queer film • jersey city

Scheduling Note: Next SNMA Film Club will be on the first Wednesday, May 7th.

 

If sex work is indeed the oldest profession you would know it by its enduring popularity in Hollywood. There are numerous lists compiling the best sex worker films of all time, and 14 actresses have won Academy Awards for portraying prostitutes, including the very first year of the honors going to Janet Gaynor in Street Angel (1928) and the most recent award going to Mikey Madison for Anora (2024). Now there’s a fascinating bookend of Oscar history!

 

Another film on the topic also out last year was Sebastian, an international co-production by Finnish director Mikko Mäkelä. In Sebastian, the filmmaker focuses his lens on sex work through the pen of the rent boy himself, an aspiring London literary artist who uses his sexual odyssey as material for his debut novel.

 

One of the steamiest Film Club choices to date, Sebastian has also been noted for its depictions of the johns who seek the services, giving a sobering reality check on the usual troupe of actors asked to strip for the camera.

 

Watch on Apple TV or Prime Video.

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Chillfest is partnering with Stonewall National Museum & Archives (SNMA) for a monthly Film Club. Chillfest programmers, John Catania and Charles Ignacio select films for members to screen at home and then meet on Zoom to discuss and critique. Zoom link information will be provided after joining the group.

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TO JOIN THE FILM CLUB:

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1) Become a member of Stonewall National Museum & Archives, a vital organization preserving LGBTQ+ history for nearly 50 years. An Individual membership is just $35. Join here.​

2) Email with subject "Join Film Club" to inquiry@stonewall-museum.org for Zoom link

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Once an SNMA member there is no fee to be part of the Film Club or Chillfest. Because of their collection of LGBTQ+ films, Film Club members will be expected to have a Netflix account and have access to YouTube.