100 Queer Films Before Stonewall

<p>The Stonewall riots were a turning point in queer history, sparking the foundation of the modern Gay Liberation Movement. This book explores LGBTQ+ representation in film through 100 features and shorts released in or before 1969, in the pre-Stonewall era. Despite prevalent hostile attitudes towards queer people in this time, queer representation nonetheless flourished in the first 75 years of cinema. This book explores a selection of pathbreaking works, including <i>Mädchen in Uniform </i>(1931, Germany), <i>Victim </i>(1961, UK<i>) </i>and <i>Portrait of Jason </i>(1967, USA), <i>People in the Summer Night</i> (1947, Finland), <i>It’s All Because of a Katoey</i> (1954, Thailand) and <i>Diferente </i>(1962, Spain). Looking beyond anglophone cinema, films from Africa, Asia, Continental Europe, Oceania and South America are also spotlighted. <br><br><i>100 Queer Films before Stonewall </i>demonstrates that LGBTQ+ characters have been part of global cinema history from its birth, sometimes hidden in plain sight, in mainstream Hollywood films such as Alfred Hitchcock's <i>Rebecca</i> (1940, USA) as well as underground cult classics and bold experimental art films such as Andy Warhol's<i> Blow Job </i>(1964). The book examines how queer characters are portrayed and sometimes coded, visible on screen even at times of severe film censorship and repressive legislation against LGBTQ+ people, challenging the received canon of great queer films and opening a new selection of world cinema greats for audiences to discover.</p>