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LGBT Britain
This colourful and challenging collection explores screen representations of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lives over the past century.
British cinema boasts a long history of carefully coded queerness, but for much of the 20th century explicit depictions of gay life in drama or documentary were more or less taboo. Gay men were subject to vicious state-sanctioned persecution, while lesbians were socially ostracised and the transgender community ignored and misunderstood. Cinematic and small-screen breakthroughs in the 1950s and 60s played their part in the public debate. Finally acting on the recommendations of the Wolfenden Committee a decade earlier, the 1967 Sexual Offences Act partially decriminalised male homosexuality in England and Wales, between two men over 21, in private. As those caveats suggest, the legislation remained problematic. But it was a step forward, paving the way for further battles - some yet to be won. From early glimpses of 'queer' characters, this collection charts the path towards '67 and beyond, through responses to the AIDS crisis to diverse reflections on queer life today.
Victim Victim
Drama 1961 100 mins Director: Basil Dearden
This thought-provoking classic stars Dirk Bogarde as a homosexual lawyer who risks his career to hunt down a blackmailer.
Caught Looking Caught Looking
Drama 1991 35 mins Director: Constantine Giannaris
Years before Grindr, a gay man turns to virtual reality to satisfy his sexual fantasies in this strangely prophetic short film.
Dream A40 Dream A40
Drama 1965 16 mins Director: Lloyd Reckord
A young gay couple’s relationship is put to the test as a road trip takes a sinister turn in Lloyd Reckord's daring underground short.
Nighthawks Nighthawks
Drama 1978 113 mins Director: Ron Peck
A schoolteacher juggles everyday life with nights spent cruising for Mr Right in this fascinating landmark in British gay cinema
What Can I Do with a Male Nude? What Can I Do with a Male Nude?
Comedy 1985 24 mins Director: Ron Peck
Ron Peck tests the thin line between pornography and art with his amusing rumination on the difficulties of showing the naked male form.
Nighthawks 2: Strip Jack Naked Nighthawks 2: Strip Jack Naked
Documentary 1991 91 mins Director: Ron Peck
Ron Peck’s experimental follow up to the groundbreaking Nighthawks is both a making-of documentary and a deeply personal film memoir.
Relax Relax
Drama 1991 22 mins Director: Christopher Newby
A gay man awaits the results of an HIV test, drifting into moments of fantasy as he copes with his fears and memories.
B.D. Women B.D. Women
1994 20 mins Director: Campbell X
Sassy, stylised documentary exploring the hidden histories of black lesbians.
Rosebud Rosebud
Drama 1991 14 mins Director: Cheryl Farthing
A lesbian couple arouse the interest of their new neighbour in this erotic tale of voyeurism, power dressing and fantasy.
Prick Up Your Ears Prick Up Your Ears
Biopic 1987 110 mins Director: Stephen Frears
A celebration of outrageous British playwright Joe Orton’s irreverent and charismatic talent, starring Gary Oldman and Alfred Molina.
The Lay of the Land The Lay of the Land
Drama 1998 14 mins Director: Fraser Macdonald
A man with a history of gay-bashing enters a smoky bar and strikes up a conversation with a drag queen in this dark short.
Ostia Ostia
Drama 1987 26 mins Director: Julian Cole
A fascinating short, starring Derek Jarman, that reconstructs the events leading up to the murder of Pier Paolo Pasolini.
Death and Transfiguration Death and Transfiguration
Drama 1983 26 mins Director: Terence Davies
The Terence Davies Trilogy reaches its astonishing climax as tortured Liverpool clerk Robert Tucker prepares to meet his maker.
Children Children
Drama 1976 46 mins Director: Terence Davies
The first part of Terence Davies' formidable Trilogy explores the effects of violence on a Liverpool schoolboy, told in a series of flashbacks.
Madonna and Child Madonna and Child
Drama 1980 28 mins Director: Terence Davies
Autobiography as art: the centrepiece of Terence Davies' devastating Liverpool-set Trilogy focuses on his fictional alter-ego in middle age.
The Fruit Machine The Fruit Machine
Drama 1988 103 mins Director: Philip Saville
Berated by his father for his camp behaviour, Eddie runs away from his Liverpool home and joins his friend Michael, a streetwise hustler who is also on the run.
Young Soul Rebels Young Soul Rebels
Drama 1991 105 mins Director: Isaac Julien
The Queen's Silver Jubilee beats to the sounds of Funkadelic, Sylvester and the O'Jays in Isaac Julien’s feature debut.
Duffer Duffer
Drama 1971 75 mins Director: Joseph Despins and William Dumaresq
A bizarre study of obsession focusing on a teenage boy who is torn between the charms of a fleshly female prostitute and the sadism of an older man.
Sixth Happiness Sixth Happiness
Biopic 1997 94 mins Director: Waris Hussein
Funny, acerbic and moving story of a young man's sexual awakening as family life crumbles around him.
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