The Homosexual Century

Race d' Ep: un siècle d' images de l' homosexualité

This spectacularly brave (and nearly banned) 1979 pornographic experimental documentary, The Homosexual Century or Race d’Ep! in its original French title (which literally translates to “Breed of Faggots”) was made by the “father of queer theory,” Guy Hocquenghem, in collaboration with radical queer filmmaker and provocateur Lionel Soukaz. The Homosexual Century traces the history of modern homosexuality through the twentieth century, from early sexology and the nudes of Baron von Gloeden to gay liberation and cruising on the streets of Paris. Influenced by the groundbreaking work of Michel Foucault on the history of sexuality and reflecting the revolutionary queer activism of its day, The Homosexual Century is a shockingly frank, sex-filled experimental documentary about gay culture emerging from the shadows that traces the confluence between the development of photography in the 19th Century, and subsequent representations of homosexual desire. Photography, says the narrator, "created a new definition of ‘mankind" and gave the gay the means by which he could express his desires. In four dramatized chapters, covering the gay history of the 20th century – from Wilhelm von Gloeden’s late 19th-early-20th-century pastoral photographs of naked Sicilian boys to the sexual revolution of the 1960s, the timeless and highly relevant film pictures one century of oppression and empowerment as a reference work for its ability to stir public debate.
Screening Schedule

No physical screenings scheduled.

Direction: Lionel Soukaz, Guy Hocquenghem
Script: Lionel Soukaz, Guy Hocquenghem
Cinematography: Jérôme de Missolz, Lionel Soukaz
Editing: Lionel Soukaz
Production: Little Sisters Productions
Producers: Lionel Soukaz
Format: DCP
Color: Color, B&W
Production Country: France
Production Year: 1979
Duration: 83'
Contact: Stéphane Gérard
The screening is followed by a discussion with Haris Dimitrakopoulos, Teacher and member of the Rainbow School.

Lionel Soukaz

Filmography

1977 Le Sexe des anges
1979 Race d’Ep (co-direction)
1979 Royal Opéra (short, co-direction)
1979 Sweet Sixteen in the Sixties (short, co-direction)
1982 Maman que man
1985 Tino (short, co-direction)
1993 Stéphane et Paulo, séropositifs
1996 Balade dans le Treizième (short)
2004 Cocktail Molotov (short, co-direction)
2009 L’état tire dans le tas (short)
2013 Guy and Co

Guy Hocquenghem

Filmography

1979 Race d'Ep (co-direction)
1979 Royal Opéra (short, co-direction) 1979 Sweet Sixteen in the Sixties (short, co-direction)
1985 Tino (short, co-direction)