If anyone had told me at this time last year that Out on Film would be on relatively smooth ground now, I would have thought they were crazy. 2008 was a tough year in many ways. But here we are in November 2009, two festivals behind us this year, and Out on Film is back, baby!
We are coming off of a very successful October festival, one that saw many sold-out screenings, great guests, a killer opening night party, terrific press and very strong feedback from our patrons. We surveyed our pass holders after the festival and the reaction was almost uniformly excellent.
Most improbably, in May we broke even and in October we even made a little bit of money. People liked the films, people liked the return to the Midtown Art Cinema, and people really liked the structure, the fact that they could see every film and not have to make choices. Most of all, people like the fact that Out on Film is still around and prospering.
Was our October festival perfect? Nope. We still have some things we need to work on. We need to find a better way to get women to see our films and we need to find a way to incorporate more businesses/corporations into what we do. And like all nonprofits, we need to find money! But headed into next year, I think we are in good shape.
Our team is all extremely excited about 2010. Heck, if we pulled off two festivals this year with limited funds and a small crew, imagine what we can do next year with 10 months planning. We have a devoted team now and it’s been great working with them. We hope to grow Out on Film into one of the top five LGBT film festivals. Will it be easy? No. But I think we can do it. Atlanta has a huge GLBT population and if we can tap into just a small percentage, we can continue to grow.
More than ever, it’s important to have GLBT film festivals. Most of the films that played in our festival will never get a regular theatrical release. Having a forum for artists to display work by, for and about our community is still vital. Our community is more mainstream now, but we are not in the mainstream yet.
I have said this so many times, but where we take Out on Film is up to our community. We need your support, your opinions, your time and energy, and your money. Putting on a film festival is about all of us and I think our community deserves a kick-ass festival each and every year.
We hope to have our 2010 festival around the same time next year, the first week of October. We’d like to hear your thoughts on how we can improve the festival. Please keep us with us on our website - www.outonfilm.org - and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
We look forward to hearing from you…
Monday, November 9, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Out on Film's schedule
I am so very pleased with the schedule for Out on Film's festival, Oct. 2 -8. I think we have a great balance of mainstream and independent GLBT films, from "Eating Out 3" to "The Big Gay Musical" to "Hannah Free," "Rivers Wash Over Me," "The Baby Formula" and "Edie and Thea: A Very Long Engagement."
We also have a great selection of guests for the week - and a few more to announce!
We also have a great selection of guests for the week - and a few more to announce!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
And here it is...
Here is Out on Film's schedule.
Oct 2 - 8, 2009
Midtown Art Cinema
Opening Night - Friday, October 2
7:30 p.m.
“The Big Gay Musical” (100 minutes)
Tickets are $20 which includes screening and after party
All other screenings - $10
Saturday, October 3
12:00 p.m.
“Edie and Thea” (67 minutes)
2:00 p.m.
“Men’s Shorts” (TBD – no more than 110 minutes)
4:00 p.m.
“Annul Victory” (80 minutes)
5:30 p.m.
“The Baby Formula” (84 minutes)
7:30 p.m.
“Rivers Wash Over Me” (89 minutes)
10:00 p.m.
“Eating Out 3” ( 80 minutes)
Sunday, October 4th
12:00 p.m.
“And then Came Lola” (70 minutes)
1:30 p.m.
Women’s Shorts ( no more than 80 minutes)
3:00 p.m.
“The Butch Factor” (88 minutes)
5:00 p.m.
“Family” (111 minutes)
7:30 p.m.
“A Cross Burning in Willacoochee” (104 minutes)
9:45 p.m.
“The Boy With the Sun in His Eyes” (81 minutes)
Monday, October 5th
5:30 “Drool” (84 minutes)
7:00 “Patrik, Age 1.5” (100 minutes)
9:00 “Charmed Life” (70 minutes)
Tuesday, October 6th
5:00 “Chef’s Special” (111 minutes)
7:00 “Hannah Free” (85 minutes)
9:00 “Shank” (89 minutes)
Wednesday, October 7th
5:00 p.m. “Ghosted” (89 minutes) 35 MM
7:00 p.m. “Hollywood, je t’aime” (95 minutes)
9:00 p.m. “Dream Boy” (90 minutes)
Closing Night, October 8
5:00 “Unraveling Michelle” (78 minutes)
7:00 Andy Warhol classics: “Blow Job” and “My Hustler”/ collaboration with Film Love (115 minutes) 16 MM
9:00 “Pornography, A Thriller” (113 minutes)
Synopses
“And then Came Lola”
Sleek, sexy lesbian romantic comedy inspired by “Run Lola Run.”
“Annul Victory”
If you woke up on November 5th and your elation about Barack Obama’s groundbreaking victory was tinged with sadness because of the passing of Proposition 8 in California, then Annul Victory is a film for you. It starts on May 16th, 2008 with Mayor Gavin Newsom on the steps of San Franciso City Hall giving a stirring and uplifting speech celebrating the fact that the California Supreme Court had just made same-sex marriage legal. Through stunning news footage and eloquent and articulate interviews, the movie brings us up to near present day as we await the California Court’s ruling on whether Proposition 8 is constitutional.
“The Baby Formula”
In this hysterical mockumentary, two adventurous women in love are desperate to have their own biological child.
“The Big Gay Musical”
A delicious offering from Casper Andreas (“Slutty Summer,” “A Four Letter Word”), relentlessly upbeat and packed with delicious musical numbers.
“The Boy With the Sun in His Eyes”
Kevin's (Josh Ubaldi) funeral rockets John (Tim Swain) into the orbit of the flamboyant Solange (Mahogany Reynolds), a b-movie actress/one hit wonder best known in Europe for her roles in 80's Italian horror movies. As John follows her into heady whirlwind romances with cute French pop stars and deadly (but hot!) Milanese model managers, they barely survive murderous performance artists in Paris and fatal gourmet food poisonings in Italy. John begins to realize that Solange's world is far more complex and dangerous than he could possibly have imagined. Her chosen lifestyle abounds with trips, tricks, and traps. Based on the novel by James Derek Dwyer.
“The Butch Factor”
Christopher Hines’ informative, entertaining documentary on masculinity in the gay community not only features several Atlantans, but Woof’s Sports bar as well.
“A Charmed Life”
Through Interviews with three generations of drag performers this all access documentary examines how a queen is conceived and what it means to be a performer. Starring noted New York drag persona Sweetie.
“Chef’s Special”
Energetic performances from Almodóvar regulars Javier Cámara (Talk to Her) and Lola Dueñas (Volver) anchor this wholly entertaining farce bustling with quick-witted dialogue and comical hi-jinks.
“A Cross Burning in Willacoochee”
(World Premiere)
On the morning of Wednesday, July 21, 1993,an incident occurred in the small South Georgia town of Willacoochee.Two gay men were awakened to find a seven-footcharred cross in their front yard. Further compounding the problemwere comments made by a Willacoochee City Council member whosaid he was not surprised by the incident because thetown is largely anti-gay.The Chief of Police said it was probably a "bunch of n-gg-rsdown the road that did it".However, the cross burning was just the beginning.A few weeks later their mailbox was destroyedfollowed by the death threats on their answering machine.Then the unthinkable occurred, their home burned to ruins.Roy Kirkland and Doug Sebastian had no idea that after all thathad happened, the worst was yet to come concerning one of the nationslargest insurance companies.This compelling documentary reveals how filmmakersDoug Sebastian and Roy Kirkland, both hate crime victims, cometogether to dig further into the reasoning behind thehorrible acts committed against them and totell their story about the time they lived through,"A Cross Burning In Willacoochee".
“Dream Boy”
The film version of Atlanta native Jim Grimsley’s beautiful, acclaimed novel. Bring plenty of tissues!
“Drool”
The relationship between an abused housewife and her new neighbor yields unexpected tragedy in his drama from first-time writer/director Nancy Kissam. Her kids can't stand her, her husband is a tyrant, and her family may live in the middle of nowhere, but Anora Fleece (Laura Harring) still does her best to make the most out of life. When Imogene Cochran (Jill Marie Jones) moves in next door, the two women become fast friends. Imogene sells cosmetics for Kathy K. Kosmetics, a company that caters exclusively to the cocoa-skinned woman. Despite the fact that such women aren't generally welcomed with open arms in Anora's neck of the woods, it isn't long before she and Imogene have found a common ground. And before long, their friendship develops into something more serious.
“Eating Out 3: All You Can Eat”
Mink Stole and Leslie Jordan join Rebekah Kochan and the requisite hunky men for the third in the immensely popular series, this time with an all-gay male cast, the requisite frontals and a threeway that needs to be seen to believed.
“Edie and Thea: A Very Long Engagment”
When Edie and Thea meet, it is love at first sight, and the beginning of a relationship that will last the rest of their lives. Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement recounts their romance, from the closeted pre-Stonewall days to the present.
“Family”
From former Atlantan Faith Trimel comes this breezy African American lesbian comedy, about a group of friends who all decide to come out.
“Ghosted”
In Taiwan, ghosts are rarely a laughing matter; in this ancestor-worship culture, where the memories of the living nurture the deceased, there is a belief that the dead become ghosts roaming between heaven and earth. In Ghosted — an unconventional, meditative love story directed by veteran German filmmaker Monika Treat — we are introduced to Sophie (Ingra Busch), a 40-something renowned German video-artist who has returned to Taipei to open an exhibition dedicated to her late Taiwanese lover Ai-Ling (Huan-Ru Ke). There she meets Mei-Li (Ting Ting Hu), a pushy and beautiful journalist who eerily reminds her of Ai-Ling. Mei-Li’s constant questions and flirtatious overtures are too much, too soon, and Sophie retreats to Hamburg. When the journalist mysteriously turns up on her doorstep, Sophie decides to open herself to new sexual adventures. Her newfound trust is soon shattered when she discovers that Mei-Li isn’t who she claims to be. Suspenseful and complex, this cross-border narrative is a rich addition to Treut’s growing body of work
“Hannah Free”
Starring Sharon Gless (Queer as Folk, Cagney & Lacey) in a tremendous performance, Hannah Free is a feature film about the lifelong love affair between an independent spirit and the woman she calls home.
“Hollywood, je t’aime”
Jason Bushman's feature debut is a charmingly loving tale of a sweet Parisian lost in the wilds of gay L.A. Chad Allen stars.
“Patrik, Age 1.5”
Danish suburbanite couple Goran and Sven are going to be daddies! They’ve successfully adopted a Swedish child — Patrik, "Age 1.5" — and they eagerly await his arrival.
“Pornography: A Thriller”
Blurring the lines between reality, dreams and fantasy, David Kittredge's debut feature is the stunningly frightening David Cronenberg-meets-David-Lynch psychological thriller centering on a fictional gay porn star who mysteriously disappeared in 1995. Wholly original and taking wild cinematic risks, Pornography is a e trip into the darkest corners of the human soul.
“Rivers Wash Over Me”
Fifteen-year-old Sequan Green is a lanky, erudite and very much gay New Yorker. Forced to move in with extended family members in the rural South, this fish out of water finds his new surroundings downright poisonous. Produced by Atlanta’s Dexter Davis.
“Shank”
Tender love and brutal violence collide in this gritty, incredibly sexual drama about wayward, British youths.
“Unraveling Michelle”
For years successful filmmaker Joe O'Ferrell has kept his double life as Michelle a secret to all but three people. We observe Joe as he comes to the momentous decision to reveal his secret first to his friends and family, and then to the world as he makes the transition from boy, to girl, from Joe to Michelle. As the persona of Joe slowly fades away and is replaced by Michelle, how will her family, friends and co-workers react? Will she still be able to find work as a filmmaker or will prejudice and fear sabotage her hopes and everything she holds dear?
Oct 2 - 8, 2009
Midtown Art Cinema
Opening Night - Friday, October 2
7:30 p.m.
“The Big Gay Musical” (100 minutes)
Tickets are $20 which includes screening and after party
All other screenings - $10
Saturday, October 3
12:00 p.m.
“Edie and Thea” (67 minutes)
2:00 p.m.
“Men’s Shorts” (TBD – no more than 110 minutes)
4:00 p.m.
“Annul Victory” (80 minutes)
5:30 p.m.
“The Baby Formula” (84 minutes)
7:30 p.m.
“Rivers Wash Over Me” (89 minutes)
10:00 p.m.
“Eating Out 3” ( 80 minutes)
Sunday, October 4th
12:00 p.m.
“And then Came Lola” (70 minutes)
1:30 p.m.
Women’s Shorts ( no more than 80 minutes)
3:00 p.m.
“The Butch Factor” (88 minutes)
5:00 p.m.
“Family” (111 minutes)
7:30 p.m.
“A Cross Burning in Willacoochee” (104 minutes)
9:45 p.m.
“The Boy With the Sun in His Eyes” (81 minutes)
Monday, October 5th
5:30 “Drool” (84 minutes)
7:00 “Patrik, Age 1.5” (100 minutes)
9:00 “Charmed Life” (70 minutes)
Tuesday, October 6th
5:00 “Chef’s Special” (111 minutes)
7:00 “Hannah Free” (85 minutes)
9:00 “Shank” (89 minutes)
Wednesday, October 7th
5:00 p.m. “Ghosted” (89 minutes) 35 MM
7:00 p.m. “Hollywood, je t’aime” (95 minutes)
9:00 p.m. “Dream Boy” (90 minutes)
Closing Night, October 8
5:00 “Unraveling Michelle” (78 minutes)
7:00 Andy Warhol classics: “Blow Job” and “My Hustler”/ collaboration with Film Love (115 minutes) 16 MM
9:00 “Pornography, A Thriller” (113 minutes)
Synopses
“And then Came Lola”
Sleek, sexy lesbian romantic comedy inspired by “Run Lola Run.”
“Annul Victory”
If you woke up on November 5th and your elation about Barack Obama’s groundbreaking victory was tinged with sadness because of the passing of Proposition 8 in California, then Annul Victory is a film for you. It starts on May 16th, 2008 with Mayor Gavin Newsom on the steps of San Franciso City Hall giving a stirring and uplifting speech celebrating the fact that the California Supreme Court had just made same-sex marriage legal. Through stunning news footage and eloquent and articulate interviews, the movie brings us up to near present day as we await the California Court’s ruling on whether Proposition 8 is constitutional.
“The Baby Formula”
In this hysterical mockumentary, two adventurous women in love are desperate to have their own biological child.
“The Big Gay Musical”
A delicious offering from Casper Andreas (“Slutty Summer,” “A Four Letter Word”), relentlessly upbeat and packed with delicious musical numbers.
“The Boy With the Sun in His Eyes”
Kevin's (Josh Ubaldi) funeral rockets John (Tim Swain) into the orbit of the flamboyant Solange (Mahogany Reynolds), a b-movie actress/one hit wonder best known in Europe for her roles in 80's Italian horror movies. As John follows her into heady whirlwind romances with cute French pop stars and deadly (but hot!) Milanese model managers, they barely survive murderous performance artists in Paris and fatal gourmet food poisonings in Italy. John begins to realize that Solange's world is far more complex and dangerous than he could possibly have imagined. Her chosen lifestyle abounds with trips, tricks, and traps. Based on the novel by James Derek Dwyer.
“The Butch Factor”
Christopher Hines’ informative, entertaining documentary on masculinity in the gay community not only features several Atlantans, but Woof’s Sports bar as well.
“A Charmed Life”
Through Interviews with three generations of drag performers this all access documentary examines how a queen is conceived and what it means to be a performer. Starring noted New York drag persona Sweetie.
“Chef’s Special”
Energetic performances from Almodóvar regulars Javier Cámara (Talk to Her) and Lola Dueñas (Volver) anchor this wholly entertaining farce bustling with quick-witted dialogue and comical hi-jinks.
“A Cross Burning in Willacoochee”
(World Premiere)
On the morning of Wednesday, July 21, 1993,an incident occurred in the small South Georgia town of Willacoochee.Two gay men were awakened to find a seven-footcharred cross in their front yard. Further compounding the problemwere comments made by a Willacoochee City Council member whosaid he was not surprised by the incident because thetown is largely anti-gay.The Chief of Police said it was probably a "bunch of n-gg-rsdown the road that did it".However, the cross burning was just the beginning.A few weeks later their mailbox was destroyedfollowed by the death threats on their answering machine.Then the unthinkable occurred, their home burned to ruins.Roy Kirkland and Doug Sebastian had no idea that after all thathad happened, the worst was yet to come concerning one of the nationslargest insurance companies.This compelling documentary reveals how filmmakersDoug Sebastian and Roy Kirkland, both hate crime victims, cometogether to dig further into the reasoning behind thehorrible acts committed against them and totell their story about the time they lived through,"A Cross Burning In Willacoochee".
“Dream Boy”
The film version of Atlanta native Jim Grimsley’s beautiful, acclaimed novel. Bring plenty of tissues!
“Drool”
The relationship between an abused housewife and her new neighbor yields unexpected tragedy in his drama from first-time writer/director Nancy Kissam. Her kids can't stand her, her husband is a tyrant, and her family may live in the middle of nowhere, but Anora Fleece (Laura Harring) still does her best to make the most out of life. When Imogene Cochran (Jill Marie Jones) moves in next door, the two women become fast friends. Imogene sells cosmetics for Kathy K. Kosmetics, a company that caters exclusively to the cocoa-skinned woman. Despite the fact that such women aren't generally welcomed with open arms in Anora's neck of the woods, it isn't long before she and Imogene have found a common ground. And before long, their friendship develops into something more serious.
“Eating Out 3: All You Can Eat”
Mink Stole and Leslie Jordan join Rebekah Kochan and the requisite hunky men for the third in the immensely popular series, this time with an all-gay male cast, the requisite frontals and a threeway that needs to be seen to believed.
“Edie and Thea: A Very Long Engagment”
When Edie and Thea meet, it is love at first sight, and the beginning of a relationship that will last the rest of their lives. Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement recounts their romance, from the closeted pre-Stonewall days to the present.
“Family”
From former Atlantan Faith Trimel comes this breezy African American lesbian comedy, about a group of friends who all decide to come out.
“Ghosted”
In Taiwan, ghosts are rarely a laughing matter; in this ancestor-worship culture, where the memories of the living nurture the deceased, there is a belief that the dead become ghosts roaming between heaven and earth. In Ghosted — an unconventional, meditative love story directed by veteran German filmmaker Monika Treat — we are introduced to Sophie (Ingra Busch), a 40-something renowned German video-artist who has returned to Taipei to open an exhibition dedicated to her late Taiwanese lover Ai-Ling (Huan-Ru Ke). There she meets Mei-Li (Ting Ting Hu), a pushy and beautiful journalist who eerily reminds her of Ai-Ling. Mei-Li’s constant questions and flirtatious overtures are too much, too soon, and Sophie retreats to Hamburg. When the journalist mysteriously turns up on her doorstep, Sophie decides to open herself to new sexual adventures. Her newfound trust is soon shattered when she discovers that Mei-Li isn’t who she claims to be. Suspenseful and complex, this cross-border narrative is a rich addition to Treut’s growing body of work
“Hannah Free”
Starring Sharon Gless (Queer as Folk, Cagney & Lacey) in a tremendous performance, Hannah Free is a feature film about the lifelong love affair between an independent spirit and the woman she calls home.
“Hollywood, je t’aime”
Jason Bushman's feature debut is a charmingly loving tale of a sweet Parisian lost in the wilds of gay L.A. Chad Allen stars.
“Patrik, Age 1.5”
Danish suburbanite couple Goran and Sven are going to be daddies! They’ve successfully adopted a Swedish child — Patrik, "Age 1.5" — and they eagerly await his arrival.
“Pornography: A Thriller”
Blurring the lines between reality, dreams and fantasy, David Kittredge's debut feature is the stunningly frightening David Cronenberg-meets-David-Lynch psychological thriller centering on a fictional gay porn star who mysteriously disappeared in 1995. Wholly original and taking wild cinematic risks, Pornography is a e trip into the darkest corners of the human soul.
“Rivers Wash Over Me”
Fifteen-year-old Sequan Green is a lanky, erudite and very much gay New Yorker. Forced to move in with extended family members in the rural South, this fish out of water finds his new surroundings downright poisonous. Produced by Atlanta’s Dexter Davis.
“Shank”
Tender love and brutal violence collide in this gritty, incredibly sexual drama about wayward, British youths.
“Unraveling Michelle”
For years successful filmmaker Joe O'Ferrell has kept his double life as Michelle a secret to all but three people. We observe Joe as he comes to the momentous decision to reveal his secret first to his friends and family, and then to the world as he makes the transition from boy, to girl, from Joe to Michelle. As the persona of Joe slowly fades away and is replaced by Michelle, how will her family, friends and co-workers react? Will she still be able to find work as a filmmaker or will prejudice and fear sabotage her hopes and everything she holds dear?
Friday, August 14, 2009
Out on Film's venue/films
Exciting news - Out on Film will take place at the Midtown Art Cinema from Oct. 2 -8.
Some of the films we will be showing are: John G. Young's excellent "Rivers Wash Over Me," "The Butch Factor" (featuring several Atlantans and Woof's Bar), Monika Treut's "Ghosted," "Pornography: A Thriller," Faith Trimel's "Family," and the film version of local playwright Jim Grimsley's "Dream Boy."
More soon!
Some of the films we will be showing are: John G. Young's excellent "Rivers Wash Over Me," "The Butch Factor" (featuring several Atlantans and Woof's Bar), Monika Treut's "Ghosted," "Pornography: A Thriller," Faith Trimel's "Family," and the film version of local playwright Jim Grimsley's "Dream Boy."
More soon!
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Out on Film update - how to help us out!
To say that the last year and a half for Out on Film has been an eventful one is a mild understatement. For the first time in its long existence, Out on Film is not only gay/lesbian run and operated, but completely independent. This summer, Out on Film became an official 501(c)3 organization. And, yes, we are truly excited.
Last May, Atlanta Film Festival 365 (formerly IMAGE Film and Video) decided to give Out on Film to the gay/lesbian community. For years and years, IMAGE put on both its successful Atlanta Film Festival in the spring/summer and then Out on Film in the fall. Their goal was to give Out on Film to the GLBT community and focus all their time on the Atlanta Film Festival. If you attended the Atlanta Film Festival this year, you can see how the move helped. It was a great festival, and not having to do Out on Film gave the IMAGE gang more time to prepare.
Handing the organization over wasn’t a seamless transaction, though. 2008 was a year everyone involved with Out on Film would rather forget. Not only was the economy tough, but getting the right mix of folks together was harder than anyone thought. Unfortunately, the casualty of last year was a film festival.
But luckily the team we have currently assembled has got it right. Without question, this has been the most ambitious year in the history of Out on Film. In the first four months of 2009, we had our hands in four screenings. In May, Out on Film had a small weekend festival. We had a few special guests but other than Charlie David (from TV’s “Dante’s Cove”) it was pretty no-frills. We refer to the May festival as our retro, 2008 festival, what we should have done last fall. Our goal was to get the name out again, re-introduce ourselves and break even financially. We were successful on all those counts.
In October, Out on Film will be having its fall festival, and from here on out it will be every October. Our goal is to make the festival as good as it can be. Having a GLBT film festival is still every bit as important as it’s ever been. Gays and lesbians may be more on TV now and in the public consciousness, but we are no means mainstream. It’s important to have a GLBT film festival - one by, for and about the GLBT community. But the size and scope of the festival depends on our community.
Out on Film isn’t about me, or my partner Craig, or our team. It’s about all of us. What we do with Out on Film is up to us as a community. I’ve always marveled at the sheer size of Frameline in San Francisco, OUTfest in Los Angeles, Newfest in New York and the Philly Q Fest in Philadelphia. Those festivals last for a week or so, have 100+ films, special guests every day and parties throughout. This is where I’d love to see Out on Film one day. I don’t know if we can ever match any of those festivals, but we can aim to. Atlanta has one of the biggest, most diverse GLBT populations in the country. Look at the enormous crowds that gather for Pride each year.
I used to be one of those people who enjoyed Pride every year but never thought of ever contributing. Now I do. Events such as Pride and Out on Film take time and they take money, more than ever in these trying economic times. The challenges that non-profits face these days is finding ways to produce when the economy is tight. All year long, I have believed in producing and we have. And we will continue to produce, but with help from everyone in our community, we can make Out on Film the premiere GLBT festival in the Southeast.
How can you help?
*Donate to Out on Film, either via our website (www.outonfilm.org) or MySpace page, www.myspace.com/outonfilm.
*If you know people who might be able to help us with flights for our incoming actors/directors, please let us know.
*Talk to your place of employment about donating or matching funds.
*Come to the festival, Oct. 2-8 (venue announced the second week of August).
See you all in October!
Last May, Atlanta Film Festival 365 (formerly IMAGE Film and Video) decided to give Out on Film to the gay/lesbian community. For years and years, IMAGE put on both its successful Atlanta Film Festival in the spring/summer and then Out on Film in the fall. Their goal was to give Out on Film to the GLBT community and focus all their time on the Atlanta Film Festival. If you attended the Atlanta Film Festival this year, you can see how the move helped. It was a great festival, and not having to do Out on Film gave the IMAGE gang more time to prepare.
Handing the organization over wasn’t a seamless transaction, though. 2008 was a year everyone involved with Out on Film would rather forget. Not only was the economy tough, but getting the right mix of folks together was harder than anyone thought. Unfortunately, the casualty of last year was a film festival.
But luckily the team we have currently assembled has got it right. Without question, this has been the most ambitious year in the history of Out on Film. In the first four months of 2009, we had our hands in four screenings. In May, Out on Film had a small weekend festival. We had a few special guests but other than Charlie David (from TV’s “Dante’s Cove”) it was pretty no-frills. We refer to the May festival as our retro, 2008 festival, what we should have done last fall. Our goal was to get the name out again, re-introduce ourselves and break even financially. We were successful on all those counts.
In October, Out on Film will be having its fall festival, and from here on out it will be every October. Our goal is to make the festival as good as it can be. Having a GLBT film festival is still every bit as important as it’s ever been. Gays and lesbians may be more on TV now and in the public consciousness, but we are no means mainstream. It’s important to have a GLBT film festival - one by, for and about the GLBT community. But the size and scope of the festival depends on our community.
Out on Film isn’t about me, or my partner Craig, or our team. It’s about all of us. What we do with Out on Film is up to us as a community. I’ve always marveled at the sheer size of Frameline in San Francisco, OUTfest in Los Angeles, Newfest in New York and the Philly Q Fest in Philadelphia. Those festivals last for a week or so, have 100+ films, special guests every day and parties throughout. This is where I’d love to see Out on Film one day. I don’t know if we can ever match any of those festivals, but we can aim to. Atlanta has one of the biggest, most diverse GLBT populations in the country. Look at the enormous crowds that gather for Pride each year.
I used to be one of those people who enjoyed Pride every year but never thought of ever contributing. Now I do. Events such as Pride and Out on Film take time and they take money, more than ever in these trying economic times. The challenges that non-profits face these days is finding ways to produce when the economy is tight. All year long, I have believed in producing and we have. And we will continue to produce, but with help from everyone in our community, we can make Out on Film the premiere GLBT festival in the Southeast.
How can you help?
*Donate to Out on Film, either via our website (www.outonfilm.org) or MySpace page, www.myspace.com/outonfilm.
*If you know people who might be able to help us with flights for our incoming actors/directors, please let us know.
*Talk to your place of employment about donating or matching funds.
*Come to the festival, Oct. 2-8 (venue announced the second week of August).
See you all in October!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Out on Film fall festival
Out on Film will be presenting its fall film festival sometime in early October. Details and venue will be announced soon.
We will be having a planning meeting in the next few weeks to discuss our fall event. If you are interested in attending, please email me at jim.farmer@outonfilm.org
Cheers,
Jim
We will be having a planning meeting in the next few weeks to discuss our fall event. If you are interested in attending, please email me at jim.farmer@outonfilm.org
Cheers,
Jim
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
