Media featuring LGBT content
Took a trip to New York to catch some musical theatre before the Tony Awards. Here’s what I saw. Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody Book, music and lyrics by Dylan MarcAurele. Based on the novels of Rachel Reid and … Continue reading New York Theatre 2026
Trigger Warning: The following film discusses self-harm. A Single Man follows George (Colin Firth), a college professor teaching in Southern California. His long-time partner (Matthew Goode) has died in a car accident and he is inconsolable. As the day continues, … Continue reading LGBT Movies: A Single Man (2009)
It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that most film love triangles could be solved by a threesome. Bed and Sofa (aka Tretia Meshchanskaia), a Russian film from 1927, would come close to this suggestion. A Russian housewife cheats on her … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Bed and Sofa (1927)
When Rocco (Andrea Amato) comes out, his liberal parents (Veronica Pivetti and Corrado Invernizzi) react poorly. He leaves town, in a rage, to see his favorite singer (Jacopo Brogioni) in concert. His helicopter mom pursues. A Little Lust (Né Giulietta, … Continue reading LGBT Movies: A Little Lust (2015)
Kink, consent, and queer self-acceptance create a complicated portrait of the relationship between a biker dom and a timid sub in Harry Lighton’s confident, accomplished feature debut Pillion. Taking place over one year, Lighton deftly brings us into the world … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Pillion (2025)
A timid scientist (Robert Pollock) is obsessed with the end of the world. He’s courted by a charismatic thief (Iain Rea) who lives in the here and now. Queer cinema was in a dark place in the 1980’s. The AIDS … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Beyond Gravity (1989)
Before Heated Rivalry we had 1925’s Battling Bruisers. A pair of boxers flirt in the middle of a match. Their fans and attendants are gay “nance” stereotypes who support the romance. The film both enforces and subverts the trope. Pansies … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Battling Bruisers (1925)
Adam est Ève (Adam is Eve) has all the trappings of a broad Hollywood farce but this 1954 film surprises by how thoughtfully and respectfully it treats it’s trans main character. This dichotomy becomes clear early on. In what seems … Continue reading LGBT Media: Adam est Ève (Adam Is Eve) (1954)
A lesbian couple finds an abandoned baby. Erin (Ali Liebert) wants to adopt it. Her wife Kelly (Katherine Barrell) does not. But she’ll be badgered and shamed into pretending she does. The Christmas Baby is the second Hallmark film to … Continue reading LGBT Media: The Christmas Baby (2025)
Two closeted hockey captains begin hooking up between matches. The press paints them as arch enemies. Bad boy Ilya Rozanov and boy scout Shane Hollander feel trapped by their public personas. As the years pass, and their stars rise, they … Continue reading LGBT Media: Heated Rivalry (2025)
Shinya Suzuki (Ryoma Takeuchi), a fiery Latin Dancer, trains with Shinya Sugiki (Keita Machida), an icy Ballroom Dancer. The upcoming 10 Dance competition requires they master each other’s techniques. 10 Dance is adapted from the manga by Satoh Inoue. Class … Continue reading LGBT Movies: 10 Dance (2025)
Miles Bennett is thrilled to start his medical internship at Everett Industries. When he goes to tell his girlfriend, he learns she’s cheating on him. He boasts he’s cheating too and kisses the person next to him… his new boss, Hunter … Continue reading LGBT Media: Straight Until He Kissed Me (2025)
An anxious grad student interviews a friend of the late activist Edward Carpenter. The student’s snarky boyfriend plans his birthday party. The characters discuss queer rights, age-gaps and open relationships. The film starts slowly and builds to a powerful finale. … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Only Connect (1979)
A Keller Christmas Vacation continues Hallmark’s attempt to shake up their romcom formula. Three siblings find love on a holiday cruise. They stress over careers, family secrets and past trauma. The crowded screenplay could stand to lose a subplot or … Continue reading LGBT Movies: A Keller Christmas Vacation (2025)
Why does an effeminate homosexual join the United States Marine Corp? Once he’s exposed to bigotry and abuse, why does he stay? Will the experience make him strong or simply obedient? The USMC, founded in 1775, has participated in every … Continue reading LGBT Media: Boots (2025)
Hikaru went up the mountain. Something else came down, wearing his skin. Hikaru’s best friend, Yoshiki, knows he’s talking to an imposter. But he prefers illusions to harsh truths. The Summer Hikaru Died is an ambitious mix of horror, coming … Continue reading LGBT Media: The Summer Hikaru Died (2025)
Kevin Glover’s Love Bites is a gay vampire softcore romcom. An amateur vampire hunter falls for his handsome target. Can love conquer all? Glover wrote the script for the stage. But filming on location, and releasing to VHS, proved more … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Love Bites (1988)
Colin Firth plays the neurotic owner of a cinema in Buenos Aires. He takes in a handsome American flat mate (Hart Bochner) and quickly becomes obsessed. The men begin a dangerous game. Martin Donovan co-wrote and directed Apartment Zero. The … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Apartment Zero (1988)
An activist (Diego Luna) and a window dresser (Tonatiuh) share a prison cell during Argentina’s military dictatorship. The dresser, Molina, copes by recounting the plot of her favorite film: Kiss of the Spider Woman. A musical fantasy starring a glamorous … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Kiss of the Spider Woman (2025)
I visited London this month and saw some plays in, and off, the West End. The first three had much in common. Small cast, 90 minute works featuring tortured gay artists. Born With Teeth by Liz Duffy Adams. Wyndham’s Theatre. … Continue reading London Theatre 2025
I’ve been attending Chicago’s International LGBTQ+ Film Festival for many years now. Last season I burnt myself out watching 18 features. This year I settled for a modest 7. Dreams in Nightmares (2025, US). Queer black friends go on a … Continue reading LGBT Movies: Reeling Festival 2025
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