The camera lingers on the beauty of its two leads, framing their faces with focus on their expressive eyes. In Jay Dockendorf’s debut feature, two young Black Muslim teens are dating in secret, saving their passion for stolen moments. “ In a time where drag and ball culture have been co-opted by the predominantly white and straight popular culture, it’s important to remember the marginalized communities who are setting the trends that the public later follows. This one is from 2016, taking place two and a half decades after “Paris is Burning. Yes, it’s another documentary about ballroom culture that centers queer people of color. In a just world, this film would have been up for all the major film awards. It’s a film about the triumphs of surviving, overcoming pain and moving on to a better time. “Princess Cyd” begins with tragedy, the rest of the story is bright and soaked in sun. It’s lovely when a queer coming-of-age film depicts the joy of sexual discovery.
The journey they go on together is bittersweet, but it settles into brilliant moments of beauty and tenderness. Her friend Alexandra (Mya Taylor) has her own problems, and a singing performance to prepare for that night. Sin-Dee Rella (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) finds out her boyfriend has been cheating on her the day she gets released from prison. The film’s realistic visual style is achieved by director Sean Baker shooting the film on iPhones. This slice-of-life film showcases two trans women of color as they navigate work and relationship issues.
Now, we have the fantastic television series “Pose.” But for a while, “Paris is Burning” was the best game in town, and for good reason. It is one of the earliest documentaries to highlight the joy of queer life as well as the inherent diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community. This iconic documentary showcasing the roots of ballroom culture is a classic for a reason. Though the ending is bittersweet, the journey is so much fun, with a candidness about the emotional component essential to sex work. The fun and intimacy of her interactions with clientele are thoughtfully contrasted with the coldness, sexless nature of her marriage. She begins working as a high-end escort, hosting her clients in a renovated loft she’s supposed to be selling. When Abby’s son accidentally hits her in the head with a baseball, the resulting concussion leads her to reassess her life. “Concussion” presents an image of upper middle class lesbian life that feels casual and real. This one is a little sad, but its perspective is fascinating.
If you’ve been avoiding it because you see it as a standard Oscar-winning weepie, reconsider. Though the film is somber, it’s ending has such profound beauty and hope. It’s three stars (Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, Trevante Rhodes) are equally talented at portraying a Southern Black gay man from childhood to adulthood. We're always looking for the next great flick.There’s a lot of hype around Barry Jenkins’ sophomore feature, but it’s all warranted. If we've missed yours, let us know in the comments. Here's our favorite holiday films that do just that, with some new options and old favorites. Straight couples may not blink an eye at who's under the mistletoe, but seeing two people who look like you in the media (especially for young or still-closeted LGBTQ people) can validate those who may not have anywhere else to turn. Seeing LGBTQ characters onscreen makes members of the community feel seen. Of an estimated 879 regular characters on broadcast scripted prime-time programming, only about 10% (or 90 characters total) are explicitly LGBTQ, GLAAD reports. But don't wave your Pride flags for the entertainment industry just yet, because we still have a long way to go (read our LGBTQ rights timeline). "Compared to previous years, and the amount of LGBTQ-inclusive films that are out, it's like night and day," GLAAD's CEO and president, Sarah Kate Ellis told CNN."We've really gone from zero to 100." It's not just Christmas movies that are seeing better representation either this year saw the highest percentage of LGBTQ characters onscreen since GLAAD first started tracking those numbers 20 years ago.
Lifetime aired the first gay kiss to appear in one of the channel's holiday movies just last year. And at least seven more have come out in 2020 with some sort of queer representation. It's a banner year for LGBTQ representation in holiday movies, with both Hulu and Hallmark releasing new flicks with LGBTQ characters in the lead.