Some of these films are on this list because of their lesbian/bisexual and
A/P content. Others of the films are on the list because they are
directed by lesbian/bisexual and A/P directors. For more info, read the
descriptions.
Andaz
1949 Mehboob
2 dykes sing of Khush love.
Bugis Street
Yeung Fan, Director
1995 : Hong Kong
A young Malaysian girl experiences the painful process of
girl-to-woman transformation in a world full of unexpected
changes and sexual ambiguities. Set in Singapore's transvestite
district and starring Hong Kong model Michael Lam and Hiep Thi
Le. (from San Jose film description.)
The Colour of Britian
Pratibha Parmar, Director
A documentary look at contemporary "black" (Asian and African) artists
and cultural ciritcs who are at the forefront of redefining British
culture.
Dream Girls
Longinotto and Williams, Directors
1993 UK 50 mins
(Takarazuka, male impersonaters in japan, not explicitly lesbian
but one can read into it!)
Available from:
462 BROADWAY, 5TH FLOOR
NEW YORK, NY 10013
TEL:1-212-925-0606
Double the Trouble, Twice the Fun
Pratibha Parmar, director
(disabled lesbians and gays in UK, not sure if it has lesbians
of colour, but am including films by Parmar as she's one of few
lesbians of colour filmmakers)
The East is Red
Ching Siu-tung and Raymond Lee, Directors
1993 : Hong Kong : 95 minutes : Transsexual : Martial Arts/Fantasy :
A warrior wizard who gave up his penis to become Asia the Invincible
is the world's first transsexual lesbian superhero(ine). Asia is
out to rid the world of pretenders to her title of conqueror of the
world in a visual extravaganza of bloody violence, sex, and special
effects. In Cantonese with Chinese and English subtitles.
Erotique
Lizzie Borden, Monika Treut, and Clara Law, Directors
1994 : 90 minutes : Lesbian/Bisexual : Comedy/Drama :
A trio of films showcasing feminist erotica. Lizzie Borden's
"Let's Talk About Sex" (co-written by Susie Bright) follows
the erotic entanglement of a spunky, bisexual Latina phone-sex
worker and her sleazy male client. Monika Treut's "Taboo
Parlor" is the stylish adventure of a pair of lusciously
predatory, lipstick lesbians. Clara Law's "Wonton Soup"
puts us in Hong Kong, where we look in on a straight couple's
erotic encounters and reflections on Chinese identity.
Flesh & Paper
1990 : UK : Lesbian :
The life and writings of the lesbian writer and poet Suniti
Namjoshi, who is from an Indian royal family and resides in
England. Includes interviews with her friends and with the
young Indian women who take her as a role model.
Fresh Kill
Shu Lea Cheang, Director
1993 : 80 minutes : Lesbian : Drama :
An interracial lesbian couple make a life for themselves and
their daughter on the edge of Staten Island's Fresh Kills garbage
dump. Computer hackers, cable-access personalities, and Tent-City
residents inhabit a world of corporate manipulation and media
surveillance.
Full Moon in New York
1989 : Hong Kong : Lesbian : Drama :
Three Chinese women immigrants in New York -- one from mainland
China, one a Taiwanese actress, and one a successful entrepreneur
and restaurateur from Hong Kong -- try to cope with their new
surroundings. The film can be taken as a symbol of the struggles
of the three Chinas to come together.
Khush
Pratibha Parmar
1991, UK, 24 mins
Lesbo Love
1994. Desireena Almoradie, Director.
Images of two women in love from footage from a Filipino feature
film with two lesbians living in NYC.
Malaysian Series 1-6
Azian Nurudin, Director
1986-87: Malaysia
Videos by Azaian Nurudin, a lesbian Malaysian videomaker. Can be
obtained from the Frameline Distribution catalog.
Memsahib Rita
Pratibha Parmar, Director
Parmar's debut dramatic narrative which weaves magical realism, film
noir and thriller into the story of a young woman struggling to balance
her father's nostalgic grief and her own sense of loss on the
anniversary of her mother's death.
Nancy's Nightmare
Azian Nurudin
1988: Malaysia
Videos by Azaian Nurudin, a lesbian Malaysian videomaker. Can be
obtained from the Frameline Distribution catalog.
Out in Silence & Not a Simple Story
Christine Choy, Director
1994, 37 minutes
These poignant films tell the stories of two Asian Pacific Americans:
one straight and one gay, Robyn Tirrell, a resident of Hawai'i,
and Vince Crisostomo, a native of Guam and resident of San Francisco.
Both have lost loved ones to AIDS. In two films, they have chosen
to disclose their own HIV-positive status to remedy the lack of
information and denial about AIDS in their communities. With
courage, determination, and a sense of privacy, they and their
families and friends step out of their private lives and publicly
challenge the myth that Asian Americans do not get AIDS.
Peach
Christine Parker, Director
1994 NZ 16 mins
Maori wife sees and admires dyke truck driver.
Shinjuku Boys
Longinotto and Williams, Directors
UK, 1995
Gaish is an attractive woman who lives as a man with lots of
girlfriends that he gives sex to but never recieves as he fears
removing his clothes. Tatsu, also a woman who lives as a man, has
testerone injections and lives happily in a sexual relationship with
another (female-identified) woman. Kazuki (the third woman living as a
man featured in this documentary) lives with Kumi, a transexual and
dancer in a bar. The film follows them at work and at home where they
openly discuss their lives and their sexuality
The Silent Thrush
Sheng-fu Cheng, Director
1992 : Taiwan : 100 minutes : Lesbian : Drama :
Backstage lesbian romance between a young girl who joins a
Taiwanese opera company and the company's leading lady highlight
this portrait of theater life in modern Taiwan. The young woman
finds the opera company not at all what she expects: audiences
are deserting the opera, the program now includes less than
respectable girly shows, and the star's long-time lover is
intensely jealous of her. In Hokkien and Mandarin with English
subtitles.
Snowed In
Nguyen Tan Hoang and Shu Lea Cheang, Directors
A film on interracial desire.
Straight for the Money
Hima B., Director
1994: USA: 60 mins.
A startling documentary about gay women and their jobs in the
straight porn industry. As both lesbians and as prostitutes and
strippers, these women balance their personal and professional
lives in ways that are lively and fascinating.
Ten Cents a Dance
[Parallax]
Midi Onodera, Director
1986 : Canada : 30 minutes : Lesbian/Gay : Drama :
Experimental film exploring contemporary forms of sexuality
and communication between a lesbian couple, a gay male couple,
and a straight couple.
The Twin Bracelets
Yu-Shan Huang, Director
1990 : Hong Kong/Taiwan : 100 minutes : Lesbian : Drama :
A young woman in an oppressive Chinese fishing village seeks
love and escape in the arms of her childhood girlfriend
against a backdrop of customs and mores that treat women as
property with no human rights.
Two or Three Things I Know About Them
Anson Mak, Director
1991 : Hong Kong : 39 minutes : Lesbian :
An experimental four-part video that deals with the issues and
concerns of an emerging lesbian community in Hong Kong.
What Do Pop Art, Pop Music, Pornography and Politics Have To Do With Real
Life?
Azian Nurudin, Director
1990: Malaysia
Videos by Azaian Nurudin, a lesbian Malaysian videomaker. Can be
obtained from the Frameline Distribution catalog.
Wicked Radiance
Azian Nurudin, Director
1992: Malaysia
Videos by Azaian Nurudin, a lesbian Malaysian videomaker. Can be
obtained from the Frameline Distribution catalog.
A Woman Waiting For Her Period
Wei-Ssu Chien, Director
1993, US, Video, 23 min., color
A wonderfully idiosyncratic and moving portrait that captures
the silence and displacement, as well as the intense intimacy
between friends experienced by Chinese graduate students in
the Midwest. Waiting for a menstrual period that never
comes becomes a metaphor of suspension and freedom of
living in another country.
Women Make Movies
Pratibha Parmar, producer and director
1991: 24 mins: Khush, New York
A videorecording of interviews with South Asian gay men and lesbians
living in the West and in India. Discussion covers topics of racism
within the Western gay community; the difficulty of developing an Asian
vs. a white concept of homosexuality; the cultural pressure to marry;
persecution of gay men in India; and the implications of caste barriers
in the efforts to build a united gay and lesbian Indian community.
