Lesbiennes, quelle histoire ?

Tracing the U.S. military's long history of discrimination against the gay community and one couple's personal journey for acceptance.

During the women's demonstration on March 8, 1972, Mariasilvia SPOLATO was there with a placard: Liberazione omosessuale. A month later, Simone de Beauvoir came to Rome to give an interview, and this placard illustrated her article. Mariasilvia could no longer teach, ended up homeless and spent her life on the trains.

At a time when the far right is ascending to power around the world, the 2020 Brazilian municipal elections saw a surprising and unprecedented record of LGBT candidates. This film follows four young queer politicians during their electoral campaigns and reveals their struggle to affirm their rights to exist and be heard.

A Polish documentary that explores the early history of Pride marches in Poznań and the struggle for LGBTQ+ equality in Poland. It focuses on the contrast between the city’s 2020s identity as a so-called “Rainbow Capital of Poland” and its much harsher past when marches were rare and fraught with conflict. The film reflects on a first Pride march marked by a small group of around 200 people attempting to advance under heavy police presence, unable to walk more than 100 meters and facing aggressive suppression.

GroundSpark creates visionary films and dynamic educational campaigns that move individuals and communities to take action for a more just world. Citizen Film has been a frequent collaborator of GroundSpark over the years. Its “One Wedding and a Revolution,” directed by Academy Award Winner Debra Chasnoff is co-produced by Kate Stilley Steiner, with cinematography by Sophie Constantinou. Chasnoff’s “Let’s Get Real” and “That’s a Family” were also co-produced by Stilley Steiner, who edited those films and supervised post-production as well.

Through a creative blend of mixed-media and charismatic narration balancing humor, sass and historical gravity, discover the queer history of the carabiner in this latest WaterBear Original, directed by Gianna Mazzeo and made in partnership with Nikon. Follow the carabiner’s story, from its humble 1911 climbing roots (thanks, Otto "Rambo" Herzog), to empowering butch mechanics and postal workers in the 60s, becoming a potent signal of identity and attraction in the 80’s (think Tinder, but with hardware) and as a TikTok fashion sensation today.

An archive-driven exploration of the life, work, and legacy of iconic, pioneering lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer.

A film that sets a magnifying glass on the representation of lesbians in fiction products that were broadcasted on Argentine television from 1992 to 2014 on over-the-air channels. Based on interviews with professionals from various disciplines and archival images, the documentary reveals a negative characterization that predominates in the representations. The characters lack social depth and are distant from reality. The small screen presents us with lives marked by a dramatic coming out of the closet or, even worse, their permanence in it. The voices of Albertina Carri, Ernesto Meccia, Analia Couceiro and Vir Cano reflect on fictions from their backgrounds and their own life stories.

Archive footage from 2006 - 2010 of a young girl growing up during the ages of four to eight. Only fragments of what is remembered exists. Words from a transgender man float to the surface as fleeting memories go on.

The Purge traces a dark and little-known moment in Canadian history: the systemic discrimination faced by members of the LGBT community within the Armed Forces and the federal public service. From 1950 to 1996, it was yesterday, no effort was spared to flush out these men and women deemed "immoral" and representing a "danger to national security": intensive and coercive interrogations, humiliating tests, polygraphs, forced confessions and denunciations.

In the first person, a documentary that shows us the experience of Vida Rodriguez, formerly Inocente Duke, in situations that the Trans Law favors: what happens when entering a sauna, locker room, or a public service (even in the Congress of Deputies). An experience that, with respect and large doses of humor, brings us face to face with a law and its difficulties in its implementation.

The documentary focuses on the story of QueerFest, the first and only LGBTI+ film festival in Turkey, which has been organized in Ankara since 2011. Through interviews with the founders of QueerFest, volunteers and staff who have contributed to the festival, the 14-year journey of the festival and the culture and arts landscape shaped by Turkey's political climate are told. QueerFest's self-organizational connection with the Pink Life Association, its connection with the “lubunya” (queer community) of Ankara and the cultural capital it inherited from there, is transformed into a powerful political voice by developing the practice of mobilizing through art. Since 2017, the festival has continued its resistance against the bans and heavy censorship obstacles every year and opens a space for many queer people living in Turkey who are interested in the field of culture and art and want to produce in this sphere.

Harvey Milk was an outspoken human rights activist and one of the first openly gay U.S. politicians elected to public office; even after his assassination in 1978, he continues to inspire disenfranchised people around the world.

"Stolen House" is a documentary short film that follows the migration story of Mark, a Russian photographer, and Katya, a Ukrainian artist, to Argentina. Through narrations, staged scenes, and archival material, fragments of their lives, feelings, and motivations are explored.

Two mothers lovingly raised Afra. Growing up felt like a safe pink bubble to her. But this bubble burst when she discovered the obstacles her parents had to overcome to have a child. For example, one mother did not exist legally for 12 years, and 30 years later this is still the reality for multi-parent families. When Afra heard this, she became determined to tell the story of these families. This documentary shows what happens to you when you fall outside the 'standard' picture of a family. In the film we follow Afra, and her two mothers, two multi-parent families, the experts Henny Bos (professor of Sexual and Gender Diversity in Youth), Sara Coster (board member Meer dan Gewenst and child wish coach) and former D66 member of parliament Lisa van Ginneken.

Jon Sistiaga takes an immersive trip to Poland, a country divided into two zones: on the one hand, the urban and pro-European, and on the other, the rural and ultra-Catholic, still anchored in the traumas of the war and the post-war period. Is Poland a homophobic country or does it have a homophobic government? How does the European Union allow this situation?

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.

A documentary on the history of the gay magazine Entendidos, a pioneering publication on LGBTQ+ rights in Venezuela.

A documentary that chronicles the twenty years of Pride parading in Iceland. Filmmaker Hrafnhildur Gunnarsdóttir has shot the parade from the beginning, with all its pride and power, beauty and sometimes ugliness. She mixes old material and new interviews with activists who reminisce about their participation in the parade, it’s impact on society in general, and what Pride means for the LGBTQ+ community.

Over the last 30 years, barbara findlay has brought together the forces of feminism, anti-oppression and community activism, advocating for the rights and freedoms of queer and transgender Canadians.