Queer Film Biography

The Imitation Game

(2015)

The story of Alan Turing, the brilliant mathematician and computer scientist who helped the Allies secure victory in World War II by cracking the German enigma code, and who later committed suicide after being prosecuted as a homosexual by his own government.

Based on Andrew Hodges' biography of Alan Turing,  Alan Turing: The Enigma

Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, Allen Leech

Director: Morten Tyldum

Running Time: 114 minutes (1hour, 54 minutes)

Chris & Don
a love story

(2007)

Guido Santi and Tina Mascara's documentary Chris and Don. A Love Story traces the romantic relationship between writer Christopher Isherwood and painter Don Bachardy. The filmmakers utilize interviews with Don himself, as well as personal documents belonging to Isherwood, in order to show how the duo nurtured each other's artistic instincts while establishing a deep emotional bond that survived even after Isherwood's passing.

Starring: Christopher Isherwood, Don Bachardy,Ted Bachardy, Jim Berg, John Boorman

Directors: Tina Mascara, Guido Santi

Running Time: 90 minutes (1 hour, 30 minutes)

De-Lovely

(2004)

De-Lovely is an original musical portrait of American composer Cole Porter, filled with his unforgettable songs. In the film, Porter is looking back on his life as if it was one of his spectacular stage shows, with the people and events of his life becoming the actors and action onstage. Through elaborate production numbers and popular hits like "Anything Goes," "It's De-Lovely," and "Night and Day," Porter's elegant, excessive past comes to light - including his deeply complicated relationship with his wife and muse, Linda Lee Porter.

Starring: Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd, Jonathan Pryce, Kevin McNally, Sandra Nelson

Director: Irwin Winkler

Writer: Jay Cocks

Running Time: 125 minutes (2 hours, 5 minutes)

A Bigger Splash

(2010)

The film takes its title from David Hockney's most famous painting and is neither fly-on-the-wall cinema vérité nor formal documentary. It's a film shot over three years in the early 1970s by a film-maker fascinated by Hockney's portraits, made with the artist's partial and reluctant participation, and without any specific scenario or agenda.

From the semi-improvised, unscripted material, Hazan carved a story tracing the disintegration of the affair between Hockney and his lover and model, the Californian Peter Schlesinger. Incorporated into this episode narrative are members of the flamboyant, charismatic, hard-working artist's circle, most notably Henry Geldzahler, Patrick Proctor, Celia Birtwell and Ossie Clark, the subjects of several key portraits.

Hockney was initially horrified by the movie's intimacy, but was soon persuaded by his friends of its brilliance, and indeed it is an insightful portrait of the artist and his world, artfully organised and beautifully lit.

Starring: David Hockney, Peter Schlesinger, Celia Birtwell, Henry Geldzahler, Mo McDermott

Director: Jack Hazan

Writers: Jack Hazan, David Mingay

Running Time: 106 minutes (1 hour, 46 minutes)

 A Bigger Picture

(2010)

Filmed over three years, this documentary is an unprecedented record of a major artist at work. It captures David Hockney's return to England after 25 years in California.

As he approaches the age of 70, he decides to re-invent his painting from scratch, working through the seasons and in all weathers out in the Yorkshire countryside - ending up with the largest picture ever made outdoors. It is at once the story of a homecoming and an intimate portrait of what inspires and motivates today's greatest living British-born artist as time runs out.

Winner of Best Essay award at the International Festival for Films on Art in Montreal and nominated Best Arts Documentary by the Grierson and International Emmy Awards.

Starring: David Hockney

Director: Bruno Wollheim

Running Time: 60 minutes (1 hour)

Postcards from America

(2002)

Inspired by the work and writings of outspoken gay artist David Wojnarowicz, this film dramatizes three periods in his life: abused childhood, New York street hustler, and adult artist on the road, creating a powerful look at growing up gay in America. Contains graphic depictions of domestic violence and gay sex

Starring: James Lyons, Michael Tighe, Olmo Tighe, Michael Imperioli, Michael Ringer

Director: Steve McLean

Writers: Steve McLean, David Wojnarowicz

Running Time: 92 minutes (1 hour, 32 minutes)

Breaking the Surface is about the tough times Greg Louganis had on his way to becoming one of the world's top Olympic divers.

Some topics discussed are Greg's childhood problems, his homosexuality, his lovers and Greg contracting the HIV virus.

Starring: Mario Lopez, Michael Murphy, Jeffrey Meek, Rosemary Dunsmore, Aki Aleong

Director: Steven Hilliard Stern

Writers: Alan Hines, Eric Marcus, Greg Louganis

Running Time: 95 minutes (1 hour, 35 minutes)

Harvey Fierstein