arts >> Bartel, Paul

Independent filmmaker Paul Bartel's ultimate importance may lie less in his directorial efforts, which are variable in quality, than in his unwavering presence as an inspiring figure in the independent film world, particularly to queer filmmakers.

arts >> Broughton, James

Poet, avant-garde film artist, and Dionysian sage, James Broughton more or less created the West Coast experimental film scene.

arts >> Cukor, George

Responsible for many of the most popular and critically praised films of Hollywood's golden age, George Cukor became typed as a "woman's director," a phrase that may have also alluded to his homosexuality.

arts >> Film Noir

Queer characters were a crucial component of the film noir landscape, part of the genre's challenge to complacent American values.

arts >> Film Sissies

The film sissy had his heyday in the 1930s, but persists as a film archetype, subtly reminding audiences that there are other ways of being than conventional heterosexuality.

arts >> Hammer, Barbara

The most prolific lesbian feminist filmmaker in the history of cinema, Barbara Hammer creates works that are among the most thoughtful celebrations of queer life.

arts >> Horror Films

The monsters of horror films may frequently be read as mirrors of societal views of homosexuals as predatory, amoral, perverse, possessed of secret supernatural powers, and threatening to "normal life."

arts >> Kuchar, George

One of the founding fathers of cinematic camp, George Kuchar has been making innovative, if engagingly threadbare, epics since 1954.

arts >> Morrissey, Paul

Filmmaker Paul Morrissey was the auteur who created many of the "Andy Warhol films," works that unflinchingly document modern urban subcultures, including the lives of drag queens, hustlers, and addicts.

arts >> Paradjanov, Sergei

None of the films of Russian director Sergei Paradjanov, who spent more than eight years in prison for homosexuality, feature overtly gay themes, but they are infused with a queer sensibility that manifests itself in lyrical tableaux.

arts >> Webb, Clifton

American actor Clifton Webb rescued the film sissy from secondary status, then moved on to a variety of comic and dramatic roles.

arts >> Wood, Ed

Transvestite director Ed Wood died a penniless alcoholic, but posthumously became the center of one of cinema's most enduring cults.