Red Shoes. The Boss’s Son

Original title: Red Shoes. Il Figlio del Boss (Italy, 2020)

Director: Isabella Weiss

Genre: Documentary film

Plot: A documentary filmed between Naples, Pompei, Castellammare di Stabia and Torre Annunziata, about the life of Daniela Lourdes Falanga, President of Antinoo Arcigay Napoli and transgender woman. Daughter of a convicted mafia boss, Falanga has faced a path full of obstacles and prejudices to become what she is today: a symbol of inclusion, pride, and of the struggle for dignity and rights. 

Notes: The film’s preview was presented at the Venice Film Festival at the Hotel Excelsior, and the teaser at a Special screening at the Terra di Siena International Film Festival.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Original title: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (USA, 1975)

Director: Jim Sharman

Cast: Susan Sarandon, Meatloaf, Nell Campbell, Patricia Quinn, Tim Curry, Barry Bostwick

Genre: Musical

Plot: Based on the play by the same name (1973, by Richard O'Brien, writer of the film script and the music also used in the film). The plot is simple: the unfortunate events of two young lovers who get lost in a forest during a storm and find shelter at the home of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Dr. Frank-N-Furter, the star of the film, is a unique character. He is a bisexual scientist, from the planet Transsexual, who loves provocative women's clothing, and is determined to create the perfect lover (Rocky). The characters, timing, songs, and dialogue are the real content of the movie.

Notes: The film became revolutionary when it first came out, due to the explicit treatment of sexual themes in which heterosexual, bisexual and transsexual roles are portrayed allegorically. Any kind of situation is used to mock or show how ephemeral the roles imposed by “normality” are.The progressive elements it still retains have prevented it to become “out of fashion”.
In 2003, U.S. magazine Entertainment Weekly ranked it number one on its list of the best 50 cult movies of all time.
In 2005, it was chosen for preservation in the National Film Registry of the U.S. Library of Congress.
O'Brien appears in the film as an actor, playing the mysterious servant Riff Raff.

Romeos

Original title: Romeos (Germany, 2011)

Director: Sabine Bernardi

Cast: Rick Okon, Liv Lisa Fries, Gilles Tschudi

Genre: Drama

Plot: Lukas is a transgender boy who is undergoing hormone therapy when he leaves for community service in Cologne. Nobody knows him in the new city, and he can start a new life. He meets a boy with whom he falls in love and with whom he will have to face his transgender identity.

Notes: Screened in 2011 at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Frameline Film Festival in San Francisco.