A recent dip in female-led theatrical releases in the UK - back to 2018 levels of 26% reminds us that our work is far from over; that we cannot be complacent.
Below you can read about the research we conduct into gender representation in film and the wider industry, tracking the release landscape to present an accurate picture of investment in films by filmmakers of marginalised genders.
Here you can also find out about news and opportunities at Reclaim The Frame, along with curated film recommendations, filmmaker interviews, and creative responses.
Updated: Jul 12, 2023
For me, the movies I love have always been a vivid terrain for exploring identity as performance. Their pantheon of alluring characters, rendered with so much attention to the human experience that they felt more alive than life itself, presented so many marvelous things I wanted to steal and make my own: rebelliousness; sexuality; vulnerability; an intensity and sense of self I couldn’t imagine carrying.
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So, of course, it was because of the movies that I was able to locate the first inklings of curiosity about my gender identity: why I not only felt drawn to the way femininity was performed, but, increasingly, masculinity as well. Beyond attraction, it was a desire to emulate certain ways of being in the world. I was mesmerized by dark lipstick and sultry gazes just as much as I was by shirts buttoned loosely over angular collarbones and hunched shoulders. What I loved to dissect, as my eyes pored over these beautiful people, larger than life, were the layers of construction that made up how they wanted to be seen by others, by us in the audience: everything from tone of voice, posture, clothing, gait. And in my dissections, I found myself wanting to slide into new skins, too. Never permanently, because what captivated me was the ease of transformation, how deliberate and curated these performances were – and how liberatory and exciting such agency over oneself promised to be.
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I grew up on THE MATRIX, and nothing delighted me more than to revisit those formative movies with a newfound knowledge of my queerness and their trans subtext – but surprisingly, I found an even deeper rabbit hole in the Wachowski sisters’ first feature, the queer cult classic neo-noir BOUND. Gina Gershon (as Corky) and Jennifer Tilly (as Violet) both give performances that, for me, are the epitome of ‘gender euphoria’: both women embody and subvert the archetypical ‘butch’ and ‘femme’, celebrating the visual cues of femininity and masculinity as aesthetic armor, and reclaiming agency by defining how they will be looked at. Finding its subversive power in the spaces between expectation, BOUND carves out resistance in its fluid depictions of the butch and the femme fatale, in the way its two heroines use gender performance as a means to find safety, connection, and freedom. It revealed my non-binary identity to me in ways I have yet to fully understand, but something about Corky’s leather-jacket-grease-stained physicality, something about Violet’s short black dresses and purple lipstick, made something click for me: I want to, and can be, both.
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This International Non-binary People’s Day, I wanted to share a few more films alongside BOUND directed by women or non-binary people that I feel take a wonderfully exploratory approach to gender – which map the fluidities and intricacies of gender performance in ways that felt liberating to watch. While in the movies right now, it’s still extremely rare to see (explicitly) non-binary characters on screen, I’m more excited about queer approaches to gender in filmmaking than surface engagement with ‘non-binary’ as some sort of identity checklist. I hope to see many more non-binary and genderqueer filmmakers and characters on screen in the future, to keep playfully subverting gender scripts and exploding new possibilities of being into the world.
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ORLANDO (1992)
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Dir. Sally Potter
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Feature film (90 mins) Click Here For Where To Watch
Sally Potter’s Orlando loosely adapts Virginia Woolf’s novel of the same name, and casts perhaps our most well-known face of androgyny, Tilda Swinton, as a young nobleman in 17th century England who transforms into a woman. Delightfully queer, delightfully playful, it’s a great time to revisit this in light of our Queerious season here at Birds’ Eye View, during which we’re screening Sally Potter’s THE GOLD DIGGERS, too – wouldn’t that be a fantastic double bill!
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KAPAEMAHU (2020)
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Dir. Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Joe Wilson, and Dean Hamer
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Short film (9 mins) Click Here For Where to Watch
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This gorgeously animated short film tells the history of four healing stones on Waikiki Beach, tracing their history as monuments to four mahu (‘third gender’ people) who brought the healing arts to Hawai’i. A lyrical reclamation of the history of gender diversity, Kapaemahu beautifully connects the lineage of non-binary and trans identity from ancient knowledge to our current moment.
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NEPTUNE FROST (2021)
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Dir. Anisia Uzeyman, Saul Williams
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Feature film (105 mins) Click Here For Where to Watch
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This genre and gender-defying experiment into anti-colonial, anticapitalist, Afrofuturistic, and queer worldmaking in cinema possesses an utterly singular vision that feels like a shock from the blue. Vividly making the case that liberation from colonial extractivism, environmental breakdown, and class oppression is inextricably tied to consolidating queer and genderqueer solidarity and joy, Neptune Frost is a fascinating watch unparalleled in imaginative power.
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Xuanlin is a Singaporean film critic and curator based in Edinburgh, Scotland. They are passionate about queer, ecofeminist, and more-than-human perspectives in cinema which demand us to forge new solidarities and imagine ways of being in the world differently.
Xuanlin joined the Birds’ Eye View team in June this year as our regional Impact Producer, championing Reclaim the Frame events and films in Glasgow/Edinburgh – contributing to the programming, hosting events, and building audiences.
Twitter @xuanlintham
Updated: May 10, 2023
BIRDS EYE VIEW, RECLAIM THE FRAME X FILM FEELS CURIOUS
Thank you to those of you that took the time to respond to our commissioned response to our QUEERIOUS season – a curated programme which explores a multitude of desires on screen in ways we all too rarely see in cinema.
COMMISSIONED RESPONSE TO QUEERIOUS
By Kit Bithell
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As a writer and artist, every piece I make is a process of discovery, something that begins as a gentle thought in my head and slowly grows into a fully formed work; this, in a way, is similar to the experience of queerness. Sexuality and gender are often processes of discovery with no clear endpoint, constantly moving and changing within ourselves and as the world around us changes. The Queerious selection emulates this relationship between discovery, film and queerness. Historically, film has not served queer (or feminist) representations well, and what queer film was made has faced backlash or repression.
Queerious brings queer feminist pieces to the forefront that engage with our identities as both personal and political. The films in this selection span from the 80s to modern day, reflecting the evolution of queer theory and feminism over that period. They occasionally contradict and disagree with each other, they show queerness in its expansiveness and welcome us to sit in it, to find ourselves and our queerness, to feel what we are and are not.
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I’VE HEARD THE MERMAIDS SINGING by Patricia Rozema (Canada 1987, 81′, cert 15)
“Love is a pretty strong word for another woman when you aren’t talking about your mother…”
Do you remember your first queer crush? Something confusing and new? Awkward and giddy? In I’ve Heard The Mermaids Singing, scatter-brained secretary and amateur photographer Polly arrives at her new job to find unexpected feelings developing for her boss, a successful but dissatisfied art curator. Polly’s relationship with her sexuality is unclear and varies throughout the film. Her thoughts leave room for many interpretations, but for me, they resonate with the feelings of first discovering queer desire – unsure of what you want and feel. Polly voyeuristically watches the Curator’s interactions with her girlfriend, younger butch lesbian, Mary, with curiosity, more than jealousy, as if she is discovering something new. Sheila McCarthy’s performance as Polly wraps us up in affection as she is strange and naive but also unendingly earnest. Dreams run through the Queerious selection, and this film is no different as we see Polly’s eccentric daydreams imagining scaling skyscrapers, intellectualising in recency dress and conducting orchestras. The film explores the women’s desires on several levels; their desire for each other, for success, and for validation, and how this interacts with class and sexual politics.
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+ short film WAVELENGTHS by Pratibha Parmar (UK 1997, 15′)
From the discoveries of I’ve Heard The Mermaids Singing, to a rediscovery in Wavelengths. At the turn of the millennium, Mona is broken-hearted is convinced to try cyber sex. Complementing Rozema’s work, this short is filled with delicious dream sequences and hazy imaginations, balancing a tone that is comedic and yet sexy. Taking us back to the 90s with an iconic soundtrack, bulky TVs, and Internet café’s Wavelengths captures a historic change in how it was possible to have sex.
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THE GOLD DIGGERS by Sally Potter (UK 1983, 89′, cert U)
“I search for the secrets of transformations.”
In Sally Porter’s avant-guard dreamscape Ruby, a debutant who was abandoned by her mother and Celeste, her saviour and an office worker, attempt to interrogate and escape the men in power over them. Questioning and ridiculing the ruling class, Celeste and Ruby pull apart the trappings of capitalism, class, and patriarchy at debutante balls, theatrical performances and office backrooms. Characters are wound in dizzying cycles of time and space as they are chased through their past and present, through stark, abandoned, snowy mountain ranges and harsh, concrete lines of the city that emulate the aesthetics of German expressionism. Queerness may be unspoken in this film but queer imagery saturates this story. Similar to other films in this selection, The Gold Diggers captures glimpses of gender deviance and butch and femme identity, as queerness is presented as a rebellion against capitalism and patriarchy. An interesting insight into 80’s feminist thought on capitalism, patriarchy and queerness that goes against the trend in some 80s lesbian feminist circles of excluding butch identity or masculine gender presentation.
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+ short film ARE YOU STILL WATCHING? By Sissy Screens: Tali Polichtuk & Kitty Chrystal (Australia 2021, 6′)
One of my favourite shorts in the selection, Are You Still Watching? is a vibrant, techno celebration of the wonders of queer imagination in the digital world. Jamie is passing their time in lockdown binging queer media when they start having vivid hallucinations of sexual encounters with queer icons from Sarah Paulson’s Nurse Ratched to Cate Blanchette’s Carol. Sarcastic, erotic and anarchic, this short explores the delights of imagining sex with others, with yourself and sometimes even sex with a goddess-shaped loaf of bread.
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FIRE by Deepa Mehta (India/Canada 1996, 108′, cert 15, fully subtitled)
“I desire her warmth, I desire her compassion, I desire her body. I desire to live again.”
The first Indian film depicting a lesbian relationship, Fire faced tremendous resistance upon release. Rahda’s husband chooses a life of celibacy after Rahda is unable to have children. Rahda’s new sister-in-law, Sita, finds married life is less than she hoped when her husband is more interested in his mistress. As they grow closer, the women begin to question the societal rules that prescribe devotion to these men and find new life in a passionate relationship with each other. Class commentary backgrounds the plot as we see a slice of the functioning of this family’s household. Although the women’s sex life is at the forefront, this film allows thought-provoking reflections on the place of sex in relation to family duty, religion and tradition for all the characters. An erotic drama, this film balances moments of comedy, sex, and strife as an ode to the great amount of bravery following queer desires and happiness can take.
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PASSION by Maja Borg (Sweden/Spain 2021, 92′, uncertified 18+)
“I would like to talk to you about longing…”
An experimental documentary exploring the relationship between BDSM and religion, Passion provides an intensely intimate look into BDSM practitioners’ feelings about their relationships with others, themselves and sex. Borg allows us a window into her personal journey after a relationship breakdown as she both affirms her Christian faith and explores BDSM. Sensual and confessional, this piece layers audio of interviews and poetic monologues over black and white visuals of BDSM practice and religious ceremonies. Camera usage is particularly conscious with a mix of staged and unstaged scenes intercut with moments of blackness where Borg invites you to be absorbed by words. Borg does not shy away from the complexities of BDSM practice and religion for queer people but explores with curiosity our sometimes difficult relationships with our desires, where they come from and their boundaries. This is more than just a look at sex practices but an exploration of the feelings of yearning, joy, and guilt they come with. A surprisingly emotive film Passion, shows a visceral look into sex as discovery and worship; of ourselves, of others, of queerness.
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+ short film ISHTAR by Mia Georgis (UK 2021, 4′)
Continuing the exploration of the relationship with religion and queerness in Passion, Mia Georgis’ short, Ishtar. A cast of entirely trans and gender non-conforming performers gather for a glorious and messy feast in this heady and dreamlike experimental short. Intoxicating visuals, design and sound form the backbone of this film as we see these queer people revel in decadence. Backgrounded by a grand English garden, Ishtar evokes feelings of reclamation and taking up space; it encompasses taking power in our present and forcing acknowledgement of the repression of queer representation in history, making for a beautiful final film in the Queerious season.
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The experience of queerness often feels so indescribable – for many, it is more than simply being LGBTQ+; it is a way of thinking and interacting with others, it is a way the world treats you, and you treat it. These films allow space to explore the sensations and experiences of queerness throughout history, particularly giving voice to people of marginalised genders. The use of dreams and fantasies encourage queer awakenings and discoveries, and explorations of our histories centre queerness and feminism as a form of rebellion. Seeing ourselves on screen when we are so rarely represented can come loaded with baggage; we can feel apprehension as much as excitement. This season shows a range of experiences that encourage whatever feelings you bring to them – be it apprehension or excitement – but ultimately shows that the future belongs to the curious.
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KIT BITHELL
A recent Film Production Graduate, Kit has a consistent love for storytelling and creates poetry, articles, screenplays, and art about queerness, disability, and relationships. Kit specialises in their academic work on theories of gendered gaze and queer film and recently wrote their dissertation on lesbian representation in contemporary period dramas. Kit works as a Relationships and Sex Educator in their spare time, encouraging critical engagement with gender, sexuality and media through an intersectional feminist lens.
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Social media
Instagram: @kit.laurie
Twitter: @KitBithell
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Queerious is part of Film Feels Curious, a UK-wide cinema season, supported by the National Lottery and BFI Film Audience Network. Explore all films and events at FILMFEELS #FilmFeelsCurious.
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See HERE for where our QUEERIOUS selection is playing
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Reclaim The Frame is funded by the BFI, awarding funds from The National Lottery.
