GLBT Films at Bell Street Aug. 5-8
July 28, 2009
Bell Street Chapel will once again be a venue for the popular Providence GLBT Film Festival, a cinematic sidebar of the Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF). The Rhode Island International Film Festival is being held in Rhode Island Aug. 4 through 9. RIIFF is the largest public film festival in New England and an Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences qualifying event. For mor information about RIIFF and a complete schedule of screenings and events, go to the RIFF Web Site .
Bell Street will screen 18 films from across the globe from Wednesday, Aug. 5, through Saturday, Aug. 8. Admission to each set of screenings is $10. One dollar from each ticket sold will be donated to Marriage Equality Rhode Island (MERI), the lead organization in the fight for equal marriage for same-sex couples in Rhode Island. In addition to films, Bell Street Chapel is proud to offer two discussion panels related to GLBT issues as well as a special event with New York City drag persona Carmella Cann.
THE SPECIAL EVENTS WILL BE::
Wednesday, Aug. 5, 7:30 p.m. – Following the screening of “Out in the Silence,” a film that tackles marriage equality issues, there will be a 45-minute discussion about issues raised in the film and progress made toward marriage equality in Rhode Island. Members of the panel will include filmmaker Joe Wilson; Kathy Kushnir, executive director of Marriage Equality Rhode Island; State Representative Frank Ferri (D-Dist. 22, Warwick), State Senator Rhoda Perry (D-Dist. 3, Providence), both cosponsor of marriage equality legislation; and Rev. José Ballester, consulting minister at Bell Street Chapel. The $10 admission includes the screening and the discussion.
Thursday, Aug. 6, 7:30 p.m. – Following the screening of “James,” “The Queen,” and “Flight to Sinai,” films about coming out, there will be a 45-minute discussion about the issues and challenges surrounding coming out. Members of the panel will include filmmakers; James Robinson, executive director of Youth Pride, Inc. (YPI); and youth from YPI. YPI provides support, advocacy and education for youth and young adults throughout Rhode Island who are impacted by sexual orientation and sexual identity/expression. The $10 admission includes the screening and the discussion.
Friday, Aug. 6, 7 p.m. – New York drag persona Carmella Cann will host an evening of films, filmmaker question-and-answer sessions and music. Films will include the short film “It’s Me, Matthew,“ written and produced by Carmella’s alter ego Michael Ferreira. Other films screened during this event will include “The Single Mother,” “The Queen,” “I Have It,” and “Astoria, Queens.” Admission to the event is $10.
THE 2009 GLBT SCHEDULE at BELL STREET CHAPEL:
ASTORIA, QUEENS Directed by Kyle Coker (2009, 21 min. U S A). Inspired by The Wizard of Oz, four Kansas City misfits navigate their new lives in the scary but exciting Emerald City of New York. Screening: Friday, Aug. 7, 7:00 p.m.
CLAIMING THE TITLE: GAY OLYMPICS ON TRIAL Directed by Jonathan Joiner and Robert Martin (2009, 29 min. U S A). In 1982, an athletic group tries to hold a “Gay Olympics,” instigating what will ultimately become a battle at the U.S. Supreme Court and a challenge over the place of gays and lesbians in American society. Screening: Saturday, Aug. 8, 7:15 p.m.
FISH OUT OF WATER Directed by Ky Dickens 2009, 60 min. U S A) In “Fish Out of Water,” a young lesbian’s rejection by her Christian peers propels her to consult America’s premier theologians in a dissection and debunking of the seven Bible verses used to condemn homosexuality and justify discrimination. Screening: Saturday, Aug. 8, 7:15 p.m.
FLIGHT TO SINAI Directed by Charlie Vaughn (2008, 28 min. U S A). 16-year-old Jack Strong comes out to his religious parents and gets sent to a summer camp to change his sexuality. Screening: Thursday, Aug. 6, 7:30 p.m.
FRUIT FLY Directed by H.P. Mendoza (2009, 95 min. U S A). Bethesda, a Filipina performance artist, moves into a San Francisco artist commune in the hopes of moving her one-woman show to a big city. Along with the numerous friends she makes in the art community, she also finds clues to the whereabouts of her biological mother, lessons in humility, and a startling realization. All told through 14 original musical numbers written by H.P. Mendoza (“Colma: The Musical”). Screening: Friday, Aug. 7, 9:30 p.m.
¿IGUALES? Directed by Javier de la Torre (2008, 15 min. Spain). Adela isn’t the girl from a romantic comedy. Hassan isn’t the gallant hero of an adventure film. Sylvia isn’t at all like a femme fatale. And Sofía isn’t either what we can call an ideal mother. What they are and what they look for… well, does it matter? Screening: Wednesday, Aug. 5, 9:30 p.m and Saturday, Aug. 8, 9:30 p.m.
I HAVE IT Directed by Sam Griffith (2009, 21 min. U S A). “I Have It” follows Emily and George (Larisa Oleynik and Devon Gummersall, respectively), a couple meeting for the first time after finding each other on an online dating site for individuals with HIV. George is an upper class mid-late twenties man, who has always embraced his privileged upbringing. He is likeable, good-looking, conservative, and never thought the unthinkable would happen to him. Emily is quirky and predictably liberal, consciously making herself stand out as unique. She is sweet, good-natured and blatantly honest. While meeting for the first time, their conversation covers a variety of bases, until the white elephant in the room, their disease, is finally addressed. It turns out they both just want someone to talk to, to understand, to listen. Screening: Friday, Aug. 8, 7:00 p.m.
IT’S ME, MATTHEW! Directed by Neil Stephens (2008, 15 min. U S A). “It’s Me, Matthew!” is a psychological drama, based on a true story. “Matthew” deals with the notion that in life we may subconsciously follow patterns from our childhood. Screening: Fri. Aug. 7, 7:00 p.m.
JAMES Directed by Connor Clements (2008, 17 min. Ireland/ United Kingdom). When James realizes long-buried secrets can lead to poor family relations, he feels it’s time to confide with his only friend a secret of his own. Screening: Thursday, Aug. 6, 7:30 p.m.
OUT IN THE SILENCE Directed by Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson (2009, 56 min. U S A). The announcement of filmmaker Joe Wilson’s wedding to another man ignites a firestorm of controversy and a quest for change in the small Pennsylvania hometown he left long ago. Drawn back by a plea for help from the mother of a gay teen being tormented at school, Wilson takes viewers on an exhilarating journey through love, hate and understanding in rural America. Screening: Wednesday, Aug. 5, 7:30 p.m.
SANDHILL BOYS Directed by Laura Klein (2009, 20 min. U S A). “Sandhill Boys” is a film about two men, A.D. and The Man (Donald), who spend their days quietly discussing the nature of love and life amongst the tobacco barns and sandy fields of North Carolina’s Sandhill region. As the mentally trapped Donald relives the only meaningful moment of his past, A.D. seizes his destiny and sets out to tell the woman of his dreams that he loves her. After falling victim to his own fears and unable to get the words out, A.D. returns to the same spot he and Donald inhabit, and both men continue living their debilitated existences without hope of ever finding meaning or love. Screening: Friday, Aug. 7, 9:30 p.m.
STORM Directed by Joan Beveridge (2008, 13 min. United Kingdom). A daughter’s unexpected visit to her estranged mother triggers an emotional storm leading to sudden and explosive violence. Screening: Wednesday, Aug. 5, 9:30 p.m.
STUBBLEJUMPER Directed by David Geiss (2009, 48 min. Canada). A unique docu-drama about the life of Saskatchewan-born gay activist Doug Wilson, who was suspended from the University of Saskatchewan in 1975. This biographical film is one hour and utilizes both documentary elements as well as dramatic scenes to tell the story of this captivating and influential man. Screening: Saturday, Aug. 8, 9:30 p.m.
SWIMMING WITH LESBIANS Directed by David Marshall (2009, 69 min. U S A). It has been said that gays have a past but no history. Gays and lesbians don’t grow up immersed in gay history, it is something they must search for. For those coming of age in the 1950s, much of significant American gay history is their personal history – the Mattachine Society, Stonewall, the gay rights movement, psychiatric redefinition of homosexuality, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, Romer v. Evens, AIDS, civil unions, marriage — it’s all in the last 50 years. “Swimming with Lesbians” is a film that explores an upstate New York community’s efforts to create an LBGT historic archive – led by the extraordinary Madeline Davis. Screening: Wednesday, Aug. 5, 9:30 p.m.
THE QUEEN Directed by Christina Choe (2009, 7 min. U S A). Bobby, a Korean-American teenage outcast, is working at his parents dry cleaners on prom weekend. When the prom queen and her boyfriend, stop by with their dress and tuxedo, Bobby has his own prom to remember. Screening: Thursday, Aug. 6, 7:30 p.m. and Friday, Aug. 7, 7:00 p.m.
THE SATYR OF SPRINGBOK HEIGHTS Directed by Robert Silke (2009, 54 min. South Africa). Meet the inmates of an architecture that captivates. The location: Cape Town, South Africa. Springbok Heights is a tightly-wound knot of studio apartments… an art-deco masterpiece that weaves its residents into its mortar. Wouter Malan: Co-op chairman, musical tendencies, greasy facial hair. Wouter retired early from his career in physical education. Hilda Steyn: Six-foot-three, impressively large hands. Hilda’s had a crush on Wouter for 40 years, but since undergoing elective surgery in the 1970s, Hilda lacks the one thing Wouter seeks most in a companion. An affluent simpleton, two poor lesbians and a not-unattractive specimen of vermin swell the socially-claustrophobic ranks of this tiny universe, which Springbok Heights strains to contain. Expert interviews reveal the terrifyingly beautiful qualities of a building that holds its inmates in its thrall. Screening: Thursday, Aug. 6, 9:30 p.m.
THE SINGLE MOTHER Directed by Ryan Logan (2009, 6 min. U S A). Meet the Single Mother – a big-hearted transvestite reincarnation of June Cleaver, who embarks on a perilous journey to obtain the nuclear family featured in his tattered home and garden magazines. With the unfortunate predicament of being unable to conceive himself (but not for lack of trying), he pursues increasingly desperate means to procure a child of his own. He attempts adoption. He strives to become a nanny. He even makes a run at luring hyperactive children out of a park using candy. When anatomy gets in the way of destiny… the oven mitts are off. Screening: Friday, Aug. 7, 7:00 p.m.
WEAK SPECIES Directed by Dan Faltz (2008, 34 min. U S A). Classmates Steve and George are part of a frightening food chain. Seducing his classmates gives Steve a sense of purpose and fuels his art and poetry. When Steve sets his sights on the school star athlete, he starts a cat and mouse chase which could ruin him and his idol. At odds with each other, George and Steve have more in common than they realize. As their paths spiral downward, they could save each other, or continue on their way to self-destruction. Screening: Thursday, Aug. 6, 9:30 p.m.