Queer Cinema: Past, Upcoming And New Releases

With films like “Brokeback Mountain,” Transamerica and upcoming releases “Milk,” “Tru Loved” and “The World Unseen,”  queer cinema has been making its way into the mainstream now, however the voyage started decades ago.

Queer cinema goes as far back as the days of Audrey Hepburn, in 1961, when she starred in the film The Children’s Hour. Hepburn and Shirley Maclaine played teachers who were rumored to be lesbians– a rumor that would destroy their careers. At the end of the film, Maclaine’s character kills herself after confessing her feelings for Hepburn’s. Of course, the intention behind this film was to scare people away from homosexuality.

There was a series of films to follow that either delved into or brushed upon the issue of homosexuality. The LGBT community applauded some, while others were heavily criticized for being inaccurate or demeaning. Whatever they were, these films have all been a necessary part of the process from then to now.

Between 1999 and 2005, there was a wave of queer cinema that was not only mainstream, but also well received and Oscar worthy.

In 1996, The Birdcage, starring Robin Williams was released; it became the first “gay film” to make more than 100 million dollars. Then came the surge of Oscar winners, starting with, Boys Dont Cry , which won Hillary Swank the best actress award for her role as a lesbian named, Brandon Teena. Then, mainstream Hollywood covered both a story of two cowboys in love, as well as the story of a transsexual woman. Brokeback Mountain, the former, won 3 Oscars, as well as an impressive 77 other awards. Transamerica, the latter, earned Felicity Huffman an Oscar nomination, and the film won a total of 26 awards.

Of course, there are only a few choice mentions–before and between these films, a countless number of movies and plays have been dedicated to the lives of people who are L, G, B, or T, or any combination of. Both in Washington and Hollywood, this issue has finally made it to the spotlight. These days we can see four releases in this genre in a month, as opposed to the past rate of that many films released over several years.

Some noteworthy recent, and upcoming, releases include:

• Breakfast With Scot-October 10 (In the USA)
• Tru Loved-October 17
• Milk-November 5
• The World Unseen-November 7

We here have given you a plethora of information about the film I am anticipating most, Milk, which you can read about here, and here,

The trailer for The World Unseen, has been recently released.

Watch it here: