Black./Womyn.:Conversations with Lesbians of African Descent

He is a sensitive boy who represses his true personality. After experiencing traumatic experiences, our protagonist begins to open to the world on a journey that made him the person who is. This is not the complete story, but shows a trajectory of overcoming and change.

This film addresses issues related to black gay men, inside and outside the LGBTQ+ movement. Hypersexualization of black bodies, loneliness, racism and homophobia are examples of the topics covered. Thus, we seek to discuss, at different times, the experiences of these subjects and their characteristics.

Jo is a 40-year-old transgender man addicted to cocaine. This addiction prevents him from achieving his transition in good conditions, and from maintaining fulfilling relationships. He is trying to quit drugs and to make a fresh start.

Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.

A documentary that approaches polyamory from the intimate point of view of an Afro-American family who decided to live an authentic life without denying the option of diversity in their love and family.

This is an experimental documentary chronicling the March 1995 groundbreaking conference on lesbian and gay sexualities in the African diaspora. The conference brought together an array of dynamic scholars, activists and cultural workers including Essex Hemphill, Kobena Mercer, Barbara Smith, Urvashi Vaid and Jacqui Alexander to interrogate the economic, political and social situations of diasporic lesbians, gay men, bisexual and transgendered peoples. The video brings together the highlights of the conference and draws connections between popular culture and contemporary black gay media production. The participants discuss various topics: Black and queer identity, the shortcomings of Black nationalism, and homophobia in Black communities. Drawing upon works such as Isaac Julien's "The Attendant" and Jocelyn Taylor's "Bodily Functions", this documentary illuminates the importance of this historic conference for Black lesbians and gays.

The Black Cop follows a former police officer’s experience of being both the victim and perpetrator of racism within the police. It’s a riveting confessional about compromise, fortitude and self-discovery - to find a way through systemic racism and homophobia, by pioneering and championing rights within the force and wider society.

Game Face shows the quest to self-realization of LGBT athletes and the acceptance in society. The film follows athletes during their coming out process, and sheds light on the obstacles LGBT sports players deal with throughout their career.

A documentary that explores the reality of the LGBTQIA+ community through the perspective of those who, excluded from their families of origin, have built new bonds and forms of belonging. At the center of the film is the House of Windowsen, an emerging presence in the Italian ballroom scene, made up of Gian, the overall father, Morgan Sasha, and Concetta. Following their lives between Milan, Rome, and Naples, the film weaves together personal experiences and shared journeys, offering a direct portrait of ballroom culture and the dynamics of a chosen family that is atypical and non-nuclear. It is a narrative that highlights identities, relationships, and the need to create a space in which to exist.

Maurice Hines -- actor, director, singer, and choreographer -- navigates the complications of show business while grieving the loss of his more famous, often estranged younger brother, tap dance legend Gregory Hines.

Frequently marginalized within a community that already struggles against marginalization -- that is, the gay, lesbian and bisexual community -- African American transgender males make their voices heard in this film from Kortney Ryan Ziegler. Six articulate black transmen -- who are also artists, students, husbands, fathers, lawyers and teachers -- speak candidly about race, gender, body image and status.

The intimate journey and unpublished backstory of BeBe Zahara Benet – a charismatic drag performer originally from Cameroon, and the very first winner of the culture-changing phenomenon, RuPaul’s Drag Race. With over a decade of unprecedented access, we observe BeBe’s struggles with celebrity, authenticity, success, and failure.

From adoption and homelessness to navigating relationships and overcoming self-harm, the four transmen in MAN MADE all have something else in common: they are all bodybuilders. Through the lens of FTMFitCon, the world’s only FTM bodybuilding competition, we delve into the lives of Dominic, Rese, Mason, and Kennie as they define what it means to be a man while contextualizing that definition through the social, racial, and economic realities of their lives. For the men of MAN MADE, it’s not about winning—it’s about stepping on stage and being seen for everything they are.

Sheryl Swoopes famously has been labeled as the female Michael Jordan, but that's only part of the story. On the court, she was nearly as dominant as Jordan, winning a national championship with Texas Tech, three Olympic gold medals, three MVP awards and four consecutive championships with the Houston Comets of the WNBA, the league she helped start. She even had a Nike shoe named after her, the Air Swoopes. Off the court, she has had a life full of transitions. She gave birth to her son, Jordan, during the inaugural season of the WNBA. Later, she divorced her high school sweetheart and became the highest-profile athlete in her sport to acknowledge she was gay. She has struggled with love, money and personal identity, but has never lost her spirit. In this portrait, you will meet someone who is not your everyday superstar, but a woman who has defied a multitude of labels.

An inspiring love story about a self-described “poor, gay, black man from North Philly” on his historic run for the United States Senate. But this race is about more than taking on the political competition. It’s about taking on an entire system.

25 years after Paris is Burning, we dive back into the fierce world of voguing battles in the Kiki scene of New York City, where competition between Houses demands leadership, painstaking practice, and performances on point. A film collaboration between Kiki gatekeeper, Twiggy Pucci Garçon, and Swedish filmmaker Sara Jordenö, we’re granted exclusive access into this high stakes world, where tough competitions act as a gateway into the daily lives of LGBTQ youth of color in NYC. The new generation of ballroom youth use the motto, “Not About us Without Us”. Twiggy and Sara’s insider-outsider approach to their stories breathes fresh life into the representation of a marginalized community who demand visibility and real political power.

A short film that gives voice and space for LGBTQIA+ blacks to express themselves freely, by reporting and documenting stories which are transformative for the viewer, proposing the correlation and criticism of two forms of social oppression: homophobia and machismo.

A queer oddball seeks approval from Black peers despite a serious lack of Hip-Hop credentials. This short animated documentary takes you on a quest for belonging.

A short documentary exploring the lives, deep friendship, and resilience of six Black West Point graduates against the backdrop of America's War on Terror. Filmed remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic and the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, the film blends intimate remote interviews, archival military footage, presidential speeches, and personal photos. It chronicles their time at the United States Military Academy, deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, and South Korea, and transitions into successful civilian careers and graduate school. Notably, the documentary highlights the group's diversity by embracing its LGBTQ+ members. By celebrating profound male bonds, Black Knights challenges traditional narratives and preconceived notions about who serves in the U.S. military and what military service means for America.

Marlon Riggs, with assistance from other gay Black men, especially poet Essex Hemphill, celebrates Black men loving Black men as a revolutionary act. The film intercuts footage of Hemphill reciting his poetry, Riggs telling the story of his growing up, scenes of men in social intercourse and dance, and various comic riffs, including a visit to the "Institute of Snap!thology," where men take lessons in how to snap their fingers: the sling snap, the point snap, the diva snap.