Tag: LGBTQ+ Documentaries

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The Abominable Crime (2013)

2022 Entry #021 02-01-22 “The Abominable Crime” is a 2013 documentary which was directed by award winning producer Micah Fink. The film explores the impacts of homophobia through the eyes of two Jamaicans who are forced to choose between their homeland and their lives. Simone, a young lesbian mother, survives being shot outside of her home by anti-gay gunmen; her gay brother escaped. She must choose between living in hiding with her daughter in Jamaica or traveling alone to seek safety and asylum abroad. Maurice, Jamaica’s leading gay-rights activist, is outed shortly after filing a lawsuit to overturn Jamaica’s anti-sodomy law.

This was really well done; very impressive work. The film covers several years in the lives of these brave souls who not only make incredibly powerful and brave choices in their lives but also have the courage to allow their story to be told. The piece opens with a stylized prologue telling of the shooting that haunts Simone and drives her to action. We see her and her young daughter Khalya. We meet her brother Albert “Carl” Edwards and hear how their stories interconnect. And it’s all so heartbreaking and eventually inspiring. It wasn’t always easy to watch – I was very concerned about what would happen – and in the end I was happy to have watched this.

Maurice’s story is just another piece of this broken story. Having been outed after fighting for LGBT equality in Jamaica, Maruice and his husband are forced to flee to Canada. And yet Maurice continues to fight for his country and those he left behind by returning and seeking change.

I really liked this and I recommend watching it.

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Gay Sex in the 70s (2005)

2022 Entry #015 01-30-22 “Gay Sex in the 70s” is a 2005 American documentary film about gay sexual culture in New York City in the 1970s; which specifically focuses on the years between Stonewall and AIDS (roughly 1969 – 1981). The film was directed by Joseph Lovett, who produced the documentaries “In a New Light: A Call to Action in the War Against AIDS” & “Rock Bottom: Gay Men & Meth”. The film uses archival footage and interviews to illuminate the world of gay anonymous and casual sex in various settings, such as dance clubs, bathhouses, bars, Fire Island, etc. Interviewees include Larry Kramer, Tom Bianchi, Barton Lidice Beneš, Rodger McFarlane, and many others.

I purchased this when it was a new DVD release and though I only watched it once back then, I remembered that I enjoyed it. I specifically remembered that the documentary did a good job with framing this time of sexual liberation and explaining why such personal freedom was revelatory and only made sense. Watching it again now, like other films in this project, I have a greater insight into much of the New York setting. I’ve lived in New York for almost 10 years. I’ve been to Fire Island multiple times. I’ve seen what’s left of the piers depicted in the film and I’ve marched in the Pride Parade 4 times.

This is a very good documentary.

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How to Survive a Plague (2012)

2022 Entry #004 01-07-22 “How to Survive a Plague” is a 2012 American documentary film about the early years of the AIDS epidemic, and the efforts of activist groups ACT UP and TAG. It was directed by David France (“The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson”, “Welcome to Chechnya”), a journalist who covered AIDS from its beginnings. The film is dedicated to the director’s partner Doug Gould, who died of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1992.

A breathtakingly powerful documentary which covers familiar ground I’ve seen in other documentaries and narrative films, yet this managed to provide me with valuable information that I had somehow been deprived of until my viewing experience. Several similar works have been made over the years but they usually rely mostly on present day interviews to paint their stories, while this piece was produced using more than 700 hours of archived footage which included news coverage, interviews as well as film of demonstrations, meetings and conferences taken by ACT UP members themselves! Effectively and responsibly edited, this work is a treasure trove / time capsule that would be impossible to replicate without these valuable resources. Director David France has stated that they knew what they were doing was historic, and that many of them would die. And though the subject may seem treacherous, the story, as revealed here, is actually inspiring & hopeful, rather than bleak and depressing – with many untold or rarely shared stories of perseverance, success & triumph.

Highly recommended.

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