The unspeakable horrors of this weekend in Orlando, Florida — a massacre in a nightclub that claimed the lives of over fifty people — hit all Americans on a visceral gut level. But none were hit harder than the LGBT community, seemingly the target of this shocking crime.
While this new video supercut may seem opportunistic from the outside, Fandor, the originator of the clip writes, “We commissioned this piece prior to the terrible events in Orlando. We publish it now with solemn pride, as but one sincere response of many.”
Put together by 19-year-old wunderkind Candice Drouet, a video editor living in France who has already caught the attention of outlets like Vox and now Fandor, her “Rainbow Flag Of Film” supercut is set to Lykke Li’s “I Follow Rivers (The Magician Remix)” and dances through a celebration of iconic LGBTQ films and gay and lesbian filmmakers: Gus Van Sant’s “My Private Idaho” receives some shine, as well Kimberly Peirce’s beautifully empathetic “Boys Don’t Cry,” as well as several key films by Todd Haynes (“Carol”), Wong Kar-Wai (“Happy Together”), Abdellatif Kechiche (“Blue Is the Warmest Color”), John Cameron Mitchell (“Hedwig and the Angry Inch”), Stephan Elliott (“Priscilla: Queen of the Desert”) Julian Schnabel (“Before Night Falls”) and many more.
On a somber day of reflection in the wake of this tragedy, Drouet’s video is a vibrant and celebratory mélange of color, music and identity that beams with pride and indomitable spirit; a powerful note to hit after a weekend like this. (Warning: the tribute is NSFW).