Polari is a rather fascinating part of Britain’s gay past – a dialect that since the 16th Century was used and developed by various underclasses from fairground showmen (some of whom still use a form of it) to prostitutes, and which had its last flowering amongst gay men before virtually dying out in the 1970s.
In its gay incarnation the language was something just for them (although it did famously appear in the popular radio show Round The Horne, although much of the audience didn’t know what they were actually listening to), a mix of rhyming slang and words borrowed from various languages, shot through with normal English. It allowed speakers of Polari to converse about things secretly and helped create a sense of community and bonding amongst the men at a time when being gay was illegal.
It’s actually quite a complex phenomenon and has been studied by many academics who’ve been fascinated by how it brought together everything from theatrical slang and yiddish to Romani and thieves cant, and how over the years it was used and adapted by all sorts of people who wanted a way to talk that was apart from mainstream English. With gay men, the theatrical influence tended to be strong, along with a noticeable element of camp, allowing them to gossip and chat about their sexual exploits in a way that wouldn’t be understood by most people.
It’s a great idea then to make a short film in Polari, which is just what Brian Fairbairn and Karl Eccleston have done, and which you can watch below. You may not understand most of what the guys in the short are saying, but it’s still rather fascinating, especially how something that was so common in gay circles half a century ago has now almost completely disappeared, except for a few words (some of which have gone mainstream) that few know have their roots in the ‘gay language’.
Take a look below and decide for yourself whether Britain’s gay men have lost something with the decline of Polari, or if we’re better off without it.
If you know a short film we ought to be posting, tell us by getting in touch via our contact page. And check out more gay short films and web series here. [Read more…]
We’ve been following Pink Moon for a while, including its 
After touring many of the world’s major film festivals, Jake Graf’s Brace is now available to view online for free, alongside Brothers, a US series following the lives of four Trans men.
Technically this one isn’t a short film, at least by Academy Awards rules, as they define a short as being less than 40 minutes, and as this one clocks in at 45 mins, it just misses out on that.
We’re a little bit late with this one as it debuted a couple of months ago, but now that we’ve discovered Trailing we thought we’d share, as it’s funny, smartly done and manages to convey its satire in an effective but not overly pleased-with-itself way. While this isn’t a show all about being gay, it does have a gay protagonist, who has political ambitions – or at least political consulting ambitions.
For Pride Month, 
The people behind the new gay-themed web series Paper Boys have released the first two episodes and have plans for more, but they need some crowdsourcing help, so the eps. below are a bit of a taster and if you want parts 3 & 4, the makers are hoping for some of your cash on 
Ageless turns things around from what we’d expect. We’ve previously covered the likes of the short films 
Synopsis: ‘The Impossibilities is an original comedy that follows Harry, a jaded children’s party magician and Willa, a daffy, lesbian yogi. Written/Directed by Anna Kerrigan and Starring/Produced by Kati Rediger and Ashley Springer, we made this show because it just felt right. We hope you enjoy watching it as much as we’ve enjoyed putting it together!’
Today we’re showcasing Why Does God Hate Me, which despite the rather angsty title is actually a bit of a comedy – although with a serious message mixed in. The Canadian short had a hugely successful run at film festivals in 2012, winning numerous awards before it debuted online.