An experimentation of traveling, nature, and intangibility.

If possible, please support the Barbara Hammer estate by purchasing some of her available films. Place Mattes is part of a collection which includes fantastic shorts like Tourist (1984) and Optic Nerve (1985).]]> Director: Barbara Hammer
Year: 1987
Country: United States
Gender and Sexuality: Lesbian
Animation Style: Stop motion
Genre: Experimental
Type: Explicit, short

This film is currently not streaming.]]> Note: This film contains sexual content.

Animated in a German Expressionist style—an art form deeply despised by the Nazis—the short is set in the final years of the Weimar Republic, during the Nazis' rise to power and eventual control over Germany.

The pink triangle symbol was designed by the Nazis during World War II as a badge to identify and classify queer AMAB individuals imprisoned in concentration camps.

This is the first animated film to explore the significance of the pink triangle. In 1993, the television program In the Life featured an excerpt of the short in episode 303 as part of a news segment on the pink triangle. To learn more about its history, visit the Holocaust Encyclopedia.

]]> Director: Bob Doucette
Year: 1989
Country: United States
Gender and Sexuality: Queer, queer coded, transgender
Animation Style: Traditional
Genre: Drama
Type: Explicit, implicit, short

Can currently be watched on Internet Archive or Light Cone: https://lightcone.org/en/film-445-triangle

]]> A man lives a relatively uneventful life — well, as uneventful as it can be when he has a hen for a wife and lives with a cutworm and human hybrid being. However, when another man comes to visit, he disrupts the husband's views about his home.

If the art style for this looks familiar, Kovalyov later worked at Klasky Studios which produced and animated shows like Rugrats (1991-2004), Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (1994-1997), and Duckman (1994-1997).]]> Director: Igor Kovalyov
Year: 1989
Country: Soviet Union
Gender and Sexuality: Gay, bisexual
Animation Style: Traditional
Genre: Comedy, drama, experimental
Type: Explicit, short

Can currently be watched on Facebook or YouTube: https://youtu.be/7cVxeoTPjzY

]]> Note: This film contains hebephilia and violence.

In Chicago, a wealthy man’s daughter is kidnapped and held for ransom. However, when Bean Bandit is framed for the kidnapping and the police try to arrest him, he must clear his name. With his modified ride, his partner Rally Vincent, and the kidnapping victim, the group embarks on a grand car chase to stop the real criminals.

The kidnappers are a duo with a dominating lesbian in charge named Semmerling and her much younger, subservient partner named Carrie. While the film does not explicitly state the ages of Semmerling and Carrie, the concept art notes their ages as 25 and 13 respectively. The dialogue throughout the OVA suggests these ages remained unchanged (or fell within the same range) in the final version.]]> Director: Yasuo Hasegawa
Year: 1989
Country: Japan
Gender and Sexuality: Bisexual, gender creative, lesbian
Animation Style: Traditional
Genre: Action, comedy, thriller
Type: Explicit, feature

Can currently be watched on Dailymotion, Internet Archive, or Tubi: https://tubitv.com/movies/100022765/riding-bean-dubbed

]]> Note: This film contains sexual content.

This experimental short transforms Rorschach inkblots into art. Throughout the film, there is a focus on the fantastical, religion, and sexuality.]]> Director: John Straiton
Year: 1982
Country: Canada
Gender and Sexuality: Lesbian
Animation Style: Stop motion, traditional
Genre: Experimental, fantasy
Type: Explicit, short

Can currently be watched on YouTube: https://youtu.be/s0OnBi1us1s

]]> Note: This film contains hebephilia, sexual content, sand exual violence.

Serge reflects on his time as a student at an all-boys Academy in France, including a torrid relationship he had with his roommate, Gilbert.

The original manga was released in 1976 and shares some similar elements with its shōnen-ai predecessor, The Door Into Summer, such as being set at a school in France, taking place in a similar time period and featuring predatory adults (see The Door Into Summer).]]> Director: Yoshikazu Yasuhiko
Year: 1987
Country: Japan
Gender and Sexuality: Gay
Animation Style: Traditional
Genre: Drama, romance
Type: Explicit, feature, yaoi

Can currently be watched on Dailymotion or YouTube: https://youtu.be/ruV2xh4epQU

]]> Note: This film contains depictions of ephebophilia.

In this absurdist comedy, when a thief begins stealing diamonds from around the world, Malynera’s diamonds become the next target. As the treasury is completely emptied, Patalliro embarks on a mission with Major Bancoran to capture the thief and return the diamonds to his kingdom.]]> Director: Nobutaka Nishizawa
Year: 1983
Country: Japan
Gender and Sexuality: Gay, gender creative
Animation Style: Traditional
Genre: Adventure, comedy, fantasy, science fiction
Type: Explicit, feature, yaoi

Can currently be watched on YouTube: https://youtu.be/c8Utu10nKNE

]]> Note: This film contains either ephebophilia or hebephilia (I am currently unable to find a source specifing the character's ages), sexual content, sexual violence, and suicidal imagery.

An adaptation of the 1975 manga of the same name by Keiko Takemiya, this early shōnen-ai (an early term for the now more frequently used boys' love) is a coming-of-age period film set at an academy in France. It follows Marion and his group of friends during their summer break at their school and their experiences with doomed or unreciprocated loves.

One of Marion’s friends, Claude, pines to be with him, but his feelings are unreciprocated. Unable to cope with the rejection and overcome with self-loathing, Claude commits suicide.
]]> Director: Mori Masaki
Year: 1981
Country: Japan
Gender and Sexuality: Gay
Animation Style: Traditional
Genre: Drama, romance
Type: Explicit, feature, yaoi

Can currently be watched on YouTube: https://youtu.be/BWNkGBbJarI

]]> In this Academy award-winning short, Ed Koch sings about all the joys of New York, including the "queens" in Queens.

Interestingly, although rumors that Koch was gay occurred as early as the 70s, the short does not allude to his sexuality. Koch remained closeted during his lifetime and it was not until 2022 that a New York Times article containing interviews from friends officially confirmed he was gay.]]> Director: Jimmy Picker
Year: 1983
Country: United States
Gender and Sexuality: Drag, queer coded
Animation Style: Stop motion
Genre: Comedy, music(al)
Type: Implicit, short

Can currently be watched on Dailymotion, Internet Archive, or YouTube: https://youtu.be/NcHOupIWwgc?t=45

]]> Note: This film contains ephebophilia and sexual violence.

An OVA following the life -and subsequent dangers- of being a teen idol. When Kazuya is not performing for his adoring fans, he spends his time with his best friend, Akihiko. Unfortunately, the president of a management company wants Kazuya as well.]]> Director: Kenichi Yatagai
Year: 1989
Country: Japan
Gender and Sexuality: Gay
Animation Style: Traditional
Genre: Drama, romance
Type: Explicit, short, yaoi

Can currently be watched on Dailymotion or YouTube: https://dai.ly/x87pr47

]]>