Celebrate Pride Month With These 5 Films!

In celebration of Pride onth, here are the top 5 films you should take the time out to see!

Disobedience / Directed by Sebastián Lelio

Based on the novel by Naomi Alderman, director Sebastián Lelio delves into the lives of two orthodox women whose lifelong status as friends develops into something very intimate.

Disobedience gives a voice to two  populations that are underrepresented in  film: LGBTQIA+ and Orthodox Jewish women.

Depicting the contented convergence of homosexuality and religion, this film should be prioritized above all other films this summer! Not convinced? How about this: the film stars Rachel Weiz and Rachel McAdams, whose performances have collectively garnered recognition by some of the most prestigious film names in the United States, including The Academy Awards, The Golden Globes, The New York Film Critics Circle, and many more.

Support your local theaters: Now playing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Harvey Theater and the Nitehawk Cinema in Williamsburg!

 

Duck Butter / Directed by Miguel Arteta

Duck Butter is an experimental comedy that finds two women dissatisfied with relationships who decide to establish intimacy in a smothering kind of way: sex every hour within the span of 24 hours.

This is a film written by a woman that focuses solely on the voices of women, which is exactly what we need in these times: underrepresented voices telling their own stories.

Duck Butter is not currently in theaters but it was picked up by The Orchard at Tribeca and can be rented on Amazon.

Love, Simon (2018) / Directed by Greg Berlanti

You haven’t seen this yet? A 17-year-old teenage boy is harboring a secret: his sexual orientation. When his secret is threatened by a blackmailer, he has no choice but to come to terms with his identity.

The LGBQTIA+’s reluctance to freely express their true identity with the people they love is understandable because it is still a very risky and difficult thing to do. Further representation in media helps make it easier, even if only a little bit. This is the first film by a high profile Hollywood studio to focus on homosexual teen romance.

Love, Simon finished up its theatrical run a few weeks ago, but it is available for purchase on Amazon!

The Miseducation of Cameron Post / Directed by Desiree Akhavan

The film tells the story of a lesbian who is forced to go to a gay conversion center. She meets others who also find the concept of converting one’s sexuality to be ineffective. Miseducation's premise is that gay conversion is futile: homosexuality is innate, and cannot be purged for the sake of heteronormativity.

Support your local theaters: The Miseducation of Cameron Post will be at the William Vale on July 31st!

Call Her Ganda  / Directed by PJ Raval

In 2014, a Philippine transgender woman was found murdered in a motel. The public identification of the prime suspect—-a U.S. marine—-ignited a political insurgency against the ubiquitous transphobic attitudes and the post-colonial relationship between the United States and the Philippines.

Violence against the transgender community is more often than not a manifestation of ignorance and the disbelief that gender identity cannot be simply reduced to genitals.

BONUS: Blowin' Up / Directed by Stephanie Wang-Breal

A look into a team of courageous women who advocate against the criminalization of prostitution. The overwhelming majority of women arrested are undocumented Asian immigrants, black, Latina and transgender youth and in this film we meet those fighting for decriminalization, as well as the women, working as prostitutes, who are cruelly represented, all while gaining insight into how our current justice system unjustly handles those who need to do this work to survive. Put aside the romanticized depiction of the privileged Belle de Jour-- the life of the average sex worker is precarious and coercive. Support your local theaters: Blowin’ Up is not in Brooklyn yet, but it will be playing at the Landmark E Street Cinema on June 15th.

Find more info about the film here! https://www.blowinupfilm.com/