The rise of black lesbian and gay cinema
Leave it on the Floor is one of the films being shown as part of this year’s BFI London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. Set in Los Angeles, it tells the story of a young black man rejected by his mother for being gay – but who finds a new home and family within the world of the costume balls which inspired the dance style of vogueing.
I’ve seen the film and loved it. It’s fresh, thoughtful and great fun – and it presents an insight into a gay experience many of us won’t know much about. But perhaps most importantly, it’s representative of a significant new trend in gay cinema.
As Brian Robinson, senior programmer of the festival, told me: “One of the things that stands out for me this year in the programme is the number of really well-made and exceptionally well-crafted films about black lesbian and gay life. Over the years we’ve had one or two films maybe, but this year we have a whole new crop. It feels like a generation is coming of age.”
What really fascinates me is that the films exploring the black gay experience in this year’s festival are breaking through within the context of a growing awareness of just how difficult it can be to be black and gay.
Of course, much has been written about the homophobia present in the lyrics of some reggae and hip hop music. Thankfully, few examples of this kind of music are now available online and after various campaigns major music stars such as Jay Z have spoken out against homophobia.
But there are other factors behind the challenges faced by black people who are gay. As a white gay man, I don’t want to make presumptions about what life is like for black gay people. So I consulted Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, co-founder of UK Black Pride.
“When you think of parents who are Nigerian,” she told me, “who are Jamaican, who are from Caribbean islands or African countries, their understanding and lack of awareness of what it means for someone to be gay or for their child to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, they don’t want to understand that because they’ll bring religion into it. They will talk about, ‘this is not right’, ‘it’s not heard of’, ‘it’s disgusting’. Sometimes, in some cases, they say ‘it’s the white man’s disease’ and ‘you can’t be gay’ … but for many of us who choose to come out in our community, we’re doing this because we have to make sure there’s a visible presence so other people feel comfortable in being able to relay their story, in being able to talk about themselves and feel comfortable and safe.”
Another step forward with the films exploring black gay life in this year’s festival is that they aren’t all American. Stud Life tells the story of how the friendship between a butch lesbian and a gay man is affected by the arrival of a new love interest. It’s set in Hackney, east London.
As writer-director Campbell X told me: “What we tend to see is the American version of black gay life and I find that very frustrating. So our identity gets moulded by an American experience.”
But securing funding to make a film about the British version of black gay life was a struggle. As a gay film with a black protagonist, Stud Life was seen by some as being doubly niche. “A lot of the gatekeepers are very cautious in wanting to give money to stories they think are minority or niche because they think they won’t get the money back – from sheer numbers. As black LGBT people we’re in a minority. So they’re just looking at number crunching rather than cultural significance I think for different kinds of stories.”
Clearly, the increased number of black films showing at this year’s BFI London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival can be read as a positive sign that attitudes are changing. And if they constitute the start of a better representation of black gay characters and their stories in film then they might also help to increase understanding of gay life within the black community. And make it harder for certain people to deny that gays and lesbians exist.
But ultimately the films in the festival will be shown mainly on the arthouse circuit. Only when mainstream Hollywood films explore black gay life will there be a real change in the visibility of black gay people – and a much better understanding of gay life within the black community.
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it seems LESBIANISM is on the RISE TODAY. no matter what RACE. more and more women are going for their OWN SEX now than ever before. as a STRAIGHT MAN that is hoping to meet the RIGHT WOMAN for me, i can CERTAINLY see why it has become much more harder for me to meet a GOOD STRAIGHT WOMAN for me now. i can’t blame myself, since i did not do ANYTHING WRONG on my part. i meet so many women that are so VERY NASTY to talk too, along with their ROTTEN ATTITUDE. boy, have women changed over the years. i guess many women have been so VERY BADLY ABUSED by men at one time or another, so this will add to the problem as well. i am a good man, that would know how to treat a woman. at one time i was married myself, and i was a VERY CARING AND LOVING HUSBAND, that never MISTREATED her in anyway. i was very COMMITTED to her as well, and i thought that i was going to spend the rest of my life with her. she CHEATED on me, and i had no reason to cheat on her, since i loved her VERY MUCH. she cheated on me with another WOMAN, and this HURT me real bad. but now i will go out, and just hope to meet a REAL GOOD WOMAN for me now, and hope that she likes MEN.
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Franko,
I think you misunderstand what is evolving in society at the moment on your own extra special disproportionate level. You also do not fare well by, however lightly you may do so, drawing conclusions between women having been treated badly and then further going on to make yourself seem evermore ridiculous and ignorant by calling it a ‘problem’. The actual problem lies with an individual such as yourself who cannot comprehend that in an age where although some people may still not feel wholly comfortable in allowing themselves to pursue what they feel, more environments and growing acceptance is provided for them to do so at least. This of course was not always the case looking into the past where throughout history the freedoms of minorities have been restricted. It does not boil down to a simplified choice or specific experience. I presume if you were badly treated by a woman, or abused by one I would not find you of an evening inside a gay club cruising to pick up a man and take him home to do unspeakable things with. Your argument is nonsensical and unfortunately borne out of a lack of education and will to educate yourself on understanding why people may not all be like yourself. Thank the changing world of women, men and beast for that at least.
It is thus my happy fortune to inform you that I don’t think your problem with women lies with women. The plot thickens. Perhaps a more apt look at ‘the man in the mirror’ is called for here and by all means do feel free to comment again once you have reassessed.
And of course I am a black lesbian but that is neither here nor there. Categorization is also soon to be a thing of the past. Keep up.
Incidentally, I love the use of capital letters dotted manically throughout your post by the way. It really gives meaning to all of it and stops one falling asleep whilst reading it at those critically important capital letter moments.
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