Foreign Gay Films

[Talo Segura]

I wanted to start this thread, perhaps not with the best film link (because this film is in French without subtitles), because there are lots of good non-English gay films. Pédale (an insulting word for gay) is an (imo) amazing little film about the director's life growing up gay through the eighties and nineties. Coming to terms and surviving being gay in a country, France, where homophobia was rampant. A gay teen's life was on the line, attacked from every angle, being gay was considered a mental illness to be treated with electro shock therapy, chemical castration, even lobotomy. The aids epidemic and the self-righteous Catholic extremists would and did threaten gay life. This film tells one boy's story growing up gay from age eight to twenty-two, perhaps in the future it will get English subtitles and reach a wider audience, I hope so, it deserves to be seen.

 

Edited September 19, 2019 by Talo Segura

[Former Member]

Because the US, UK, Canada, and Australia all use a (generally) mutually understandable intelligible language, share reasonably progressive views on LGBTQs, have a large total population, and have the disposable income to support LGBTQ cinema, movies that want to reach the largest possible market need to either be in English or have English subtitles.

China and India both have enormous populations, but aren’t as openminded on LGBTQ issues. Russia is very repressive towards LGBTQs. And while French, Spanish. and Arabic are spoken by large percentages of the world’s population, only a small fraction of each would support an LGBTQ movie.

I attend Frameline, the annual San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival. Frameline shows movies and documentaries from all over the world. I have watched movies from nearly every part of the globe, but certain regions are better represented than others. And some governments (including the UK, Canada, Australia, and Israel) support LGBTQ filmmakers better than most.

Beyond geography, Frameline has presented movies and documentaries that explore nearly every part of the LGBTQ+ spectrums. I have learned about the struggles of the families with Trans children. I found out about Plushies and Furries. I learned about the Letis of the Kingdom of Tonga. Many movies and documentaries have exposed me to aspects of the African-American LGBTQ experience that I would not have otherwise known about. I have learned about the difficulties of being LGBTQ while dealing with a disability. I have seen movies and documentaries exploring the immigrant (documented and otherwise) experience of LGBTQs in many contexts.
 

It’s up to all of us to support LGBTQ+ films, filmmakers, and film festivals. The mainstream movie and TV industries have proven incapable of presenting an accurate image of all our lives. As insiders, only we can create and present our true stories.

Edited September 19, 2019 by Former Member

[Headstall]

11 hours ago, Talo Segura said:

I wanted to start this thread, perhaps not with the best film link (because this film is in French without subtitles), because there are lots of good non-English gay films. Pédale (an insulting word for gay) is an (imo) amazing little film about the director's life growing up gay through the eighties and nineties. Coming to terms and surviving being gay in a country, France, where homophobia was rampant. A gay teen's life was on the line, attacked from every angle, being gay was considered a mental illness to be treated with electro shock therapy, chemical castration, even lobotomy. The aids epidemic and the self-righteous Catholic extremists would and did threaten gay life. This film tells one boy's story growing up gay from age eight to twenty-two, perhaps in the future it will get English subtitles and reach a wider audience, I hope so, it deserves to be seen.

 

Hey, Talo. For this link, if you click the CC (closed caption button), bringing up the French sub titles, and then click on the settings wheel, you can select any number of languages to be translated, including English.   No need to watch this one in a language you don't understand. Cheers!