In Queer African Cinemas, Lindsey B. Green-Simms examines films produced by and about queer Africans in the first two decades of the twenty-first century in an environment of increasing antiqueer violence, efforts to criminalize homosexuality, and other state-sanctioned homophobia. Green-Simms argues that these films not only record the fear, anxiety, and vulnerability many queer Africans experience; they highlight how queer African cinematic practices contribute to imagining new hopes and possibilities. Examining globally circulating international art films as well as popular melodramas made for local audiences, Green-Simms emphasizes that in these films queer resistance—contrary to traditional narratives about resistance that center overt and heroic struggle—is often practiced from a position of vulnerability. By reading queer films alongside discussions about censorship and audiences, Green-Simms renders queer African cinema as a rich visual archive that documents the difficulty of queer existence as well as the potentials for queer life-building and survival.

Lindsey B. Green-Simms is Associate Professor of Literature at American University and author of Postcolonial Automobility: Car Culture in West Africa.

Acknowledgments  ix
Introduction. Registering Resistance in Queer African Cinemas  1
1. Making Waves: Queer Eccentricity and West African Wayward Women  37
2. Touching Nollywood: From Negation to Negotiation in Queer Nigerian Cinema  73
3. Cutting Masculinities: Post-Apartheid South African Cinema  123
4. Holding Space, Saving Joy: Queer Love and Critical Resilience in East Africa  165
Coda. Queer African Cinema's Destiny  203
Notes  211
Filmography  227
References  231
Index  243