The Contestant (2021)

Army of Lovers or Revolt of the Perverts

Personal diary-style documentary of German Gay rights activist Von Praunheim's sojourn in the US.

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.

Vikken

Vikken is transgender. He’s about to take hormones for the first time. He records his voice that will disappear, and summons the figures of the past from all over the world for an intimate dialogue with himself.

Queer Gardening

In this film, 24 LGBTQIA2* gardeners show their gardens and explain how their queerness affects the design of the spaces. They also speak about how they are queering ecology, as well as the natural-cultural relationship. Ella von der Haide has been visiting community gardens in North America for several years with her camera. It is the 6th film in her documentary series Another world is plantable! about community gardens, and their social-ecological activism worldwide.

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

A deliciously scandalous portrait of unsung Hollywood legend Scotty Bowers, whose bestselling memoir chronicled his decades spent as sexual procurer to the stars.

Half a Life

After a traumatic encounter, a young gay Egyptian joins the LGBT rights movement. When his safety is jeopardized, he must choose whether to stay in the country he loves or seek asylum elsewhere as a refugee. "Half a Life" is a timely story of activism and hope, set in the increasingly dangerous, oppressive, and unstable social climate of Egypt today.

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.

The Decline of Western Civilization

The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, Germs, and X.

Victorian Queens

Victorian Queens takes a deep dive into the weird, wonderful and utterly unique landscape of Melbourne's drag community.

Kelet

Kelet is a twentysomething black trans woman, whose greatest dream is to be on the cover of Vogue magazine. For the Finnish-born and Manchester-raised Kelet, such models as Naomi Campbell and Iman served as role models giving her strength – and during the darkest times, kept her alive. After coming out, then 19-year-old Kelet was cut off from her family and she moved back to Finland on her own.

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.

Berlin Utopiekadaver

A taxi drives through the city of Berlin. Its driver is a punk, left and a well-known figure in the autonomous scene. The stations of his trip are the most important places of the autonomous scene: all in the struggle for survival. The last evictions have not yet been processed and the next ones are coming right up.

Putito

Putito is a production with no specific genre, where reality and fiction blend through a testimony written by José Carlos Henríquez - a feminist activist and male prostitute who plays himself in the project. Available in a censored and uncensored version.

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.

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.

LGBTs no regime militar

In 1980, the first march of gays, lesbians and transvestites took place in Brazil in protest against the constant police operations that took place in São Paulo, which aimed to repress these groups. Based on Renan Quinalha's doctoral thesis, “Against morality and good customs: the sexual politics of the Brazilian dictatorship (1964-1988)”, carried out by the Institute of International Relations, a series of four 5 minute videos about the birth of the LGBT movement during the Military Regime.

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.

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.

Playback

In Córdoba, far from the Argentine capital, the end of a military regime promises a spring that is all too brief. “La Delpi” is the only survivor of a group of friends who are transgender women and drag-queens, who began to die of aids in the late 80s. In a Catholic and conservative city, the Grupo Kalas made their weapons and trenches out of improvised dresses and lip-syncing. Today the images of unique and unknown footage are not only a farewell letter, but a manifesto to friendship.

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.

Miss Italia Mustn't Die

Behind the glitz of Miss Italia, director Patrizia Mirigliani fights to save the iconic pageant, now wavering amid scandals and changing beauty standards.

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.”

I Am the Other One

Luca longs for his lost love; Thalles for a name change; Raul to be a better person. They all share one element: they were born as women.

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.

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.

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.

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.

It Gets Better

Inspired by the It Gets Better Project this documentary film follows the stories of three real-life subjects who are at unique impasses related to their identities as gay or transgender people.

Ancla

Plot unavailable

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.

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.

Abu

As a gay man, filmmaker Arshad Khan examines his troubled relationship with his devout, Muslim father Abu. Using family archives and movies, Khan explores his struggle with his identity and compares it to his parents attempts to fit into Canada.

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.

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.

#BKKY

Jojo, a 17-year-old girl from Bangkok, is about to graduate from high school. After her friend Q reveals a secret to her, the two girls grow close and spend all their time together. Jojo's father wholeheartedly approves of the friendship and is just glad that Jojo is not going on any dates with boys.

8-8-88 Church of Satan Mansonite Rally

On August 8, 1988, the world’s first and largest Satanic rally took place. Ripped from a video featuring Satanist talking about creating a New World Order and killing off the masses. The 8-8-88 ritual was conducted right at the heart of the Satanic Panic. The goal, further exploit and feed upon the energies produced by the fears of the ignorant general public and media. It was shown to a sold-out crowd of degenerates promising them, “A Bitter Message of Hopeless Grief,” “A Nightmare of TERROR!” and “An Evening of Apocalyptic Delight!”

Leona Vingativa

Plot unavailable

Make Me Famous

An investigation of Edward Brezinski, an ambitious, charismatic Lower East Side painter hell-bent on sucess, who thwarted his own career with antics that roiled NYC’s art elite. Brezinski’s quest for fame gives an intimate portrait of the art world’s attitude towards success and failure, fame and fortune, notoriety and erasure.

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.

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.

Richard Fontaine's Days of Greek Gods

Richard Fontaine and Bob Mizer started the current exploration of the male nude in film and photography. The two shared ideas props and models and reinvented some of the sexual icons that we all still recognise today. The gladiator the sailor, the cowboy… Starting with posing-straps and graduating to nudes their "art studies" enlisted the talents of up-and-coming actors and bodybuilders. This film recalls that 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.

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.

Indigo Girls: It's Only Life After All

An intimate look into the lives of one of the most iconic folk-rock bands in America - the Indigo Girls. With never-before-seen archival and intimate vérité the film dives into the songwriting and storytelling of the music that transformed a generation.

Welcome to Chechnya

This searing investigative work shadows a group of activists risking unimaginable peril to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ program raging in the repressive and closed Russian republic. Unfettered access and a remarkable approach to protecting anonymity exposes this under-reported atrocity–and an extraordinary group of people confronting evil.

Disclosure

An investigation of how Hollywood's fabled stories have deeply influenced how Americans feel about transgender people, and how transgender people have been taught to feel about themselves.

Stormé: Lady of the Jewel Box

“It ain’t easy…being green” is the favorite expression of Stormé DeLarverie, a woman whose life flouted prescriptions of gender and race. During the 1950s and '60s she toured the black theater circuit as a mistress of ceremonies and the sole male impersonator of the legendary Jewel Box Revue, America’s first integrated female impersonation show and forerunner of La Cage aux Folles.

Is It Safe To Be Gay In The UK?

Fifty years on from the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in the UK, this BBC Two documentary explores how safe it is to be gay in Britain today. With homophobic hate crime on the rise, this film takes a 360 degree look at the issue, hearing from the victims, their families and the police. What makes someone attack another person because of their sexuality? How do victims deal with these unsolicited and unprovoked assaults? And what are we doing about this in Britain in 2017?