by David Opie - March 20, 2019 - Pink News:
Wondering which LGBT+ films to watch from the BFI Flare 2019? We’ve got you covered.
No longer pushed out to the fringes, queer cinema is more popular than ever in the mainstream. LGBT+ movies like Call Me by Your Name and Love, Simon are making the leap from arthouse theatres to the multiplex while winning a few awards along the way too.
However, these films only represent a small fraction of the LGBT+ community and ‘success stories’ like Bohemian Rhapsody fail to even do a good job of that.
Fortunately, there’s still plenty of quality queer cinema to be found if you know where to look and the best place to start is at BFI Flare. Every year, the UK’s longest running LGBT+ film festival strives to give a voice to more diverse stories that are rarely seen on screen.
Covering sexuality in all of its forms, BFI Flare plays host to a mix of festival favourites and underrated gems that all demand your attention, but which LGBT+ movie should you see first?
From literary hoaxes and Guatemalan lovers to transgender troops and drag queen pensioners, here are 10 quality LGBT+ films we wholeheartedly recommend you go see at BFI Flare 2019.
Leitis In Waiting
Many societies that occupy the Polynesian islands acknowledge and celebrate the existence of a third gender that incorporates identities similar to trans and non-binary people in the West. Leitis In Waiting tells the story of native transgender women from this area who are fighting against the incursion of homophobic and transphobic attitudes from the West. There’s a real danger here that colonial-era laws could be resurrected and potentially destroy their way of life. Like the very best documentaries, Leitis In Waiting tackles a subject rarely discussed on our side of the Pacific while also helping to fight for real change and social justice.
See full list of Davidʻs must-see films HERE.