Little Joe

Join Sam Ashby, founder and editor of the cult queer cinema zine Little Joe, in conversation with Stéphane Gérard, filmmaker and historian, celebrating the launch of Little Joe: A book about queers and cinema, mostly (MACK/SPBH Editions, London).

Reflecting on the legacy of the cult queer cinema zine, published from 2010 to 2021, they will explore a queer approach to cinema—how audiences have discovered queerness in unexpected places, the role of camp in redefining so-called “trash” films, and the profound connections between sexual awakening and the movies that shape us.

Featuring clips from iconic films that inspired Little Joe, this talk promises a personal journey through the history of queer cinema.

Sam Ashby is a British artist based in London. His archival, research-led practice is concerned with uncovering marginal narratives and activating them through film, writing and publishing. From 2010 to 2021 he edited, designed and published Little Joe, a journal for the discussion of film around subjects of sexuality and gender within a queer historical context. Most recently, he has edited an anthology of Little Joe, and was an artist in residence at the Tom of Finland Foundation (2024).

Stéphane Gérard’s experimental cinema focuses on the history of mobilizations and the representation of politics of gender, sexual orientation, HIV/AIDS and people of African descent. His wider reflection about preservation of audiovisual archives, queer film programming and intergenerational companionship includes a collaboration with avant-garde filmmaker Lionel Soukaz.