Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives

Jun 15 1995 N/A 1h 25m
Documentary

Ten women in Canada talk about being lesbian in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s: discovering the pulp fiction of the day about women in love, their own first affairs, the pain of breaking up, frequenting gay bars, facing police raids, men's responses, and the etiquette of butch and femme roles. Interspersed among the interviews and archival footage are four dramatized chapters from a pulp novel, "Forbidden Love".

Plot

Ten women, most of them in Vancouver or Toronto, talk about being lesbian in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s: discovering the pulp fiction of the day about women in love, their own first affairs, the pain of breaking up, frequenting gay bars, facing police raids, men's responses, and the etiquette of butch and femme roles. Interspersed among the interviews and archival footage are four dramatized chapters from a pulp novel, "Forbidden Love": Laura leaves her hick town and heads for the city, where she meets Mitch in a bar. Sparks fly, and so do laughter and joy. Ann Bannon, one of the writers of those paperback novels about forbidden love, talks about the genre.

Written by

Lynne Fernie, Aerlyn Weissman

Directed by

Lynne Fernie, Aerlyn Weissman

Production Countries

Canada

Production Companies

ONF | NFB

Languages

English

Awards

2 wins

Scores
# of Votes
339
Average Rating
7.4 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA