Cinema gay
A short history of LGBTQ+ cinema
While there are too many ground-breaking films and characters to put in one list, we’ve picked out a few key moments in Diverse cinema history to mark Pride Month and take a look back at the evolution of LGBTQ+ representation in film over the years. From when gay characters were mere punchlines and queer-coded Disney villains to Oscar-winning LGBTQ+ films like Moonlight, LGBTQ+ stories have come a extended way, and are at last beginning to be shown on screen in a real and celebratory way.
The Hays Code and Queer-Coding
What is queer-coding?
To understand the context of LGBTQ+ cinema, we need to remember that while the LGBTQ+ community has always existed, it has largely been considered outside the “status quo”, periodically being made illegal which forced the queer community to live in secret. This bled over into cinema, with the 1930s Hays Code (or the Motion Picture Performance Code) forbidding explicit depictions of homosexuality on film for more
It used to be that not even 10 years ago, a director would release an LGBT themed film, and there would be a huge rave about the it, not because it was any nice, but because it was LGBT, during a time when homosexuality was still something of a taboo. Think of films like Brokeback Mountain or Blue Is The Warmest Colour. While the former may contain one of the best lines ever written (“I desire I knew how to quit you”), the film wasn’t great, despite entity an Oscar Contender. Same goes for Blue Is The Warmest Colour.
Nowadays, an LGBT film is just another production (to critics at least), and the hype that once surrounded films of this genre has faded. There have been countless LGBT films in the past few years that have been truly astounding, yet they didn’t get the same treatment as films like Brokeback Mountain. Now that homosexuality is more widely approved, and gay rights have come a long way, critics seem to acquire forgotten about LGBT films, which is a shame in some cases, because they deal with issues and themes of being LGBT far better than others have.So it’s time they got the recognition that they deserve, albeit a very minor recognit
Tuesday 20 Jun 2023
Gen Sandle
Happy Pride month! To mark the occasion, some of The Lexi team have rounded up some of their favourite LGBTQ+ films to watch this Pride (and beyond). Happy Pride everyone!
Gen’s Top 10 Titles for Pride
Gen is the Lexi's marketing and communications manager.
No spoilers - but I’ve made a point of including a number of films in my list that include positive homosexual experiences: as much as I adore a tragic, doomed love story (looking at you, Brokeback Mountain), it’s also important, and refreshing, to see homosexual representation on screen which delivers positive and healthy narratives, and which inspires hope. These are in no particular order!
1. PRINCESS CYD, Stephen Cone, USA, 2017
From queer filmmaker Stephen Cone, Princess Cyd is a dreamy portrait of a young woman who discovers her pansexuality while spending a lazy summer sunbathing and discussing novels in her journalist aunt’s pleasantly overgrown garden. A affectionate and gentle motion picture, it’s an uplifting watch - and it may bring about you to pine for a carefree summer romance.
2. MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO, Gus Van Sant, USA, 1991
Gus Van Sant’s 1991 acc
February marks LGBT history month, an annual month-long observance of queer woman, gay, bisexual and transgender history, and the history of male lover rights and related civil rights movements. To celebrate I’ve lay together a list of gender non-conforming film recommendations to get you through those long lockdown nights - all but one passes the Bechdel Test (yay!) and they all pass the Russo Test, obvs. (I’ve also included a few fun bonus films that didn’t quite make my top 6, just in case you’re more in the mood for a happy ending...)
Stranger By the Lake
(dir: Alain Guiraudie, France 2013)
One hot summer at a cruising spot for men, tucked away on the shores of a lake somewhere in France, Franck (Pierre Deladonchamps) falls in love with Michel (Christophe Paou), an attractive and very dangerous man. Stranger By the Lake is a smart, sexy and haunting thriller that manages to shock you with its direct, erotic charge and plenty of full frontal nudity. Going into it I assumed that the homosexuality would be incidental but it's an integral part of the story and the film is all the improved for it. Director Alain Guiraudie moves between scenes of beauty, menace, and intense passion, gradually building