Movies

Four can’t-miss documentaries about queer women of color at Outfest Fusion

Following #OscarsSoWhite and the poor showing of LGBT films at the just past Academy Awards, the 2016 Outfest Fusion LGBT People of Color Film Festival could not have come at a better time. Opening on March 4 in Los Angeles, the festival has a great lineup of scripted feature films and shorts, and will be honoring out filmmaker Nisha Ganatra (Chutney Popcorn, Transparent) at their gala on Saturday night.

Photo by Vincent Sandoval/FilmMagic

Outfest Fusion also has an outstanding selection of documentaries. Ahead of the festival’s opening, we’ve highlighted four documentaries you can’t miss.

The Revival: Women, Wine & the Word (2015) USA

A traveling salon-style performance art show led by queer women of color—need I say more? This film chronicles The Revival Poetry Tour and the women at its center. Founder and poet Jade Foster is joined by fellow poets T’ai Freedom Ford and Jonquille Rice, as well as musician/filmmaker Be Steadwell and tour manager Eli Turner. Seven cities, one van.

If you enjoy poetry readings, you’re going to love this film. The movie features several strong performances presented in front of deeply engaged audiences. The Revival Tour is at its core about building community among queer women of color. The packed rooms tell me they’ve succeeded in doing so.

Life on the road, however, doesn’t come without its bumps, including instances of racism. But it’s always nice when we can catch and call out bigots on camera, so there’s that. Fortunately, the majority of the road trip sees the women bonding. Indeed, by the film’s end you really get a sense of a family dynamic here.

The Revival: Women, Wine & the Word is like no other documentary you’ve seen before. And no, you don’t have to be into poetry to enjoy this film. But if you are, then it’s really a trip!

Visit the movie’s website to keep up with future screenings and release news.

Holler If You Hear Me: Black and Gay in the Church (2015) USA

This BET original film highlights the resistance of black churches to fully embrace their LGBT members. Historically places of liberation, the reality is they’re also often places of intolerance for the queer community. This documentary features black queer Christians and their allies, including several women with compelling stories.

Two of these women are Tonyka and Jonita, who are about to get married. The two actually met at church. Unfortunately, both sides of Tonyka’s family have shunned her since she came out. That includes her mom, who uses her faith to justify not attending her daughter’s wedding.

Hannah’s story is even sadder. She’s been living in shelters since the age of 19 because her adoptive mother has always given her a hard time about being gay. She’s still recovering from a bad accident, which apparently wasn’t enough to persuade her mother to make peace-or have Hannah’s several suicide attempts.

This film doesn’t hold back, going as far as to call out church leaders for sticking to the same harmful teachings despite knowing better because they’re putting the reliable and profitable church business model ahead of what’s right. A very informative watch, Holler If You Hear Me: Black and Gay in the Church is definitely a conversation starter.

You can watch the full movie on BET’s website.

El Canto del Colibri (2015) USA

This documentary switches things up by putting parents and other family members front and center. El Canto del Colibri tells the various stories of Latino men across the U.S. as they relate to their children and siblings coming out. This includes some dads who have a lot of love for their lesbian daughters.

Interestingly, we get to know these men in detail before the film even introduces us to the LGBT individuals in question. Among other topics, they tell us what their early immigration experiences were like and how they initially tackled fatherhood. There are certainly some commonalities, but there are a lot of differences as well. For instance, when their children or siblings came out, reactions varied from denial to genuine surprise to confessions of already having known.

Of course, we hear from the actual queer individuals as well. We learn from them that not every dad had the best reaction and that religion and “machismo” played a big part in making acceptance difficult. On the other hand, we also learn that today all their relationships are stronger than ever.

I have to commend El Canto del Colibri because it does a great job breaking down stereotypes. The fact that it’s in Spanish (with English subtitles) also makes it a useful tool to bring into communities and households where intolerance still prevails. It’s a simple but powerful film.

Visit the movie’s Facebook page to keep up with future screenings and release news.

Poshida: Hidden LGBT Pakistan (2015) Pakistan

This movie gives us a look at the hidden LGBT population of Pakistan, where homosexuality is illegal. So hidden, in fact, that there have been reports that this film is the first to tackle this theme.

Several of those interviewed for the film chose to have their faces obscured so that no one could identify them. Zainab is one of those individuals. For years, she conformed to society’s expectations of her, dressing “feminine” and keeping her hair long, and even going so far as to marry a man. But today, even without the blurred face, she’d probably be unrecognizable to those who knew her before.

AfterEllen.com favorite Fawzia Mirza is also part of the film. The Pakistani-Canadian-American actress brought her one-woman production, Me, My Mom & Sharmila, to major cities in Pakistan to mixed reactions. It turns out not everyone was happy about its lesbian content. How soon we forget that, as the movie explains, same-sex love and spirituality have long overlapped in Pakistan.

The film explores several important themes, like how the local media depicts the LGBT community and how class separates one queer person’s experience from another’s. Beautifully shot and quite educational, Poshida: Hidden LGBT Pakistan is a brilliant little documentary.

Visit the movie’s Facebook page to keep up with future screenings and release news.

Poshida plays on March 4 at Outfest Fusion. The Revival, Holler If You Hear Me, and El Canto del Colibri screen on March 5. To find out more about these and other selections, check out the festival’s website.

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