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queer cinema

As spring comes to a close it’s time for summer sports. Despite the old stereotypes, the queer community can be just as sports minded and athletic as any hetero-jock. Here we look a team of rookie LGBT sports films recently released you can buy or stream today.

Game-Face_poster

GAME FACE

The new documentary GAME FACE by director Michiel Thomas is simultaneously a simple story of two struggling athletes and an in-depth look at LGBT stereotypes and prejudice in the professional and college sports worlds. This award-winning film tells the story of Terrence Clemens a young college basketball player in Oklahoma struggling to find his place in the world and accept his sexuality, along with the story of Fallon Fox the first transgender pro MMA fighter. GAME FACE is incredibly intimate and personal as it delves into the lives of these two completely different yet incredibly similar athletes—an excellent film for anyone to see sports fan or not.

Available on Netflix, iTunes, and Amazon. gamefacedoc.com

 

DROWNDROWN

DROWN is a hard film. Stylistically directed by Dean Francis, this Australian movie shows the dark side of homophobia in the world of Australian lifeguard competition. Len (Matt Levett) is a Surf Lifesaving champion.  But when the new openly gay lifeguard Phil (Jack Matthews) arrives, Len’s legendary status starts to crumble. Over the summer, Len forms unexpected, confusing feelings for Phil. When Phil beats Len at the annual surf competition, Len and his buddy Meat (called that because of his huge shlong), played by Harry Cook, take Phil out on an drunken bar hopping night that quickly turns very, very dark. While visually beautiful, DROWN is very intense—plus the lifeguards are all pretty hot.

Available on Netflix, iTunes, and Amazon. drownthemovie.com

 

Iron-Ladies-Roar-PosterIRON LADIES ROAR

IRON LADIES ROAR is ridiculous. Directed by Poj Apirut, this film is part wacky comedy, part slapstick, and part human anime. This is the third in a trilogy of over-the-top cartoonish comedies about a volleyball team made up of queeny men and trans women in Thailand. Coach Bee, the lone lesbian in this world of muscle queens and drag queens, reunites the Iron Ladies for the upcoming Thailand National Volleyball Championship competition. While there is some commentary on such a “feminine” team representing the country by conservative officials, but mostly this is a colorful romp. A bit uneven in places and slightly too long IRON LADIES ROAR stumbles when it tries to deal with serious issues butt scores with flying colors every time the athletes take to the court.

Available on Amazon and Amazon Prime.

 

out in line upOUT IN THE LINE UP

An independent documentary by Ian W. Thomson, OUT IN THE LINE UP is an authentic look at competitive surfing from a queer perspective. Former state champion surfer David Wakefield and Australian surfer Thomas Castets embark on a global journey to uncover the taboo of homosexuality in surfing. They become part of a new community ready to create a more open and accepting surfing culture. While never achieving the beauty and Majesty of a Bruce Brown surfing film, this documentary is a very real world look at professional Surfers fighting to come up from the surface.

Available on Netflix, iTunes, and Amazon. outinthelineup.com

 

queens_cowboysQUEENS AND COWBOYS: A Straight Year on the Gay Rodeo

This is an intimate and casual look into the world gay Rodeo. This award-winning film tells the story of five members of the International Gay Rodeo Association. From Wade Earp, a descendant of cowboy legend Wyatt Earp to Char Duran, a female bull rider who’s never won a buckle but seems determined to die trying. QUEENS AND COWBOYS spans one year in the life of these Western athletes who exist in a world that seems almost quaint and old-fashioned in its simple and traditional ways of rodeo. While it may seem somewhat on the slow side, there is great heart and drive to people portrayed.

Available on Netflix, iTunes, and Amazon. queensandcowboys.com

 

 

 

 

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