Homosexual Characters in Portuguese TV Fiction Over the past few years, homosexual characters have become a relatively regular presence in international TV fiction; the same has only recently begun to happen in Portugal. Whether the issue is one of production and distribution strategies, authorship, or that of the actors who become the visible face of these characters, the time has perhaps come to reflect upon the TV fiction which threatens to become a mirror of the sexual diversity we know exists in the ‘real world’. Portuguese Gay Cinema of the Seventies The awareness of the existence of a Portuguese gay cinema in the Seventies has dwindled to the point that it is an almost total surprise for those who rediscover it. But it did indeed exist. Queer Lisboa 11 presents four short films of the time, directed by Óscar Alves: Aventuras e Desventuras de Julieta Pipi ou o processo intrínseco global kafkiano de uma vedeta não analisada por Freud (Adventures and Misadventures of Julieta Pipi, or the intrinsic global kafkian process of a star not analysed by Freud, 1978), O Charme Indiscreto de Epifânea Sacadura (The Indiscreet Charm of Epifânea Sacadura 1975), Good-bye Chicago (1978) and Solidão Povoada (Peopled Solitude, 1976). Green Flowers, or the Importance of Being Wilde Aesthete, dandy, martyr and gay icon, Oscar Wilde defended the idea that life imitates art, and not vice versa. He supported wholeheartedly the anti-naturalistic art of living according to style criteria and against imposed models that would become a reference for queer constructionism. His works, such as The Picture of Dorian Gray, have inspired a multiplicity of film versions exploring the themes of the double and the uncanny. The presentation of the most recent amongst them at Queer Lisboa 11 is a chance to debate his legacy. |