Press room

Barbican Cinema is delighted to travel back in time with Queer 60s: LGBTQ+ Cinema in the Decade before Stonewall, a major season that looks back at this decade of seismic social change, which culminated in the 1969 Stonewall riots. 

Following the Barbican’s Queer 80s season in 2024 and Queer 70s in 2025, Queers 60s is the fourth instalment in a series of bold films which coincide with Pride Month and celebrates LGBTQ+ representation in cinema. 

Despite homosexuality still being illegal in many countries around the world during the 1960s, including the UK and the USA, filmmakers managed to create fearless works, sometimes openly, sometimes coded, that dared to show a variety of LGBTQ+ lives on screen.

The season opens with Frank Simon’s classic documentary The Queen (USA 1968), which follows the build-up to a 1967 New York drag pageant, featuring an unforgettable appearance by the legendary Crystal LaBeija. Despite the glitz and the glamour, this was a courageous event when the film was made, as drag was forbidden in New York State. 

The Queen is followed by Diferente(Spain 1962), which director Luis María Delgado made, remarkably, during Franco’s repressive regime and tells the story of Alfredo, a talented dancer who leads a flamboyant lifestyle. The film’s brazen portrayal of a gay male protagonist, with its melodramatic flourishes, is a rare jewel that would predict the cinema of Pedro Almodóvar arriving a decade later.

Chained Girls (USA 1965) is an exploitation classic that purports to expose the secrets of the 1960s lesbian underworld, and is laced with offensive stereotypes. Easy to mock today, the film nonetheless reflects the toxic attitudes towards queer women in the 1960s and is a fascinating curio from a bygone era, with invaluable footage of a pre-Stonewall Greenwich Village. 

Ingmar Bergman’s psychological drama Persona (Sweden 1966) explores the relationship between a nurse and an actress as they form a deep, intimate connection. Although their relationship is not explicitly sexual, the couple’s extraordinary closeness and emotional intensity is undeniable.

Gay Erotica from the 1960s is a saucy shorts programme that dives into the world of 60s gay erotica, at a time when pornography was also illegal, with a celebration of works by Bob Mizer, Pat Rocco and Peter de Rome. In the 1970s pornography laws were relaxed and these films became neglected. This screening celebrates these remarkable works from a time of strict censorship. 

Further shorts programmes include Queer Britain on Screen in the 1960s with an introduction by introduction by archivist Simon McCallum. The programme explores the UK in the sixties through a queer lens, featuring British queer archive shorts made before and after the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967. 

Film Rarities and the Films of Edward Owens + live piano and electronic accompaniment presents a collection of queer curiosities, with a new live score by students from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. This eclectic programme showcases a variety of LGBTQ+ people in front of and behind the camera, including a drag home movie from South Africa, a British short about a gay couple, and a trio of works by gay African American filmmaker Edward Owens, all made before he turned 21.

Other features include Canada’s first gay themed film Winter Kept Us Warm (1965) a drama about a volatile friendship between two young men studying at the University of Toronto; and Giuseppe Patroni Griffi’s haunting study of desire and isolation, Il Mare (Italy 1962), in which two men engage in a twisted, homoerotic relationship in Capri.

Further season highlights include The Colour of Pomegranates (Sayat-Nova) (Soviet Union 1969), Sergei Parajanov’s hugely influential masterpiece, with stunning imagery and queer resonances; and Carlos Hugo Christensen’s The Boy and the Wind (1967), a magical realist depiction of queerness from Brazil; set in a rural community, in which a handsome engineer in is falsely accused of a murder. 

Alex Davidson, the season Curator at the Barbican, says:

“It is astonishing that so many great queer films were made in the 1960s, a decade of incredible social change, despite same sex sexual activity being illegal in so many countries around the world. 
Discovering rare and seldom screened queer works, including psychological dramas, musicals, documentaries and home movies, has been incredibly rewarding. I am so excited to see these fantastic films come back to life on our cinema screens.”

Screenings

The Queen + ScreenTalk (15*)
US 1968, Dir Frank Simon, 68min
Tue 9 Jun, 6.20pm 
Cinema 1 

Frank Simon’s classic documentary follows the run-up to a 1967 New York drag pageant. 24-year-old drag queen Flawless Sabrina is our guide as we are immersed in the activities of the 1967 Miss All-America Camp Beauty Contest, a pageant at the New York Town Hall. It’s a major occasion, with celebrity judges and fierce competitors. Despite the glitz and glamour, this is an illegal event – when The Queen was made, drag was forbidden in New York State. 

Diferente + introduction by curator Alex Davidson (15*)
Spain 1962, Dir Luis María Delgado, 91min 
Wed 10 Jun, 6.20pm + Sun 14 Jun, 6pm
Cinema 1 

Diferente follows Alfredo who dreams up lavish dance spectacles while half-heartedly working for his family’s firm. His flamboyance is centre stage from the opening number, in which he stamps out a flamenco number surrounded by men in matador outfits. Although talented, Alfredo is also capable of great jealousy and insecurity – flaws that may lead to disaster.

Persona + introduction (15*)
Sweden 1966, Dir Ingmar Bergman, 84min
Thu 11 Jun, 6.30pm + Mon 22 Jun, 6.30pm 
Cinema 1 

Bibi Andersson gives one of cinema’s greatest performances as Alma, a nurse who cares for Elisabet Vogler (Liv Ullmann), an actress who suddenly refuses to speak mid-performance. As the actress remains silent, Alma talks with great intimacy about her life, and gradually the women’s identities shift and overlap. 

Film Rarities and the Films of Edward Owens + Live piano and electronic accompaniment by the Guildhall School
Sun 14 Jun, 3pm 
Cinema 1 

In this collection of queer rarities, with a new live score by students from the Electronic and Produced Music Department at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, we explore a rich variety of films showcasing LGBTQ+ people in front of and behind the camera; including a drag home movie from South Africa, a powerful British short about a gay couple experiencing societal oppression, and a wonderful trio of works by gay African American filmmaker Edward Owens, all made before he turned 21.

Bits and Bobs from the 1960s + Recorded Introduction by curator Jenni Olson
Tue 16 Jun, 6.20pm 
Cinema 1 

A lucky dip of rare queer film curios from the 1960s, there’s something for everyone in this pick’n’mix of queer treats from the archive, all made in the 1960s.

From a queer teen on their holidays to a love-seeking trans woman telling her story, and from a drag ballet performance in a South African garden to an unforgettable Belgian short which launched one of the most exciting film careers of all time, this programme has it all.

The Boy and the Wind (O Menino e o Vento) [35mm] + introduction by curator Alex Davidson (15*)
Brazil 1967, Dir Carlos Hugo Christensen, 104min 
Wed 17 Jun, 6.20pm 
Cinema 1

To the horror of the locals of a small rural Brazilian community, handsome engineer Jose, an accused child murderer, is back in town and on trial following the disappearance of teenager Zeca. As homophobic lies and accusations fly, we gradually learn more about the man and the boy, and the latter’s extraordinary connection to the strong winds that blow through the town. 

Il Mare [35mm] + introduction (15*)
Italy 1962, Dir Giuseppe Patroni Griffi, 110min
Thu 18 June, 6.20pm + Sun 28 Jun, 3pm
Cinema 1 

An actor (Umberto Orsini) recovering from a break-up and a 19-year-old man (Dino Mele) with an unspoken trauma connect in off-season Capri, where the restaurants close early in the evening, the rain is a frequent visitor and the streets are practically deserted.

Homoerotic fireworks explode – but the arrival of a woman (Françoise Prévost) on the island threatens to change everything. Il Mare received little attention upon its release, but its reception has grown over the decades, with director Derek Jarman even declaring it his favourite film.

Gay Erotica from the 1960s + ScreenTalk
Tue 23 Jun, 6.20pm 
Cinema 1 

Fun, sun and naked men – dive into the world of 60s gay erotica, at a time when pornography was illegal, with a celebration of works by Bob Mizer, Pat Rocco and Peter de Rome. 

Pornography may have been illegal in the US in 1960s, but canny filmmakers nonetheless managed to find ways to produce erotica for grateful gay audiences through clever means. Bob Mizer was the man behind the Athletic Model Guild (AMG), nominally to promote the benefits of bodybuilding, though in reality the naughty antics on display offer softcore titillation rather than fitness tips. Filmmaker Peter de Rome went underground, creating beautiful, artful erotica for select, private audiences. 

The Colour of Pomegranates (Sayat-Nova) + introduction by curator Alex Davidson (PG)
Soviet Union 1969, Dir Sergei Parajanov, 73min 
Wed 24 Jun, 6.30pm + Mon 29 Jun, 6.30pm 
Cinema 1 

Sergei Parajanov’s hugely influential masterpiece is an unorthodox biopic of 18th century Armenian poet Sayat-Nova, featuring stunning imagery and queer resonances.

Upon its original release, Soviet censors were unimpressed, bemoaning the lack of a clear narrative. But there was one key element of the film that the authorities did not catch: its lush, queer aesthetic. Although any explicitly queer content would have guaranteed censorship, the film is steeped in strange, often beautiful homoerotic imagery. Parajanov was arrested several times for same-sex sexual activity, and was a provocateur throughout his career, with his art seen as anti-Soviet.

A Taste of Flesh + ScreenTalk with Jaye Hudson and Selina Robertson (18*)
USA 1967, Dir Doris Wishman, 73min 
Fri 26 Jun, 6.30pm 
Cinema 2 

Three women, including a sinful lesbian, are held hostage by two violent criminals in Doris Wishman’s deliriously trashy noir. Can they team up and thwart their male foes? The results have to be seen to be believed. One of the women is a predatory lesbian, who, despite the problematic nature of her character, is underestimated by the two men who threaten her. While it is first and foremost a sleazy exploitation thriller, this is one of Wishman’s most fascinating films.

Chained Girls + intro by Selina Robertson (18*)
USA 1965, Dir Joseph P. Mawra, 65min 
Fri 26 Jun, 8.40pm 
Cinema 2 

There’s something to outrage everyone is this jaw-dropping exploitation film about lesbians from 1965. 'They roam the big city streets in large gangs assaulting everyone who falls within their path.' And that's one of the milder lines from this pulp pseudo-doc about lesbians from the 1960s, packed with dubious statistics and offensive stereotypes. A wacky mix of moralising and titillation (plenty of topless shenanigans), the film veers increasingly off the rails, culminating in an act of violence towards a new member of the love-cult of the 'daughters of Sappho'. 

Portrait of Jason + live poetry by Stanley Iyanu (15*)
USA 1967, Dir Shirley Clarke, 105min 
Tue 30 Jun, 6.20pm 
Cinema 1 

Edited down from a 12-hour shoot, Portrait of Jason comprises an interview with Black, gay nightclub performer Jason Holliday, talking directly to camera about his fabulous life, with occasional off-screen interjections and provocations by director Shirley Clarke and her partner, Carl Lee. 

A gifted raconteur, Jason’s tales of strife throughout his messy career – all laced with wit and expert comic timing – make for a constantly entertaining dialogue. Portrait of Jason remains a powerful, provocative and challenging work.

Queer Britain on Screen in the 1960s + introduction by archivist Simon McCallum
Wed 1 Jul, 6.20pm 
Cinema 1 

Featuring films from the BFI National Archive and beyond, including interviews with gay men and women before the partial legalisation of same-sex sexual activity, unforgettable drag performances from the Black Cap in Camden and the potent short Dream A40, in which two men are menaced while driving through the countryside.

Winter Kept Us Warm + Introduction (15*)
Canada 1965, Dir David Secter, 81min 
Tue 7 Jul, 6.30pm 
Cinema 1 

Celebrated as Canada’s first queer feature film, this intimate drama explores connection and desire between two male students at the University of Toronto. Directed by 22-year-old David Secter, the film is a touching, low-budget drama about the close friendship between Peter, an effete young freshman (Henry Tarvainen) and Doug, a laddish senior (John Labow).