ELIXHER takes a look at films with Black lesbian characters over years—the good, bad and everything in between.
The Good
Venus Boyz (2004)
A provocative film that explores gender identity and gender expression.
Stranger Inside (2001)
Treasure Lee has moved out of ‘juvenile’ into the state penitentiary, and met up with Brownie, a jail-toughened lifer. There’s something about Brownie that draws Treasure closer, but the closer she gets, the more her life is on the line.
If These Walls Could Talk 2 (2000)
Trio of stories about lesbian couples in three different decades.
The Watermelon Woman (2000)
Cheryl is a twenty-something Black lesbian working as a clerk in a video store while struggling to make a documentary about Fae Richards, an obscure black actress from the 1930′s. Cheryl is surprised to discover that Richards had a white lesbian lover. At the same time, Cheryl falls in love with a cute white customer at the video store.
Living With Pride: Ruth Ellis @ 100 (1999)
In this charming documentary, Ruth Ellis, a 100-year-old African American lesbian, recounts her life. Ellis tells about discovering her sexuality some 80 years ago, and when discussing her romantic involvements (which included one relationship lasting 35 years), she is utterly honest. At one point she is even asked about the last time she had sex, and she replies it was when she was 95, adding with a laugh, “that was a one-night stand.”
Everything In Between
After Sex (2007)
A look at the complexity of modern day relationships told through nine separate couples. Stars Zoe Saldana who plays a lesbian.
Set It Off (1999)
Four women take the law into their own hands and try to get some payback by robbing the city’s biggest banks.
The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls in Love (1995)
A romantic comedy about a stoner, lesbian teenager who ends up falling in love with a privilged, popular girl, Evie (played by Nicole Ari Parker).
When Night Is Falling (1995)
An uptight and conservative woman, working on tenure as a literacy professor at a large urban university, finds herself strangely attracted to a free-spirited, liberal woman who works at a local carnival that comes to town.
The Bad
She Hate Me (2004)
Some guy’s wet dream. Obviously.
