PRIDE month
Each June, in honor of pride month we curate a special series of films dedicated to celebrating LGBTQ+ culture, uplifting LGBTQ+ voices and the supporting of LGBTQ+ rights, just as the month intends. For our 2023 series, we are taking it back to the 1980s and 1990s to highlight four films that were groundbreaking and revolutionary at the time of their original release. Anna Yacht and C.C. Labrie will be at a/perture to introduce the final film But I’m A Cheerleader!

My Beautiful Laundrette
Director: Stephen Frears Run Time: 98 min. Release Year: 1985
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Derrick Branche, Gordon Warnecke, Roshan Seth, Saeed Jaffrey
My Beautiful Laundrette is a dramedy that chronicles the journey of Omar, a young Anglo-Pakistani man, as he takes charge of his uncle’s failing laundromat business and rekindles a romance with a man from his past.
“My Beautiful Laundrette was still revolutionary in the way it depicted its gay relationship. I feel that this story remains an incredible landmark in the history of LGBT+ cinema. At the height of the AIDS epidemic when this movie was released, there was little call for positive queer representation in the media, let alone an almost utopian interracial relationship between a Pakistani man and a gay punk. Stephen Frears and Hanif Kureishi (the screenwriter) took an exceptional risk to create something magical and pure — something resembling a queer fairytale.” Kristin Haegelin (She/Her), OUTWrite
Please visit our accessibility page for more information. Beyond the description, trailer and quoted reviews on our website, other sources of information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media and IMDb. We encourage you to research our films at your own informational interest level via the internet.

The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love
Director: Maria Maggenti Run Time: 94 min. Release Year: 1995
Starring: Dale Dickey, Laurel Holloman, Maggie Moore, Nicole Ari Parker, Toby Poser
Over 25 years ago, The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love was written and directed by Maria Maggenti. Maggenti started the script with a vision of a young lesbian on her bike with love notes stuffed in her pockets, and upon expanding the script, she realized she was writing about her first girlfriend and their failed relationship.
“Maggenti speaks of the letters she’s received from viewers who identified with the film. She takes the praise in that ‘90s laissez faire, Gen-X way that doubles for humility, but the film quietly became a predecessor in style and narrative for many other LGBTQ films of that era, especially those featuring lesbian protagonists such as the 1998’s Show Me Love and 1997’s All Over Me.” ~ Stacey Yvonne, Cherry Picks
Please visit our accessibility page for more information. Beyond the description, trailer and quoted reviews on our website, other sources of information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media and IMDb. We encourage you to research our films at your own informational interest level via the internet.

My Own Private Idaho
Director: Gus Van Sant Run Time: 104 min. Release Year: 1991
Starring: James Russo, Keanu Reeves, River Phoenix, Rodney Harvey, William Richert
In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Henry IV,” Mike Waters is a gay hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike’s estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant.
“From the rearview mirror of 2021, it can be difficult to impress My Own Private Idaho‘s significance with respect to the representation of gay men on-screen. Twenty years ago, the film marked a landmark moment in Hollywood’s reckoning, not only with same-sex intimacy but same-sex love.” ~ Meg Shields, Film School Rejects
Please visit our accessibility page for more information. Beyond the description, trailer and quoted reviews on our website, other sources of information about content and age-appropriateness for specific films can be found on Common Sense Media and IMDb. We encourage you to research our films at your own informational interest level via the internet.

But I’m a Cheerleader
Director: Jamie Babbit Run Time: 85 min. Release Year: 2000
Starring: Cathy Moriarty, Clea DuVall, Melanie Lynskey, Natasha Lyonne, RuPaul
Anna Yacht and C.C. Labrie will be perform a special introduction to our final PRIDE month film But I’m A Cheerleader !
Megan is an all-American girl. A cheerleader. She has a boyfriend. But Megan doesn’t like kissing her boyfriend very much. And she’s pretty touchy with her cheerleader friends. Her conservative parents worry that she must be a lesbian and send her off to “sexual redirection” school, where she must, with other lesbians and gays learn how to be straight.
“A number of recent films have explored conversion therapy, including The Miseducation of Cameron Post, Boy Erased, and the recent horror film They/Them. For the most part, these are serious dramas that hone in on the psychological torture, taking place in cold, clinical settings. For the first major American film to tackle conversion therapy, Jamie Babbit’s 1999 film But I’m a Cheerleader takes a very different approach. The film is a satirical comedy, camping and queering up conversion therapy at every turn to create an extremely funny, incisive, and wildly under-appreciated film.” ~ Barry Levitt, LGBTQ Nation