October is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender History Month. What better time to take a look at our collective past -- to acknowledge our accomplishments,
and to appreciate the struggles we've endured. These films are some of the best at showing us where we've been and where we're headed.
This hugely popular HBO trilogy traces the history of three sets of lesbians over the course of three generations. Vanessa Redgrave took
home an Emmy for her portrayal of a widowed lesbian coping with her late partner's greedy family; Natasha Lyonne and Chloe Sevigny play out
taboo butch/femme chemistry against a '70s feminist backdrop; and Ellen DeGeneres pairs with Sharon Stone for the contemporary lesbian
baby-making scenario.
The cream of the crop in San Francisco-based KQED's highly acclaimed "Neighborhoods" series, The Castro perfectly charts the growth of the once-sleepy Eureka Valley hollow
into the gay mecca that it is today.
Based on the book of the same name by Allen Berube,
this film interviews ten gays and lesbians who served in the military during the Second World War. The issue is not gays in
the military, director Arthur Dong says, but how government works and how it treats a group of people.
Barbara
Hammer does in this film what Lillian Faderman did in her book Odd Girls and
Twilight Lovers: she presents a narrative history of queer life (including
an extensive gay male section) from the `20s on.
Greta Schiller's film tells the story of the extraordinary community of lesbian artists,
writers, photographers, and editors who were drawn to the city of Paris
between the two world wars. Featuring home
movies and rare archival footage of Colette, Janet Flanner, Gertude Stein,
Sylvia Beach, and other luminaries of the time.
Contrary to popular myth, gay men and lesbians do grow old. Through
profiles of eight men and women, Silent Pioneers tells us their stories: how they have lived and loved, and how, despite societal
prejudices about gay people, they have led meaningful lives.
From the National Film Board of Canada, Margaret Westcott's compelling documentary recounts the lives and experiences of a number of
lesbians, and in doing so presents a "history of lesbianism."
This film is a great consciousness-raising experience. For anyone who has
ever been curious about or tried to understand what the black gay male experience is, this film will answer many of your questions (and probably
leave you with several more).
Groundbreaking when it was released in 1978, Word Is Out continues to entertain and enthrall its audience
with the fascinating personal histories of 26 queer individuals.
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