Hayes, Lisa

1998

Contemporary and archival images are contrasted against the text of a 1950's industrial safety & training manual, exposing and critiquing the widespread belief in the existence of a weaker sex.

Swenson, Lise

1998

A late 90's feminist take on the annual Burning Man event.

Gould, Will

1998

Imagine curling up to hear a bedtime story and discovering it’s not your mother reading to you, but a famous gay pop icon, making for a fairy tale of an altogether different sort. This film, narrated by Boy George, reinterprets elements of familiar folk stories as a modern day saga of lust, greed, murder and sexuality. It's Agatha Christie meets the Brothers Grimm with a heavy dose of John Rechy. Once upon a time in the village of Kromer lived two beautiful young wolves. Cocksure Gabriel takes newcomer Seth under his paw and helps reconcile him to the vilification associated with being a wolf. They fall head-over-heels in puppy love, playing together around picturesque waterfalls, secluded woodlands, and moonlit lakes. One day a wicked old crone and her goofy sidekick kill their mistress, frame the wolves, and incite a torch-bearing mob of religious zealots to seek vengeance on the hapless pair. You won't want to miss the exciting climax of this unique and enchanting film set in a time and place you've never been to, but somehow seem to recall.

1998

Five films featuring mature women. Me And Mrs. Berger delightfully animates an intergenerational affair. Riot Grrrandmas! interviews some right-on old-timers, including the charming Ruth Ellis, an African-American lesbian soon to celebrate her 100th birthday. In Roof, a middle-aged woman and young stranger wait for Godot atop a suburban Florida house. The use of anachronisms in Till Human Voices Wake Us And We Drown, a beautifully art-directed film ostensibly set in medieval Europe, turns this story of persecuted pagan lovers into a timeless indictment of women's oppression. In Favorite, a North Irish schoolgirl's crush on a teacher ripens over time into a lesbian romance in which one woman is destined to be left behind.

McDermid, Frances

1998

Wink is a story of a young girl who struggles with her identity. She meets & becomes friends with Chloe and the story unfolds from there.

Monette, Jean-Francois

1998

Film diary that explores the construction of gay identities through an analysis of media clips and coming-out tales.

Where Lies The Homo? chronicles a personal journey cleverly constructed from clips of home movies, Hollywood features, and a variety of other sources. Identifying with Snow White, Audrey Hepburn, Jean Marais, Sal Mineo and other media icons, the filmmaker wittily navigates conflicting societal signals in this moving coming-of-age montage.

Governi, Valerio

1998

Nothing is sure in this world, especially talking about sexuality. A playful whirl about the taste of unisex seduction and the emptiness of roles and labels. A playful whirl through the lives of open and closeted gay men in Italy.

Adkin, David

1998

Eleven of North America's funniest openly gay or lesbian comedians are profiled in this candid film about the social power of laughter.

Filmed at Canada’s first international festival of gay and lesbian humor, We’re Funny That Way gets up close and personal with 11 of the funniest queer comedians from around the world, including Lea DeLaria, Kate Clinton, Bob Smith and Karen Williams. Mixing live performance clips with behind-the-scenes interviews and footage, the film brims over with insight and emotion. The comedians talk about their motivations, their ambitions, and the obstacles facing gays and lesbians in the entertainment industry. Placed in a room full of their peers, these comedians pull no punches when it comes to ruminating on gay life, whether their subject is coming out and getting laid or family anxiety issues and relationship dynamics. Irreverent and inspiring, We’re Funny That Way stands, most importantly, as a testimonial to these comedians who have chosen to engage and entertain audiences on their own terms.

Ogawa, Lulu

1998

Documentary presenting the thriving and diverse transgender movement and the opening up of discussions about gender in contemporary Japan.

Winner of the Best Amateur Video Award at the Tokyo Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, We Are Transgenders depicts the diverse transgender movement thriving in today’s Japan. Viewers are taken to conferences, public meetings, a wedding, an FTM & partners party, and go along on a group holiday with the girls – complete with a trip to the public baths. A diverse range of activists representing a variety of lifestyle choices – including cross-dressers, transgenderists and transsexual men and women (with a significant presence of FTMs) – are all given the chance to tell their stories of the struggles they face as transgendered members of traditionalist Japanese society. Japanese trans people are fed up with having to get their hormones on the black market, and with surgeons who offer treatment being threatened with censure and disciplinary actions by the medical authorities. As a result, many people go to the U.S. to have their sex reassignment surgery. Now, the appearance of groups like the Japanese chapter of Transsexual Menace, along with home-grown organizations like G-front, are putting the transgender agenda on the table. For the first time, trans people have the chance to talk about their lives fully while demanding civil rights.

Tsanana, Ewjenia

1998

A secret agent story playing in Hamburg. Two mean and unscrupulous drag queens against an insane, cruel lesbian and her fire-spitting transgendered body guard.