Queersighted: Coming of Age

Queersighted: Coming of Age

5 Episodes

Coming-of-age films reflect the emotional experience of queerness better than any other kind. Buffeted by waves of adolescent desire and the contortions of self-identification, they often defy convention and category. Selected by series curator Michael Koresky and special guest Jane Schoenbrun (director of I SAW THE TV GLOW), the films in this installment of Queersighted run the gamut of expression and genre, from classic American melodrama (TEA AND SYMPATHY) to Japanese anime (LIZ AND THE BLUE BIRD) to campy comedy (ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES), from schlocky violence to tranquil interiority. But they have something crucial in common: the ability to speak to viewers, whether explicitly or under the surface, about the beauty of cultivating individuality amid a sea of stultifying normality.

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Queersighted: Coming of Age

5 Episodes

  • Queersighted: Coming of Age
    36:36
    Queersighted: Coming of Age
    Episode 1

    Queersighted: Coming of Age

    Episode 1

    This conversation between series curator Michael Koresky and director Jane Schoenbrun was recorded in 2025.

  • Tea and Sympathy
    2:02:10
    Tea and Sympathy
    Episode 2

    Tea and Sympathy

    Episode 2

    Directed by Vincente Minnelli • 1956 • United States
    Starring Deborah Kerr, John Kerr, Leif Erickson

    Vincente Minnelli’s masterful direction gives stirring expression to the ache of outsiderhood in this taboo-shattering adaptation of Robert Anderson’s play, one of the first major films to deal e...

  • Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party
    1:26:37
    Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party
    Episode 3

    Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party

    Episode 3

    Directed by Stephen Cone • 2015 • United States
    Starring Cole Doman, Joe Keery, Elizabeth Laidlaw

    One of contemporary cinema’s most sensitive coming-out films, Stephen Cone’s follow-up to his acclaimed breakout feature THE WISE KIDS unfolds over the course of one very eventful day in the life of...

  • The Long Day Closes
    1:25:39
    The Long Day Closes
    Episode 4

    The Long Day Closes

    Episode 4

    Directed by Terence Davies • 1992 • United Kingdom
    Starring Leigh McCormack, Marjorie Yates, Anthony Watson

    THE LONG DAY CLOSES is the most gloriously cinematic expression of the unique sensibility of Terence Davies, widely celebrated as Britain’s greatest living filmmaker. Suffused with both en...

  • Nowhere
    1:22:41
    Nowhere
    Episode 5

    Nowhere

    Episode 5

    Directed by Gregg Araki • 1997 • United States
    Starring James Duval, Rachel True, Nathan Bexton

    You can practically smell the pheromones wafting off this kaleidoscopic odyssey, which finds director Gregg Araki crossing soap-operatic elements with blasts of science fiction, indie-kid cool, and sh...

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