Dark and Lovely, Soft and Free

Jan 2, 2000

0h 51m

★ 1.0

Overview

A road trip through gay spaces in small town South Africa, Graeme Reid's documentary introduces viewers to hairstylists, preachers, traditional healers, and beauty queens. This moving film provides an alternative vision of acceptance and celebration, in contrast to the wave of homophobia that is sweeping across sub-Saharan Africa.

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

Franmi Productions

Gay and Lesbian Archives of South Africa

Vidiola

Dark and Lovely, Soft and Free Trailers

Cast

Himself

Zakhi Radebe

A tender exploration of friendship, identity, and transformation, this film follows Brahel and Andoeni, who met as children and grew up together in Guadalajara. Though their romantic relationship eventually ended, their deep friendship endured. Years later, after Brahel’s gender transition, the two reconnect and rediscover their bond. Through a rich tapestry of archival footage, music, intimate moments, and unspoken emotions, the narrative unfolds as a heartfelt journey of reconnection, vulnerability, and lasting affection.

0.0

Sanctuary

Sep 27, 2024

Sanctuary explores queer spirituality and utopian sexualities through the figure of Purusha Androgyne Larkin (1934–1988), a monk, pioneering gay filmmaker, and self-proclaimed cosmic-erotic mystic. Larkin’s 1981 book, 'The Divine Androgyne According to Purusha', challenged repression with a spiritual vision rooted in eroticism and presented a radical path to cosmic-erotic consciousness through ‘extreme’ forms of sexual pleasure. Sanctuary explores Larkin's attempt to form a utopian, pleasure-based spiritual community, and considers the complex legacies of his ideas in queer culture. Shot on 16mm, the film weaves together the voices of Larkin’s friends and followers, creating a portrait in absentia of a figure ahead of his time.

5.5

Home Movie

Sep 22, 1974

Filmmaker Jan Oxenberg narrates her own home videos, commenting on how her views towards lesbianism and femininity have evolved over time.

0.0

Three Salons at the Seaside

Aug 29, 1994

A film on the staff and customers of three Blackpool hair-dressing salons as they discuss the many facets of life. Stories of love, loss and gritty determination to carry on and make the best of things with a sense of humour abound.

1.0

Vanilla

Apr 8, 2017

Look around. Everything you see and touch can taste like vanilla.

No Image Available

4.0

You Don't Know Dick: Courageous Hearts of Transsexual Men

Jan 1, 1997

This compelling and thought-provoking documentary provides riveting portraits of a diverse group of six men who once were women and chose to change their gender. The award-winning film is an unforgettable story of self-discovery and challenges all of us to re-examine the foundations of our ideas and feelings about gender, sexuality, and identity.

5.0

Anthem

Jul 25, 1997

When twenty-six-year-olds Shainee Gabel and Kristin Hahn quit their Hollywood jobs, packed up a borrowed car and hit the road, it was with the deeply felt conviction that somewhere, shrouded in the din of talk shows and tabloid headlines, they'd discover the real America, alive and well in all of its regions and demographics.

5.9

Home Movies

Jul 9, 2017

In this home movie collection of gay men, memory serves as an act of hope, power, and above all, resilience.

0.0

Safe Space

Jun 10, 2024

This documentary discusses how LGBTIQA+ people experience the streets and nightlife of Istanbul in terms of a safe space through the unique, yet common experiences of queers from different backgrounds, and focuses especially on nightlife and the issue of safe space there, which is a very critical area for queers to exist as they are.

3.3

Half a Life

Aug 1, 2017

After a traumatic encounter, a young gay Egyptian joins the LGBT rights movement. When his safety is jeopardized, he must choose whether to stay in the country he loves or seek asylum elsewhere as a refugee. "Half a Life" is a timely story of activism and hope, set in the increasingly dangerous, oppressive, and unstable social climate of Egypt today.

0.0

The Princess and the Peacock

Apr 7, 2024

Mona is a 22 year old trans girl from a small village in France. She puts needles attached to peacock feathers in her skin, under bright lights, late at night. She bleeds, half naked, in front of small crowds of people. Sometimes they faint whilst watching her. Why would she do this? How did she learn to do it? And why would someone want to watch?

6.5

Untold: Caitlyn Jenner

Aug 24, 2021

Caitlyn Jenner's unlikely path to Olympic glory was inspirational. But her more challenging road to embracing her true self proved even more meaningful.

6.0

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

Jul 27, 2018

A deliciously scandalous portrait of unsung Hollywood legend Scotty Bowers, whose bestselling memoir chronicled his decades spent as sexual procurer to the stars.

4.0

I Am My Own Woman

Oct 30, 1992

The life story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, who survived the Nazi reign as a trans woman and helped start the German gay liberation movement. Documentary with some dramatized scenes. Two actors play the young and middle aged Charlotte and she plays herself in the later years.

0.0

A Long Way From Heaven: The Rainbow Y Story

Mar 15, 2024

The true story of the students of Brigham Young University's queer underground, as they lit the school's iconic "Y" in rainbow colors. But, A Long Way From Heaven does a lot more than tell the story of the Rainbow Y. It outlines the history of queer treatment at BYU - the good (where it exists), the bad, and the very, very ugly. The film combines new, original footage with a huge variety of historical images, videos, newspaper articles, and other mixed media from every conceivable source to tell the story of BYU's queer students, and the bravery and risks they constantly take to make their voices heard.

6.0

Elton John: Tantrums & Tiaras

Jun 25, 1997

Unprecedented access into one of the world's greatest musical talents and his larger than life lifestyle: Elton John. With frank, funny, and touching filmmaking, this documentary is a fascinating and honest look at the complex character of a modern day composer and performing artist.

6.2

Who I Am Not

Mar 12, 2023

Sharon-Rose Khumalo, a South African beauty queen, faces an identity crisis after discovering she's intersex. Her path crosses with Dimakatso Sebidi, a masculine-presenting intersex activist, as they both navigate a journey marked by society’s stigma and inner struggles. Intertwining raw reality with poetic beauty, Who I am Not captures the heart-wrenching fight for acceptance in a binary world.

4.9

Upon the Shadow

Feb 1, 2017

The documentary follows the life of former Femen member Amina Sboui and the community of LGBTQ+ friends she houses in her Tunisian home. Offering unparalleled insight into life following the Arab Spring, social persecution, and political struggle, from a queer perspective. Dive into the stories of Amina's strong and enchanting group of LGBTQ+ loves and comrades: Sandra, Ramy, Ayoub, and Atef, as they bond and build a queer community against a backdrop of global trauma and struggle.

1.0

Raja Bro

Dec 17, 2022

A sensitive heart-warming story of an Indian transman's acceptance, by himself and his family. Merlin, born as a girl, felt right from his childhood that he was trapped in the wrong gender.

6.4

Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony

Sep 21, 2002

The struggle to eradicate apartheid in South Africa has been chronicled over time, but no one has addressed the vital role music plays in this challenge. This documentary by Lee Hirsch recounts a fascinating and little-known part of South Africa's political history through archival footage, interviews and, of course, several mesmerizing musical performances.

Dark and Lovely, Soft and Free

Overview

Genres

Production Companies

Dark and Lovely, Soft and Free Trailers