LGBT – DocumentaryNow.org

Sex Positive

Sex Positive explores the life of Richard Berkowitz, a revolutionary gay S&M hustler turned AIDS activist in the 1980s, whose incomparable contribution to the invention of safe sex has never been aptly credited. Mr. Berkowitz emerged from the epicenter of the epidemic demanding a solution to the problem before the outside world would take heed. Now destitute and alone, Mr. Berkowitz tells his story to a world who never wanted to listen.

Run time: 75m Tagline: What if you knew a deadly epidemic was coming and no one would believe you? Release: 2009-06-12

Stars: Edmund White Gabriel Rotello Larry Kramer Michael Callen Michael Lucas Norma Connolly Richard Berkowitz Sean O. Strub Susan Brown

8: The Mormon Proposition

Filmmaker and ex-Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints member Reed Cowan examines that church's nationwide efforts to prevent the legalization of gay marriage - including California's Proposition 8, which was passed by voters in 2008. Confidential church documents, statements by high-ranking church officials and other sources detail 30 years of efforts to turn back gay rights, particularly by the Mormon-sponsored National Organization for Marriage.

Run time: 80m Tagline: Equality for some. Release: 2010-01-01

Stars: Bruce Barton Dustin Lance Black Matt Aune Melissa Bird Rocky Mayor Anderson Tyler Barrick

Paris Is Burning

A chronicle of New York City's drag scene in the 1980s, focusing on balls, voguing and the ambitions and dreams of those who gave the era its warmth and vitality.

Run time: 71m Tagline: Having a ball… Wish you were here Release: 1990-03-13

Stars: Anji Xtravaganza Dorian Corey Octavia St. Laurent Pepper LaBeija Venus Xtravaganza Willi Ninja

Silverlake Life: The View from Here

An extraordinary video diary about living with AIDS documenting, with guts and humor, the love and dedication of longtime companions Tom Joslin and Mark Massi, from the emotional challenge of living with a fatal illness to the frustration of maintaining daily routines,.

Run time: 99m Release: 1993-01-01

Party Monster: The Shockumentary

"Party Monster: The Shockumentary" tells the story of the rise and fall of Michael Alig, a kid from Middle America who aspired to take the place of Andy Warhol. Michael quickly rose to become the biggest party promoter in New York and King of the so-called Club Kids. But after spiraling into drug addiction, Michael brutally murdered his roommate Angel Melendez.

Run time: 57m Tagline: He came. He partied. He killed. Release: 1998-06-11

Stars: James St. James Michael Alig

Paragraph 175

During the Nazi regime, there was widespread persecution of homosexual men, which started in 1871 with the Paragraph 175 of the German Penal Code. Thousands were murdered in concentration camps. This powerful and disturbing documentary, narrated by Rupert Everett, presents for the first time the largely untold testimonies of some of those who survived.

Run time: 74m Release: 2000-01-22

Stars: Rupert Everett

Southern Comfort

This moving documentary chronicles the last year in the life of Robert Eads, a female-to-male transsexual dying of ovarian cancer. We're introduced to several prominent figures in Robert's life -- most importantly, his life partner, Lola Cola. Lola is a transsexual who's become Robert's life partner and caretaker. The two prepare to lead a panel at the annual Southern Comfort conference, a yearly event created for transgendered individuals.

Run time: 90m Tagline: Love is a many-gendered thing Release: 2001-01-25

The Legend of Leigh Bowery

Welcome to the over-the-top, extravagant world of Leigh Bowery, a key figure in New Romanticism and London nightlife in the 1980s. With his bizarre outfits, a mix of kitsch and fetish, and his eccentric performances, he influenced artists, musicians and stylists like Boy George, Lucian Freud (of whom he became the muse), Vivienne Westwood, Anthony and the Johnsons, John Galliano and David LaChapelle. Born in Australia into an intensely religious family and brought up in a Melbourne suburb, Leigh moved to London where he worked as a fashion designer and a promoter, and started the legendary disco club night "Taboo", the first outrageous polysexual party in London. The documentary offers a fully rounded portrait of this artist, including interviews with the people who knew him, who describe a complex, extreme, and ironic personality, a performer, actor and designer ahead of his time, from his difficult early life to international success, up to his death in 1994.

Run time: 83m Release: 2002-04-13

Stars: Boy George Leigh Bowery

Superstar in a Housedress: The Life and Legend of Jackie Curtis

Andy Warhol described Jackie Curtis as “A pioneer without a frontier.” In this biographical documentary, Curtis’s co-workers and friends speak of her work and her influence, along with clips from Curtis’s Warhol films as well as never-before-seen footage from her stage shows.

Run time: 95m Release: 2004-05-05

Stars: Harvey Fierstein Holly Woodlawn Lily Tomlin Michael André Paul Ambrose Paul Morrissey Penny Arcade Sylvia Miles

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