Wicked Queer, Boston’s rather wonderful LGBTQA+ Film Fest, presents PRIDE AT THE BATTLE a mini collection of restored versions of some totally fabulous classic queer movies.

It all kicks off tonight, June 23rd, with the 4oth Anniversary of Desert Hearts.  Donna Deitch’s groundbreaking lesbian period piece is set in 1959 and flips the script on the old Hollywood trope of a quickie Reno divorce when lonely prospective divorcee Vivian (Shaver) arrives at a guest ranch for women and meets the beautiful Cay (Charbonneau). Vivian and Cay experience an immediate attraction and, instead of looking forward to a life with a new man, Vivian finds herself curious about a new life with a woman. Self-funded (Deitch raised funds by selling shares in the film to investors, with much of it coming from the lesbian and feminist communities) and taking over six years to complete, DESERT HEARTS would become one of the most significant mainstream lesbian fiction films.  BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE, it’s actually playing as a double feature with BOUND.

Queerguru’s personal favorite of this mini fest is the 30th Anniversary of Beautiful Thing (and in 35mm!). This beloved British coming-of-age film is based on the play by Jonathan Harvey (he also wrote the screenplay), whose goal was to have a “hopeful, happy-ending story about being gay, being working class, and coming out.” Working-class neighbors Jamie and Ste try to understand their budding feelings for each other while dealing with life in council housing, homophobia, and teen angst. With a phenomenal soundtrack consisting of music from the Mamas & the Papas, the film has become a classic of 90’s queer cinema.

Then, on June 25th there is the 25th Anniversary of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.  John Cameron Mitchell‘s groundbreaking tour-de-force film ushered in a new era of queer cinema. Unabashedly queer and transgressive, Hedwig and the Angry Inch was an adaptation of Mitchell’s award-winning stage musical of the same name. The film, a tale of an emigrant from the former East Berlin, scarred by a botched sex-change operation, who stalks his ex-lover (now a famous rock star) across the U.S., would become an enduring classic, winning awards at Berlin and Sundance film festivals. John Cameron Mitchell’s film is a poignant and emotionally raw story that also rocks. With songs co-written by Stephen Trask, who also leads Hedwig’s band, the film has become a favorite sing-along film amongst queer audiences. Come along and celebrate Pride by singing with Hedwig and the Angry Inch!