin to take shape. Pedro Usabiaga is a well-established Basque photographer whose chief concerns are figurative photography and whose passion in photographing the Spanish male. In this hour long conversation with the artist we are given entry into that process of selecting models (none of the models he uses for this book to be titled 'Private Diary' are professional, but instead are randomly chosen as Usabiaga observes athletes in action) and then allowed to follow Usabiaga and his crew as they photograph these men in natural settings and natural light.

Killing Patient Zero

After the Stonewall riots and at the height of the gay liberation movement in America, an entire generation were busy celebrating their newfound emancipation, unaware of an impending epidemic. A disease that seemed determined to wipe out an entire generation of gay men, was largely ignored by politicians and the mainstream media. Gaetan Dugas was a French-Canadian flight attendant, who offered to help early scientific research into the origins of AIDS. An unfortunate series of events followed and he would be vilified as Patient Zero, the man who gave us AIDS.

My Transparent Life

My Transparent Life chronicles the journey of one trans man, one trans woman and a trans couple as transition from the sex they were born with to the sex they identify with.

Seahorse: The Dad Who Gave Birth

Director Jeanie Finlay charts a transgender man's path to parenthood after he decides to carry his child himself. The pregnancy prompts an unexpected and profound reckoning with conventions of masculinity, self-definition and biology.

Drag Kids

Four precocious preteens perfect their lip-synching and runway walks in anticipation of the biggest drag performance of their lives at Montreal Pride, in this fierce and joyous celebration of acceptance and self-discovery.

Witches, Faggots, Dykes and Poofters

In 1978 the police attacked demonstrators at the Sydney (Australia) Mardi Gras celebrations. This film details the communities' responses.

The Boulet Brothers' Dragula: Resurrection

In this two-hour special event from The Boulet Brothers' Dragula, previous drag monsters from Seasons 1-3 return for a chance to earn a spot in Season 4 and $20,000 cash.

How God Created Us: Coming Out in the Catholic Church

125 employees of the Catholic Church come out as queer! In the exclusive ARD documentary, believers in the service of the Catholic Church in Germany dare to go public together. People who identify as non-heterosexual talk about fighting for their church - sometimes at the risk of losing their jobs as a result. There are priests, religious brothers, parish assistants, diocese employees, religion teachers, kindergarten teachers, social workers and many more who report intimidation, denunciations, deep injuries, decades of hide and seek and double lives. The Catholics report a system in which pressure, fear and arbitrariness leave employees uncertain as to what exactly happens when they stand by their sexual orientation or identity. The investigative documentary listens to those who live their faith every day and are nevertheless degraded by the church as an institution.

Camp Beaverton: Meet the Beavers

Camp Beaverton is the Home for Wayward Girls, the only queer, all women, trans-inclusive, sex positive theme camp set within Burning Man, an 8-day experimental art festival that encourages radical self expression found deep within the Nevada desert. The Beavers create a safe space to explore their boundaries while they build a community of friendship, trust, and lifelong relationships.

In Search of Avery Willard

In Search of Avery Willard iIlluminates the life and work of the groundbreaking, and mostly forgotten, artist Avery Willard — photographer, filmmaker, writer, publisher, leatherman, pornographer.

Intransitivo

A documentary about the lives of eight trans people from different parts of Rio Grande do Sul, based on two narrative lines; the first, and main one, is composed of in-depth interviews that seek a multiplicity of experiences, addressing issues related to transition and also to other identity and intersectional crossings, such as class, race, age, sexuality, and body.

Dressed in Blue

A documentary about the lives of six transgender women in post-Franco Spain.

Unsettled: Seeking Refuge in America

Powerfully and heartbreakingly detailing the challenging process that LGBTQ refugees must go through to find safety and security while starting over in the US, Tom Shepard’s inspiring new documentary profiles four people who have come to San Francisco to save their own lives. Over the course of this unforgettable group portrait, Subhi (from Syria), Junior (from Congo), and Mari and Cheyenne (from Angola) experience roadblocks and triumphs as they reflect on their respective histories and try to create a home for themselves in an environment that is not always welcoming. Once in San Francisco, they are met with setbacks but each maintains hope for a better future – Mari and Cheyenne record an album, Subhi starts a tour speaking on behalf of Syrian refugees and finds love, while Junior faces challenges of homelessness and gender non-conformance.

Cherry Valentine: Gypsy Queen and Proud

At 18, George Ward left the Gypsy community. He had felt rejected having come out as gay. Leaving his Gypsy identity behind, he invented Cherry Valentine, a drag alter-ego. Now he wants to find out if he can be accepted as a queer Gypsy and feel proud.

Dreams

A documentary filmmaker sleeps with his camera to film the dreams he has at night.

Paper Dolls

Paper Dolls follows the lives of transgender migrant workers from the Philippines who work as health care providers for elderly Orthodox Jewish men and perform as drag queens during their spare time. It also delves into the lives of societal outcasts who search for freedom and acceptance.

Irving Park

IRVING PARK is the story of four gay men in their 60s who live together in Chicago, exploring an unconventional lifestyle of master/slave relationships. A family based on free choice and the consent to lose one’s personal freedom in favor of the desire of the Other.

The Circle

A young teacher in Zurich in the 1950s falls in love with a transvestite star but is torn between his bourgeois existence and his commitment to homosexuality. He joins a gay organization that is eventually seen as the pioneer of gay emancipation in Europe.

Muxes

In the indigenous communities around the town of Juchitán, the world is not divided simply into males and females. The local Zapotec people have made room for a third category, which they call “muxes” - men who consider themselves women and live in a socially sanctioned limbo between the two genders.

Hating Peter Tatchell

The powerful and inspiring true story of the controversial human rights campaigner whose provocative acts of civil diso bedience rocked the British establishment, revolutionised attitudes to homosexuality and exposed world tyrants. As social attitudes change and history vindicates Peter's stance on gay rights, his David versus Goliath battles gradually win him status as a national treasure. The film follows Peter as he embarks on his riskiest crusade yet by seeking to disrupt the FIFA World Cup in Moscow to draw attention to the persecution of LGBT+ people in Russia and Chechnya.

Gay and Proud

1970 short documentary covering the first New York gay pride parade celebrating one year after Stonewall.

The Last Closet: Aging Gay

After losing friends, Dany Turcotte began to wonder about the aging of members of the LGBTQ+ community in our society.

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.

Gender Under Attack

This documentary portrays the way in which attacks against a twisted concept of “gender ideology” in four countries are being used to gain political power by right-wing conservative politicians supported by conservatives in the Catholic and evangelical churches.

I Always Said Yes: The Many Lives of Wakefield Poole

I Always Said Yes is a portrait of pioneering filmmaker Wakefield Poole, whose careers as dancer, choreographer, and director spanned the golden years of Broadway, television, porno chic, and gay liberation.

Queens and Cowboys: A Straight Year on the Gay Rodeo

A feature film that chronicles a complete season of the International Gay Rodeo Association. Roping and riding across north America for the past 30 years, the IGRA's courageous cowboys and cowgirls brave challenges both in and out of the arena on their quest to qualify for the World Finals at the end of the season. And along the way, they'll bust every stereotype in the book.

Uncle Bob

Robert Oppel's documentary about the life and murder of his uncle and namesake, Robert Opel, the man who streaked the Academy Awards in 1974.

Let Us Be Seen

How do feminist and queer identities operate in contemporary Belfast? Let Us Be Seen is a documentary film that presents the work and ideas of individuals on the ground in Belfast, who have campaigned tirelessly for change and continue to do so. On 21st October 2019, abortion was decriminalised and same-sex marriage legalised in Northern Ireland. This important law change however has shed light on more nuanced barriers facing people locally.

The Colour of His Hair

Based on an unrealized film script written in 1964 for The Homosexual Law Reform Society, a British organisation that campaigned for the decriminalization of homosexual relations between men, "The Colour Of His Hair" merges drama and documentary into a meditation on queer life before and after the partial legalization of homosexuality in 1967.

My Name Is Violeta

Violeta leads a normal life in a well-off family, with loving parents, surrounded by everything the heart of an eleven-year-old girl might wish for. But she hasn’t always been the pretty girl she is today; she was born a boy. At age 6, she baffled her parents (the famous adult movie stars Nacho Vidal and Franceska Jaimes) when she told them she wanted to be called and dress as a girl. After the initial shock, they decided to give her all their support on the long and tough road that will lead to her becoming a woman someday. Violeta faces many challenges, medical (such as deciding whether or not to take hormone-blockers to stop the development of masculine features as soon as puberty kicks in) and legal (obtaining an ID card with her new name and gender). Later, she may consider getting a sex reassignment procedure, or the possibility of becoming a mother through adoption.

Allah Loves Equality

This documentary film aims to highlight the current situation of LGBT people living in Pakistan.

Affirmations

A look at what it's like to be gay and black in America.

Battle of Soho

In November 2014 the Iconic club Madame Jojos closed its doors. This event being interpreted by many as the death knell of Soho.The gentrification of Soho affects the LGBT community and its Drag Queen sub-culture, but the cabaret atmosphere of the entire neighborhood in enormous ways. This active pursuit to destroy a bubbling and vibrant part of the city's heart is viewed by many as an atrocity akin to turning the lights off on Broadway. Over 3rd of London's music venues have been closed in recent years and no one noticed. An active movement to bring a halt to this disaster has begun to unfold with one organization after another emerging to fight for Soho. Organizations made up of citizens and celebrities have sprung up to combat this onslaught. Will they win this battle and save Soho?

Transgender Kids: Who Knows Best?

Around the world there has been a huge increase in the number of children being referred to gender clinics. Increasingly, parents are encouraged to adopt a 'gender affirmative' approach - fully supporting their children's change of identity. But is this approach right?

Hide & Seek

A transgender college student, a gay man, a dancer, and an activist struggle to live openly and find acceptance of their sexuality in Pakistan.

This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous

A groundbreaking film that portrays the journey of Gigi Lazzarato, a fearless woman who began life as Gregory, posting fashion videos to YouTube from his bedroom, only to later come out as a transgender female. With never-before-seen personal footage, the film spotlights a family’s unwavering love for a child.

Don't You Worry, It Will Probably Pass

Du Ska Nog Se Att Det Går Över (Don't You Worry, It Will Probably Pass) is a documentary by Cecilia Neant-Falk. When she was 14 years old, in 1986, she posted an add in a youth magazine, explaining that she was bisexual and wished to get in contact with other people in the same situation. In 1999, she posted the same add in the magazine and decided to make a movie about the three people who responded.

The Lesbian Bar Project: FLINTA

The Lesbian Bar Project: FLINTA documents the complex and triumphant stories of the FLINTA communities in Cologne & Berlin; a reflection of where the queer community is headed internationally. Despite Lesbian Bars disappearing in Germany, there’s a growing FLINTA movement that epitomizes the evolution of queer culture. Featuring Boize Bar owner Payman Neziri, comedian Ricarda Hofmann, human rights activist Anbid Zaman, politician Tessa Ganserer, and party collectives Bebex and Girlstown.

Taipeilove*

Taipeilove* is a documentary on the perception of homosexuality in the Taiwanese society. As Taiwan is the first country in Asia that is in the process of legalizing same-sex marriage, the documentary follows activists, politicians and experts in the Taiwanese society who have been fighting for marriage equality and navigating their lives through the hardship of coming-out, reaction of families, abandonment and finding love.

The Many Lives of Edouard Louis

The metamorphosis of a young boy from a sub-proletarian background in Picardy into a star of French cultural life. Édouard Louis, who in a few years has become the spokesman writer of a generation, encourages each of us to make permanent transformation a new way of life.

En vivo

Antonio Hens from Cordoba delivers a fascinating and unusual look at the world of the porn industry, in which a convention acts as a melting pot that allows us to meet a number of people whose way of life is "live" sex. Through the stories of a series of men who are involved in gay porn, and the particularities of this work in which the body is a tool (erections being a sensitive element in this equation), another perspective is opened up: the one of the mise en scène of others' fantasies and what this implies for the bodies that carry them out.