Queer African Cinemas

In Queer African Cinemas, Lindsey B. Green-Simms examines films produced by and about queer Africans in the first two decades of the twenty-first century in an environment of increasing antiqueer violence, efforts to criminalize homosexuality, and other state-sanctioned homophobia. Green-Simms argues that these films not only record the fear, anxiety, and vulnerability many queer Africans experience; they highlight how queer African cinematic practices contribute to imagining new hopes and possibilities. Examining globally circulating international art films as well as popular melodramas made for local audiences, Green-Simms emphasizes that in these films queer resistance—contrary to traditional narratives about resistance that center overt and heroic struggle—is often practiced from a position of vulnerability. By reading queer films alongside discussions about censorship and audiences, Green-Simms renders queer African cinema as a rich visual archive that documents the difficulty of queer existence as well as the potentials for queer life-building and survival.

Aesthetics · Art · Censorship · Literature · Media studies · Movie theater · Narrative · Political science · Queer · Resistance (ecology) · Sociology · African history and culture studies · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Gender Studies · History · Law · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Film · Gays in motion pictures · History & Criticism · History and criticism · Homosexuality and motion pictures · Homosexuality in motion pictures · LGBTQ film and television · LGBTQ Studies · Motion pictures · Performing Arts · Social Science

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  Open Access•Rasaq Atanda Ajadi•Sexuality & Culture•2026

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