Queering Cinema is about queer temporalities in space, in form, in community, in language and in content. In curating this series, I wanted to look at queer films that have challenged the canon of queer cinema in their time. Many of them exist outside of a Eurocentric queer aesthetic, others resist stereotypes through form and content. I wanted to juxtapose the notion of queering against queer cinema, therefore, some of the films hold a queer sensibility without prominent queer narrative or even LGBTQ2+ characters or storyline.
The opening film Tehran: City of Love by Ali Jaberansari’s is a beautiful, poetic and cinematically stunning social commentary on modern life in Iran. While humorous, the film’s static composition highlights the loneliness and the limitations that the characters feel in pursuit of love and romance. There is a homoerotic storyline that is so subtly framed it can only be felt as a pulse through the film.
Tehran: City of Love is a film that uses codes and signifiers as a way of queering a seemingly heteronormative narrative. In contrast, Deepa Mehta 1996 film Fire does not shy away in portraying female desire and a romantic bond between two women in a traditional Indian household. Drawing out an inspiring parallel between the story of its lead characters and that of the goddess avatars upon which they were named — fire intelligently is an example of queering time and history at once.
Tehran: City of Love
Moonlight + Strange Way of Life
Queering cinema by looking at the relationship between hypermasculinity and homophobia, Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight uses subtle visual and thematic repetitions across chapters to play with linear temporality and create a sense of cyclical time to suggest emotional and environmental patterns. Moonlight masterfully subverts traditional notions of black masculinity by presenting a protagonist who navigates complex emotional landscapes and struggles with his sexuality in a world often demanding a singular, hardened performance of manhood. The film challenges stereotypes and explores vulnerability, intimacy, and identity within the context of blackness, showcasing a nuanced and humanizing portrayal that moves beyond reductive and harmful tropes.
In contrast, Pedro Almodóvar’s Strange Way of Life is a fascinating exploration of temporality as an ideological fantasy. It challenges traditional notions of masculinity and desire, presenting a queer love story within a seemingly conventional Western framework. This subversion extends to the genre itself, infusing elements of fantasy and unexpected emotional depth into the stark landscape, ultimately creating a unique and poignant cinematic experience that feels both strange and familiar.
The 2001 film Hedwig and the Angry Inch by John Cameron Mitchell is a ground-breaking rock musical that breaks the fourth wall and blurs the lines between performance and reality. One of the very first films that pushed the boundaries of form and gender while talking about queer desire… Blurring the lines of sexuality and gender and ditching frigid, distinct labels, it’s one of many reasons why Hedwig remains timeless.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch + The Human Voice
Close-Knit
Pedro Almodóvar’s short film The Human Voice, starring Tilda Swinton, is a vibrant and theatrical adaptation of Jean Cocteau’s play. Swinton delivers a captivating performance as a woman grappling with the end of a relationship. While the film doesn’t explicitly center on LGBTQ+ themes, Almodóvar’s signature style and Swinton’s presence bring a queer sensibility to the film, leaving the sexuality of the protagonist open to our imagination.
Finally, queering cinema through empathy and normalization is a way of resisting the queer temporality Close-Knit is a heartwarming Japanese film from 2017 that tells the story of a young girl who finds a loving family with her uncle and his transgender girlfriend. The film beautifully explores themes of acceptance, love, and finding belonging outside of unconventional family structures.
— Fay Nass, Queering Cinema curator
Fay Nass is a Vancouver-based director, writer, producer, curator, programmer and multi-disciplinary artist. They are the Artistic Director of the frank theatre company and the founder/AD of Aphotic Theatre.