French and Spanish Queer Film: Audiences, Communities and Cultural Exchange

This book advances the current state of film audience research and of our knowledge of sexuality in transnational contexts, by analysing how French LGBTQ films are seen in Spain and Spanish ones in France, and both in Britain. It studies films from various genres and examines their reception across four languages (Spanish, French, Catalan, English) and engages with over 450 participants across a range of digital and physical audience locations. A focus on LGBTQ festivals and on issues relating to LGBTQ experience in both countries allows for the consideration of issues such as ageing, sense of community and isolation, affiliation and investment, and the representation of issues affecting trans people. Examining films that chronicle the local, national and sub-national identities while also addressing foreign audiences, the book draws on a large sample of individual responses through post-screening questionnaires and focus groups and on the work of professional film critics and on-line commentators.