Queerama
A Storyville documentary that uses archive to traverse a century of gay experiences, encompassing persecution, love and desire, forbidden encounters, sexual liberation and pride.
Created from a treasure trove of archive, Queerama traverses a century of gay experiences, encompassing persecution and prosecution, injustice, love and desire, identity, secrets, forbidden encounters, sexual liberation and pride.
The soundtrack weaves the lyrics and music of John Grant, Goldfrapp and Hercules & Love Affair with the images and guides us intimately into the relationships, desires, fears and expressions of gay men and women in the 20th century - a century of incredible change.
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Music Played
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
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00:03John Grant
TC and Honeybear
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00:10Hercules & Love Affair
I Try to Talk to You
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00:15John Grant
JC Hates F**gots
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00:21Goldfrapp
Stranger
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00:26John Grant
Glacier
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00:35John Grant
Caramel
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00:38John Grant
I Hate This Town
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00:50Goldfrapp
Ooh La La
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00:54John Grant
Sigourney Weaver
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00:58John Grant
Black Belt
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01:07John Grant
Supernatural Defibrillator
Director Daisy Asquith answers the Storyville Q&A
Queer representations - what queer people are allowed to do, say and be portrayed as, in addition to the way that they can find themselves on screen, even when they鈥檙e not supposed to be there - fascinates me and always have.
How long did it take to get the film off the ground?
The idea came in the middle of the night when I was already working with John Grant on a feature documentary about him called Greatest Motherf****r.
I told him I wanted to make an archive film about a century of gay rights and desires in cinema. He immediately said 鈥榶es鈥� and agreed for us to use his lyrics and music as a soundtrack to the film. Commissioner Kate Townsend from 大象传媒 Storyville got on board straight away and then we pitched it to the BFI. That took a few months but once we got the greenlight, it took us just 12 weeks to produce the film ready for the Premiere at Sheffield International Documentary Festival.
What were you most surprised to learn in the course of production? 听
I was blown away by the courage of queer people in the 50s and 60s who allowed themselves to be filmed for television documentaries such as Consenting Adults, This Week: Homosexuals and This Week: Lesbians. They were out and in love even before decriminalisation.
What was the most difficult part of the story to tell?
It was very tough to try and represent 鈥渜ueer people鈥� as an amorphous mass. There are so many identities and experiences within the word queer, that I could never hope to cater for everyone. Trawling the BFI鈥檚 archive and finding the hidden treasures made those decisions for me anyway, and was actually surprisingly diverse.
What have been the differences in reception to the film in countries it has now travelled to?
Ask me again in a year once it has been around the world!
Did you have a social media strategy?
No, but Goldsmiths and Sussex universities, where I teach documentary have made a splash.
Has there been a positive response on social media to the film?
Yes 鈥� you can find Twitter comments under #queeramafilm
Any updates on contributors since filming finished?
I would love to find the people featured in Queerama and hear their life stories. They will be aged between 70 and 90 now.
Best recent read?
There is an excellent and entertaining blog by the historian Professor Lucy Robinson on Queerama as queer history.
Best recent film?
I loved Wild Tales.
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Producer | Daisy Asquith |
| Production Company | ie ie Productions |
Featured in...
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Gay Britannia
A season of programming marking the 50th anniversary of The Sexual Offences Act 1967.
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Gay Britannia
A season of documentaries marking the 50th anniversary of The Sexual Offences Act 1967.
Gay Britannia Season
Bold and provocative stories exploring how far we鈥檝e come since being gay was a crime