100 Years of Queer German Cinema
Wicked Queer is proud to co-present the series 100 Years of Queer German Cinema at The Brattle Cinema with the Goethe Institute, exploring landmark Queer films from Germany every Tuesday evening in February.
Harvard academic Anne Dymek and her students will provide introductions to each film, creating a forum for thought and conversation. This is a rare opportunity to see some of the most important queer cinema from the first half of the 20th century alongside groundbreaking work from the 1970s through today.
Different from the Others (1919)
Feb 4, 6pm @ The Brattle
One of the first gay-themed films in the history of cinema, Different from the Others was banned at the time of its release, later burned by the Nazis, and was believed lost for more than forty years. Using recently discovered film segments, still photos and censorship documents from different archives, Filmmuseum Muenchen has resurrected this truly groundbreaking silent film for new audiences.
Mädchen in Uniform
Feb 11, 6pm @ The Brattle
As a new student at an all-girls boarding school, Manuela falls in love with the compassionate teacher Fräulein von Bernburg, and her feelings are requited. Experiencing her first love, lonely Manuela also discovers the complexities that come with an illicit romance. This artfully composed landmark of lesbian cinema—and an important anti-fascist film—was the first of just three films directed by Leontine Sagan.
Victor and Victoria
Feb 18, 6pm @ The Brattle
In this dazzling musical romance, a young woman, unable to find work as a music hall singer, partners with a down-and-out thespian to revamp her act. Pretending to be a man performing in drag, Victoria becomes the toast of the international stage. But she soon finds that her playful bending of genders enmeshes her personal and professional life in a tangle of unexpected complications.
It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Society in Which He Lives
Feb 25, 6pm @ The Brattle
Many films have been called ‘revolutionary,’ but It is Not the Homosexual... truly earns that description. The breakout film by director and activist Rosa von Praunheim (aka Holger Mischwitzky) became a foundational text of the German gay rights movement, and its call for liberation reverberated through the history of queer cinema. The film follows Daniel, a young gay man who tries to assimilate into the traditional way of life before realizing that it’s ultimately futile and finding his place in the gay liberation movement.
