Fung, Richard

1990

A documentary look at four Asian men living with HIV infection.

Mohabeer, Michelle

1990

Hinton, David

1990

Wild, cruisy sex, that staple of gay male identity, is not what it used to be. The added bonus issue of mortality has made it quirkier, riskier, and more enticingly forbidden. Its inherent dysfunctionality, however, has never seemed steamier than in the salaciously arty Dead Dreams of Monochrome Men. In this surprisingly homoerotic British television (!) version of a dance/performance piece by the London-based DV8 Physical Theatre, anonymous sex is sweat-soaked, serious business with arousing, if somber, consequences. But, like the real thing, getting there is too delicious to do without. Filmed in starkly lit, anguish- and muscle-enhancing black and white, Dead Dreams looks like a living George Platt Lynes photograph set in a fevered, prisonlike bar world, pulsating with wordless sexual narratives, twitchy erotic appetites and well-shorn, hunky men. DV8's extremely physical choreography, while at times almost acrobatic, is appropriately rooted in urban sexual realism. Seamlessly woven into the "dance" are universally recognizable cruising rituals, cigarette smoke, boot licking, S&M, jockey short fetishes, and not-so-dry humping. Easily transcending the stigmas of both dance and television with its use of angst-ridden sexual truth, Dead Dreams of Monochrome Men ultimately posits an unlikely, white hot link between performance art and performance anxiety.

Marshall, Stuart

1990

Stuart Marshall is gaining a reputation for putting the homo back into history. After squaring up to Weimar and wartime Germany in last year's Desire, Marshall and his dedicated documentary team move back to Britain. Comrades In Arms (commissioned, like Desire, as part of Channel Four's Out On Tuesday and shown here separately in 16mm) describes homosexual life during the Second World War. Six lesbians and gay men narrate their experiences of sleeping and serving with the British Armed Forces. "It's a cliché, isn't it, when they say that there's nothing like the friendships you form in wartime—but it's perfectly true. You never meet it again in any form of life." Instead of stories of persecution and oppression, the film's interviewees recall a riotous time. In that typically English manner, most people were left alone to get on with their business as long as they were fairly discreet, and as long as the authorities weren't forced to recognize them officially. The blackout clearly had its advantages. Comrades In Arms matches the stories with a new take on clips from classic combat movies. Marshall has also shot new Hollywood-style scenes that restore the romance and bravado of lesbian and gay men's contribution to the war effort. A complement to Allan Berube's recent book on the American forces, Comrades rippingly reveals the spunk and gay spirit behind wartime Britain's stiff upper lip. Red Ribbon Award Winner: 1991 American Film and Video Festival.

Weissman, David

1990

Thirty-two of David's close personal friends sing about those things that tick them off.

Cowell, Laura

1990

If you've ever been mistaken for a boy you'll identify with the dry humor and unmistakable style of Can You Say Androgynous?

Mayson, Michael

1990

Billy and Rufus live together and share everything, except Billy's secret—he's gay. Rufus just isn't ready to deal with it. A hip black comedy about street attitudes and coming to terms with the big picture.

In Billy Turner’s Secret, a young black Brooklynite avoids coming out to his straight roommate while simultaneously enduring his willful ignorance.

Mayson, Michael

1990

Billy and Rufus live together and share everything, except Billy's secret—he's gay. Rufus just isn't ready to deal with it. A hip black comedy about street attitudes and coming to terms with the big picture.

In Billy Turner’s Secret, a young black Brooklynite avoids coming out to his straight roommate while simultaneously enduring his willful ignorance.

Ong, Shu-Lee

1990

A documentary that looks at marriage in the lesbian and gay community. Shu Lee Ong's Because This Is About Love profiles six same-sex couples who have made lifelong commitments through some form of marriage. Through interviews and footage of actual ceremonies, Because This Is About Love reveals why some same-sex couples would want to marry despite the lack of legal and social support.

Holland, Hugh

1990