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Celebrate Pride Month 2023 at The Frida Cinema with eight movies exploring LGBTQ identity and themes! From biting horror-comedies to heartfelt romantic dramas, there’s something for everyone this June, dovetailing nicely with the values of inclusion and diversity that this month commemorates. This is also reflected in the variety of acting talent the series draws together, from David Bowie and Parker “Queen of the Indies” Posey to Noémie Merlant and Russian Doll‘s Natasha Lyonne. It’s our way of observing this special month (as well as honoring the tremendous strides the LGBTQ community has made), and we hope that you’ll join us in the spirit of celebration for it!
Portrait of a Lady on Fire: Volunteer of the Month Pick – Jun 2 & 3
Directed by Céline Sciamma | 2018
On an isolated island in Brittany, at the end of the eighteenth century, a female painter named Marianne (Noémie Merlant) is obliged to paint a wedding portrait of a young woman named Héloïse (Adèle Haenel). Over time, as commission turns to something resembling residence, a connection between the two soon sparks into a romance that promises to explode on the very island they reside in.
The Doom Generation – Araki Month – Jun 3 & 5 – 7
Directed by Gregg Araki | 1995
Jordan White (James Duval) and Amy Blue (Rose McGowan) are two troubled teens who pick up an adolescent drifter, Xavier Red (Jonathon Schaech). Together, the threesome embarks on a sex and violence-filled journey through an United States of psychos and quickie marts.
After the Saturday, June 3rd screening, stick around for an in-person discussion with actor James Duval!
But I’m a Cheerleader – Jun 9 – 11
Directed by Jamie Babbitt | 1999
Megan (Natasha Lyonne) is an all-American girl. A cheerleader. She has a boyfriend. But Megan doesn’t like kissing her boyfriend very much. And she’s pretty touchy with her cheerleader friends. Her conservative parents worry that she may be (gasp!) a lesbian and send her off to “sexual redirection” school, where she must, with other lesbians and gays, learn how to be straight, unless Megan encourages her peers to reject the cause for conversion.
Mysterious Skin – Araki Month – Jun 10 – 13
Directed by Gregg Araki| 2004
Neil McCormick (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a teenage hustler, and Brian Lackey (Brady Corbet), a young man obsessed with alien abductions, cross paths for the first time since they were children. Together, they discover a horrible, liberating truth.
The Watermelon Woman – Jun 14 – 17
Directed by Cheryl Dunye | 1996
Cheryl (played by Dunye) is a young black lesbian filmmaker who gets by through her video store job and documentary project. Probing into the life of The Watermelon Woman, a 1930s black actress who played ‘mammy’ archetypes, Cheryl finds the integral topic to center her project around, bringing family, experts, and friends of family onboard to interview and learn more and make a forgotten actress remembered.
The Hunger – Jun 14 & 15
Directed by Tony Scott | 1983
Miriam (Catherine Deneuve) promises her lovers the gift of eternal life, but John (David Bowie), her companion for centuries, suddenly discovers that he is getting old minute by minute, so he looks for Dr. Sarah Roberts (Susan Sarandon), a researcher on the mechanisms of aging, and asks her for help, sparking a love triangle and subsequent tragedy seemingly centuries in the making.
Totally F***ed Up – Araki Month – Jun 21 & 22
Directed by Gregg Araki | 1993
Six gay, alienated Los Angeles teens have a hard time as their parents kick them out of their homes. They don’t have money, their lovers cheat, and they’re harassed by homophobes, and as their lives begin a downward spiral, these teens reckon with whether the community forged out for them even exists at all.
THE1, with Noble Love Presents: The Celluoid Closet – Jun 29
Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman | 1995
This documentary highlights the historical contexts that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals have occupied in cinema history, and shows the evolution of the entertainment industry’s role in shaping perceptions of LGBT figures. The issues addressed include secrecy – which initially defined homosexuality – as well as the demonization of the homosexual community with the advent of AIDS, and finally the shift toward acceptance and positivity in the modern era.
