Queer 60s: A curator’s pick of key LGBTQ+ films from decade before Stonewall for new Barbican season
In a preview for Attitude, Barbican's Alex Davidson for Attitude promises everything from "drag queen pageants to flamboyant musical melodramas, [and] trashy exploitation films to intimate documentaries"
Change was in the air in the 1960s, a decade which culminated with the Stonewall Riots, beckoning the way for the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement. Despite widespread oppression and persecution, in countries where homosexuality was criminalised, courageous filmmakers, many of them queer, dared to show LGBTQ+ lives on screen, though features films, documentaries and shorts.
Throughout Pride Month, the Barbican are showing a selection of rarely screened queer wonders from the 1960s, a decade of radical social change. From drag queen pageants to flamboyant musical melodramas, from trashy exploitation films to intimate documentaries, Queer 60s celebrates the incredible diversity of LGBTQ+ experience on screen, as queer people dared to step out of the shadows, live unapologetically – and make history.
The Queen (1968)
“She doesn’t equal me. Look at her makeup – it’s terrible!” Drag queen Crystal LaBeija sets the screen alight with every moment she is on screen in this landmark documentary about a New York drag pageant. The performers put on a great show, on stage and off, including candid interviews about sexuality, identity and political matters such as the draft for the Vietnam War. Some of the queens and their houses would reappear on screen two decades later in the classic doc Paris is Burning.
Diferente (1962)
Nearly two decades before Pedro Almodóvar first picked up a movie camera, a vibrant, queer musical melodrama from Spain burst on to the screens, starring dancer Alfredo Alaria as a frustrated gay man trying to make a career in showbiz. Spectacular dance numbers and unforgettable set pieces abound in this neglected camp classic, made, amazingly, under the homophobic regime of Franco, when LGBTQ+ people faced criminal prosecution.
Tues 10 and Sun 14 Jun 2026, Cinema 1
Il Mare (1962)
An intense attraction between two men in off-season Capri is at the centre of this engrossing Italian drama, with excellent performances from its two male leads. When a woman arrives on the island, their strange relationship may be under threat. This is a rare chance to see this neglected film on a 35mm print. Artist Derek Jarman proclaimed it to be his favourite film.
Thurs 18 and Sun 28 Jun 2026, Cinema 1 Tues 10 and Sun 14 Jun 2025, Cinema 1
A Taste of Flesh (1967)
Dare you take a walk on the wild side? Director Doris Wishman made her name churning out outrageous exploitation films throughout her career, with torrid tales of bad girls making terrible decisions. A Taste of Flesh is one of her ‘best’, a deliriously trashy tale of three women, one a sex-hungry lesbian, who turn the tables on two crooks who hold them hostage. Lesbian lust, wicked hitmen and a bonkers dream sequence – this one has it all.
Portrait of Jason (1967)
Gay nightclub performer Jason Holliday talks about his wild and fascinating life in this landmark documentary from Shirley Clarke. From wild sexual exploits to immaculate impersonations of stars such as Mae West and Bette Davis, he is a charming and endlessly charismatic interviewee – the 90 mins in his presence fly by. Controversially, at the end tensions rise between Jason and the filmmakers. Master of cinema Ingmar Bergman described it as “the most extraordinary film I’ve seen in my life”.
Film Rarities and the Films of Edward Owens + Live piano and electronic accompaniment by the Guildhall School (1960-69)
A one-night-only opportunity to see uber-rare queer films, including home movies, experimenta and short films, scored by an orchestra, live on stage. The treasures include a drag skit from South Africa, a gay romance with a Disneyland backdrop [above] and a selection of shorts made by gay African American filmmaker Edward Owens, made when he was a still a teenager. These remarkable films breathe again with a new score, specially composed for this event.
Bits and Bobs from the 1960s (1960-68)
We’ve raided the film archives to showcase some incredible short films, many of which have never been shown on the big screen before. There’s something for everyone here – a mini-drama about a trans woman awaiting her date, a home movie of a butch teen on holiday with her dad, a saucy encounter between a sketch artist and his naked muse and a 13-minute masterpiece from Chantal Akerman, shot in her kitchen when she was just 18.