OUT ON FILM CHECK OUT SOME BRILLIANT DOCUMENTARIES There are a plethora of documentaries relating to LGBTI people, issues confronting the community, our collective history and coming out. With a little perseverance and research many can be streamed online ... here are a handful that you will find interesting and informative, some can be found on You Tube... for others you will need to have access to Netflix or an online streaming site ... PARIS IS BURNING is a 1990 American documen-
tary film directed by Jennie Livingston. Filmed in the mid-tolate 1980s, it chronicles the ball culture of New York City and the African-American, Latino, gay, and transgender communities involved in it. The film is considered to be an invaluable documentary of the end of the “Golden Age” of New York City drag balls, and critics have praised it as a thoughtful exploration of race, class, gender, and sexuality in America.”
the extraordinary life of Billy Haines, the only matinee idol who ever decided that Hollywood’s price was too high and walked away from film stardom. An excellent You Tube documentary. Paris Is Burning
The quality on You Tube is not great so if you have access to a high speed internet connection this brilliant documentary can be streamed, free, from other sites. It’s the original Pose.
THE CELLULOID CLOSET tracks the history of
LGBTI+ people in the movies from the very first ever 17 second Dickson Experimental Sound Film in 1895 featuring two men waltzing to the late 1990’s. The documentary is based on Vito Russo’s 1981 book The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies and interviews various men and women connected to the Hollywood movie industry commenting on various film clips and their own personal experiences with the treatment of LGBT characters in films. From the sissy characters to the censorship of the Hollywood Production Code, the coded gay characters and cruel stereotypes to the changes made in the early 1990’s. It is a fascinating 107 minutes that will keep you engrossed, and the You Tube quality is ok.
MURDER IN CAPE TOWN: WHO KILLED BRUNO BRONN. Bruno Bronn was a
popular figure in the Cape Town gay community, running one of the most popular bars. Following the death of his long term partner, he suffered from depression, but a few years later began a new relationship. After expressing anxiety about his partner’s mental state, Bronn was found strangled in his home, and speculation about a hidden treasure trove in the home was raised. We unravel the truth of this dramatic crime. Interesting as most readers will remember that famous bar/club in de Waterkant in Cape Town. You’ll find it on You Tube.
OUT OF THE CLOSET, OFF THE SCREEN: THE LIFE OF WILLLIAM HAINES. What price Hollywood? was the title of an early
George Cukor film, but is a question every closeted movie star has probably asked himself. In 1930, the top box office star was a gay man. Billy Haines lived with his lover, Jimmie Shields, and never posed on the red carpet with a beard on his arm. By 1933, he was washed up in show business; and by 1936, he had become hugely successful in an entirely new line of work-interior decorator. Out of the Closet, Off the Screen: the Life of William Haines details Mag 50
William Haines
