Queer Arab Films to Monitor During Pride Month [Updated for ]
It&#;s June, which means it&#;s LGBTQ Celebration Month! This is a time to celebrate people of all sexual orientations and genders. Here at AFMI, we are of course celebrating by watching movies. People are often surprised to learn that queer Arab films and filmmakers openly exist, but they most certainly execute and this misconception makes it all the more important that we admit and celebrate them. To celebrate Pride, we include compiled a list of Arab films that tackle the stories and experiences of LGBTQIA people. This list is updated annually!
Feature Narrative Films
Film still from Alexandria&#;Why?
Alexandria&#;Why? () dir. Youssef Chahine
Egypt / Drama / min
Amid the poverty, death, and suffering caused by World War II, year-old Yehia retreats into a private world of fantasy and longing. Obsessed with Hollywood, he dreams of studying filmmaking in America but struggles to pursue his dream, given the constraints of his being in the middle class and the horrors of war. There are several subplots take place thro
Autostraddle’s Pride theme was Rage Party. That’s also how I would describe the best queer cinema of
While I love an easy-to-digest comedy or an unapologetically heavy drama, something is lost when our cinema treats fun and importance as diametrically opposed. Queer cinema can be about the challenges we face, the oppression we experience, the microaggressions and aggression aggressions and all the rest, and still be fun and sexy. In fact, fun and sexy are two of our greatest tools.
Even though Hollywood has pulled advocate from “diversity” this was still an excellent year for queer cinema. Below, I’ve written in-depth about my ten favorites, and also felt the demand to shout out 20 more queer titles. (Plus 10 non-queer movies I loved too.) But as long as we’re living in complexity, I ponder it’s important we manifest on which queer people are able to form in the absence of more mainstream support. The vast majority of directors who released queer films this year are pale — even more than most years. There’s plenty to complain about in the mainstream as Emilia Pérez will likely b
COLOR ADJUSTMENT ()
Directed by Marlon Riggs
NewFest4 From Amos ’n’ Andy to Nat King Cole, from Roots to The Cosby Show, Black people have played many roles on primetime television. Brilliantly weaving clips from classic TV shows with commentary from TV producers, Black actors and scholars, Marlon Riggs blends humor, insight, and thoughtful analysis to search the evolution of Black/White relations as reflected by America’s favorite addiction.
SHE DON'T FADE () & THE WATERMELON Female ()
Directed by Cheryl Dunye
NewFest5 + NewFest8 SHE DON&#;T FADE chronicles the sexual pursuits of Shae Clarke, a Shadowy lesbian. Clarke, played by Dunye herself, defines and readily demonstrates her “new approach to women.”
In THE WATERMELON WOMAN, Cheryl, a young Black queer woman , works a evening job in a video store while trying to form a film about a Black actress from the s known for playing the stereotypical “mammy” roles relegated to Black actresses during that period. This was the first feature film directed by an “out” Black lesbian.
TONGUES UNTIED ()
Direct
20 Upcoming LGBTQ+ Movies We're Looking Forward To
The LGBTQ+ community’s ties to Hollywood and cinema hold been deeply intertwined from the early days of the medium. And yet, the fight for authentic representation of queer people in film continues to be a rarity (especially when it comes to high-profile movies). With the movie schedule here (and Pride Month coming up very soon!) there’s quite a few LGBTQ+ titles to stare forward to, and we’ve rounded up what to look forward to below.
Coming Soon
Honey Don’t! - August 22,
In , Ethan Coen and wife Tricia Cooke made Drive-Away Dolls, which they called the first of their planned “Lesbian B-Movie Trilogy”, which continues with this summer’s Honey Don’t. The dark comedy once again stars Margaret Qualley as a lesbian private eye named Honey Donahue who gets embroiled in a series of strange deaths tied to a mysterious church in the production also starring Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Day, Billy Eichner and Chris Evans. I can’t wait for this one.