Film series: New Queer Cinema
Our New Queer Cinema series features a dynamic selection of recent films that center on LGBTQ+ characters, identities, and experiences.
The series begins with Georgia Oakley’s celebrated directorial debut Blue Jean (2023). Set in England in 1988, the film follows Jean, a gym teacher, who is forced to lead a double life after Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government passes a law stigmatizing gays and lesbians. Meticulously researched, the film draws on the experience of lesbian women who experienced the consequences of Section 28, a series of U.K. laws that prohibited local authorities and schools from “promoting homosexuality.”
Next up is Will-o’-the-Wisp (2023), a provocative, sexually charged fable from Portuguese filmmaker João Pedro Rodrigues. On his deathbed, his royal highness Alfredo, king without a crown in an alternate future of Portuguese monarchy, is taken back to distant youth memories and the time he dreamt of becoming a fireman. Memories of his encounter with instructor Afonso from the fire brigade unfold in an erotic satire of love, desire, and youthful optimism.
Screening as part of this year’s Cine con Cultura Film Festival is Uýra – The Rising Forest (2023), director Juliana Curi’s feature documentary debut that illuminates Indigenous contemporary trans visual artist Uýra. The lyrical and eye-popping film follows Uýra as they travel through the Amazon forest on a journey of self-discovery using performance art and ancestral messages to teach Indigenous youth the significance of identity and place.
Finally, as part of the year-long series African Languages, Literature, and Film, presented by the Institute for African Development at the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, is Wanuri Kahiu’s Rafiki (2018). Bursting with the colorful street style and music of Nairobi’s vibrant youth culture, the film is a tender love story between two young women in a country that still criminalizes homosexuality. Initially banned in Kenya for its positive portrayal of queer romance, Rafiki won a landmark supreme court case chipping away at Kenyan anti-LGBT legislation.
Finally, we are delighted to present Chilean-Serbian director Vuk Lungulov-Klotz’s emotional debut feature, Mutt (2023), which follows a day in the life of Feña, a recently transitioned young trans man bustling through life in New York City. Trans actor Lío Mehiel shines as the dynamic lead beset by hectic disruptions and unexpected encounters from his past as he navigates both the challenges of daily life and new relationships dynamics with family, friends, and a former lover.
Cosponsored by the Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program and the LGBT Resource Center at Cornell
Featuring:
Blue Jean
(dir. Georgia Oakley, 2022)
Friday, September 8, 2023, 9pm
Sunday, September 10, 2023, 5pm
Will-o’-the-Wisp
(dir. João Pedro Rodrigues, 2023)
Thursday, September 14, 2023, 7pm
Friday, September 15, 2023, 9:15pm
UÝRA – The Rising Forest
(dir. Juliana Curi, 2022)
Friday, October 6, 2023, 7pm
Rafiki
(dir. Wanuri Kahiu, 2018)
Tuesday, November 7, 2023, 7pm
*Free admission, sponsored by the Institute for African Development at the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies
Mutt
(dir. Vuk Lunglov-Klotz, 2023)
Saturday, November 11, 2023, 9:30pm
Sunday, November 12, 2023, 5:30pm
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
(dir. Céline Sciamma, 2019)
Wednesday, November 15, 2023, 7pm
Tuesday, December 5, 2023, 7pm
