Paris Is Burning (1990)

Director:
Jennie Livingston

IMDB

Synopsis:
Poignant, well-received documentary that reveals the community of New York's minority drag queens, gay black and Latino men who cross dress as women and invent the dance style of "voguing," imitating the fashion poses on the covers of the magazine Vogue. As director Jennie Livingston discovers, her subjects band together into family-like "houses" for protection, taking the same last names and competing in drag balls where awards are given out for authenticity or "realness," as well as other categories like "evening wear" and "executive wear." Both an embracing and a refutation of the world of high fashion, the balls become the social locus of this underclass, underground society of outcasts defiantly refusing to be ignored by a world that scorns them. Paris Is Burning was one of several critically acclaimed documentaries of the late 1980s and early 1990s excluded from Academy Award nominations, eventually leading to a reappraisal of the Academy's stodgy selection process.

Flag Wars (2003)

Directors:
Linda Goode Bryant, Laura Poitras

IMDB

Synopsis:
Socio-economic status, minority rights, and housing codes all come into dramatic conflict in co-directors Linda Goode Bryant and Laura Poitras' 2003 documentary Flag Wars. Set in a historic district in Columbus, OH, named Olde Towne East, Bryant and Poitras discover the serenity of the primarily African-American neighborhood is in jeopardy. Gay professionals are moving into the neighborhood with the intentions of buying inexpensive property, and as they improve upon their acquisitions, the new residents stand accused of using underhanded -- yet legal -- tactics in order to force the longtime residents to either refurbish their properties or move out of the district altogether. Yet the two minority groups are not as far removed from one another as it would initially appear, as certain conservative elements within the greater Columbus community seem interested in using the conflict to further their own agendas. Flag Wars was a competing film at the 2003 South by Southwest Film Festival, where it was awarded the Jury Documentary Prize.

We Were Here (2011)

Directors:
David Weissman, Bill Weber

IMDB

Synopsis:
In the 1970s, San Francisco had arguably the largest and most active gay community in America; it was the first city in America to elect an openly gay man to public office, Harvey Milk, and was one of the first places where the gay community learned to consolidate their political and economic power as well as enjoying a freedom and openness unknown in most cities. But the idyll of the 1970s ended in the early '80s, as AIDS began its spread through the city's gay community, claiming some of the best and brightest voices of a generation and forever changing the conversation about gay culture. Filmmaker David Weissman offers a moving portrait of the AIDS crisis and its legacy in the documentary We Were Here: Voices From the AIDS Years in San Francisco, in which people who lived in the city before, during, and after the height of the AIDS pandemic discuss not just disease, death, and consequences, but how the community learned to come together to support and protect one another in a time of darkness. We Were Here was screened as a work in progress at the 2010 San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival.

Beyond Hatred (2005)

Director:
Olivier Meyrou

IMDB

Synopsis:
When their son Francois was brutally murdered by skinheads on September 13, 2002, Jean-Paul and Marie-Cecile vowed to do everything within their power to bring the killers to justice, and try to understand just what motivated them to carry out such a reprehensible act of violence. As preparations for the murder trial began, emerging details told the story of a hateful gang that went to the park in search of an Arab to kill. When those efforts failed, the gang then focused their rage on a young man who boldly defied them by refusing to deny that he was gay. Now, in order to move beyond the hatred and pick up the pieces of their shattered lives, Jean-Paul, Marie-Cecile, and Francois' sister summon the quiet courage needed to discuss every aspect of their harrowing ordeal as filmmaker Olivier Meyrou allows their cathartic but heartbreaking story to be told on its own terms, and without superfluous narration or exposition.

Licensed to Kill (1997)

Director:
Arthur Dong

IMDB

Synopsis:
In 1977, documentary filmmaker Arthur Dong was attacked by four youths who shouted anti-gay epithets at him as they beat him severely. This incident led Dong to a long personal investigation of the reasoning and motivations behind gay bashing; this film was the culmination of Dong's study of homophobic violence, in which he interviews seven men convicted of murder in hate crimes against homosexuals as they try to explain why and how they did what they did. The stories range from men who believed that gays were wealthy and weak, and therefore easy targets for robbery and murder, to others who are convinced that God has condemned homosexuals and that they were somehow doing "the Lord's work." Several other men said that their murders of gay men stemmed from shame and confusion over their own latent or active homosexual desires, and one man simply and chillingly states, "I don't have any opinion whatsoever for homosexuals, except they oughta all be taken care of." Licensed to Kill was voted Best Documentary at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival and was shown on PBS as part of their showcase for non-fiction films -- P.O.V.

Family Fundamentals (2002)

Director:
Arthur Dong

IMDB

Synopsis:
While many Christian Fundamentalist sects firmly believe that homosexuality is a violation of God's law and a mortal sin, a growing number of Fundamentalist parents have had to come to terms with the fact that their children are gay or lesbian, and documentary filmmaker Arthur Dong focuses on a handful of young adults who have come out to staunchly conservative families, and been forced to confront the pain and confusion that can cause. Brett Matthews, the son of a Mormon bishop, was dismissed from the Air Force after his homosexuality became public knowledge, and must now face ostracism by his parents. Kathleen Bremner, the leader of a Pentecostal congregation, is also the mother of a lesbian woman, Susan Jester (and the grandmother of a gay man, David Jester); she has since joined a group that advocates "reparative" therapy for homosexuals. And Brian Bennett spent 12 years working for conservative California congressman Bob Dornan. Bennett and Dornan became quite close, with the congressman often saying he felt as if Bennett was his adopted son, but that changed when Bennett chose to come out of the closet. Family Fundamentals was screened in competition at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival.

Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell (2008)

Director:
Matt Wolf

IMDB

Review:
Arthur Russell's music is the very product of its time and space, NY in the 70-80's, and the very product of a country man meeting the most free and creative art scenes. You'd find all of this in his art, sweet melancholy, great tension, sensuality, sound researches (what he brings out of his cello is just amazing), and ultimately an incredible sense of groove in his proto-disco gems. This documentary tells the life of this great artist through the vision of people who lived around him, or worked with him, his parents, his ever loving boy-friend (a very moving character), the likes of Allen Ginsberg, Philip Glass, label owners, musicans, etc...

Tying the Knot (2004)

Director:
Jim de Sève

IMDB

Review:
Documentary filmmaker Jim de Sève explores the many issues behind the controversial topic of gay marriage in Tying the Knot, a film which also offers a look at how the legal and societal structures of marriage have changed with time. Tying the Knot focus on two cases of long-term gay couples whose passing led to legal squabbles between the members of their respective families over issues which would have been comparatively clear-cut if the couples had been able to legally marry. In addition, de Sève interviews activists on both sides of the issue of legally sanctioning same-sex unions, and looks backward at how changing laws regarding women's property rights and interracial marriage have created a precedent for rethinking the legal contract of marriage. Tying the Knot was screened at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival.

A/E Biography - Jeffrey Dahmer

INFO

Review:
Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer (May 21, 1960 - November 28, 1994) was an American serial killer.  Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991, with the majority of the murders occurring between 1989 and 1991. His murders were particularly gruesome, involving rape, necrophilia and cannibalism.

A/E Biography - John Wayne Gacy (The Killer Clown)

INFO

Review:
John Wayne Gacy (March 17, 1942 - May 10, 1994) also known as The Killer Clown, was an American serial killer.  
He was convicted and later executed for the rape and murder of 33 boys and young men between 1972 and his arrest in 1978, 27 of whom he buried in a crawl space under the floor of his house, while others were found in nearby rivers. He became notorious as the "Killer Clown" because of the many block parties he threw for his friends and neighbors, entertaining children in a clown suit and makeup, under the name of "Pogo the Clown." He was also in the Guinness Book of World Records for the longest sentence imposed on a mass murderer, he was given 21 consecutive life sentences and 12 death sentences.

The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)

Director:
Rob Epstein

IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088275/

Review:

The Times of Harvey Milk, conceived and directed by Rob Epstein and produced by Richard Schmiechen, documents the political career of Harvey Milk, who was San Francisco's first openly gay supervisor. The film, at times humorous, at times tragic, documents the rise of Milk from a neighborhood activist to becoming a symbol of gay political achievement, through to his assassination at San Francisco's city hall, and the Dan White trial and aftermath.

The film was produced only a few years after Milk's death using original interviews, exclusive documentary footage, news reports and archival footage. Other politicians including San Francisco mayor George Moscone (who was assassinated with Milk), and Moscone's successor and now United States Senator Dianne Feinstein appear in archival footage. The movie opens with a tearful Feinstein delivering her announcement to the media that Moscone and Milk had been assassinated by Dan White.

The film won the Academy Award for best documentary film in 1985, and was awarded Special Jury Prize at the first Sundance Film Festival, among other awards.