The View From Here: Conversations with Gay and Lesbian Filmmakers

by Matthew Hays

Book by Hays, Matthew

Genres: LGBT, Nonfiction, Queer, Film

240 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2007

About the author

Matthew Hays is a Montreal-based critic, author, programmer and university instructor. He is the co-editor (with Thomas Waugh) of Arsenal Pulp's Queer Film Classics series. He has been a film critic and reporter for the weekly Montreal Mirror since 1993. His first book, The View from Here: Conversations with Gay and Lesbian Filmmakers (Arsenal Pulp Press), was cited by Quill & Quire as one of the best books of 2007 and won a 2008 Lambda Literary Award. His articles have appeared in a broad range of publications, including The Guardian, The Daily Beast, The Globe and Mail, The New York Times, CBC Arts Online, The Walrus, The Advocate, The Toronto Star, The International Herald Tribune, Cineaste, Cineaction, Quill & Quire, This Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, Canadian Screenwriter, Xtra! and fab. He teaches courses in journalism, communication studies and film studies at Concordia University, where he received his MA in communication studies in 2000. A two-time nominee for a National Magazine Award, Hays received the 2007 Concordia Alumni Teaching Excellence Award. Hays served as a programmer at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2008 and 2009.

Reviews

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hays offers an invaluable collection of interviews with gay filmmakers, many of them far outside the mainstream. He needs to do an updated version.

[David DeBacco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent source of information for me, a screenwriter-filmmaker wannabe. But it's also quite unsettling the Hollywood attitude to produce anything "gay" is still stuck back in the 1950's. Maybe this will change as our country is changing in regards to its attitude to the LGBT community. As you read it, make sure to have a pen and paper close by so you can write down all of the films listed. I was surprised to discover how many of these films I had not seen. I'm currently having my own little film festival with the selections I've taken out of the library. This book is a must for anyone who loves the art of the cinema.

[Kerry]

This is the definitive story of the exploits of (mostly) Californian glbti film-makers of the past two decades, great illustrations and incidentally, a huge list of 'must-see' films in the narrative of the text.

Thoroughly reccommended for anyone with an interest in alternative entertainment over the past 20 years. Good resource for those booking films for fundraisers or glbti community events.

[John T]

an enjoyable and interesting collection of previously published interviews. I recommend it for anyone who likes behind the scenes information about cinema and the creative process