6 Must-See Black LGBT+ Films

In various countries around the world, June is Pride Month. A time in which the LGBTQI+ community and allies commemorate notable events in LGBTQI+ history, celebrate the community’s existence, culture and influence and campaign against issues of discrimination, hate and injustice affecting the population.

Taking place in June to commemorate Manhattan’s Stonewall Riots (1969) which became the launch pad for the LGBTQI+ rights movement, Pride Month is as good a time as any to educate yourself on LGBTQI+ history, culture and issues.

With film as the teacher specifically within the context of the black LGBTQI+ experience, here are a list of must-see movies centered around LGBTQI+ historical figures and characters.

No wading into LGBTQI+ cinematic waters is complete without a viewing of ‘Paris is Burning’ (1990). An award-winning documentary illuminating the 1980s Harlem drag balls. Offering insight into ball culture and the realities of poverty, violence, racism and homophobia faced by gay and transgender African-American and Latino drag queens, ‘Paris is Burning’ serves the origins of voguing, reading and more in an iconic documentary preserved in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for its cultural, historical and aesthetic significance.

Shot entirely on three iPhone 5 smartphones by writer-director Sean Baker, ‘Tangerine’ (2015) tells the story of Sin-Dee and Alexandra. Two transgender women following their dreams, cussing out their boyfriends and chasing their paper on Christmas Eve. A fast-paced dramedy with transgender actresses Kitana Kiki Rodriguez and Mya Taylor as the leads, ‘Tangerine’ is a slice of life situation giving an honest glimpse into an oft misrepresented or simply ignored community: Transgender sex workers of colour.

The 74th Academy Awards’ best picture, Barry Jenkins’ ‘Moonlight’ (2016) needs little introduction. Zooming in on the story of Chiron at three stages in his life, this coming-of-age story mines the black gay experience against the backdrop of an impoverished Miami neighbourhood replete with an addict mother and drug dealer mentor juxtaposed with that complicated first blush of love. Stunning in its cinematography and portrayal of black male complexity, more than a movie, ‘Moonlight’ is an experience.

Focused on the luminous life and uncertain demise of prominent LGBT activist and drag queen Marsha P Johnson in 1992, this Netflix documentary sheds light on the beginnings of the LGBT movement. Featuring interviews by Johnson’s great friend and fellow activist Sylvia Rivera, ‘The Life and Death of Marsha P Johnson’ (2017) highlights the violence meted against transgender people, their unsolved murder cases and sidelining within the LGBTQI+ community while chilling in its contemporary relevance.

Premiering to international acclaim but causing controversy in South Africa within the contexts of alleged cultural insensitivity and homophobia, John Trengove’s ‘Inxeba’ (2017) considers a closeted relationship between two men during a Xhosa initiation into manhood. Pulled from numerous South African cinema screens and reclassified to R18 while crew and cast received death threats and were forced to go into hiding, ‘Inxeba’ has gone on to win 19 awards at 44 film festivals and was nominated for eight South African Film and Television Awards, winning best feature film, best actor, best supporting actor, best achievement in directing, best achievement in scriptwriting and best achievement in editing in the category of feature film.

Banned in its home country of Kenya, Wanuri Kahiu’s ‘Rafiki’ (2018) tells the forbidden love story of two girls, daughters of political opponents, making their way through their conservative society. Banned citing the film’s intent to promote lesbianism, ‘Rafiki’ is the first Kenyan film invited to premiere at Cannes and is adapted from Ugandan writer Monica Arac de Nyeko’s award-winning short story ‘Jambula Tree’.

– martha@namibian.com.na; Martha Mukaiwa on Twitter and Instagram; marthamukaiwa.com

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