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The London Mediatheque loves lesbiansIf you live anywhere near London (or if you travel to London often), allow me to strongly recommend to you the British Film Institute’s new Mediatheque. Well — new is a relative term. The service was first launched in March of 2007. But I hadn’t heard of it until recently, so there’s a possibility that you may not have, either. Anyway, the point is that it’s awesome. Basically, the Mediatheque is a room with about 20 viewing stations in it. You stroll in, you register for a two-hour viewing session at the reception desk, and then you sit down and watch something from their archives of films, TV dramas, and documentaries — many of them lesbian-themed — at your own individual screen. It’s possible to book in advance, but based on my own experience this past weekend, your chances are quite good of getting a screen even if you just turn up on the day. You don’t have to be a member; you don’t have to be anything. It’s just there, and it’s free of charge. Nice, huh? Take a look at the complete list of of archived films available to view. They’re not all lesbian-themed, of course (and I’ll admit I don’t quite understand the process by which they’ve been selected). But if you scan down the list, it won’t take you long to find a range of British lesbian favourites. There are classic dramas, like Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, A Village Affair and Fingersmith.
And there are short films — including the fantastically titled Came Out, It Rained, Went Back in Again, which I watched this weekend. Made in 1991, it features Absolutely Fabulous actress Jane Horrocks as a young “learner lesbian” who travels down to London for the first time and goes through a range of dilemmas that will be utterly familiar to anyone who’s gone through the coming-out process.
Refreshingly, it manages to be a breezy comedy without minimizing any of the genuine difficulties that do accompany coming out. There are some dramas that I’ll admit I’ve never heard of — like 1987’s Inappropriate Behaviour. Scripted by Andrew Davies (who would go on to adapt Tipping the Velvet for the BBC), it stars Oranges actress Charlotte Coleman as a schoolgirl who becomes an object of desire for her female psychiatrist.
There are documentaries, like the 1965 program This Week: Lesbians (sure to be full of enlightenment and sensitivity — er, NOT), and debate shows like 1983’s One in Five, featuring gay men and women from the period talking about their experiences.
There’s Daphne Du Maurier — The Loving Spirit, a 1993 documentary that delves into the private life of the bisexual author of Rebecca. I found this particularly fascinating to watch, since the 2007 BBC drama Daphne was based on this biographical material. There’s a chance to see A Bit of Scarlet — a history of gay and lesbian British cinema that I had never even heard of before this weekend. Directed by a woman, Andrea Weiss, and narrated by Sir Ian McKellen, it’s the U.K. equivalent of the groundbreaking 1995 American documentary The Celluloid Closet. While it has its frustrating aspects — the fact that the titles of the films under discussion aren’t shown until the credits, for example, as well as an over-reliance on purely homosocial footage of women dancing together — there are also some fascinating moments, as well as many clips from older British films that I had never seen or heard of before. You can watch a woman in a tux singing about her “Sweet Adeline” in an old black-and-white film, or watch Vanessa Redgrave kiss Dorothy Tutin in the 1993 Jeanette Winterson–scripted drama Shades of Fear (also known as Great Moments in Aviation).
For those who are interested in the history of gay male as well as lesbian cinema, there are the landmark dramas Victim (1961) and Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), as well as the more recent groundbreaking TV shows Queer as Folk (the original U.K. version) and The Line of Beauty. And for those simply interested in women in the arts, there are multiple documentaries on the Brontës. Essentially, it’s a fantastic resource that I can’t wait to travel to London and use again. Visit the Mediatheque website for hours and more details. Submitted by on March 5, 2008 - 10:00am. |
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News, Reviews & Commentary on Lesbian and Bisexual women in Entertainment and the Media
Interesting!
"is a room with about 20
"is a room with about 20 viewing stations in it"
hey what an cool idea a film museum in which you can go and watch films, cool. Do we have anything like this in the states?
-Nathiest
live for lust die for love
The Paley Center for Media
Yep. It's called The Paley Center for Media. There's one in LA and NY. It used to be called the Museum of Television and Radio. There's a website, but I know there are members of the center who read this site, so they can give you more personal info.
The Paley Center for Media website: http://www.mtr.org/Wow, never heard of it. It
I just have to say that the
I just have to say that the BFI Southbank isn't actually a film museum, it's an active cinema (formerly known as the NFT) but it's recently undergone a refurb and some of the latest additions to the already existent 3 screens is a gallery space, a dedicated film store selling DVDs, books and other film ephemera and the Mediatheque.
The Mediatheque is a great resource and is continually being updated with new content, some highlights of which are announced in the free monthly What's On booklet available at the NFT. It is well worth a visit - and I'm not just saying that because I work for the BFI ;) It's a chance to see some films previously never available for public viewing from the archive and best of all, it's free!
Also don't forget the BFI runs the largest lesbian and gay film festival in Europe every year, the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (also known as LLGFF) which starts again this month and runs from 27th March - 10th April before some of the films go on a nationwide tour. Highlights for lesbian viewers this year include the Oscar winning Freeheld, the Afterellen recently reviewed Vivere and Spider lillies. Full details of the festival can be found at
http://www.bfi.org.uk/llgff/
And my work here is done :)
Snowy, I can see the pub from here!
CLUB REVUE / London
Sounds good. Someone also sent me a link to this fab night....lesbian movies, dinner, popcorn, clubbing and live music...ALL combined into one night at a funky venue for women only. Check it out http://www.club-revue.co.uk
Fantastic!
This sounds brilliant, both for lesbian-themed content and otherwise. Some really, really rich stuff on that list, and I wish there was a chance of me getting to London...geez...anytime in the next ten years. ;)
I mean, look at this selection:
"Rachel and the Roarettes
1985 | 42 mins
The world's first - and last - lesbian highway(wo)man musical."
...I know I'm dying to see what that's like, now!
I don't know it for a fact, obviously, but maybe the list is partially chosen due to the clearances the BFI could obtain?
~S
____
"I give myself some very good advice, but I very seldom follow it."
One of these in Canada too for the NFB
The National Film Board has a Mediatheque in downtown Toronto at their headquarters there. There aren't as many tvs from what I recall, but there are definitely a few viewing booths.
If you ever go to a film festival too, on an industry pass (I did this last year at the Toronto HotDocs Documentary Festival)...they have a giant viewing room too for interested buyers.
It's a really cool idea...and it's very easy to get carried away!
~Renée
I've been to the Paley
I've been to the Paley Center. I signed out the series premieres for Charlie's Angels, The Bionic Woman and Wonder Woman. It was wonderful!
so cool.
After reading about this on
After reading about this on here, I just went to go visit it yesterday. It was great, especially given that it is completely free. I ended up watching "Do i love you" and a few shorts- including "Came out, it rained, went back in again"- If anyone is visiting london, then it is a short walk down the south bank from waterloo station (it is right next to the National Theatre)
Also, if you needed another reason to go, the biggest lesbian and gay film festival in Europe is starting there tomorrow..
Lesbian titles now available at BFI Mediatheque
Just a note to confirm that the following titles that will hopefully be of interest to lebian audiences are now available to view for FREE at the Mediatheque at BFI Southbank - www.bfi.org.uk/mediatheque . The Mediatheque focuses on British film and TV (and titles related to Britain). Further BFI Mediatheques will open in Derby and Cambridge later in the year.
Hints and Hobbies No. 11 (1926) - Jiu-jitsu for ladies. We have just added a clip from this to YouTube - http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=V0hkXzY3H20
First A Girl (1935) - A hard-up girl pretends to be a female impersonator to make ends meet.
A Canterbury Tale (1944) - Land Girls and lesbians... Magical and unsettling evocation of rural Britain as seen through the eyes of WWII's modern pilgrims.
The World Ten Times Over (1963) - British cinema's first lesbian relationship?
This Week: Lesbians (1965) - 1960s lesbians in the spotlight.
Three Fat Women of Antibes (1969) - "Call me Frank!" Three women enjoy the spa treatment.
Monique (1969) - Can a saucy French au pair spice up the love life of a married couple? She can indeed.
Lust for a Vampire (1970) - Hammer horror with a sapphic twist.
The Important Thing is Love (1971) - The invisible history of British lesbians.
Breeze Anstey (1972) - A rural romance from H.E. Bates.
Girl (1974) - Alison Steadman stars as a young army recruit.
Within These Walls (1975) - Women in prison - from a time before 'Bad Girls' and 'Prisoner - Cell Block H'.
The Other Woman (1976) - An activist lesbian artist embarks on an affair with a young woman, with dramtic repercussions for all concerned.
Connie (1979) - Connie has an eye for the other women in the factory.
Rebecca (1979) - Memorable four-part Du Maurier adaptation - a classic of late-'70s British TV.
Framed Youth: Revenge of the Teenage Perverts (1983) - Queer teens discuss their experiences in Thatcher's Britain.
One in Five (1983) - Endearingly right-on concoction bringing together lesbians and gay men for dancing and debate.
Rachel and the Roarettes (1985) - The world's first - and last - lesbian highway(wo)man musical.
Inappropriate Behaviour (1987) - A female psychiatrist develops feelings towards a schoolgirl patient.
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1990) - When her relationship with a female friend turns into something more serious, a girl's ultra-religious family try to brainwash her to renounce her 'satanic' ways.
Came Out, It Rained, Went Back in Again (1991) - A young woman comes out and treks to London. But will the Big Smoke offer her the lesbian bliss she seeks?
Rosebud (1991) - An erotic lesbian tale of voyeurism, power dressing and fantasy.
Working Class Dykes From Hell (1992) - Lesbians talk about being out, proud and working class.
Double the Trouble, Twice the Fun (1992) - A mix of documentary and drama exploring the lives of lesbians and gay men with disabilities.
Daphne du Maurier - The Loving Spirit (1993) - Documentary shedding light on the author's complex relationships with men and women.
B.D. Women (1994) - The hidden histories of black lesbians.
Fireworks Revisited (1994) - A sexy, girlie twist on Kenneth Anger's homoerotic classic, 'Fireworks'.
Linger (1995) - A postcard from an old friend reminds a woman of the night they drunkenly made love.
Gaytime TV (1995) - The queer magazine show cuts its teeth, presented by Rhona Cameron and Bert Tyler-Moore.
A Village Affair (1995) - A married mother's life is turned upside down in the much-loved lesbian Aga saga from Joanna Trollope.
A Bit of Scarlet (1996) - A history of British gay cinema, described as 'a kind of post-modern queer soap opera for Britain in the nineties'.
From High Heels to Sensible Shoes (1997) - Former TV presenter Jackie Forster discusses the day that changed her life - when she had her first lesbian affair.
Rebecca (1997) - Charles Dance and Emilia Fox star as the de Winters in this sumptuous 1997 adaptation in two parts.
Groove on a Stanley Knife (1997) - Two girls - a lesbian and a homophobe - go on the run from crack-dealers.
It's Not Unusual: A Lesbian and Gay History (1997) - A history of homosexuality in Britain from 1920 to 1996.
Do I Love You? (2006) - A London lesbian examines her life as her relationship crumbles - just why does she "prefer taco to salami?"
Manifesto for Love (2003) - An exploration of the meaning of love - accompanied by Dusty Springfield.
Fingersmith (2005) - In the 1860s, a female pickpocket and an heiress enter into a relationship - but is the whole thing a con?