Laura Horak
LightNews LightNews
banner
laurah.bsky.social
Laura Horak
@laurah.bsky.social
7.1K followers 2.4K following 71 posts
Film Studies prof curious about all things cinematic, trans, queer, feminist. Director of @transmediaportl.bsky.social. Author: Girls Will Be Boys (2016). she/her (white cis queer)
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Laura Horak
oldfilmsflicker.bsky.social
"These women used mass media to critique the damaging effects of unfettered capitalism on women’s lives."

Love this piece by @laurah.bsky.social:
Moviemaking Before Men | Playgirl
Elinor Glyn, June Mathis, Alice Guy-Blaché, Lois Weber: The many women who achieved dazzling success in the first years of Hollywood.
playgirl.com
January 9, 2026 at 10:47 PM
Reposted by Laura Horak
wfpproject.bsky.social
Great piece by WFPP contributor @laurah.bsky.social!

playgirl.com/entertainmen...
Moviemaking Before Men | Playgirl
Elinor Glyn, June Mathis, Alice Guy-Blaché, Lois Weber: The many women who achieved dazzling success in the first years of Hollywood.
playgirl.com
January 10, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Reposted by Laura Horak
nastysilents.bsky.social
It was only a matter of time before the Nasty Women infiltrated Playgirl Magazine!! Great piece by our own @laurah.bsky.social.

playgirl.com/entertainmen...
Moviemaking Before Men | Playgirl
Elinor Glyn, June Mathis, Alice Guy-Blaché, Lois Weber: The many women who achieved dazzling success in the first years of Hollywood.
playgirl.com
January 11, 2026 at 3:46 PM
Reposted by Laura Horak
ettletodd.bsky.social
1910 E4 of The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever is live! @laurah.bsky.social wrote Girls Will Be Boys so it makes sense that much of our discussion deals with the transgression, or lack thereof, of cross-dressing women. It's a rich topic! Plus: the electricity of Asta Nielsen in her debut. Links 👇
February 4, 2026 at 5:46 PM
Reposted by Laura Horak
ettletodd.bsky.social
Here is an excerpt from my conversation with @laurah.bsky.social about THE ABYSS for The 5 Best Films of Every Year Ever: 1910. Links in quoted post!
February 5, 2026 at 3:14 PM
laurah.bsky.social
Want to come work in my Film Studies department in Ottawa, Canada, for a year? Application deadline is March 6. All areas of specialization welcome. Please spread the word! @carleton.ca carleton.ca/deputyprovos... #filmstudies #jobopportunity
Lecturer or Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, School for Studies in Art and Culture (Film Studies) - Office of the Deputy Provost (Academic Operations and Planning)
About the Position The School for Studies in Art and Culture invites applications for a one-year appointment at the rank of Lecturer/Assistant Professor, Teaching Stream, beginning 1 July 2026, from q...
carleton.ca
February 7, 2026 at 10:40 PM
laurah.bsky.social
We're almost halfway there! Help us out! All donations matched dollar-for-dollar! futurefunder.carleton.ca/campaigns/su...
TRANSGENDER MEDIA PORTAL Donations doubled this Giving Tuesday up to $5450! $263 raised out of $5,450.
December 2, 2025 at 9:30 PM
laurah.bsky.social
Fight trans invisibility this Giving Tuesday!

The Transgender Media Portal is a free online database made and maintained by a lab of student scholars—and we need your help. Your donation will be matched, dollar for dollar!

Donate today at futurefunder.carleton.ca/campaigns/su...
Members of the TMP team holding a pink banner with the Transgender Media Portal name and trans symbol logo at the 2024 Ottawa Trans March. On top of the image is the text “Dollar-for-dollar matching this Giving Tuesday!”
December 2, 2025 at 1:08 PM
laurah.bsky.social
Please donate! 🙏
transmediaportl.bsky.social Transgender Media Portal @transmediaportl.bsky.social · Nov 28
Help fund a trans student researcher this Giving Tuesday—all donations to the TMP will be MATCHED, dollar for dollar! Your donation will support Maddie add new, linked data to the Portal, including info about festivals, screenings, funding, archives, and distributors. Go to our profile to donate!
Maddie Murakami, a young trans man with light skin, a moustache, and long, curly black hair, smiles up at the camera from his laptop while sitting on an orange couch. On top of the image is the text “Share with the TMP this Giving Tuesday!”
November 28, 2025 at 11:41 PM
Reposted by Laura Horak
alfredmartin.bsky.social
Are you a fan of the 1978 film THE WIZ? I would LOVE to chat with you about your fandom for a book on THE WIZ. You only need to be 18 years old or older and love the film. DMs open and please share.
November 17, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by Laura Horak
kringelberg.bsky.social
This was so fantastic! Lined up beautifully with some of the issues we were discussing in my Queer and Trans Art HIstories class so I might have to add it to the "Dr. R. has a problem" pile on our CMS (which already has work by @laurah.bsky.social and Eva Hayward in it!)
transmediaportl.bsky.social Transgender Media Portal @transmediaportl.bsky.social · Sep 17
Next week! Thursday at 6:30PM ET on Zoom. Free! Open to all! In English with simultaneous French interpretation. Listen to Eva Hayward and @laurah.bsky.social chat about the artist Erica Rutherford and her work, as well as trans rights today. www.gallery.ca/whats-on/cal...
In Conversation with Eva Hayward
Join Eva Hayward, a gender studies scholar at the University of New Mexico, in conversation with Laura Horak, Director of the Transgender Media Lab at Carleton University.
www.gallery.ca
September 26, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Reposted by Laura Horak
nastysilents.bsky.social
"The theme was Dressed for Chaos: Costumes, Nasty Women and Social Change. But what does that mean? Well, it means a fun, informative, often rousing hour in the company of silent comediennes, and three women who dearly love them." @hennefem.bsky.social @laurah.bsky.social
October 10, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Reposted by Laura Horak
nastysilents.bsky.social
"A real highlight of the day arrived with the UCLA David C. Copley Lecture on Costume Design and Silent Cinema, this year presented by the Nasty Women Triumvirate: Maggie Hennefeld, Laura Horak, Elif Rongen-Kaynakçı." Thank you @silentlondon.bsky.social !! ❤️🎞️🎩

silentlondon.co.uk/2025/10/09/l...
Le Giornate del Cinema Muto 2025: Pordenone Post No 6
Feature films? What a concept. They don’t always seem to be the dominant form here at Pordenone. But this afternoon was an exception to that rule, with a triple-bill of four-to-six-reelers back to …
silentlondon.co.uk
October 10, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Reposted by Laura Horak
nastysilents.bsky.social
The curators of Cinema's First Nasty Women presenting the annual Copley lecture on Silent Film Costume Design -- "DRESSED FOR CHAOS" -- at the Giornate del Cinema Muto! 🎊🎞️👗🧯 @hennefem.bsky.social @laurah.bsky.social #GCM44
October 10, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Reposted by Laura Horak
nastysilents.bsky.social
If you missed the nasty women deliver the UCLA Copley lecture on silent film costume design in Pordenone, you're in luck!! It's now on YouTube.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8IEG...

*The audio-visual quality isn't stellar, but the slides are beautifully chaotic. @hennefem.bsky.social @laurah.bsky.social
COSTUME DESIGN AND SILENT CINEMA UCLA| Le Giornate del Cinema Muto 2025
YouTube video by Le Giornate del Cinema Muto
www.youtube.com
October 15, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Reposted by Laura Horak
transmediaportl.bsky.social
Next week! Thursday at 6:30PM ET on Zoom. Free! Open to all! In English with simultaneous French interpretation. Listen to Eva Hayward and @laurah.bsky.social chat about the artist Erica Rutherford and her work, as well as trans rights today. www.gallery.ca/whats-on/cal...
In Conversation with Eva Hayward
Join Eva Hayward, a gender studies scholar at the University of New Mexico, in conversation with Laura Horak, Director of the Transgender Media Lab at Carleton University.
www.gallery.ca
September 17, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Reposted by Laura Horak
nastysilents.bsky.social
Word is out!!! The curators of Cinema's First Nasty Women -- Elif Kaynakci, @hennefem.bsky.social, @laurah.bsky.social -- will co-deliver the UCLA Copley on Silent Cinema & Costume Design at the Giornate del Cinema Muto this year. 👒☔🌪️

📍 Thursday 9th October, Teatro Verdi in Pordenone
Save the date!
September 20, 2025 at 2:39 PM
laurah.bsky.social
Next week! Thursday at 6:30PM ET on Zoom. Free! Open to all! In English with simultaneous French interpretation. Listen to Eva Hayward and chat about the artist Erica Rutherford and her work, as well as trans rights today. www.gallery.ca/whats-on/cal...
In Conversation with Eva Hayward
Join Eva Hayward, a gender studies scholar at the University of New Mexico, in conversation with Laura Horak, Director of the Transgender Media Lab at Carleton University.
www.gallery.ca
September 17, 2025 at 9:35 PM
laurah.bsky.social
Lookee here! My book has a cover!

Coming from @ucpress.bsky.social in April 2026. Many thanks to Tourmaline for allowing us to use her photograph "Summer Azure"!
A brown-skinned trans woman in an astronaut's helmet and white tunic floats in front of a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. Text: "Trans Cinema" Making Communities, Identities, and Worlds. Laura Horak"
July 24, 2025 at 8:02 PM
Reposted by Laura Horak
nastysilents.bsky.social
Great review of Breaking Plates & our Nasty Women extravaganza at the @cinemathequefr.bsky.social by Nicolas Villodre!! 🎞️🔥 @karenpearlman.bsky.social @richardjamesallen.bsky.social @hennefem.bsky.social @laurah.bsky.social @physicaltv.bsky.social

www.leshumanites-media.com/post/le-cin%...
Le cinéma (muet) des "effrontées"https://static.wixstatic.com/media/524063_440a22aaa21b4f8088c564d236b30188~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_1000,h_750,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/524063_440a22aaa21b4f8088c564d236b...
"Breaking Plates" de Karen Pearlman
www.leshumanites-media.com
June 20, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Reposted by Laura Horak
hennefem.bsky.social
It's been a whirlwind week on the road w/ @nastysilents.bsky.social & Breaking Plates at Women & the Silent Screen, @cinemathequefr.bsky.social, & Eye Filmmuseum!!! Feeling very energized and grateful for all my dish-breaking feminist comrades!!!! 🎞📽🎶‼️🎊🥳
June 16, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Reposted by Laura Horak
nastysilents.bsky.social
No Kings, Yes Nasty Women!!! Beautiful day of screenings & dialogue in Paris at the @cinemathequefr.bsky.social!!! Long live Léontine AND Breaking Plates!!! 🎞️🎶🎊

@karenpearlman.bsky.social @hennefem.bsky.social @richardjamesallen.bsky.social @laurah.bsky.social @physicaltv.bsky.social
June 14, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Reposted by Laura Horak
tomhollenstein.bsky.social
My Canadian university, Queen's, is offering TWENTY 4-year funded PhDs (40k CAD/yr) for a student of ANY citizenship who has been accepted at a top 100 US university but have had offer rescinded OR are reconsidering offer due to US policy.
Details found here👇

www.queensu.ca/grad-postdoc...
Queen’s Special U.S. Doctoral Recruitment Initiative | School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral AffairsDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown arrowDown...
Queen’s University is a globally engaged, research-intensive institution dedicated to attracting and supporting exceptional PhD students who will significantly advance our research mission.
www.queensu.ca
June 5, 2025 at 3:31 PM
laurah.bsky.social
Chicagoans! Come to my queer and trans silent film series every Wednesday night in June! This Weds I'll be there in person introducing a program of shorts like you've never seen before!!! @facetschicago.bsky.social
Projecting Homosexuality: Queer and Trans Visions from Cinema’s First Decades June 4, 11, 18, & 25, 2025 Buckle up for a wild ride through the forgotten corners of early cinema! “Projecting Homosexuality” is a groundbreaking film series that will blow your mind with rarely seen gems from the dawn of moviemaking. Imagine stumbling into a secret world where gender-bending performers, radical social uprisings, and forbidden desires dance across the silver screen. From a beefcake muscleman posing in the world’s earliest films to lesbian love stories that challenged every social norm, these movies aren’t just history – they’re a time machine to a more subversive, surprising past that feels irresistibly modern. This isn’t your grandparents’ dusty film archive – this is a revolution captured on celluloid. Spanning from the United States to Sweden, France, Germany, and Japan, these films will make you laugh, gasp, and see early 20th-century culture in a radically new light. Whether you’re a film buff, a queer history enthusiast, or just someone who loves discovering incredible stories that have been hidden for a century, this series promises an unforgettable journey. Get ready to peek through the keyhole of cinema’s most daring and delicious secrets. Through the Keyhole: Shorts Program Reception 7:30 pm | About the films | June 4, 2025, 8:00 pm- Buy Tickets |119 minutes + intermission Learn about the films here. FEATURED SPEAKER: Laura Horak – Curator of The First Homosexuals Film Series. Laura Horak is Professor of Film Studies at Carleton University and director of the Transgender Media Lab and Transgender Media Portal.
June 2, 2025 at 1:57 PM
laurah.bsky.social
Ottawans - spread the word! Have a fun day at the movies and help support our students! 🍿📽️ @carletonfass.bsky.social @carleton.ca @mayfairtheatre.bsky.social
A young Matthew Broderick smiles at the camera. FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF SUNDAY AT THE MAYFAIR. 13 April 3:30PM. Free admission thanks to Carleton's School for Studies in Art and Culture, but donations are gratefully accepted! ($15 suggested but any amount welcome) HELP SUPPORT THE FILM STUDIES TIFF 2025 TRIP! 1074 Bank St, Ottawa, ON K1S 2W3
April 7, 2025 at 7:02 PM