The Homosexual Century   - Movie

The Homosexual Century  

Guy Hocquenghem, Lionel Soukaz
Docu-fiction : 83' / Art & Artists, Cruising, Avantgarde, Gay

Influenced by the ground-breaking work of Michel Foucault on the history of sexuality and reflecting the revolutionary queer activism of its day, "Race d'Ep" traces the history of modern homosexuality through the twentieth century, from early sexology and the nudes of Baron von Gloeden to gay liberation and cruising on the streets of Paris.

Sections: QL - Retrospective
+ Info: http://gstphn.net

/ Details

Year: 1979

Country: France

Language: french

Subtitles: portuguese

With: René Schérer (as Elizar von Effentere), Serge Hefez, Pierre Hahn, Michel Journiac, Henky Clements, Peter Vlaspolder, Guy Hocquenghem

/ Direction

Guy Hocquenghem, Lionel Soukaz

France

Lionel Soukaz (1953-2025, France) was one of the pioneers of French queer cinema. The first phase of his work synthetises the various avant-garde movements he was drawn to in the 1970s and 1980s. Affiliated with the activists and intellectuals of FHAR (the Homosexual Front for Revolutionary Action) and the magazine Gai Pied, such as Guy Hocquenghem or Copi, he was also active within the experimental film scene, and organised the first Gay and Lesbian film festival in Paris, Écrans roses et nuits bleues, in 1978. His films, rediscovered in 2004 thanks mainly to the advocacy of French critic Nicole Brenez, display an uncompromising commitment to self-narration and the expression of desire, and embody his unlimited craving for freedom – as a result of which his work has often faced censorship.

Guy Hocquenghem (1946-1988) was a French writer, director, philosopher and queer theorist. In his work he discussed the relationship between capitalism and sexuality, between the dynamics of desire and the political impacts of gay group identities.

Photo: James Steakley