Atopia is an introspective essay about the search for a place that exists between reality and imagination: a placeless place made up out of dreams, chimeras and a desire for gender fluidity.
Social & External
The people behind it
Adrien de Biasi
Jérôme Pauly
Macha Bouteiller
The place is the notorious Starck Club (so called because it was the first major project designed by Philippe Starck in the US.) The Starck Club opened in Dallas in 1984 and not long after hosted the 1984 national Republican Convention. Ironically, it was actually legal to buy MDMA aka ecstasy there, people would put it on their credit cards. The DEA stepped in and made it a category 1 drug on July 1, 1985... In a time when ecstasy was legal & guyliner was cool.
Originally broadcast on ABC's True Stories in 1993, Feed Them to the Cannibals tells the story of Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. It was the first time cameras were allowed at Sleaze Ball and the Mardi Gras Party.
A significant group of trans and queer artists gather to mourn the loss of their friend – Indigo, AKA Spiral – to suicide.
A history of the political and social repression carried out by the ruthless regime of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco between 1936 and 1975 that focuses on the lives of gays and lesbians during those dark years and the death of the Spanish gay poet Federico García Lorca.
After gaining a dedicated LGBT online following for their playfully candid YouTube videos, married couple Rose and Rosie travel in the UK and US to meet some of their followers. Follow their adventure as they meet ordinary yet remarkable men and women who prove that no matter who you are or who you love, you can always find your people.
A cruise ship and 3,000 men – it is a universe without heteros and women that usually remains a mystery to the outside world. Once a year the Dream Boat sets sail for a cruise exclusively for gay men where most passengers are united by the wish to live life authentically as themselves in a protected place.
In both amateur and professional sports, being gay remains taboo. Few dare to come out of the closet for fear of being stigmatized, and for many, the pressure to perform is compounded by a further strain: whether or not to affirm their sexual identity. Standing on the Line takes a fresh and often moving look at some of our gay athletes, who share their experiences with the camera. They’ve set out to overcome prejudice in the hopes of changing things for the athletes of tomorrow.
Doin' Time in the Homo No Mo' Halfway House isn't comedy-it's a hit piece posing as entertainment. Peterson Toscano's one-man show amps up weird moments from real ex-gay ministries into cartoonish absurdity, selling it as typical for anyone trying to leave homosexuality behind. Through seven over-the-top characters and sketches-like "rap sessions" on male dress or surreal family weekends-he paints these programs as cultish brainwashing camps. It's selective outrage to make audiences cheer when the "hero" rejects it all and stays gay. Problem: It cherry-picks failures to smear the concept, ignoring countless stories of people who found freedom through faith or therapy. Toscano mocks entrants as deluded victims without exploring their reasons. This isn't artful satire like The Producers. It's activism with laughs to shame and silence. Watch knowing it's propaganda, not a documentary.
When the members of the Keystone Rainbow Curling League get together, it's not just about the game. Rainbow Ice follows four members of Manitoba's premiere LGBT2SQ+ curling league as they gear up for another season. The league, which has been around since 2005, is made up of 28 teams with players from the LGBT2SQ+ community and their allies. It's an open and inclusive place to escape Winnipeg's brutal winters and enjoy some exercise, camaraderie and sport at the 140-year-old Granite Curling Club. Rainbow Ice takes a look at the positive space that's created when the spirit of fun, friendship and freedom to be yourself are combined with a love of curling.
A Boy Named Sue chronicles the transformation of a transsexual named Theo from a woman to a man over the course of six years. Following Theo's physiological and psychological changes during the process, as well as their effects on his lesbian lover and community of close friends, A Boy Named Sue tells a story about gender identity, relationships, and how even things that seem permanent can change.
The life of internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin is told through her slideshows, intimate interviews, ground-breaking photography, and rare footage of her personal fight to hold the Sackler family accountable for the overdose crisis.
Daphne, a transgender performer, and LGBTQ educator based in Milan, navigates two worlds: by day, she juggles work, friendships, and dating apps; by night, she explores the experimental underground scene of parties and drugs. The film offers an intimate look at her journey of self-discovery.
Just a generation ago, it was adults, not kids, who changed genders. But today, many children are transitioning, too—with new medical options, and at younger and younger ages. Told from the perspective of parents, doctors, and, most revealing of all, the kids themselves, the documentary takes a powerful look at this new generation, exploring the medical possibilities, struggles and choices transgender kids and their families face today.
Trans man Stafford candidly tells the story of a memorable encounter he had at a sex club.
The original documentary on the Wigstock festival, back in the day when it was a much smaller affair in Thompkins Square Park. A full day of peace, love, and wigs…
William Hart McNichols is a world renowned artist, heralded by Time magazine as "among the most famous creators of Christian iconic images in the world". As a young Catholic priest from 1983-1990 he was immersed in a life-altering journey working as a chaplain at St. Vincent's AIDS hospice in New York city. It was during this time that he became an early pioneer for LGBT rights within the Catholic church. "The Boy Who Found Gold" is a cinematic journey into the art and spirit of William Hart McNichols. The film follows his colorful life as he crosses paths with presidents, popes, martyrs, and parishioners, finding an insightful lesson with each encounter. McNichols' message as a priest, artist and man speaks to the most powerful element of the human spirit: Mercy.
The LA Sisters are outrageous, controversial, always fabulously dressed men and women who feel they are called to minster to the community as 21st century nuns.
Filmed in Zimbabwe, the film depicts the romantic relationship between two women, and the aftermath of the discovery of their relationship
Welcome to the curious, surprising and always outspoken world of straight men who go Gay4Pay. Curiously, there is a disproportionate percentage of men working in gay porn who identify as straight. Why would a straight man do gay porn? What motivates him to try this or make a career of it? Why is there such keen interest and debate into the sexuality and personal lives of these men? And what does it say about us, the viewer that so much of gay porn is dominated by images of straight men?
The Turkish army considers homosexuality a mental disorder which exonerates young men from military service, but also requires a medical diagnosis to be reached through both psychological and more invasive (and humiliating) diagnostic procedures.’Çürük’ is an intense, entirely anonymous recording of the mortifying procedure used by the Turkish military to make it possible for gay men to exempt themselves from military service. The humiliation includes psychological tests, anal examinations and the photographical proof of gay sex. The impact on gay men‘s self-esteem becomes more than obvious, when one of the protagonists doubtfully asks: “Do you think I'm a real man?”
This searing investigative work shadows a group of activists risking unimaginable peril to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ program raging in the repressive and closed Russian republic. Unfettered access and a remarkable approach to protecting anonymity exposes this under-reported atrocity–and an extraordinary group of people confronting evil.
An investigation of how Hollywood's fabled stories have deeply influenced how Americans feel about transgender people, and how transgender people have been taught to feel about themselves.
A comedic, brutally honest documentary following self-destructive TV writer Dan Harmon as he takes his live podcast on a national tour.
A deliciously scandalous portrait of unsung Hollywood legend Scotty Bowers, whose bestselling memoir chronicled his decades spent as sexual procurer to the stars.
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Harris Glenn Milstead, aka Divine (1945-1988) was the ultimate outsider turned underground hero. Spitting in the face of the status quos of body image, gender identity, sexuality, and preconceived notions of beauty, Divine succeeded in becoming an internationally recognized icon, recording artist, and character actor of stage and screen. Glenn went from the often-mocked, schoolyard fat kid to underdog royalty, standing up for millions of gay men and women, drag queens and punk rockers, and countless other socially ostracized misfits and freaks. With a completely committed in-your-face style, he blurred the line between performer and personality, and revolutionized pop culture.
Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
Featuring new, previously unseen footage documenting the bizarre and unsettling things that happened to filmmakers David Farrier and Dylan Reeve as Tickled premiered at film festivals and theaters in 2016. Lawsuits, private investigators, disrupted screenings and surprise appearances are just part of what they encounter along the way. Amidst new threats, the duo begins to answer questions that remained once the credits rolled on Tickled, including whether the disturbing behavior they uncovered will ever come to an end.
Over 35 years after Bob Lazar's revelations, this documentary exposes secrets of a facility the government still denies. Featuring Lazar's testimony, recreations, and new evidence, it reopens a case that continues to spark global curiosity
The life and career of one of comedy's most inimitable modern voices, Mr. Gilbert Gottfried.
Examines the life and career of singer Whitney Houston. Features never-before-seen archival footage, exclusive recordings, rare performances and interviews with the people who knew her best.
This compelling Documentary moves beyond the spotlight and past the attention-grabbing headlines to give pop superstar Chris Brown a chance to tell his own story. New interviews with the international phenomenon reveal long-awaited answers about his passion for making music, his tumultuous and much publicized relationships, and the pitfalls of coming of age in the public eye. Also included is new concert footage, behind-the-scenes access, and special interviews from Usher, Jennifer Lopez, DJ Khaled, Mike Tyson, Jamie Foxx and others.
A purely observational non-fiction film that takes viewers into the ethically murky world of end-of-life decision making in a public hospital.
Daft Punk Unchained is the first film about the pop culture phenomenon that is Daft Punk, the duo with 12 million albums sold worldwide and seven Grammy Awards. Throughout their career Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo have always resisted compromise and the established codes of show business. They have remained determined to maintain control of every link in the chain of their creative process. In the era of globalisation and social networks, they rarely speak in public and neither do they show their faces on TV. This documentary explores this unprecedented cultural revolution revealing a duo of artists on a permanent quest for creativity, independence and freedom.
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
A documentary about ten very different lives connected by having appeared onscreen wearing masks or helmets in Star Wars.
Exuberant, eye-opening movie that serves up a dazzling hundred-year history of the role of gay men and lesbians have had on the silver screen. Film contains fabulous footage from 120 films showing the changing face of cinema sexuality, from cruel stereotypes to covert love to the activist triumphs of the 1990s.
The Captains is a feature-length documentary film written and directed by William Shatner. The film follows Shatner as he interviews the other actors who have portrayed starship captains in the Star Trek franchise.
A feature-length documentary about our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them.