Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month

Kamikaze Hearts
Juliet Bashore’s queer docufiction, starring Tigr and real-life girlfriend Sharon Mitchell, celebrates the the San Francisco underground in the 1980s.
Director: Juliet Bashore
Overview
‘I thought she was another dumb fucking porn slut,’ Tigr tells Juliet at the start of what looks to be a documentary about a couple navigating life as lovers in the sex industry. Is this fiction, a doc about Tigr directing her first film, or a sexed-up Bizet’s Carmen, starring her hot girlfriend ‘Mitch’? And does anyone else on screen, other than Tigr, know the answer?
Bashore cites Herzog, and there’s a wealth of polysexual, punk-rock cultural currents flowing here – from Monica Treut and Annie Sprinkle to Allan Moyle’s Times Square. Made in 1986, this was rejected by the lesbian mainstream for not being a ‘positive’ enough portrayal of queer women (and there are unsettling and almost certainly ‘real’ moments – such as the couple shooting up on screen), but after 40 years it still feels a fresh and vital milestone in queer cinema. Restoration from the original 16mm A/B camera negatives. Restored by Kino Lorber in collaboration with the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. Originally screened at the BFI London Film Festival 2022 as part of Treasures.
Related

Swimming Pool Swimming Pool
Drama 2003 102 mins Director: François Ozon
A crime novelist seeks peace but gets a dangerous muse in this twisted bilingual thriller from François Ozon.

La Piscine La Piscine
Drama 1969 123 mins Director: Jacques Deray
A ménage à trois stirs passion and jealousy beside a secluded pool in this sultry, French cult-thriller.

Swimming Home Swimming Home
Comedy 2024 96 mins Director: Justin Anderson
A family finds a stranger floating naked in their swimming pool in this sensual, sun-baked drama starring Christopher Abbot.

Fat City Fat City
Drama 1972 97 mins Director: John Huston
A washed-up boxer (Stacy Keach), and young hopeful (Jeff Bridges), navigate dreams and despair in John Huston’s gritty boxing drama.

To Sleep with Anger To Sleep with Anger
Comedy 1990 102 mins Director: Charles Burnett
Charles Burnett's brilliant drama about an African American family reeling from a a surprise visit from an old friend, played by Danny Glover.

Highway Patrolman Highway Patrolman
Drama 1991 105 mins Director: Alex Cox
Alex Cox’s Mexican film follows the journey of a highway patrolman whose idealism eventually gives way to inevitable corruption.

Maitresse Maitresse
Drama 1976 113 mins Director: Barbet Schroeder
Gerard Depardieu plays the young innocent who falls for the mysterious maitresse Ariane (Bulle Ogier), a leather clad dominatrix, in Barbet Schroeder’s controversial film.

Pressure Pressure
Drama 1978 121 mins Director: Horace Ové
Hailed as Britain's first black feature film, Pressure is a hard-hitting, honest document of the plight of disenchanted black youths in 1970s London.

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.

Christiane F. Christiane F.
Drama 1981 131 mins Director: Uli Edel
David Bowie’s image and music gives brooding energy to this tale of a junkie sex-worker in 70s Berlin.

SCALA!!! SCALA!!!
Documentary 2023 96 mins Director: Jane Giles and Ali Catterall
Engrossing tribute to London’s legendary Scala cinema, aptly subtitled.

Eastern Condors Eastern Condors
Crime 1987 98 mins Director: Sammo Hung Kam-bo
A high-kicking tribute to The Dirty Dozen, which sees ten convicts offered amnesty if they undertake a deadly mission behind enemy lines.

Swimming Pool Swimming Pool
Drama 2003 102 mins Director: François Ozon
A crime novelist seeks peace but gets a dangerous muse in this twisted bilingual thriller from François Ozon.

La Piscine La Piscine
Drama 1969 123 mins Director: Jacques Deray
A ménage à trois stirs passion and jealousy beside a secluded pool in this sultry, French cult-thriller.

Swimming Home Swimming Home
Comedy 2024 96 mins Director: Justin Anderson
A family finds a stranger floating naked in their swimming pool in this sensual, sun-baked drama starring Christopher Abbot.

Fat City Fat City
Drama 1972 97 mins Director: John Huston
A washed-up boxer (Stacy Keach), and young hopeful (Jeff Bridges), navigate dreams and despair in John Huston’s gritty boxing drama.

To Sleep with Anger To Sleep with Anger
Comedy 1990 102 mins Director: Charles Burnett
Charles Burnett's brilliant drama about an African American family reeling from a a surprise visit from an old friend, played by Danny Glover.

Highway Patrolman Highway Patrolman
Drama 1991 105 mins Director: Alex Cox
Alex Cox’s Mexican film follows the journey of a highway patrolman whose idealism eventually gives way to inevitable corruption.