Enlightening Documentaries

Finding Phong  Finding Phong  P
Swann Dubus
Vietnam / 2015 / Color / 92mins

From the time he was a young boy, Phong has felt like a girl trapped in a boy’s body. He grew up in a town in rural Vietnam, and it was only when he moved to Hanoi to attend university that he discovered he was not alone with this predicament. The decision to “find himself” by physically changing his gender is a struggle that involves his family, friends, and doctors – all of whom must come to terms with the boy’s determination to become a complete girl.

Kumu Hina  Kumu Hina  P
Dean Hamer/Joe Wilson
US, Fiji / 2015 / Color / 77mins

In Hawaiian there is a word called Mahu, which means the middle. It is the middle between a man a woman. Not neither man nor woman, but both man and woman. That is Kumu Hina, or Teacher Hina. During a momentous year in her life in Honolulu, Hina Wong-Kalu, a native Hawaiian Mahu, uses traditional culture to inspire a student to claim her place as leader of the school’s all-male hula troupe. But despite her success as a teacher, Hina longs for love and a committed relationship. Will her marriage to a headstrong (and jealous) Tongan man fulfill her dreams? Kumu Hina reveals a side of Hawaii rarely seen.

Living Together  Living Together  P
徐靖倫 HSU, Ching-lun
Taiwan / 2015 / Color / 69mins

Vincent is a gay man with polio who uses a wheelchair. Fighting for gay rights, he and his partner often taken part in protests and demonstrations. They hope that same-sex marriage will become legalized in Taiwan so that they can one day be officially married. They also established “Hand Angel”, helping to solve the sexual needs of the handicapped.

Misfits  Misfits  P
Jannik Splidsboel
Denmark / Sweden / US / 2015 / Color / 74mins

Tulsa, Oklahoma is a city in the midst of the US’s Bible Belt with almost 400,000 inhabitants, over 4,000 churches and just one gay and lesbian youth centre. This is the meeting place for Larissa, Ben, D and other youths who, because of their decision to live gay, lesbian and transgender lives, are either not accepted or, on the contrary, have received strong support and unconditional love from their families. They try to find their gender identities, love and be loved in an environment pervaded by religious fundamentalism.

Regarding Susan Sontag  Regarding Susan Sontag  PG
Nancy D. Kates
US / 2014 / Color / 100mins

The film is an investigation into the life of one of the most influential and provocative thinkers of the 20th century. Passionate and gracefully outspoken throughout her career, Susan Sontag became one of the most important literary, political and feminist icons of her generation. The documentary explores Sontag’s life through evocative experimental images, archival materials, accounts from friends, family, colleagues, and lovers, as well as her own words. The film is a fascinating look at a towering cultural critic and writer whose works on photography, war, illness, and terrorism still resonate today.

Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story   Seed Money: The Chuck Holmes Story   R
Michael Stabile
US / 2015 / Color / 72mins

In the 70s and 80s, Chuck Holmes’ Falcon Studios was synonymous with gay pornography. Chuck begins his career in San Francisco in 1971 when most gay men are still in the closet. By bursting out of the closet and pushing sex all the way to the forefront, he quickly gains attention. Vice squads and the FBI find their way to his door, and fellow porn makers land in prison, but he fights on. As his wealth grows, he turns his attention to gay rights. He soon finds out, however, that with Falcon and gay sex behind his name, where his money is welcome, he often is not.

The Year We Thought About Love  The Year We Thought About Love  P
Ellen Brodsky
US / 2015 / Color / 68mins

Boston-based True Colors: OUT Youth Theater transforms daily struggles into performance for social change. With wit, candor, and attitude, the cast of characters captivates audiences surprised to hear such stories in school settings. The troupe includes a transgender teenager