Queer Knowledge

By: Amos Lassen

"QUEER KNOWLEDGE"
Three Short Documentary Films
Amos Lassen

Three short documentary films from three different directors, "Gay Knowledge" looks at topics and often-overlooked communities of great interest to LGBTQ+ viewers.
"A Queer City" directed by George Hellings looks at three young drag artists in Norwich, a place where their actions appear to be going unnoticed by the rest of the world. They talk what their drag means to them and "how by finding a welcoming group of people in Norwich with similar attitudes and camp sensibilities, they have been able to express their queerness and identity freely through performance and visual artistry." We get a look at drag in an unexpected place and to get to know the characters.

"Gay Positive" from director A.J. Mattioli is the story of one man trying to bring to attention the outdated ban on gay men donating in the United States. We see and hear the opinions of people from many walks of life regarding how they feel about the ban today. The film still speaks truth years later. The different opinions on donating and the stigma of HIV and donating are made clear.
"We Are Here" directed by Ellie Hodgetts looks at family showing us that is comes in many shapes and. We meet The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence stand who are paragons of self-acceptance and self-expression.
The Manchester Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence have the
motto of "promulgate universal joy and expiate stigmatic guilt". Small, interconnected narratives are edited together to give us an educational and thought-provoking look at the ceremonies and ideologies the family embodies as well as the adversaries they face daily.
Sister Bang Bang, Sister Roly, Sister Polly and Sister Judy share intimate personal accounts of their experiences of being discriminated against for their beliefs and identities and how they came to terms with their sexualities.
Here is the message of acceptance and being proud of who you are as seen through a series of revealing stories from a community of emotionally honest individuals.