Gilbey, Ryan - It Used to be Witches : Under The Spell Of Queer Cinema

An authoritative celebration of the past, present and future
of queer cinema.
Playfully blending personal memoir, criticism and candid new interviews
with filmmakers from across the LGBTQ+ spectrum, Ryan Gilbey’s engaging
and dynamic It Used to be Witches is a non-chronological treasure-hunt
through queer cinema past and present. Andrew Haigh (All of Us Strangers),
Cheryl Dunye (The Watermelon Woman), Isabel Sandoval (Lingua Franca)
and Bruce LaBruce (No Skin Off My Ass) are among the directors who reveal
how queer artists use film to express their most personal truths—and to challenge,
defy and outrage a world that would rather they didn’t exist.
That world might look rainbow-coloured from some angles, with the likes of
Brokeback Mountain, Call Me By Your Name, Moonlight and Portrait of a
Lady on Fire winning awards and acclaim. But as queer and trans people find
themselves increasingly under attack, It Used to Be Witches asks whether cinema
can be an effective weapon of resistance and change, and celebrates an
outlaw spirit which refuses to die.