Bend It Like Beckham

Jess Bhamra, the daughter of a strict Indian couple in London, is not permitted to play organized soccer, even though she is 18. When Jess is playing for fun one day, her impressive skills are seen by Jules Paxton, who then convinces Jess to play for her semi-pro team. Jess uses elaborate excuses to hide her matches from her family while also dealing with her romantic feelings for her coach, Joe.

wkw/tk/1996@7'55''hk.net

A Japanese-Chinese couple hangs out and shoots each other.

Fire

In a barren, arranged marriage to an amateur swami who seeks enlightenment through celibacy, Radha's life takes an irresistible turn when her beautiful young sister-in-law seeks to free herself from the confines of her own loveless marriage.

Date Nights

Date Nights immerses viewers in the profound love shared between Michael and Lynn, using the ritual of their weekly Sunday candlelit dinners to gradually unveil the poignant truth of Lynn's absence and Michael's journey through grief and loneliness.

Dyketactics

Born in Los Angeles but a New Yorker by choice, Barbara Hammer is a whole genre unto herself. Her pioneering 1974 short film Dyketactics, a four-minute, hippie wonder consisting of frolicking naked women in the countryside, broke new ground for its exploration of lesbian identity, desire and aesthetic.

The Seagull

After agonizing for weeks, Valéria finally comes to terms with being in love with another woman and confesses her love for her best friend, Laurence. Short film from the series "L'@mour est à réinventer: dix histoires d'amour au temps du SIDA" ("Love Reinvented: Ten Love Stories in the Age of AIDS").

Desert Hearts

While waiting for her divorce papers, a repressed literature professor finds herself unexpectedly attracted by a carefree, spirited young woman named Cay.

Bogo the Clown

Bogo, a self-deprecating stand-up comedian, struggles to find happiness in a life where his only value seems to be making other people laugh.

All of This Is Gone

In the end, one is dead and the others are alone, although the truth is that they were already alone long before his death. Now all of this is gone and there is no point in looking back.

Mala Noche

Walt is a lonely convenience store clerk who has fallen in love with a Mexican migrant worker named Johnny. Though Walt has little in common with the object of his affections — including a shared language — his desire to possess Johnny prompts a sexual awakening that results in a tangled love triangle.

The Mirage

An old woman who is unaware that she is near death, falls in love with her son’s young American tutor.

Smalltown Boys

A young man seems to be dreaming of a reality different from the business he is about to take over and the married life that goes with it; he is drawn to the spicy life of a queer vaudeville troupe performing in his village.

Fragile in Love

Fragile in Love is an experimental short that rebels against the suppression of electronic music culture and gay house parties.

Beyond the Walls

This 1985 Spanish film reveals one of the many terrible aspects of 16th century Spain, still plagued by the radical Christian Inquisition, one of a plethora of difficulties Spaniards faced at the time. Spanish super star Carmen Maura plays a nun who agrees to a selfless scam, a fake stigmata, only to avoid separation from her lover, another nun. It's a serious and passionate work, highlighting the theme of outspoken women-against-repression, seen in other good gay and lesbian films. This is not a lesbian "Nun sense" or another "Dark Habits" (by Almodovar, which also starred Carmen Maura, and also set in a Spanish convent, with some lesbian nuns). Perhaps, best of all, 'Extramuros' is realistic and frank. It isn't shy about its characters' sexuality. Their sexuality, and the film as a whole are genuine.

Along the Road

Truck drivers Ronny and Micke have a secret relationship. They meet up at rest areas along the road, where no one can see them.

Tell It to the Bees

Dr. Jean Markham returns to the town she left as a teenager to take over her late father's medical practice. When a school-yard scuffle lands Charlie in her surgery, she invites him to visit the hives in her garden and tell his secrets to the bees, as she once did. The new friendship between the boy and the bee keeper brings his mother Lydia into Jean's world.

Carmilla

Isolated from the outside world, fifteen-year-old Lara lives in seclusion on a vast country estate with her father and strict governess Miss Fontaine. Late one evening, a mysterious carriage crash brings a young girl into their home to recuperate. Lara immediately becomes enchanted by this strange visitor who arouses her curiosity and awakens her burgeoning desires.

The Guardian of Camargue

This charming short film was shot in the Camargue, probably in the same place where Jean Durand filmed his cowboy movies. The plot is very simple. A guardian falls in love with a Parisian. Desperate, he commits suicide when she returns to the capital. But, as always with Perret, we appreciate the framing, the skilful use of the exteriors and the documentary side of life of the time. We see the young Arlesianas in traditional dress go out to collect almonds and return with their baskets to the city. The actor in the role of the guardian overreacts, imitating bombastic despair. But the finale, in which he rides a horse through the waves to find the rest of death, preserves its charm intact. Perret knows how to set the rhythm of a sequence and give it the necessary atmosphere.

The Béarnaise Girl

Knife+Heart

In the summer of 1979, gay porn producer Anne sets out to film her most ambitious film yet, but her actors are picked off, one by one, by a mysterious killer.