Queers do Cinema

Queers do Cinema is back! Gearing up for a whole new season in the new year, we stop to look back on the Queer films of 2024 and talk about the films we loved! ‍ PLUS: Does Queer subtext make a movie Queer, or is it just a celebration of the closet? 

No film genre is more preoccupied with our culture’s sexual anxieties than Horror, so of course there’s a fine line between Horror and Queer Horror. We are joined by Kay Lynch, founder of the Salem Horror Fest, to unpack the complex history (and promising future) of Queer Horror. Since even the earliest horror films are laden with “horrific” depictions of gender and sexuality and camp in a way tha...

We dive deep into the problem of the “problematic,” joined by special guest Sav Rogers, whose 2023 documentary Chasing Chasing Amy dives deep into his relationship with Kevin Smith’s problematic 1997 “lesbian falls for a straight guy” rom-com. We dig into the problematic films we hate and the problematic films we love anyway. We talk about Chasing Amy, about the usefulness of outrage, and how to p...

Happy Juneteenth! To celebrate, we are joined by the inimitable Cheryl Dunye to talk about the canon of Queer Black cinema. What makes a movie Queer Black cinema, and who gets to tell Queer Black stories? How did New Black Cinema and New Queer Cinema historically converge to create a new movement, with The Watermelon Woman as an iconic debut from Cheryl? We talk about Cheryl’s television work (Lov...

June is here, and the world is covered in rainbows once again. Our hosts take some time to reflect on the institution that Pride has become in our culture, and explore our own ambivalence about Pride — the joy and the cynicism. What is the relationship between Pride and Queer film festivals in the cities we serve? What happens when Queer community organizations need to compete with each other for...

We take a moment to reflect on the passing of a great friend of Queer cinema, Michael Gamila, and to discuss the role that Queer film festivals play in our history and in our communities. We are joined by Steven Weisenreder from ImageOut and Shane Engstrom from Out Film CT to discuss the history of their film festivals and what it means to run a Queer film festival outside of a major city. We chat...

We are joined by director Chase Joynt ( Framing Agnes , No Ordinary Man ) for a discussion of trends in Trans cinema. In recent years, the world has seen an outpouring of innovative, formally inventive, and emotionally compelling Trans films. While traditional Trans narratives still have a place, the films of the Trans New Wave are being made for and by Trans people, and look past explainers and t...

We kick off with a chat about what we saw at the Berlinale Panorama, the unofficial kickoff of the Queer film festival season.  Why is Berlin so important to Queer Cinema? And then we dive back into the discussion of Queer genres — and why are there so many the lesbian period drama? How do years of Queer cinema build us up to expect our gay characters to meet bad fates? PLUS: Is the “coming out fi...

Everyone knows what film genres are: science fiction, horror, mystery, comedy. But what does it mean to make a genre Queer? Is it telling the story of a genre with Queer people included? Or does it involve changing how the story is told, and finding new surprises in old structures? Plus: How can filmmakers subvert homophobic genre tropes, like Queer/Trans villains and victims? Whose job is it to u...

WARNING: WHITE LOTUS SPOILERS! Blast from the past! Remember the early 2000s? While the world was reeling from 9/11 and the beginning of new wars, literal and cultural, a lot was going on in Queer film in this changed landscape. The digital video revolution helped make it cheaper to make Queer films (for better and for worse), and Hollywood was producing some good Queer work too -- though now some...

We talk through the highlights (and some lowlights) in Queer cinema from 2022. What were our favorite movies and TV shows? Where are all the lesbian movies? Are the streamers our great hope for the future of queer film and TV? Or maybe it's Canada!

No film form explores Queer history more frequently or enthusiastically than the documentary — showing our past, showcasing amazing Queer people of history, and unearthing images of Queer lives from times and places we don’t see. What makes the Queer documentary such a powerful format? What are the techniques and topics that make Queer docs shine through?

A common question about Queer cinema is always: is it all about the sex? While Queer cinema can get pretty hot and heavy, is sex necessary for a film to be Queer? What do Queer audiences expect from Queer cinema? Plus: Our hosts recommend some of their favorite sexy queer films!

Time to clear something up: if we’re going to talk about Queer film, what makes a movie Queer? Is it a function of who it’s by? Who it is for? Or is it just a vibe? We play a challenging round of “Is it Queer?” — The Birdcage ? Power of the Dog ? Philadelphia ? Plus: how Queer is teen television today?

To commemorate the big screen release of Bros , we reflect on the recent abundance of Queer-themed films and tv from major media companies. What does it mean for Queer cinema to go from the scrappy independent margins to major releases by big studios? Is this a long-awaited change for the better, or just cynical corporate politics? What does it mean for independent Queer film? Plus... our hosts sh...