Screen Time is your curated weekly guide to excellent documentaries and nonfiction programs that you can watch at home.
October is a month for expressions–whether it be through celebrating LGBTQ+ History Month, or syncing with the spooky season. This week’s list of documentaries highlights narratives, many of which are queer, rooted in self-expression in pursuit of fulfillment.
From Outfest’s theoutmuseum.org comes Pele (Skin), a short documentary by Adam Golub and Liana Nigri that shares the experiences of a trans teenager and activist living on the streets of Rio de Janeiro. Rather than create a traditional narrative featuring formal interviews, the participant’s reflections are overlaid with co-director Nigri’s artistic process of creating a sculptural impression of the participant. Watch now on theoutmusuem.org.
Queer for Fear: The History of Queer Horror is a docuseries shedding light (and blood) on LGBTQ+ representation throughout the horror genre. A diverse panel of horror and entertainment experts delves into queer icons who laid the literary roots of horror, like Mary Shelley, and queer coding throughout contemporary horror films—now streaming on AMC+ or Shudder.
Mathew Ramirez Warren’s We Like It Like That transports viewers directly into the boogaloo music scene in 1960s New York. This doc follows the cultural movement behind the funky beats that purists tried, and failed, to silence. Watch October 4 on PBS’ America Reframed.
An “Outfest Los Angeles 2018 festival favorite,” Bixa Travesty, from Claudia Priscilla and Kiko Goifman, follows Linn da Quebrada, a Black Brazilian trans singer who uses her existence and music as an act of political protest. The short doc features visceral on-stage performances by Quebrada, as well as intimate moments of reflection by the piano or with the community. Watch now on theoutmuseum.org.
Ending HIV in America, from NOVA, shares the scientific strides made to diminish the impact of HIV nearly 40 years after it was discovered. The documentary evaluates the advances in the science and public health spheres to combat HIV, as well as poses the possibility of medicine eradicating infections altogether. Watch October 5 on PBS.