It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives,aka Nicht der Homosexuelle ist pervers, sondern die Situation, in der er lebt (Germany 1971) dir Rosa von Praunheim.
This is the first of four LGBT+ History Month Film Series of “Behind The Lens” screenings over four evenings in February and March. The series is curated by Prof Dr Rainer Schulze, Professor of Modern European History at the University of Essex.
This is the film that kickstarted the West German gay liberation movement. The film premiered at the 1971 Berlinale Film Festival and it caused controversy from the very start. It is an avant-garde fantasy film with no synch sound or constant narration, chronicling the experiences of Daniel, a young man from the provinces, in West Berlin’s gay subcultures. It ends with a call for gay men to organize and fight for their rights and freedoms. Plus Q&A
'THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2023 AT 2:30 PM – 5 PM The Cinema Museum 2 Dugard Way, London, United Kingdom
THE DEVIL QUEEN (aka A RAINHA DIABA) (Brazil 1974) dir Antonio Carlos da Fontoura, with Milton Gonçalves, Odete Lara, Stepan Nercessian.
A camp, colorful and subversive gem made at the height of the Brazilian military dictatorship, The Devil Queen is loosely inspired by the life of crime boss João Francisco dos Santos, who also served as inspiration for 2002’s more widely seen, Madame Satã
Rio de Janeiro’s criminal underworld is run by an unexpected boss: Diaba, a femme drag queen with a taste for power and violence. When the police are after her toy boy, and Diaba tries to find a scapegoat to take the blame, a plot to dethrone Her Majesty arises! What Queen, however fabulous, can truly trust her subjects? Always clad in gloriously colorful outfits and accessories inspired by Afro-Brazilian culture, Diaba runs a mob of eccentric misfits comprised of drag queens, pimps, prostitutes, and queer people: some of the most marginalized people in Brazil during the military dictatorship that lasted from 1964 to 1985. The movie’s bold and audacious colour palette and camp aesthetic, combined with a sense of ‘guerrilla filmmaking’, reminds one of the early movies by Pedro Almodóvar. Its stylized and over-the-top violence could be described as Tarantino going through a queer fever dream.
Digital Presentation by The VITO LGBTQ+ FILM CLUB
SUNDAY, MARCH 12, 2023 AT 2 PM – 5 PM EDT The Cinema Museum 2 Dugard Way, London, United Kingdom
