In most cultures, 'elders' are revered and respected, however seniors in the LGBTQ community are often forgotten and overlooked. 2019 is the 50th anniversary of Stonewall and Wicked Queer celebrates 35 years of bringing LGBTQ films to Boston, it was a good time to recognize the lives and stories of LGBTQ seniors. The seniors amongst us are living history with voices to be heard, they are our 'elders' who paved the way for generations to follow, and lead us with powerful examples.

Medical student Yad is moving home to his family in a small Dutch city after quitting his party lifestyle back in Amsterdam. Instead of moving forward in his career, he takes a job in domestic care watching after the boisterous elderly Ans. Playing Cupid, Ans introduces Yad to her grandson, Joris, a charming young man who is still dealing with the death of his father and his overbearing mother. The attraction is instant and the boys find comfort in each other until their families’ drag them back to reality. Ultimately, they will have to decide if their summer fling is worth carrying on or if it is enough for them to stick with each other. Refreshingly, the family conflict in this romantic comedy is not that Joris and Yad are gay, but that they are defying family expectations in other ways and must make a new set of choices about how to be themselves. It’s a truly modern tale of queer love!

In Celebration of Wicked Queer's 35 years we are revisiting films that made an impact on our culture and continue to resonate. Ripploh's brutally honest portrayal of a gay schoolteacher and the contrasts between his public and private lives was startling for its time (Ripploh has admitted that much of the film was autobiographical). On its release in 1980 the film was siezed by US Customs and deemed "pornographic." With its frank depiction of sexuality, the film is a loving document of pre-AIDS gay culture in West Berlin in the early 1980s and a touching comedy about the human desire for and struggle to achieve intimacy. "The triumph of "Taxi zum Klo" is that, in the midst of its portrait of isolation, Frank Ripploh himself emerges as a cheerful, open man, willing to reveal his weakness, willing to hope that things will take a turn for the better. The movie is about a person, not about his sex life. It understands that all of our identities and lifestyles are just hopeful strategies in the search for a sense of belonging, usefulness and love." www.rogerebert.com Warning! This film contains explicit images of nudity and/or strong language. Viewer discretion is advised. (Seriously though, it’s art - relax.)