Arts & Entertainment
Year in review: Best of the big screen
AIDS doc ‘Plague’ and steamy ‘Paperboy’ among year’s highlights
Matthew McConaughey and Zac Efron in new film ‘The Paperboy.’ The sordid tale opens today in the D.C. area. (Photo courtesy of the Karpel Group)
Undoubtedly, the highlight of the year in LGBT film was the release of David France’s amazing documentary “How to Survive a Plague.”
France, a first-time director but an experienced journalist who has written extensively on the AIDS crisis, worked with a dedicated team to collect and review about 500 hours of video footage shot by AIDS activists during the early days of ACT UP (the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) and TAG (the Treatment Action Group).
The result is an incredible film that combines the raw emotional energy of archival footage with the more detached analysis of contemporary interviews with survivors of the movement. The movie tells their story with great emotional and intellectual clarity and insight. It chronicles their successes and defeats, their miscalculations and their personal and professional struggles, but mainly the aching sense of lives lost to a vicious disease, an entrenched bureaucracy and an indifferent public.
The most memorable performance in an LGBT movie came from a very different film: Nicole Kidman in “The Paperboy,” helmed by openly gay director Lee Daniels. Following up on the success of “Precious,” Daniels turned to a steamy Southern tale of sex, murder and corruption in the Florida swamps of 1969. The bizarre film, which never quite jelled, featured a wild performance by Kidman as the vampy death row groupie Charlotte Bless.
Other highlights of the movie include, which may well be on the way to becoming a camp classic, include numerous scenes of Zac Efron in various states of undress and Matthew McConaughey as a muck-racking journalist with a secret of his own — he likes rough sex with black men.
Other highlights in LGBT film in 2012 include:
“Albert Nobbs,” which took star/producer Glenn Close several years to get to the screen. Close plays an Irish woman who lives as a man to support herself financially and protect herself from sexual violence. Her hermetic existence as the hotel clerk Albert Nobbs is burst open when she meets fellow cross-dresser Hubert Page (played with great gusto by Janet McTeer).
“Coriolanus” with Ralph Fiennes and Gerard Butler (“300”) in this excellent adaptation of Shakespeare’s queer look at militarism and misogyny. With remarkable fidelity to the Bard’s powerful language and themes, first-time director Fiennes moves the action to modern-day Kosovo and boldly highlights the homoerotic relationship between the Roman general Coriolanus and his Volscian foe Aufidius.
“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” — India once again serves as a source of renewal for a group of stiff-upper-lipped English expatriates who retire there. The all-star cast includes Tom Wilkinson as Graham Dashwood who finally finds love and the courage to come out at the exotic hotel.
“Skyfall” brings a much-needed reboot to the Bond franchise, restoring several Bond motifs and a missing sense of humor and style. With the help of Judi Dench (who continues her excellent work as M) and Ben Whishaw (a new recruit as Q), Daniel Craig’s Bond battles Javier Bardem as Silva, a British spy gone bad. For gay audiences there’s a special thrill when Bond responds to Silva’s sexual advances with the dry retort, “What makes you think this is my first time?”
“Lincoln” is Steven Spielberg’s biopic of the 16th president and features a powerful script by award-winning gay author (and Golden Globe nominee) Tony Kushner (“Angels in America”). Kushner has the amazing ability to turn political rhetoric into compelling drama as he chronicles how Abraham Lincoln fights for the passage of the 13th Amendment, which outlaws slavery in the United States. The film includes stellar performances from Daniel Day Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Tommy Lee Jones and James Spader, as well as a delightful cameo by S. Epatha Merkerson. The film also includes tantalizing hints at Lincoln’s intimate relationships with other men, including an invitation to share an aide’s bed.
Local LGBT audiences also enjoyed the continued success of two excellent regional film festivals: D.C. Shorts and Reel Affirmations.
Under the leadership of openly gay local filmmaker Jon Gann (“Cyberslut”), the ninth D.C. Shorts festival included a variety of exciting films all under 20 minutes. A number of fascinating gay and lesbian shorts were sprinkled throughout the 16 cinematic showcases, including “The Maiden and the Princess,” a queer update on traditional fairy tales that was part of a family showcase; “Hatch,” a dark movie by Austrian director Christopher Kuschnig that looks at the lives of two couples on a wintry night in Vienna when a baby’s fate is decided; and “The Queen of My Dreams,” a delightful Bollywood take on a lesbian’s coming-out story.
To extend their outreach, Reel Affirmations began a series of monthly film showcases in addition to the 21st annual film festival in November. The festival opened with the double bill of “Kiss Me,” a deeply romantic Swedish lesbian coming out story, and “I Do,” an American film about a gay couple in New York grappling with international immigration issues. The festival closed with “Bear City 2: The Proposal,” a celebration of the bear community and romantic Provincetown weddings.
A highlight of the festival was “Yossi,” the sequel to the Israeli indie gay hit “Yossi and Jagger.” The film reunites director Eytan Fox with star Ohad Knoller who turns in a deeply emotional performance as a man finally breaking out of his emotional paralysis.
Sports
New IOC policy bans trans women from Olympics
New regulation to be in effect at 2028 summer games in Los Angeles
The International Olympic Committee on Thursday announced it will not allow transgender women from competing in female events at the Olympics.
“For all disciplines on the Sports Program of an IOC event, including individual and team sports, eligibility for any Female Category is limited to biological females,” reads the new policy.
The policy states “eligibility for the Female Category is to be determined in the first instance by SRY Gene screening to detect the absence or presence of the SRY Gene.”
“On the basis of the scientific evidence, the IOC considers that the SRY (sex-determining Region Y) Gene is fixed throughout life and represents highly accurate evidence that an athlete has experienced or will experience male sex development,” it reads. “Furthermore, the IOC considers that SRY Gene screening via saliva, cheek swab or blood sample is unintrusive compared to other possible methods. Athletes who screen negative for the SRY gene permanently satisfy this policy’s eligibility criteria for competition in the Female Category.”
The policy states the test “will be a once-in-a-lifetime test” unless “there is reason to believe a negative reading is in error.”
The new regulation will be in place for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
“I understand that this a very sensitive topic,” said IOC President Kirsty Coventry on Thursday in a video. “As a former athlete, I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition.”
“The policy that we have announced is based on science and it has been led by medical experts with the best interests of athletes at its heart. The scientific evidence is very clear: male chromosomes give performance advances in sport that rely on strength, power, or endurance,” she added. “At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat. So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe.”
(Video courtesy of the IOC)
President Donald Trump in February 2025 issued an executive order that bans trans women and girls from female sports teams in the U.S.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee last July banned trans women from competing in female sporting events. Republican lawmakers have demanded the IOC ban trans athletes from women’s athletic competitions.
“I’m grateful the Olympics finally embraced the common sense policy that women’s sports are for women, not for men,” said U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on X.
An IOC spokesperson on Thursday referred the Washington Blade to the press release that announced the new policy.
The Blade will update this article with additional reaction when it becomes available.
a&e features
Introducing the Torchbearers Awards honoring queer, trans women and nonbinary people
Meet the Legends and Illuminators lighting new paths
The Torchbearers Awards are more than recognition—they are a continuation of legacy. They honor the quiet architects of progress in our community: those who organize, advocate, build, and protect, often without fanfare but always with purpose. Rooted in a belief in intentional recognition, this honor names those who carry our movements forward—those who make room for others, who remind us that change is both generational and generative. In a time marked by uncertainty and challenge, these leaders push forward with courage, clarity, and an unwavering commitment to expanding opportunity and equity.
This year’s honorees reflect the full breadth of our community, spanning generations, backgrounds, identities, and industries. From Legends, with decades of leadership and having created pathways for others, to Illuminators, who are lighting new paths with creativity and innovation, each Torchbearer represents the power of intergenerational leadership and the strength found in our diversity. They are organizers, advocates, artists, policy leaders, healers, and changemakers whose lived experiences shape a shared vision for equity and liberation.
This award is our love letter to queer and trans women and nonbinary people who carry the flame when it would be easier to let it dim. To those who consistently show up, who use their voice and visibility and stand firm, often without recognition, so that others may live more freely and fully. The Torchbearers Awards celebrates not just what has been done, but the enduring spirit, responsibility, and collective care that ensure the work continues, and that the flame is always passed forward.
Co-Creators of the Torchbearers Awards: Shannon Alston, June Crenshaw, Heidi Ellis
Torchbearers Awards Advisory Board: Aditi Hardikar, Lesley Bryant, Jasmine Wilson-Bryant, Stephen Rutgers
ILLUMINATOR AWARDEES
- Representative Sharice Davids (she/her), (D, KS-03)
— U.S. House of Representatives - Greisa Martinez Rosas (she/her/ella)
— Executive Director, United We Dream - Paola Ramos (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent - Meagan A. Fitzgerald (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent - Jessica L. Lewis (she/her)
— Founder / Producer, Play Play DC - Savannah Wade (she/her)
— Founder, OAR Agency - Suhad Babaa (she/her)
— Filmmaker/ Former Executive Director of Just Vision - Ashlee Davis (she/her)
— Global Head of Inclusive Outcomes, Ancestry - Jazmine Hughes (she/her)
— Journalist and Former Editor at New York Times Magazine - Queen Adesuyi (she/they)
— Policy Advisor & Organizer, ReFrame Health & Justice - Michele Rayner, Esq. (she/her)
— Civil Rights Attorney, State Representative (Florida House of Representatives) - Gaby Vincent (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader - Jenny Nguyen (she/her)
— Founder & Owner, The Sports Bra - Denice Frohman (she/her)
— Independent Artist, Poet / Performer - Vida Rangel (she/her)
— Founder, Our Trans Capital - Roxanne Anderson (they/them)
— Executive Director, Our Space - Ann Marie Gothard (she/her)
— Director of Programs, Pride Live (Stonewall Visitor Center) - Diana Rodriques (she/her)
— Program Leader, Pride Live (Stonewall Visitor Center) - Wendi Cooper (she/her)
— Founder / Executive Director, Transcending Women - Toya Matthews (she/her)
— City of San Antonio, Texas - Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader - Charity Blackwell (she/her)
— Poet, LGBTQ Advocate & Community Leader - Wilhelmina Indermaur (she/her)
— Director of Communications, Tyler Clementi Foundation - Em Chadwick (she/her)
— CMO, For Them & Autostraddle - Kylo Freeman (they/he)
— CEO, For Them & Autostraddle
LEGEND AWARDEES
- Sheila Alexander-Reid (she/her)
— Executive Director, PHL Diversity, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau - Cassandra Cantave Burton (she/her)
— Interim Director of Thought Leadership & Senior Research Advisor, AARP - leigh h. mosley (she/her)
— Photographer / Educator, PhotoFlo Photography - Jenn M. Jackson, PhD (they/them)
— Assistant Professor of Political Science; Author & Columnist, Syracuse University - Jordyn White (she/her)
— COO, Washington Prodigy / VP of Leadership Development & Research, HRC Foundation - AJ Hikes (they/them)
— Deputy Executive Director, ACLU - RaeShanda Lias (she/her)
— Digital Creator, RL Lockhart - Donna Payne-Hardy (she/her)
— Educator, EEO Specialist, Former Leader at the Human Rights Campaign - Courtney R. Snowden (she/her)
— Principal, Blueprint Strategy Group - Gaye Adegbalola (she/her)
— Musician & Activist, Musician / Inductee of the Blues Hall of Fame - Cheryl A. Head (she/her)
— Independent Author, Novelist (Crime Fiction) - Letitia Gomez (she/her)
— The American LGBTQ+ Museum, Formerly of Voto Latino - Lynne Brown (she/her)
— Publisher, Washington Blade - Shay Franco-Clausen (She/Her/Ella/Queen)
— Political Strategist and Organizer - Melissa L. Bradley (she/her)
— Founder & Managing Partner, New Majority Ventures - Meghann Burke (she/her)
— Executive Director, NWSL Players Association - Victoria Kirby York, MPA (she/they)
— Director of Public Policy & Programs, National Black Justice Coalition - Joli Angel Robinson (she/her)
— CEO, Center on Halsted - Jeannine Frisby LaRue (she/her)
— CEO, Moxie Strategies - Alice Wu (she/her)
— Film Director (Saving Face, The Half of It) / Screenwriter - Storme Webber (she/her)
— Interdisciplinary Artist / Educator, University of Washington - Kim Stone
— CEO of the Washington Spirit, Washington Spirit - Mickalene Thomas
— American Visual Artist, Mickalene Thomas Studio - Erika Lorshbough (any/they/she)
— Executive Director, interACT - J. Gia Loving (she/ella)
— Co-Executive Director, GSA Network
Celebrity News
D.C. goes gaga for Gaga
Bisexual icon brought ‘The Mayhem Ball’ tour to Washington this week
Lady Gaga this week took D.C. by storm.
The bisexual icon and LGBTQ rights champion brought “The Mayhem Ball” tour to Capital One Arena on Monday and Tuesday.
“Abracadabra,” “Paparazzi,” “Applause,” and “Bad Romance” are among the songs Lady Gaga performed during the 2 1/2-hour long concert. Lady Gaga also celebrated her many queer fans.
“You are precious to us,” she said on Tuesday night before she performed “Born This Way.”
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