Upon losing a reliable American client, 18-year-old gigolo Pol (Allan Paule) leaves the provinces to try his luck in the soapy gay clubs of metro Manila. Pol learns the ropes alongside fellow stripper Noel (Daniel Fernando) and savvy prostitute Bambi (Jaclyn Jose), discovering an underbelly of protection rackets, human trafficking and rampant political corruption. One of Lino Brocka’s lasting successes, 1988’s MACHO DANCER combines a flair for socially conscious melodrama with pulp provocation, setting the template for what would become Viva Films’ erotic niche to this day. Underlying the film’s astute, cynical outlook on systemic, class-based exploitation in the Philippines is a neon-lit tale of self-discovery gyrating between queer desire and heteronormativity, sensuality and street-level grit, tenderness and violence. Heavily censored upon release and hugely successful overseas, MACHO DANCER is presented here in a new 4K restoration from Viva Film’s original film elements.

From a lonely childhood to literary fame, her life was shaped by devotion to nature, paying attention, and the long journey toward learning to love and to be loved. If poetry had a pop icon, Mary Oliver would be it.

Cheryl Dunye made cinematic history with THE WATERMELON WOMAN, the first American feature to be directed by a black lesbian as well as an incisive, humorous critique of classic Hollywood's racist stereotypes. Dunye plays an eponymous video store employee and burgeoning filmmaker who sets out to make a documentary on the Watermelon Woman (Lisa Marie Bronson), an actress who specialized in "mammy" roles for Hollywood productions of the 30s and 40s. As Cheryl uncovers the Watermelon Woman's identity she not only learns about a secret behind-the-scenes interracial romance but also begins one of her own with Diana (Guinevere Turner), a white woman who arouses the ire of Cheryl's best friend Tamara (Valerie Walker). A landmark of the New Queer Cinema, THE WATERMELON WOMAN testifies to the power of excavating legacies of oppression and in the process creates a progressive legacy of its own.

A beautifully rendered autobiographical tale, ROMERÍA is celebrated Spanish director Carla Simón's touching portrait of family origins. In a bravura performance, Llúcia Garcia stars as 18-year-old Marina, who travels to the glittering seaside town of Vigo determined to uncover information on her father and learns uncomfortable secrets about her parents’ unconventional life and turbulent past. Beyond a tour de force coming of age story, Romería offers a moving, trenchant investigation on how family connections form new identities.