Athena Cinema announces a new series, I Love Gay ‘90s, that celebrates a pivotal decade when LGBTQ+ representation in Hollywood started to move into the mainstream.
The free films will be shown on Thursdays in June.
The Athena is rewinding the VCR back to a time when cellphones were only for rich people, when clothes were a lot more baggy, when nobody knew how to pronounce “Lollapalooza”, and when Ellen DeGeneres made history with her famous “Puppy Episode.”
The ‘90s were a turning point with respect to the LGBTQ+ communities gaining more representation in entertainment and in pop culture at large. So, we’ve chosen a line-up of films that feature and empower characters to show how the decade helped change the face of cinema forever. Read more...
Admission is free. The screening events will include the films plus these fun extras: Pre-show trivia, themed cocktails, raffle prizes, and more. And, who knows ... there might just be costumes too.
I Love Gay ‘90s film line-up includes:
“The Birdcage,” 7 p.m. June 6: A fun and flamboyant comedy about what happens when one’s true identity is kept in the closet, and a landmark film with respect to LGBTQ representation in mass media starring Robin Williams — one of the greatest actors of all time! Armand Goldman (Robin Williams) is a gay Jewish man who owns a nightclub in Miami’s South Beach neighborhood — “The Birdcage” — a venue that has a well-known reputation for its drag shows.“But I’m a Cheerleader,” 7 p.m. June 13: Natasha Lyonne stars alongside Clea DuVall, Ru Paul, and Cathy Moriarty in this charming and satirical teen cult film directed by Jamie Babbit that deals with a case of “conversion therapy” gone awry. Megan (Lyonne) is happily making her way through high school as a cheerleader who’s dating a football player. However, she secretly doesn’t enjoy making out with her boyfriend that much, preferring instead to check out her female peers on the cheerleading squad.“The Watermelon Woman,” 7 p.m. June 20: Written, directed by, and starring Cheryl Dunye, “The Watermelon Woman” was the first feature film to be directed by a black lesbian when it was released in 1996. Made with an initial budget of $300,000 which was financed by a grant from the NEA and grass-roots fundraising efforts, Dunye’s humble film has since been recognized as a milestone in New Queer Cinema.Shot in a documentary style and featuring a protagonist named “Cheryl” who is a black lesbian filmmaker like Dunye herself, this humorous (and sexy) film sets out to tell the story of black lesbians in cinema.“Ma Vie In Rose (My Life in Pink),” 7 p.m. June 27 — Upon its release in 1997, Belgian director Alain Berliner’s film was unique in its attempt to explore the issue of gender identity by examining it from multiple perspectives. This exceptional film tells the story of Ludovic, a transgender youth who commits herself to living as a girl. Ludovic’s family has just relocated to a nice, new neighborhood and are concerned that their child’s identity-questioning tendencies will cause trouble with their efforts to settle in and be accepted by the new community.
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