Blitz

Widest Release: Unknown

Vito Russo Test: FAIL

This drama takes place during the London Blitz in World War II. There is a brief scene in a nightclub where the bandleader appears to flirt with a married man before the nightclub is bombed. It is confirmed outside the film that the bandleader was based on Ken “Snakeships” Johnson, a real performer who was openly gay. However, there is no confirmation that he was “Snakeships” within the context of what was seen on screen, nor was his brief interaction with another man clear enough to cement his identity. Thus, GLAAD did not include this character in its official tally.

Fancy Dance

Widest Release: Unknown

Vito Russo Test: PASS

Fancy Dance tells the story of Jax, a woman living on the Seneca-Cayuga reservation in Oklahoma as she tries to uncover what happened to her missing sister. The film also includes Jax’s relationship with and guardianship over her niece, who she is fiercely protective of. Early on in the film, Jax goes to a strip club and has a sexual encounter with another woman, Sapphire, who insists Jax doesn’t have to pay though Jax pays her out of respect. It’s clear that these two have an ongoing relationship and the encounter cements Jax’s identity as a queer woman. Queer Indigenous women are a group so rarely seen in the media, and this film told Jax’s story with heart and compassion, even as she has to go beyond the bounds of the law for her family. More films should center Indigenous women’s voices as leads.