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

Ashley, Carol
Clark, Kathy

1990

Recalling early gender limitation/formation, two women enact male bathroom rituals with style and fun.

Wilhelm, Bettina

1990

Orlanda is a person between male and female. His/her profession is diseuse, a performer who entertains with songs and speeches in the German tradition of the `20s and `30s. To escape from loneliness, as well as to play with taboos, Orlanda decides to marry her friend Elizabeth. On a concert tour in Warsaw, which also serves as a honeymoon, both the newlyweds fall in love with a charming young Polish man. This quite special marriage offers material for comedy as well as melodrama, cleverly commented on by Orlanda's songs. Georgette Dee as Orlanda is playing him/herself. The gender ambiguity that characterizes Dee makes it impossible to see these characters as simply straight, gay, or lesbian. Mechtild Grossmann displays a talent for both comedy and tragedy that she hasn't used before, and while All Of Me is meant to be fun, it has a serious side as well. Like Seduction: The Cruel Woman, in which these two actresses played the parts of Frederike and Wanda, respectively, the film is also embedded in the German tradition that, with wit and insight, explores ways to play with gender roles in film.

Praunheim, Rosa von

1990

Rosa von Praunheim's best film yet is a homage to larger-than-life actress Lotti Huber (most recently, star of von Praunheim's film, Anita—Dances of Vice). She describes her careers as dancer, wife, restaurateur, concentration camp prisoner, and full-time eccentric. Full of gay humor and bruised egos, Affengeil—it means something like “apeshit”—is a generous, affectionate, and lively movie.