Let’s talk about queer cinema | Ful Massimi

Ful Massimi teach courses in queer film and media, documentary cinema, and the ethics of spectatorship at John Abbott College, based in Tio’tia:ke/Mooniyang/Montréal. they discuss how queer cinema can be analysed and why it matters. They explain that reading a film through a queer lens is not limited to identifying explicit LGBTQ+ characters or stories. Queerness often appears in subtext, aesthetics, or the filmmaker’s gaze, especially in periods when queer representation was censored. Films like Batman and Robin, for instance, can be understood as queer not through plot but through their camp sensibility and the way the camera lingers on bodies.

Massimi reflects on how representation impacts audiences, distinguishing between “gay films” made palatable for mainstream viewers such as Brokeback Mountain and more transgressive “queer films” that explore sexuality and identity more openly. They highlight tensions around transgender roles being played by cis actors, noting how this reinforces harmful misconceptions.

Independent cinema, Massimi argues, has historically pushed boundaries and influenced the mainstream, though access and visibility remain limited. Today, queer creators still struggle to escape being pigeonholed as “queer filmmakers” and to obtain funding and distribution. Looking ahead, Massimi worries that rising conservative politics may reduce queer visibility, even as younger generations are more accustomed to it.

They conclude by stressing that queer cinema cannot be separated from feminist and trans perspectives: these frameworks must remain interconnected to avoid exclusion and to fully understand how film represents reality.

Three movies that inspire Ful Massimi

• Paris is burning
• Great Freedom
• Portrait of a Lady on Fire

This is part of WP1 | T.1.2. PRODUCTION OF ORIGINAL MULTIMEDIA CONTENTS: RESEARCH, STUDIES, ARCHIVAL MATERIALS, TESTIMONIES OF WITNESSES