It’s hard to imagine that the mid-1990’s was 30 years ago!
We had our first Baby Boomer president, and we could not stop “Thinking About Tomorrow”. If you were really cool you had a Blackberry, a first-generation Nintendo or PlayStation, and if you were really, really cool you had already upgraded from a Walkman to a Discman.
In the 1990’s Homosexuality was no longer considered an illness by the World Health Organization.
In 1991, the red ribbon became the international symbol of AIDS awareness. AIDS became the number one cause of death for U.S. men aged 25-44 years old in 1992. By 1994, AIDS became the leading cause of death for all Americans ages 25-44 years old.
On TV and movies, more LGBT characters were added that their sexual preference were not their defining character. In 1993, President Bill Clinton announced an end to a longtime ban on gay men and women serving in the U.S. military. The new policy was a compromise that pleased neither conservatives nor gay rights advocates. But it was a step on a long road to today’s military policy of inclusiveness and support of its LGBTQ+ members. In 1999, Clinton officially declared in a presidential proclamation, June “Gay and Lesbian Pride Month”.
When selecting our films for Pride Month, we chose films aimed to be insightful, nostalgist, educational and most important entertaining for the entire South Florida Community.
We would love for everyone to send comments to info@fliff.com that we can add to this page with their opinions and memories.
All films are FREE to FLIFF Members
PARIS IS BURNING
Paris is Burning (Documentary) 78 minutes
Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City’s African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion “houses,” from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.
MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO
My Own Private Idaho (Drama) – 104 Minutes
In this loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Henry IV,” Mike Waters is a hustler afflicted with narcolepsy. Scott Favor is the rebellious son of a mayor. Together, the two travel from Portland, Oregon to Idaho and finally to the coast of Italy in a quest to find Mike’s estranged mother. Along the way they turn tricks for money and drugs, eventually attracting the attention of a wealthy benefactor and sexual deviant.
THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCELLA QUEEN OF THE DESERT
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. – (Comedy) – 103 minutes
This rock opera tells the story of one year in the life of a group of bohemians struggling in late 1980s East Village, New York, USA. The film centers around Mark and Roger, two roommates. While a tragedy has made Roger numb to new experiences, Mark begins capturing their world through his attempts to make a personal movie. In the year that follows, they and their friends deal with love, loss, and working together.
RENT
Rent (Musical) – 135 minutes
Based on Pucinni’s classic opera “La Boheme,” Jonathan Larson’s revolutionary rock opera Rent tells the story of group of bohemians struggling to live and pay their rent in the gritty background of New York’s East Village. “Measuring their lives in love,” these starving artists strive for success and acceptance while enduring obstacles of poverty, illness and the AIDS epidemic.
THE CELLULIOD CLOSET
Celluloid Closet (Documentary) – 102 minutes
What “That’s Entertainment” did for movie musicals, “The Celluloid Closet” does for Hollywood homosexuality, as this exuberant, eye-opening movie serves up a dazzling hundred-year history of the role of gay men and lesbians have had on the silver screen. Lily Tomlin narrates as Oscar-winning moviemaker Rob Epstein (“The Times of Harvey Milk” and “Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt”) and Jeffrey Friedman assemble 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. Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Curtis, Harvey Fierstein and Gore Vidal are just a few of the many actors, writers and commentators who provide funny and insightful anecdotes.
