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2008 will always be known as an historic year — for the passing of gay marriage laws in two states (and the tragic reduction of those rights in four), for the election of the nation’s first president of color, and for the downturn of the economy.

Years from now, when we talk about 2008, it’s likely that we’ll be discussing these events, rather than any specific lesbian film that came out.

But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a banner year for lesbian cinema.

While there were still extremely few mainstream movies with notable lesbian/bi characters, the overall quality of representation was decidedly — and dramatically — on the rise.

2008 saw an encouraging dearth of murderous, victimized or man-hating lesbian characters in any level of production (from smaller indie flicks to big-budget movies).

Women of color were better represented than in many years past, gross stereotypes were avoided, and new talents emerged.

Ania Bukstein And Michal Shtamler In Director Avi Nesher'S The Secrets. Courtesy Monterey Media. Avi Nesher seems to have had two careers as a filmmaker rather than just one. Nesher's dual identity partly stems from the fact that the Israeli writer-director spent most of his childhood and teenage years in New York and only returned to the country of his birth after attending Columbia University. Once back, Nesher wasted little time in establishing himself as one of the brightest young figures in Israeli cinema with hits like The Troupe and Dizengoff 99 (both 1979). In 1985, Rage and Glory, Nesher's film about the 1940s Israeli terrorist group the Stern Gang, caused massive controversy and the level of hysteria prompted him to leave for...