Only in LA
Screenings & Events
Festivals, Special Guests, Retrospectives and more "one night only" queer cinema screenings.
Jul
27
July
27
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July
27
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3:00 pm
Sacred Sites: Queer Sanctuaries Shorts
Queer Rhapsody
Filmmakers in attendance
Egyptian Theatre
This program of short films showcases the queer sanctuaries we create and find in spaces, our memories, and in others. Centered around the joy and safety that allow for the most authentic version of ourselves to emerge, the films showcase the world-building, and life-affirming po
Jul
27
July
27
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July
27
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2:00 pm
Rebel Without a Cause
Academy Museum
"It is of course vita that there be no inference of a questionable or homosexual relationship between Plato and Jim” wrote the MPPC censors, scolding this film from bisexual director Nicholas Ray with bi star James Dean and the "first gay teen on screen" played by out Sal Mineo.
After moving to a new town, troublemaking teen Jim Stark is supposed to have a clean slate, although being the new kid in town brings its own problems. While searching for some stability, Stark forms a bond with a disturbed classmate, Plato, and falls for local girl Judy. However, Judy is the girlfriend of neighborhood tough, Buzz. When Buzz violently confronts Jim and challenges him to a drag race, the new kid’s real troubles begin.
Jul
26
July
26
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July
26
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7:30 pm
Queering Memory: Past Present and Future Shorts
Queer Rhapsody
Filmmakers in attendance
Hammer Museum
Memory serves as an empathy engine in these films, transporting us through the tapestry of present beauty, past acceptance, and future affirmation. These narratives invite us to reflect on the lessons and gift of our own memories and the evolving nature of identity, reminding us
Jul
25
July
25
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July
25
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7:30 pm
Love in Focus: Black Queer Rhapsody Shorts
Queer Rhapsody
Filmmakers in attendance
The Broad Musuem
Explore this immersive collection of short films celebrating Black queer lives. From documentaries on vibrant drag queens and Black elders to magical coming of age journeys and stories of transformative love, these films weave a rhapsody of resilience and authentic connections.
Jul
24
July
24
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July
24
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7:30 pm
Solids by the Seashore
Queer Rhapsody
Vidiots Eagle Theater
In a corrupted southern Thai town struggling with its major environmental damage, a young Muslim woman is facing an inner struggle against the imposing wall of her cultural and religious background, as she develops a relationship with a female artist from out of town.
Jul
23
July
23
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July
23
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7:30 pm
Darby and the Dead
Queer Rhapsody
Director Silas Howard
Vidiots Eagle Theater
After Darby Harper suffered a near-death experience as a child, she gained the ability to see ghosts. To combat the existential boredom of high school, she runs a side business counseling local spirits in her spare time. When an unexpected occurrence happens between Darby and Capri, the most popular girl at her high school, Darby reluctantly agrees to help her and in the process learns how to fit in with the living world again.
Jul
22
July
22
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July
22
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7:30 pm
Ed Wood
Egyptian Theatre
Tim Burton's biopic of legendary "worst director of all time" 1950s B-movie king (and lifelong crossdresser) Ed Wood turns 30! Make it a double feature with "Glen or Glenda." Wood's 1953 first movie about gender-crossing characters.
The mostly true story of the legendary “worst director of all time”, who, with the help of his strange friends, filmed countless B-movies without ever becoming famous or successful.
Jul
21
July
21
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July
21
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7:00 pm
Life Is Not a Competition, But I'm Winning
Queer Rhapsody
Los Feliz 3
If history is written by the victors, where does that leave those who were never allowed to be part of the game? A collective of queer athletes enters the Olympic Stadium in Athens and sets out to honour those who were excluded from standing on the winners’ podium. They meet Amanda Reiter, a trans* marathon runner who has to struggle with the prejudices of sports organisers, and Annet Negesa, a 800m runner who was urged by the international sports federations to undergo hormone-altering surgery. Together they create a radical poetic utopia far from the rigid gender rules found in competitive sports.
Jul
21
July
21
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July
21
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4:00 pm
Generations in Bloom: Shorts
Queer Rhapsody
Filmmakers in Attendance
Los Feliz 3
Generations In Bloom showcases the beauty of connection and captures the essence of growth throughout different stages of life. By portraying queer individuals across different eras, these short films highlight the universal quest for self-acceptance and the formation of meaningf
Jul
21
July
21
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July
21
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1:00 pm
Gender Troublemakers:
Trans Authorship, DIY, and Experimentation Through Film
Co-curator Caden Mark Gardner and director Cary Cronenwett
2220 Arts + Archives
Three experimental trans films from "gender troublemakers" screen at LA Film Forum to celebrate the publication of Corpses, Fools, and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema.
Jul
20
July
20
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July
20
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8:00 pm
A Man Like Eva
Whammy Analog Media
Join WHAMMY for a VHS screening of this out of print Rainer Werner Fassbinder biopic, made two years after his death starring his frequent collaborator Eva Mattes in drag as Fassbinder.
A bearded director named EVA, a fictive Rainer Werner Fassbinder, lives in a large house with his cast and crew as he films Dumas’ Lady of the Camellias. His accountant informs him he has many unpaid bills and little cash on hand. EVA throws a fit and fires him. He then proceeds to play one person off against another, dismiss with cruelty his recent lover Ali, sleep openly with his leading lady Gudrun, and make a direct and public play for his leading man, Walter. He’s mercurial, dictatorial, and manic. Will he finish the film, having drawn great performances from his actors through his manipulations, or will his antics set events in motion that spin out of his control?
Jul
20
July
20
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July
20
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7:30 pm
Ask Any Buddy
Queer Rhapsody
Director Elizabeth Purchell
Hammer Museum
A kaleidoscopic snapshot of urban gay life during the gay liberation era — or at least how it looked in the movies.
Jul
20
July
20
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July
20
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7:10 pm
Crossing
Writer/Director Levan Akin
Laemmle Royal
Lia, a retired school teacher living in Georgia, hears from a young neighbour Achi that her long lost niece Tekla, a transgender woman, has crossed the border into Turkey. Hoping to bring Tekla home after a period of estrangement, Lia travels to Istanbul with the unpredictable Achi to find her. Exploring the hidden depths of the city, they cross paths with a transgender lawyer called Evrim, who helps them in their search.
Jul
20
July
20
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July
20
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7:00 pm
Sisters
Queer Rhapsody
Filmmakers/Acrtors Susie Yankou and Sarah Khasrovi
Los Feliz 3
Lou and Esther are the best of friends. They do absolutely everything together, speak their own language through inside jokes and code words, and share a dreamy curiosity about what their lives would be like had they grown up with a sister. When Lou’s father unexpectedly passes away, she discovers that she has a very real, and very chic, long-lost half-sister, Priya. As Lou begins to explore her relationship with Priya, her and Esther’s codependent bliss is rudely interrupted, creating a rift between them. As the rift threatens to grow beyond repair, Lou must learn to redefine what family is, or risk losing Esther for good.
Jul
20
July
20
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July
20
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4:00 pm
Laughing Through Fire: Comedy Shorts
Queer Rhapsody
Filmmakers in attendance
Los Feliz 3
Laughing Through Fire offers hilarious reflections on the day-to-day journey of making your way through the minefield of modern times – whether online or IRL – as members of the queer and trans community. Showcasing tremendous clarity of expression and style, the filmmakers behin
Jul
19
July
19
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July
19
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8:00 pm
Corpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema
Caden Mark Gardner and Elizabeth Purchell
Whammy Analog Media
Celebrate the release of the new trans cinema history book from Caden Mark Gardner and Willow Catelyn Maclay with a secret screening of one of the most "salacious" movies discussed in the book.
Jul
19
July
19
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July
19
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7:30 pm
Second Nature
Queer Rhapsody
Director Drew Denny
Hammer Museum
From homosexual penguins and sex-transitioning fish to pregnant male seahorses and sexually dominant female bonobos, thousands of species defy our expectations of gender and sexuality. Director Drew Denny takes the nature documentary to a whole new level in this eye-opening and entertaining expedition to the places David Attenborough overlooks, where giant duck penises and corkscrew vaginas take center stage. Debunking myths that females are “inferior” and being queer is somehow “unnatural,” Second Nature explores the 1500+ animal species that engage in same-sex sexual behavior and parenting, change sex, form matriarchies, and more.
Jul
18
July
18
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July
18
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7:30 pm
Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
Vidiots Eagle Theater
This ensemble film about a group of James Dean groupies reuniting for the 20th anniversary of his death, starring cis Karen Black as a trans woman, screens as part of the release celebration for Corpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema.
On the 20th anniversary of his death, the members of a James Dean fanclub gather at a five-and-dime for a reunion.
Jul
16
July
16
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18
July
16
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7:30 pm
Bringing Up Baby
New Beverly Cinema
Likely bisexual Cary Grant and sapphic icon Katharine Hepburn star in this perfect screwball comedy that still feels fresh today--and is a footnote in many queer film histories as the first Hollywood film to use the word "gay" to mean homosexual.
David Huxley is waiting to get a bone he needs for his museum collection. Through a series of strange circumstances, he meets Susan Vance, and the duo have a series of misadventures which include a leopard called Baby.
Jul
12
July
12
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July
12
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7:30 pm
Jawbreaker
Cast & Filmmaker Reunion
Academy Museum
Join the cast and crew of Jawbreaker for a 25th Anniversary screening of the cult classic from out director (and LA native) Darren Stein. Rose McGowan, Rebecca Gayheart, and Julie Benz star as a trio of popular high schoolers who accidentally murder their best friend.
When an exclusive clique of teenage socialites accidentally murder their best friend on the morning of her birthday, the three girls responsible conspire to hide the truth.
Jul
11
July
11
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July
11
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7:30 pm
Poison
Christine Vachon
Academy Museum
A boy shoots his father and flies out the window. A man falls in love with a fellow inmate in prison. A doctor accidentally ingests his experimental sex serum, wreaking havoc on the community.
Jul
11
July
11
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July
11
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12
7:30 pm
The People's Joker
Vera Drew
New Beverly Cinema
A law-breaking comedian who is grappling with her gender identity forms a new anti-comedy troupe with a friend and finds herself battling a fascistic caped crusader.
Jul
9
July
9
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July
9
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7:00 pm
Dog Day Afternoon
Los Feliz 3
A true Story! Young Al Pacino plays John Wojtowicz, who tries to rob a bank in order to pay for his lover's sex-change operation. The real Wojtowicz was an active gay liberationist, and tells his own story in the 2013 documentary "The Dog."
Based on the true story of would-be Brooklyn bank robbers John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturale. Sonny and Sal attempt a bank heist which quickly turns sour and escalates into a hostage situation and stand-off with the police. As Sonny’s motives for the robbery are slowly revealed and things become more complicated, the heist turns into a media circus.
Jul
8
July
8
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July
8
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7:30 pm
My Own Private Idaho
Academy Museum
In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Henry IV,” Mike Waters is a hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike’s estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant.
Jul
7
July
7
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July
7
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4:00 pm
My Own Private Idaho
Los Feliz 3
In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Henry IV,” Mike Waters is a hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike’s estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant.
Jul
6
July
6
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July
6
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7:30 pm
Paris is Burning
Academy Museum
This iconic documentary, filmed over seven years at the beginning of the AIDS crisis in New York City's ballroom scene, captures the end of a "Golden Age" drag scene--and introduced a whole lot of Queer vocabulary to mainstream audiences.
Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City’s African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion “houses,” from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza — PARIS IS BURNING brings it, celebrating the joy of movement, the force of eloquence, and the draw of community.
Jul
6
July
6
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July
6
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2:00 pm
Young Soul Rebels
Academy Museum
Two disc jockeys have a friend’s murder to solve in the fringe-group melting pot of 1977 London.
Jul
5
July
5
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7
July
5
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8:45 pm
Rope
New Beverly Cinema
Is this the original "be gay do crimes" movie? Though heavily censored, this one-take Hitchcock thriller (from out screenwriter Arthur Laurents) is based off the real-life Leopold and Loeb case, where two gay students killed a boy just to see if they could get away with it.
Two men attempt to prove they committed the perfect crime by hosting a dinner party after strangling their former classmate to death.
Jul
3
July
3
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July
3
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7:30 pm
The Talented Mr. Ripley
Academy Museum
If Saltburn left you feeling a need for more homoerotic social-climbing thrillers, check out the unavoidable comparison--based on the novel by lesbian icon Patricia Highsmith (whose other novels became Carol, Strangers on a Train, and more).
Tom Ripley is a calculating young man who believes it's better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody. Opportunity knocks in the form of a wealthy U.S. shipbuilder who hires Tom to travel to Italy to bring back his playboy son, Dickie. Ripley worms his way into the idyllic lives of Dickie and his girlfriend, plunging into a daring scheme of duplicity, lies and murder.
Jun
30
June
30
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June
30
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10:00 pm
The Hunger
Egyptian Theatre
Aren't all vampire movies gay? Maybe today, but The Hunger was something new when it came out, an erotic bi/lesbian vampire thriller (co-starting bi icon David Bowie) was steaming up the screen long before the 90s queer vampire craze.
Miriam promises her lovers the gift of eternal life, but John, her companion for centuries, suddenly discovers that he is getting old minute by minute, so he looks for Dr. Sarah Roberts, a researcher on the mechanisms of aging, and asks her for help.
Jun
30
June
30
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June
30
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7:30 pm
My Own Private Idaho
Aero Theater
In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Henry IV,” Mike Waters is a hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike’s estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant.
Jun
29
June
29
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June
29
&
11:59 pm
Kaboom
New Beverly Cinema
Gregg Araki's fucked-up teenagers go to college, bringing his signature mix of sexual fluidity, apocalyptic dread, slacker humor and cinematic deep cut homages to a new cast and a new location on a Southern California college campus.
Smith, a typical young college student who likes partying and engaging in acts of random sex and debauchery, has been having some interesting dreams revolving around two gorgeous women – and is shocked when he meets the dream girls in real life. Lorelei looks just like his fantasy brunette, while a mysterious red-haired girl being chased by assassins draws him into an international conspiracy. Or is it all just a drug-induced hallucination?
Jun
29
June
29
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June
29
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7:30 pm
The Birdcage
Aero Theater
A gay cabaret owner and his drag queen companion agree to put up a false straight front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancé’s conservative moralistic parents.
Jun
29
June
29
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June
29
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3:25 pm
Go Fish
Alamo Drafthouse
This fresh new restoration of 1994 lesbian classic Go Fish was a collaboration between the Academy, Sundance, Frameline, MGM, and UCLA. It screened at Sundance this year, right where the film premiered 30 years ago.
Max is a trendy, pretty, young lesbian, who is having trouble finding love. A friend sets her up with Ely, whom Max likes, but Ely is frumpy, homely, and older. Nor do they have much in common. Can Max learn to look past the packaging?
Jun
29
June
29
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June
29
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2:00 pm
Edward II
Academy Museum
England, 14th century. King Edward II falls in love with Piers Gaveston, a young man of humble origins, whom he honors with favors and titles of nobility. The cold and jealous Queen Isabella conspires with the evil Mortimer to get rid of Gaveston, overthrow her husband and take power…
Jun
29
June
29
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June
29
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1:00 pm
Hollywood Pride
Film critic and author Alonso Duralde
Academy Museum
Film critic and author Alonso Duralde will be discussing his book Hollywood Pride, which explores the stories and lives of the LGBTQ+ community both in front of and behind the camera. After the conversation there will be a book signing of Hollywood Pride.
Jun
29
June
29
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June
29
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1:00 pm
American Fabulous
Livestream Q&A with director Reno Dakota
2220 Arts + Archives
If you think Pride Month screenings are too many tried-and-true favorites, catch this not-streaming-anywhere offbeat 1991 experimental documentary. Filmed spontaneously, director Reno Dakota captures the stories of his friend Jeffrey Strough driving around in a 1957 Cadillac.
Jeffrey Strouth spontaneously recounts the true adventures of his wild and creative life, weaving an often lurid tale filled with hilarious characters, run-ins with the law, and his unapologetic provocations of society in general.
Jun
29
June
29
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June
29
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12:25 pm
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Alamo Drafthouse
The Australian drag road trip classic turns 30!
Two drag queens and a transgender woman contract to perform a drag show at a resort in Alice Springs, a town in the remote Australian desert. As they head west from Sydney aboard their lavender bus, Priscilla, the three friends come to the forefront of a comedy of errors, encountering a number of strange characters, as well as incidents of homophobia, whilst widening comfort zones and finding new horizons.
Jun
28
June
28
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June
28
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8:00 pm
Super 8½
Bruce LaBruce
2220 Arts + Archives
Join Dirty Looks and the original Queer film enfant terrible Bruce LaBruce for a two-night celebration of the restoration of LaBruce's first two transgressive super 8 movies.
A down-on-his-luck adult film star sees a chance to make a comeback via a lesbian documentary film-maker, but she is exploiting him to get financial backing for her pet project.