The Pearl of Africa
Genres
Overview
Captures an intimate's struggle for the right to love. Following a Ugandan transgender girl, forced to leave her country.
Details
Budget
$0
Revenue
$0
Runtime
92 min
Release Date
2017-04-01
Status
Released
Original Language
English
Vote Count
13
Vote Average
6.1
0.0
Fidel Lemoy
Equatorial Guinea became independent 51 years ago from Spain. This African country lives under one of the longest-lived dictatorships in the world, Teodoro Obiang, a military man trained in Zaragoza. His regime strongly represses all freedoms, including sexual ones. Franco Spanish laws are still in force in the country, such as the «public scandal». It is not possible to protest on the street and the only LGTB organization in the country has not been able to legalize itself. In addition, the country’s Parliament is studying hardening the current penal code. To denounce the situation, the group «We are part of the world» has collected the voices of the community in a documentary that pays tribute to Fidel Lemoy, one of its best-known faces, who disappeared last year.
2020-10-30 | es
5.6
Affirmations
A look at what it's like to be gay and black in America.
1990-06-23 | en
7.0
Swoopes
Sheryl Swoopes famously has been labeled as the female Michael Jordan, but that's only part of the story. On the court, she was nearly as dominant as Jordan, winning a national championship with Texas Tech, three Olympic gold medals, three MVP awards and four consecutive championships with the Houston Comets of the WNBA, the league she helped start. She even had a Nike shoe named after her, the Air Swoopes. Off the court, she has had a life full of transitions. She gave birth to her son, Jordan, during the inaugural season of the WNBA. Later, she divorced her high school sweetheart and became the highest-profile athlete in her sport to acknowledge she was gay. She has struggled with love, money and personal identity, but has never lost her spirit. In this portrait, you will meet someone who is not your everyday superstar, but a woman who has defied a multitude of labels.
2013-07-30 | en
6.0
The Beauty President
In 1992, at the height of the AIDS pandemic, activist Terence Alan Smith made a historic bid for president of the United States as his drag queen persona Joan Jett Blakk. Today, Smith reflects back on his seminal civil rights campaign and its place in American history.
2021-03-20 | en
0.0
Antes que Me Esqueçam, Meu Nome É Edy Star
This documentary is about the artistic trajectory of Edvaldo Souza, aka Edy star, the flamboyant gay singer, actor, dancer, theatrical producer, performer, visual artist and the last of the Kavernistas alive. The script mixes the memories of artists, friends and Edy himself, meeting in a studio with the singer and composer Zeca Baleiro.
2019-01-01 | pt
8.0
Paris Is Burning
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.
1991-03-13 | en
0.0
Black Nations/Queer Nations?
This is an experimental documentary chronicling the March 1995 groundbreaking conference on lesbian and gay sexualities in the African diaspora. The conference brought together an array of dynamic scholars, activists and cultural workers including Essex Hemphill, Kobena Mercer, Barbara Smith, Urvashi Vaid and Jacqui Alexander to interrogate the economic, political and social situations of diasporic lesbians, gay men, bisexual and transgendered peoples. The video brings together the highlights of the conference and draws connections between popular culture and contemporary black gay media production. The participants discuss various topics: Black and queer identity, the shortcomings of Black nationalism, and homophobia in Black communities. Drawing upon works such as Isaac Julien's "The Attendant" and Jocelyn Taylor's "Bodily Functions", this documentary illuminates the importance of this historic conference for Black lesbians and gays.
1995-01-01 | en
6.5
Jo
Jo is a 40-year-old transgender man addicted to cocaine. This addiction prevents him from achieving his transition in good conditions, and from maintaining fulfilling relationships. He is trying to quit drugs and to make a fresh start.
2020-07-31 | fr
0.8
Black./Womyn.:Conversations with Lesbians of African Descent
This documentary is about the perspectives and lives of black lesbians from assorted backgrounds.
2008-04-13 | en
6.7
Tongues Untied
Marlon Riggs, with assistance from other gay Black men, especially poet Essex Hemphill, celebrates Black men loving Black men as a revolutionary act. The film intercuts footage of Hemphill reciting his poetry, Riggs telling the story of his growing up, scenes of men in social intercourse and dance, and various comic riffs, including a visit to the "Institute of Snap!thology," where men take lessons in how to snap their fingers: the sling snap, the point snap, the diva snap.
1990-03-16 | en
0.0
Rise Up and Shout!
Rise Up And Shout! tells the story of four generations of creative gay voices in Los Angeles who unite to create a theatrical showcase for gay youth on September 9, 2006. In the process, a unique community is created made up of young and old, black and white, shy and loud -- including an 83 year-old priest and an 18 year old former prostitute and poet.
2007-07-21 | en
5.8
Kiki
25 years after Paris is Burning, we dive back into the fierce world of voguing battles in the Kiki scene of New York City, where competition between Houses demands leadership, painstaking practice, and performances on point. A film collaboration between Kiki gatekeeper, Twiggy Pucci Garçon, and Swedish filmmaker Sara Jordenö, we’re granted exclusive access into this high stakes world, where tough competitions act as a gateway into the daily lives of LGBTQ youth of color in NYC. The new generation of ballroom youth use the motto, “Not About us Without Us”. Twiggy and Sara’s insider-outsider approach to their stories breathes fresh life into the representation of a marginalized community who demand visibility and real political power.
2016-04-03 | en
0.0
Man Made
From adoption and homelessness to navigating relationships and overcoming self-harm, the four transmen in MAN MADE all have something else in common: they are all bodybuilders. Through the lens of FTMFitCon, the world’s only FTM bodybuilding competition, we delve into the lives of Dominic, Rese, Mason, and Kennie as they define what it means to be a man while contextualizing that definition through the social, racial, and economic realities of their lives. For the men of MAN MADE, it’s not about winning—it’s about stepping on stage and being seen for everything they are.
2018-05-22 | en
6.1
Black Is… Black Ain’t
African-American documentary filmmaker Marlon Riggs was working on this final film as he died from AIDS-related complications in 1994; he addresses the camera from his hospital bed in several scenes. The film directly addresses sexism and homophobia within the black community, with snippets of misogynistic and anti-gay slurs from popular hip-hop songs juxtaposed with interviews with African-American intellectuals and political theorists, including Cornel West, bell hooks and Angela Davis.
1994-06-01 | en
5.0
Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back
Maurice Hines, a charming, gay African-American entertainer navigates the complications of show business while grieving the loss of his more famous, often estranged younger brother, tap dance legend Gregory Hines.
2019-11-10 | en
5.6
Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin
Documentary on Bayard Rustin, best-remembered as the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington.
2003-01-20 | en
8.0
Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution
From the sweaty basement bars of 70s New York to the glittering peak of the global charts, how disco conquered the world - its origins, its triumphs, its fall and its legacy.
2023-12-16 | en
6.6
Portrait of Jason
Interview with Jason Holliday aka Aaron Payne. House-boy, would-be cabaret performer, and self-proclaimed hustler giving one man's gin-soaked, pill-popped view of what it was like to be black and gay in 1960s United States. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Milestone Films in 2013.
1967-09-29 | en
5.5
Game Face
Game Face shows the quest to self-realization of LGBT athletes and the acceptance in society. The film follows athletes during their coming out process, and sheds light on the obstacles LGBT sports players deal with throughout their career.
2015-04-26 | en
1.0
Poly-Love
A documentary that approaches polyamory from the intimate point of view of an Afro-American family who decided to live an authentic life without denying the option of diversity in their love and family.
2016-01-21 | en