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Gay Cinema - Out of the Archive

Here are the pioneers, the iconoclasts, the brave - from landmark portraits of LGBT life preserved by the BFI National Archive to gay classics that blazed their own trail around the world.

Representation of LGBT characters in film and TV is a contentious subject, interwoven with the fight for equality which gathered pace through the latter half of the 20th century. If lesbians and gay men had cause for concern about how their lives were depicted on screen, bisexual and transgender representation was almost non existent. There have been glimmers of hope: the landmark features of the 60s, the ‘New Queer Cinema’ of the early 90s; the pioneering TV plays of the 70s, and the tabloid-bating serials which saw in the new Millennium. This collection offers a chance to look back, to revisit and discover - not just the icons of gay cinema but the lesser-known treasures. Many of these shorts and features were made with the backing of the BFI Production Board, which championed gay filmmakers throughout the 80s and 90s.

Dream A40 Dream A40

Drama 1965 16 mins Director: Lloyd Reckord

A young gay couple’s relationship is put to the test as a road trip takes a sinister turn in Lloyd Reckord's daring underground short.

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Nighthawks Nighthawks

Drama 1978 113 mins Director: Ron Peck

A schoolteacher juggles everyday life with nights spent cruising for Mr Right in this fascinating landmark in British gay cinema

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Relax Relax

Drama 1991 22 mins Director: Christopher Newby

A gay man awaits the results of an HIV test, drifting into moments of fantasy as he copes with his fears and memories.

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Rosebud Rosebud

Drama 1991 14 mins Director: Cheryl Farthing

A lesbian couple arouse the interest of their new neighbour in this erotic tale of voyeurism, power dressing and fantasy.

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Caught Looking Caught Looking

Drama 1991 35 mins Director: Constantine Giannaris

Years before Grindr, a gay man turns to virtual reality to satisfy his sexual fantasies in this strangely prophetic short film.

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Young Soul Rebels Young Soul Rebels

Drama 1991 105 mins Director: Isaac Julien

The Queen's Silver Jubilee beats to the sounds of Funkadelic, Sylvester and the O'Jays in Isaac Julien’s feature debut.

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Pink Narcissus Pink Narcissus

Fantasy 1971 65 mins Director: James Bidgood

With its highly charged hallucinogenic quality, its atmosphere of lush decadence, Pink Narcissus is a landmark of gay cinema.

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Before Stonewall Before Stonewall

Documentary 1984 84 mins Director: Greta Schiller

Documenting the testimonies from those who dared to challenge the world and helped create the modern gay community.

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Coronation Street - Hayley comes out as transgender Coronation Street - Hayley comes out as transgender

Soap opera 1998 24 mins Director: Michael Kerrigan

In this groundbreaking TV moment from the archives, Hayley tells Roy that she’s transgender.

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Duffer Duffer

Drama 1971 75 mins Director: Joseph Despins and William Dumaresq

A bizarre study of obsession focusing on a teenage boy who is torn between the charms of a fleshly female prostitute and the sadism of an older man.

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A Friend of Dorothy A Friend of Dorothy

Drama 1995 32 mins Director: Raoul O'Connell

A gay man studying in New York develops a crush on his male roommate in this cute and breezy short.

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The Fruit Machine The Fruit Machine

Drama 1988 103 mins Director: Philip Saville

Berated by his father for his camp behaviour, Eddie runs away from his Liverpool home and joins his friend Michael, a streetwise hustler who is also on the run.

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The Lay of the Land The Lay of the Land

Drama 1998 14 mins Director: Fraser Macdonald

A man with a history of gay-bashing enters a smoky bar and strikes up a conversation with a drag queen in this dark short.

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Nighthawks 2: Strip Jack Naked Nighthawks 2: Strip Jack Naked

Documentary 1991 91 mins Director: Ron Peck

Ron Peck’s experimental follow up to the groundbreaking Nighthawks is both a making-of documentary and a deeply personal film memoir.

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North of Vortex North of Vortex

Road movie 1992 55 mins Director: Constantine Giannaris

A gay poet, a bisexual sailor and a straight waitress embark on a trip through an American desert landscape in this languid, woozy road movie.

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Ostia Ostia

Drama 1987 26 mins Director: Julian Cole

A fascinating short, starring Derek Jarman, that reconstructs the events leading up to the murder of Pier Paolo Pasolini.

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Prick Up Your Ears Prick Up Your Ears

Biopic 1987 110 mins Director: Stephen Frears

A celebration of outrageous British playwright Joe Orton’s irreverent and charismatic talent, starring Gary Oldman and Alfred Molina.

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Children Children

Drama 1976 46 mins Director: Terence Davies

The first part of Terence Davies' formidable Trilogy explores the effects of violence on a Liverpool schoolboy, told in a series of flashbacks.

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Madonna and Child Madonna and Child

Drama 1980 28 mins Director: Terence Davies

Autobiography as art: the centrepiece of Terence Davies' devastating Liverpool-set Trilogy focuses on his fictional alter-ego in middle age.

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Death and Transfiguration Death and Transfiguration

Drama 1983 26 mins Director: Terence Davies

The Terence Davies Trilogy reaches its astonishing climax as tortured Liverpool clerk Robert Tucker prepares to meet his maker.

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Vapors Vapors

Drama 1965 32 mins Director: Andy Milligan

Set in a New York bathhouse, this gritty but sensitive portrayal of pre-Stonewall gay life, chronicles an awkward encounter between two equally inexperienced strangers.