LGBTQ+ History Month

Posted 27 January 2023

LGBTQ+ History Month

by Hope Cook, Programmer at Showroom Cinema

Throughout February, Showroom Cinema is celebrating LGBTQ+ month with a programme of films that go beyond what we see on the screen and introduce us to the LGBTQ+ people behind the lens.

Behind the Lens celebrates LGBTQ+ directors, cinematographers, screen writers, producers, animators, costume designers, special effects, make-up artists, lighting directors, musicians, choreographers and beyond.

Films have the power to normalise LGBTQ+ people and their lived experiences. They allow for representation which can make it easier for LGBTQ+ people to feel seen and accepted, and can help them to understand themselves. Showroom Cinema’s programme has been selected to show our gratitude to the queer filmmakers who opened our eyes to new possibilities.

Historically, LGBTQ+ cinema has often been delivered through a heterosexual male gaze. Speaking on a personal level, it wasn’t until I discovered queer creators like Celine Sciamma, Lily and Lana Wachowski and Luca Guadagnino that I saw tenderness and sensuality between openly queer characters that seemed real (excluding Breakfast on Pluto which holds dearly in my mind as one of the first films I saw that explored gender fluidity.)

The films we have programmed show queer relationships that bring us closer to reality. Bound, showing on the Friday 24 February, is one of the first movies to feature two lesbian characters who are smart and happily embrace their sexuality. Unapologetically intimate, it sets a precedent of self-acceptance and gives us an ending to live for, with narrative inverting harmful representations of queerness and femininity. Susie Bright, feminist writer and sex educator, choreographed the intimate scenes on set. Thanks to Susie, throughout Bound we can see touches that nod to the lesbian community, including the focus on hands to signal sensuality.

Equally important is the character of Violet, who inverts the genre conventions of neo-noir cinema. She is celebrated for daring to manipulate her own image as a femme fatale in a world which is explicitly shown as male-centric. The fact that Bound’s directors, the Wachowski Sisters Lily and Lana, transitioned after the film’s release has meant the film has often been overlooked within the New Queer Cinema Wave. It is time this film was revisited and given the attention it deserves.

We have a full programme of films scheduled over the month which feature queer stories told by LGBTQ+ filmmakers and throughout February and beyond we continue to support the films which come out on general release that represent queer people.

Behind the Lens starts on Saturday 28 January with Lingua Franca. Throughout February we will continue to feature queer stories told by LGBTQ+ filmmakers, with special screenings and films on our general release schedule. Tickets are on sale now.