Queerama

Brit filmmaker Daisy Asquith whisks us through 100 years of homosexuality in England in a tight 71 minutes in her latest documentary, "Queerama."

Combining a treasure trove of archival footage from the extensive vaults of the British Film Institute with clips from a whole range of LGBT feature films, plus more than a dab of vintage home movies, Asquith's doc is a glorious celebration of the good, and bad, old days.

Watching the stiff-upper-lipped BBC journalists conduct their own investigations into homosexuality on TV programs during the early 1960s is a joy because it so accurately portrays the bizarre consensus at the time of how depraved and sick we supposedly were.�Equally amazing is revisiting the fact that British politicians, particularly�the likes of Thatcher and her cronies, were so out of step with public opinion, which was evolving positively about homosexuality (albeit slowly), whilst they passed laws chipping away at our rights.

Early on in cinematic history, any reference to LGBTQ characters was kept in the subtext. Then there was that long period where a character could only be gay�if they were very unhappy or a big screaming queen. It's fascinating to see how, gradually, LGBTQ themes and people were eventually portrayed on the big and small screens without negative stereotyping or belittlement.

Asquith and her talented�team of editors string it all together using a tongue-in-cheek soundtrack that features tracks from the likes of singer/songwriter�John Grant, which certainly helps lighten some of the sections of the film that could have otherwise been a tad too serious.

The film is an excellent potted history of queer life in England for those who lived through a great deal of it, and for others who need to learn about how our community got to where it is today.