Percillier, Nathalie

1995

Handelman, Michelle

1995

Michelle Handelman's long awaited documentary about the political activities and sexual choices of women in the leather S&M community. Using a combination of documentary, personal histories, artistic visions, and media imagery, this film focuses on nine central figures who represent a diverse cross-section of the leather S/M community. Handelman documents a series of competitions held throughout the country by the women's leather S/M community. By following these women and cutting between their personal lives, political activities, and candid interviews, Blood Sisters provides an in-depth picture of the leather S/M community. Graphic footage of actual play also gives us a greater understanding of the nature of the intensity of the bonds that exist between these women. Mixing both experimental and traditional documentary styles, Handelman draws us deeper into this often misunderstood community and gives us a more intelligent and less sensationalistic view of the reality behind these women's lives. Starring Tala Brandeis, Wickie Stamps, Amy Marie Meek, Pat Califia, and Skeeter, with music by Coil, Chris and Cosey, Frightwig, and the Lucy Stoners.

Wallin, Michael

1995

Michael Wallin's voyeuristic Black Sheep Boy explores the sexual thrill and emotional obstacles inherent in looking at and eroticizing boys barely on the edge of being legal. These are “boys who open like flowers, boys who look like they could murder.” Their tough street clothes, the cool way they undress before his self-conscious camera, their cocky attitudes broken only by an occasional boyish smile, the extreme close-ups on their bulging crotches: these images expose a lingering purity, a freshness untainted by the burdens of adulthood. But as Wallin's poetic narration reveals, such unspoiled virtue is a fantasy that cannot long be sustained, and a pair of clean white Jockeys becomes more than just a metaphor for young sexual energy. It becomes a poignant reminder of that which is lost in the aftermath of these erotic encounters, when all that's left is the space between boy and man.

O’Hare, Christopher

1995

“It hurts me so much to say good-bye. I wish ever so much that I could stay and live a healthy, normal life.” These words were written by 26-year-old Simon Harvey in a farewell letter to his parents. Simon wasn’t ill. He decided to commit suicide, driving to the Sussex countryside where he killed himself with his car’s exhaust fumes while the hymn “To God the Glory” played on the car radio. Simon was a Christian and gay and tormented in his attempts to reconcile these two parts of his life. Treading carefully through sensitive areas, BETTER DEAD THAN GAY reconstructs the background of the tragedy withthe help of Harvey’s diaries and the recollections of his parents and friends and clergymen at whose churches he worshipped. “To discover my son was gay was as sad as losing him,” says Simon’s father. As a gay friend of Simon’s says, “Religion has a lot to answer for.”

In LEGACIES four men tell of their personal experiences in the Mormon Church and the attempts made by the Church to change their sexual orientation through aversion therapy.

Saree Tomes, Kimberly

1995

Re-examine Asian girl on girl porn through desire of a young Asian lesbian.

Litton, Peter

1995

Hosted by two holographic characters, the sexy yet utterly arrogant “HE-MALE” and his outrageous razor-tongued drag alter-ego, “SHE-MALE,” The Art of Cruising Men offers a meandering insight into the length many of us go to in order to make sexual contact with one another. From prehistoric man through forbidden worlds of toilets and darkrooms, this voyeuristic ride ends in the hedonistic and liberated 90’s. Offering advice while poking a bit of shameless fun at the 90’s gay man, our hosts and the men they watch tell us where we go for it and, finally, where we do it.

Christensen, Garth

1995

First-time filmmaker Garth Christenson's The Anniversary is a romantic comedy that will charm your socks off. Set in a typical Manhattan apartment building, two couples get their anniversary dates mixed and tensions build. As their spouses prepare fabulous meals, the nosy new neighbor Nancy is trying to be friendly, but only adds to the confusion.

Seder, Deno

1995

Andy Warhol is a brief look at the family Andy left behind in Pittsburgh.

Monette, Jean-Francois

1995

Starting with Simon LeVay's current hypothalamus theory, Anatomy of Desire examines the role that science has played in shaping society's understanding of homosexuality throughout the 20th century. Using insightful interviews, medical films and photographs, 1950s educational films, and other historical footage, this documentary makes important links between today's rush to find the cause for homosexuality with the biological determinism that has been used throughout time to single out and oppress different segments of society. Most striking is the footage of the Nazis who used biological theories to bolster their racial hygiene propaganda that sent tens of thousands of gays and lesbians to their deaths in Nazi concentration camps. This important film documents society's continued need to have science define and possibly someday control our very existence.

Atkins, Shawn

1995

An animated love story.