D-Queer Romance: DAKAN (1997)

CHALLENGERS having been reclassified as non-queer, I ended up watching a second movie in the middle of the night, definitely queer this time.

DAKAN (1997) is a Guinean film by Mohamed Camara about two cis male high schoolers from different social backgrounds who are madly in love with each other and desperately seeking their parents' support.

They come out to them within the first five minutes of the film, and guess when they start kissing on camera: THE FILM HASN'T EVEN STARTED YET, THEY'RE ALREADY KISSING! Two guys passionately MAKING OUT IN A RED CONVERTIBLE is the very first thing you'll see as soon as the film starts. Do you know what it's giving? It's giving Dirty Dancing, it's giving Beverly Hills 90210, It's giving ALL the heterosexual American teen movies from the late 80s/early 90s you've ever seen, except this one is gay AND African.

Only last night, while watching those two kiss for the 100th time, did I realize how rare it is for me to see two Black African men kissing in Africa, even in fiction. In a Muslim-majority country. And 1997 was almost 30 years ago, so you'd think there would be an abundance of African queer films by now. You'd think.

Instead, there's been an abundance of LGBTphobic religious radicalism across the continent. Still, I want to believe that some things have changed for the better. For my better. I want to believe that one day I'll be able to kiss a woman in a convertible back... home.

But i don't like kissing.

Lick her nipples then.

And drive a car. A rented one.

One day.

Up next: a biopic that starts with E, a comedy that starts with an F and a drama that starts with a G