We do not organise or endorse these events ourselves. Events are organised by individuals or groups who want to celebrate LGBT History Month; the organisers of each event are solely responsible for their own event. We publish these details for your own information only.
UNISON invites you to our Film Night featuring the short documentary Don't Erase My History (2008) where a group of San Francisco youth take us on a quest for the very history that has no name in their schools. This will be followed by Celluloid Closet (1995) a documentary surveying the various Hollywood screen depictions of homosexuals and the attitudes behind them throughout the history of North American film.
COMEDY/DRAMA
DIR: JAMIE BABBIT
WITH: NATASHA LYONNE, CLEA DuVALL, RuPAUL CHARLES, CATHY MORIARTY
USA 1999 1 HOUR 15 MINS
With an introduction by Dr Alyson Campbell (Drama Studies at QUB)
A colourful satire about sexual disorientation. When cheerleader Megan's uptight friends and family become convinced that she is a lesbian they send her to a correctional facility that turns homosexuals 'straight'. But the decor is camper than the residents and Megan is befriended by Graham who refuses to conform... In ridiculing those unable to accept people as they are and the lengths they force others to go to in order to conform, this film highlights difficulties faced when being made to choose an identity not your own.
DRAMA/ROMANCE
DIR: YEE CHIH-YEN
WITH: GUEY LUN-MEI, CHEN BO-LIN, LIANG SHU-HUI
TAIWAN 2002 1 HOUR 25 MINS
MANDARIN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
With an introduction by Daniel Martin (Film Studies)
An adolescent love triangle that resonates with us all. Tomboy Meng Ke-rou is devoted to her girly best friend Yueh-chen, who is obsessed with the sporty Zhang Shi-hao. Zhang is oblivious until the shy Yueh-chen asks Meng to talk to him for her, and she dutifully obliges to please the girl she is trying not to fall for. Instead Yueh-chen, Zhang's affections grow for Meng, who also grows fond of him. Beautifully written and directed, this film acknowledges all of the unimportant teenage concerns we endure but never quite understand.
Making their European debut in Belfast during LGBT History Month, Chicago Opera Vanguard present a workshop performance of The Suitcase - an Opera - featuring sections and arias performed by the company in collaboration with Northern Irish artists.
The Suitcase is an opera 'built from the ground up' which explores the contents of a suitcase unopened for fifty years. A suitcase filled with letters sent across the American continent from one young man to another. Letters filled with questions about life, art, and the making of self; about the struggles of what it means to be a young gay man rubbing elbows with the queer elite of 1950 New York. The Suitcase is directed by Karen Yates, with Librettist David Kodeski and Composer Eric Reda.
The Suitcase - an Opera is the latest project by this innovative young company, who are committed to creating daring, accessible and exciting theatrical experiences. Their most recent, Jeff nominated, opera BOOJUM! Nonsense, Truth and Lewis Carroll played to rave reviews - hot on the heels of The Chicago Reader 'Best of 2010' award Best Effort to Keep Opera a Living Art.
Tickets cost £ 5 and are available from Crescent Arts Centre at http://tiny.cc/vgmll, and by calling Box Office on (028) 9024 2338. Early booking is recommended. Chicago Opera Vanguard will offer a two-session daytime workshop as part of their Belfast residency. DEVISING OPERA will work to create miniature operatic moments that explore LGBT experiences and views on homosexuality in Northern Ireland. For further information and to register interest please call 07791 432163.
COMEDY/DRAMA/MUSIC
DIR: JOHN CAMERON MITCHELL
WITH: JOHN CAMERON MITCHELL, MIRIAM SHOR, STEPHEN TRASK
USA 2001 1 HOUR 35 MINS A rock opera with a difference, Hedwig is a transsexual born a boy in East Germany who fell in love with and wanted to marry an American soldier. Years later she tours the States with her rock band consisting of Korean army wives – 'Eastern Europeans' – to tell her tragic story of lost love, botched operations... and stolen songs. This award-winning musical adaptation will make you revel in its confused identities, heady philosophy, unfortunate timing, hapless tragedy, and timeless rock as it celebrates all the world's 'misfits and losers'.
