Welcome to Screen Gems, our weekend dive into queer and queer-adjacent titles of the past that deserve a watch or a rewatch.Here at Queerty, we’re still reeling from the badassness of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and eagerly looking forward to another Oscar contender about a queer blues legend, The United States vs.
Billie Holiday. Both movies remind us of another biopic about a gay blues legend: Bessie.Lesbian director Dee Rees (Mudbound) directed this HBO film from a story by legendary playwright Horton Foote.
Bessie chronicles the life of blues belter Bessie Smith, a woman whose abusive, orphaned upbringing would fuel her passionate vocals.