Movie theaters in California counties with regional variances can begin opening later this week if they limit theater capacity to 25% or no more than 100 attendees, under state guidance released Monday.
While less-populated counties in more rural parts of the state may take this step, urban counties in the Bay Area are unlikely to open theaters soon.
Movie theaters are part of a long list of other businesses sectors that can start reopening as early as Friday as the nation’s most populous state relaxes its stay-at-home order and moves into what Gov. Gavin Newsom has called Stage 3.
Counties that meet certain metrics, including number of cases, positive test rates and testing and tracing capabilities, can move into Stage 3.
The state recommends movie theaters implement reservation systems, assign arrival times and keep some seats empty, allowing movie-goers to maintain 6 feet (2 meters) of distance from other groups. Movie-goers should, at a minimum, wear face coverings when entering and exiting the theater or buying concessions, the state guidance says.
The state also suggests theaters use disposable or washable seat covers that are easy to clean and prop open doors so people don’t have to touch handles.
Francis Lee, the director of the film “God’s Own Country,” called for a boycott of Amazon after the company appeared to censor gay sex scenes from his 2017 film, stating that the version available on the platform is not the movie he “intended or made.”
“Dear friends in USA, God’s Own Country appears to have been censored on @PrimeVideo (Amazon Prime),” Lee tweetedWednesday. “Until this is investigated please do not rent or buy on Amazon Prime.”
A British drama starring Josh O’Connor and Alec Secăreanu, “God’s Own Country” explores the relationship between a sheep farmer and a Romanian migrant worker. While it received widespread acclaim and was even heralded as a “Yorkshire Brokeback Mountain,” according to critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, the film was banned in some Arab and Eastern European countries for its sex scenes.
Amazon did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment regarding its alleged censorship of the movie, however, reviews of the movie on its site appeared to corroborate Lee’s claim that those who watch the movie via Amazon Prime are presented with an abridged version.
“The movie itself is a good story; I am just disappointed in Amazon Prime for editing out certain scenes,” read one review dated May 16. “Shame on you for censorship.”
“This version on Amazon Prime is missing the graphic scenes, which really takes away from the film,” read another, dated May 6.
This latest accusation of censorship coincides with a long-standing charge against Amazon for offering anti-LGBTQ content on its platforms. Last year, the company removed books about conversion therapy, which refers to efforts to change an LGBTQ person’s gender identity or sexual orientation and has been condemned by nearly every major health association, in response to global activism. And in 2018, the company removed a gay conversion therapy app from a religious group called Living Hope Ministries, which included anti-gay podcasts, articles and devotionals, following complaints from LGBTQ advocacy organizations.
“Sis, you love baseball like a poet,” my late brother teased me one evening, “don’t even try to get what a foul ball is!”
He was spot on. I couldn’t tell you what a foul ball is if my life depended on it. Yet, baseball is one of the things I miss most during the pandemic. What is spring without opening day? Is anything more isolating than not being able to cheer on your home team (go Nats!)?
Our country had baseball even during World War II. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt believed baseball was essential for the nation’s morale during the war. “I honestly feel that it would be best for the country to keep baseball going,” FDR said.
Thankfully, in our COVID-19 era, “A Secret Love,” a new documentary streaming on Netflix, provides hope for we who are baseball deprived. The touching doc is a fab love story involving queer history, aging and baseball. Watching it would make even Attila the Hun choke up.
“A Secret Love” is the tale of a lesbian couple who were together for 72 years — Terry Donahue, a player in the 1940s with the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, and Pat Henschel. Because of homophobia, they were in the closet for decades. They presented themselves as “good friends” or “cousins” to everyone (including their families) except a few queer friends. The couple, native Canadians who lived for many years in Chicago, didn’t come out until they were in their 80s.
The league was created so women could play baseball while many of the male baseball players were away during World War II. Donahue played catcher for the Peoria Redwings for four seasons. After she and Herschel met in Canada, they moved to Chicago. Donahue and other players in the league were the inspiration for the movie “A League of Their Own.”
“A Secret Love,” directed by Chris Bolan, Donahue’s great-nephew, isn’t about baseball statistics or record-setting home runs. But it makes you feel the grit of the game – of baseball and of keeping your sexuality hidden from the grip of homophobia. During one game, Donahue recalls, her eyebrow got cut. She refused to stop playing and have stitches put in it. Donahue put a Band-Aid on it and kept going.
The movie “A League of Their Own” presents as hetero. Yet, I couldn’t help wondering if some of the characters in the film were queer. Donahue and Herschel make it clear that there were lesbians in the league. The league officials, they say, wanted the players to be perceived as traditionally feminine and hetero. They had to wear skirts and go to charm school. “They wanted us to look like ladies and play ball like men,” Donahue says.
Even with marriage equality, it’s still not easy to be queer – especially, for people of color and folks who are trans. In more than half of the states in the United States according to the Human Rights Campaign, you can be fired from your job if you’re LGBTQ. The Trump administration is far from being an ally to the queer community.
Yet, it’s hard to imagine how much discrimination and prejudice LGBTQ people encountered until recently. In “A Secret Love,” Donahue and Herschel (and their queer friends who are interviewed) make the homophobia they experienced in the 1940s, 50s and 60s up close and personal. You could be arrested if you wore open-fly pants, Herschel says. If you were arrested during a gay bar raid, your name could be put in the newspaper and you’d lose your job.
Despite the homophobia and the struggles of getting older (Donahue had Parkinson’s disease), the couple endured. They ran a design firm, formed a chosen family with their queer friends and got married late in their lives. In sickness and in health, for better and for worse, they were a league of their own.
Frameline Executive Director James Woolley announced the postponement of the Frameline44 San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival.
Originally set to take place June 18-28, 2020, the film festival is now scheduled to take place in Fall 2020. In addition, Frameline will be expanding film offerings throughout the year and is working on innovative opportunities to still celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride Month in June.
“During this challenging and uncertain time, organizations have to make tough decisions about whether or not to proceed with planned events,” said San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed. “While it isn’t an easy decision to postpone, I’m glad that Frameline is committed to finding ways to continue supporting filmmakers and artists who offer diverse points of view and share their stories of overcoming obstacles.”
“Since its inception in 1977, Frameline has welcomed audiences to celebrate the power of queer cinema alongside Pride celebrations in the month of June. While Pride month remains the spiritual home of the festival, we look forward to bringing the community together at a later date, to connect with the most vibrant and diverse LGBTQ+ storytellers in film,” said Woolley. “The safety of our beloved audience, staff, filmmakers and community partners must come first.”
Frameline2020 Fund Frameline has also launched the Frameline2020 Fund, with a goal of raising $250,000. With the unprecedented emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, Frameline is faced with a rapid reduction in cash flow. From the beginning of March, usually one of the highest earning months of the year, income has been interrupted and delayed. With the postponement of the Festival to Fall, Frameline will not likely see a return of stable income for months. Considerable measures to cut expenses have been taken during this time, but individual donor support is needed in order for Frameline to provide valuable programs and services as well as continue paying staff. Your donation to the Frameline2020 Fund is vital to our efforts in continuing to support filmmakers and produce our highly anticipated 2020 Festival. Please consider giving a tax-fee donatation below!
Reading Cinemas celebrates an iconic director, the one and only Martin Scorsese, in a month-long retrospective featuring four of his timeless, and quotable, films: Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas and Casino. Shows start at 7 p.m. every Wednesday, beginning March 4, with all tickets $8.50.
Tickets are available at the box office, or guests may conveniently purchase tickets in advance online, or through the Reading Cinemas US app. For more information please visit ReadingCinemasUs.com, or follow us on Facebook @RohnertPark16, or on Twitter and Instagram @ReadingCinemas.
SCORSESE SERIES SCHEDULEReading Cinemas Rohnert ParkEvery Wednesday in March
TAXI DRIVER (1976)MARCH 4 @ 7PMSuffering from insomnia, disturbed loner Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) takes a job as a New York City cabbie, haunting the streets nightly, growing increasingly detached from reality as he dreams of cleaning up the filthy city. When Travis meets pretty campaign worker Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), he becomes obsessed with the idea of saving the world, first plotting to assassinate a presidential candidate, then directing his attentions toward rescuing 12-year-old prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster). (113min, R)
RAGING BULL (1980)MARCH 11 @ 7PMArguably Martin Scorsese’s and Robert De Niro’s finest film about the life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it. De Niro took home his second Oscar for Best Actor. (129min, R)
GOODFELLAS (1990)MARCH 18 @ 7PMMartin Scorsese explores the life of organized crime with his gritty, kinetic adaptation of Nicolas Pileggi’s best-selling book Wiseguy, the true-life account of mobster and FBI informant Henry Hill. Directed and co-written by Martin Scorsese, it was chosen as 1990’s Best Picture by the New York, Los Angeles, and National Societies of Film Critics and named to the American Film Institute’s Top 100 American Films List. Electrifying performances abound, from a standout cast that includes Robert DeNiro, Ray Liotta, Lorraine Bracco Paul Sorvino and Joe Pesci, who earned a best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his performance. (148min, R)
CASINO (1995)MARCH 25 @ 7PMRobert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, and Golden Globe winner Sharon Stone star in director Martin Scorsese’s riveting look at how blind ambition, white-hot passion, and 24-karat greed toppled an empire. Las Vegas 1973 is the setting for this fact-based story about the Mob’s multimillion-dollar casino operation – where fortunes and lives were made and lost with a roll of the dice. (178min, R)
The Jewish Community Center (JCC) presents the 5th Annual Sonoma County Israeli Film Festival, March 3-31, at Rialto Cinemas Sebastopol. The festival seeks to nurture an appreciation of Israeli culture in Sonoma County, exploring the human stories and important issues facing Israeli society, and the larger world.
The 2020 films focus on issues of gender identity, love at old age, the pull between secular and orthodox, and the Palestinian and Israeli conflict, and include comedies, dramas, international award winners, and a Bay Area premiere. Israel has a robust and prolific film industry, many films of which never grace our screens – the JCC is proud to present these gems to our Sonoma County communities.
All films are on Tuesdays and screen twice on the day, at 1 pm and 7 pm.
FLAWLESS (Coming of Age) – BAY AREA PREMIERE – Tuesday, March 3, 1 pm & 7 pm Eden has a deeply held secret. An outcast at her new high school, she discovers that her only two friends have been lured into a plot to sell their organs to pay for cosmetic surgery and prom dresses. Believing she has found the answer to her prayers, she joins them on an international adventure. The film’s star, Stav Strashko, was the first transgender woman nominated for the Best Actress Israeli (Ophir) Academy Award.
There will be a special post-show talk following the 7 pm screening.
TEL AVIV ON FIRE (Comedy) – Tuesday, March 17, 1 pm & 7 pm
Young Palestinian Salam is an assistant on the soap opera “Tel Aviv on Fire.” When he is suddenly stopped on his daily commute to work at an Israeli military checkpoint, he pretends to be the screenwriter to get through. But the tough officer Assi – whose wife loves the show – has a few storyline ideas of his own. Salam is trapped in a hilarious and impossible situation in this delicious film that walks the fine comedic line of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Winner of Best Film at the Venice Film Festival and Best Screenplay at the Israeli (Ophir) Academy Awards.
THE OTHER STORY (Drama) – Tuesday, March 24, 1 pm & 7 pm
Anat flees the chaos of her secular upbringing for the discipline and comfort of Hassidic life. Engaged to marry her now-religious, formerly wild-and-crazy pop star boyfriend, her family is determined to stop the marriage and lure her away from orthodoxy. Directed by the legendary Avi Nesher, the film weaves captivating stories about the complex diversity of Israeli Jewish life.
LOVE IN SUSPENDERS (Romantic Comedy) – Tuesday, March 31, 1 pm & 7 pm
When feisty, absent-minded widow Tami hits gruff widower Beno with her car, the last thing on her mind is romance. Warned by her attorney son, Tami tries to ensure Beno will not sue her by inviting him to her luxury apartment in a retirement community. A heartwarming comedy about overcoming loss and celebrates the right to love and be loved at any age.
Important Dates: February 1: season tickets on sale; February 8: individual tickets on sale. Tickets at JCCSOCO.ORG. For more information, contact Irène Hodes, Film Festival Director.
1301 Farmers Lane, C103Santa RosaCA 95405 The JCC is a 501 (c) (3), not-for-profit corporation. Tax ID# 68-0381321.
Movies are multi-faceted to begin with; with queer auteurs, casts and crews, it gets even more complicated. Look in the Blade’s Jan. 3 edition for a full “year in review” roundup in film and many other categories, where I’ll recap more thoroughly the year’s LGBT cinematic highlights. This, however, is my official 2019 “top 10” list.
The number one movie of the year was undoubtedly the magnificent “Pain and Glory (Dolor y Gloria)” by queer auteur Pedro Almodóvar. In this deeply moving story based loosely on the filmmaker’s own life, long-time Almodóvar collaborator Antonio Banderas plays gay filmmaker Salvador Mallo whose physical and psychological ailments have kept him away from the camera. Banderas won the Best Actor prize at Cannes; Almodóvar veterans Penelope Cruz and Julieta Serrano turn and a great supporting cast turn in richly nuanced performances.
The rest of the Top 10 include (in alphabetical order):
“Downton Abbey.” Creator Julian Fellowes seamlessly moved his elegant television serial to the big screen without missing a beat. The sumptuous high-class soap opera included fun new characters (Imelda Staunton as the formidable Maud Bagshaw), delicious quips from the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith) and a visit to a gay pub by butler Thomas Barrow (Robert James-Collier). A special mention goes to “The Chaperone,” a side project by Fellowes, “Downton” director Michael Engler and “Downton”star Elizabeth McGovern which offers a delightfully subversive look at Midwest American life in the 1920s.
“End of the Century.” With bold and exciting artistic choices, first-time director Lucio Castro creates a steamy mystery about two men who meet on the streets of Barcelona.
“Frankie.” In a transcendently luminescent performance, the brilliant Isabelle Huppert plays a dying French actress who has gathered her large complicated family together for one last holiday. Working with co-screenwriter Mauricio Zacharias, gay filmmaker Ira Sachs skillfully guides the large international cast through complex physical and emotional terrains building to a powerful final tableau. Marisa Tomei is great as Frankie’s best friend Ilene.
“Little Women.” Writer/director Greta Gerwig offers a fresh, dazzling and thoroughly contemporary take on the beloved classic by Louise May Alcott. Gerwig’s powerful queer adaptation focuses on the rivalry between Jo March (Saoirse Ronan) and her sister Amy (Florence Pugh). Gerwig writes with a confident flair and directs with a steady hand; the supporting performances are all wonderful.
“Marriage Story.” Writer/director Noah Baumbach’s incisive and insightful examination of a dissolving marriage features searing performances by Adam Drive and Scarlet Johansson (who also get to perform two numbers from “Company,” Stephen Sondheim’s musical about marriage).
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire.” This sumptuous French period drama tells the story of a young female artist who falls in love with her subject. The richly sensuous and thoughtful exploration of art and romance won the Queer Palm at Cannes where lesbian filmmaker Céline Sciamma also won the screenwriting award.
“Rocketman.” Using the pop superstar and gay icon’s own music, director Dexter Fletcher leads audiences on a fantastic journey through Elton John’s early life, including his childhood, his rise to international stardom, his coming out, his addictions and his decision to enter rehab. Taron Egerton is fantastic as Elton and the costumes by Julian Day are, of course, fabulous.
“Us.” Jordan Peele’s 2017 debut feature “Get Out” was a penetrating analysis of racism in America. His second feature is a devastating critique of the American Dream with indelible performances by Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke and Elisabeth Moss.
“Where’s My Roy Cohn?” In this excellent documentary, long-form journalist turned documentary filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer profiles Roy Cohn, the closeted gay lawyer who was the mastermind the Lavender Scare of the 1950s and who served as a mentor to Donald Trump.
Honorable Mentions go to “1917,” Sam Mendes’ technically dazzling and emotionally devastating World War I tale; “And Then We Danced,” a deeply political story about the romantic relationship and artistic rivalry between two male dancers; “Ask Dr. Ruth” a thoughtful and clever documentary about the Holocaust survivor and pioneering sex therapist who became a fierce LGBT ally; “Booksmart,” Olivia Wilde’s funny and sensitive story about two high school best friends, one lesbian and one straight; and, “By the Grace of God” a clear-eyed and piercing denunciation of clerical abuse in the French Catholic Church by queer auteur François Ozon.
The list of honorable mentions continues with “Harriet” featuring a riveting by Cynthia Erivo as freedom fighter Harriet Tubman; “Knives Out,” the clever all-star whodunit helmed by Rian Johnson; “Parasite,” Bong Joon Ho’s visually stunning and searing satire on class warfare in South Korea; “The Two Popes” with splendid scenery and memorable performances by Jonathan Pryce and Anthony Hopkins as Pope Frances and emeritus Pope Benedict; and “Waves” a visceral exploration of an affluent African American family in crisis by Trey Edward Shults.
The (Not So) Guilty Pleasure of the Year was the thoroughly enjoyable “Charlie’s Angels.” Camp goddess and queer icon Elizabeth Banks (who served as producer, director, writer and star) provided a stylish, suspenseful and clever reboot of the ’70s TV series. The movie had a delightfully queer and feminist sensibility (with Kristen Stewart as a pansexual Angel) with strong central female performances, a great supporting cast and delicious cameos by Laverne Cox, Danica Patrick, Ronda Rousey and Jaclyn Smith, one of the original Angels.
Finally, a word on the passing of a cinematic era. With the release of “Star Wars” (now called “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope”) in 1977, creator George Lucas changed the way movies are filmed, scored, marketed and merchandised. Since then, the Skywalker sage has gone through some significant ups and downs, but it has remained an inescapable cultural milestone. With the release of “Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker,” the big-screen cinematic franchise will come to an end, even though the theme park attractions will go on forever.
Saint Joseph’s Arts Society and Ken Fulk, the design impresario behind the revitalization and reimagination of the historic former church, now exhibition space and arts club, announces a CELEBRATION OF TRANS FILMMAKERS at its upcoming Provincetown Film Society’s COMING OUT 2020 Party in SAN FRANCISCO to fund a new mentorship and scholarship program for emerging Trans Actors.
At the event, we will recognize the work of POSE executive producer, writer and director Silas Howard and showcase the work of up-and-coming talents Zach Barack from Spiderman: Far From Home and The Transparent Musical Finale and Zoey Luna of 15: A Quinceañera Story, The T Word, the television series Pose, and the upcoming reboot of The Craft where she plays Lourdes a trans teen. Russell Boast, President of the Casting Society of America, will also present the Persistence of Vision Award to Ann Thomas, Principal and Founder of Transgender Talent, LLC, the only talent management company dedicated to casting trans talent.
The two celebrations will be held on Thursday, January 9 and Friday January 10 in San Francisco, both at Saint Joseph’s Arts Society Club 1401 Howard Street.
Friday, January 10: COMMUNITY FORUM 10 – 5 pm; public is invited to attend a community forum titled CHANGING THE CULTURAL NARRATIVE: TRANS STORIES IN U.S. ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA Free with advance registration at http://www.provincetownfilmsociety.org
Thanks to high profile shows such as Ryan Murphy’s Emmy-winning series POSE, opportunities for trans actors have deepened. Yet, the economic, educational, and social disadvantages caused by discrimination that transgender and nonbinary people experience throughout their lives, makes it especially challenging for emerging trans actors to access the basic tools needed to secure auditions, let alone jobs.
To tackle some of the disparities in the industry, a portion of the proceeds from the event will support a year-round scholarship and mentorship program for emerging trans actors, including a financial stipend, hands-on professional training, industry meetings and exclusive access to PFS’s year-round programs, held in Provincetown, MA, America’s oldest arts colony and a mecca for LGBTQ diversity and inclusion.
Provincetown Film Society CEO, Christine Walker said, “It is no coincidence that we are launching a game-changing program for transgender artists in a city that represents a beacon of hope and light for the LBGTQ community around the world. While we are geographically positioned quite literally at opposite ends of this vast country, we share a common belief in supporting equality and creativity in all of its forms.”
Honoree Ann Thomas said, “It’s been nearly five years since I started Transgender Talent. Back then, the biggest complaint I heard was about a desperate need for new transgender faces. If trans people had easy access to fulfill their dreams of becoming a trained actor, we’d have no shortage today. But with the systematic repression we’ve faced, the growth has been extremely slow. Only those with some measure of family support have been able to succeed. With the kickoff of the transgender scholarship and mentorship program, we can begin to see young trans people have hope for the future!”
In addition to Silas Howard, Zach Barack, Zoey Luna, and Ann Thomas, other panelists include: Russel Boast, President of the Casting Society of America and the head of its Inclusion and Diversity programs; San-Francisco-based Producers Marc Smolowitz of 13th Gen Company and Stefano Gonzalez, Transfinite producer; and many others.
Providing opportunities for artists to experience Provincetown, as so many of the great artists of the last century from Robert Motherwell to John Waters have been able to do, is a passion shared by the Provincetown Film Society and Ken Fulk, whose team of designers have restored many of the town’s historic structures and are working to preserve America’s artistic heritage. His most recent project is the Mary Heaton Vorse House which will be made available for artists residencies from a variety of disciplines.
Ken Fulk said, “Despite of its diminutive size and remote location, Provincetown has played an outsized role in cinema history for more than a century. The Provincetown Film Society has continued this tradition by creating and supporting inspirational films and filmmakers for the past two decades. We at Saint Joseph’s Arts Society are thrilled to welcome them to San Francisco for ‘Coming Out 2020.’ We invite all our supporters and friends to join us for the spectacular party to benefit trans filmmakers as well as the ground-breaking symposium we’re hosting that will offer professional development to trans actors, filmmakers, producers and writers. I am honored to share this incredible organization from my beloved Provincetown with our Saint Joseph’s community.”
The event is also co-presented by SFFILM — along with the Bay Area’s The Representation Project, partners with PFS on its fourth annual Women’s Media Summit for Gender Equity in U.S. Entertainment Media.
At press time, event sponsors include: PRESENTER: Stephanie Dillon & Fleur de Junk
SUPPORTER: DKR Films, East End Books MEDIA: Larsen Associates Film PR & Corey Tong
Community Co-Presenters: The Representation Project SFFILM
For Calendar Editors: COMING OUT PARTY 2020: A CELEBRATION OF TRANS FILM MAKERS Thursday, January 9 7 pm – 11 pm Saint Joseph’s Arts Society, 1401 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 Tickets are $250 and available at http://www.provincetownfilmsociety.org
COMMUNITY FORUM: CHANGING THE CULTURAL NARRATIVE: TRANS STORIES IN U.S. ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA Friday, January 10 10 am – 5 pm Saint Joseph’s Arts Society, 1401 Howard Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 FREE with registration at http://www.provincetownfilmsociety.org
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About Ken Fulk: Ken Fulk is a designer and creative director of Ken Fulk, Inc, and renowned for his layered interiors and over-the-top parties. With a team of 50 “magic makers” to help bring his ideas to life, Fulk leads a team of architects, designers, branding and event specialists in both San Francisco and New York.
The Virginia-born designer has spent the last 20 years developing a business from turning his clients’ dreams into reality. Fulk has become the curator of lifestyles, not only designing homes, restaurants and hotels but also choreographing unforgettable weddings, parties and family getaways.
In recent years, Ken Fulk has expanded his impact around the globe. In addition to current residential work from Mexico to Miami and Provence to Provincetown, Ken Fulk is making his mark in New York with a new concept for rental residences on West 38th Street in New York, slated to open this spring. Designed like a boutique hotel with a lobby restaurant and rooftop lounge, the 224-unit building will offer residents a taste of Fulk’s extraordinary experiences, from interior design and party planning to weekly floral market and guest performances.
About Saint Joseph’s Arts Society: The St. Joseph’s Art Society is a new membership club created to inspire dialogue on the arts, fashion, food, craftsmanship, design and tech. Based out of a National Historic Landmark in San Francisco, the 1913 Saint Joseph's Church has been revitalized as a haven, a forum and a source of inspiration for artists, patrons and the public.
About Provincetown Film Society: The Provincetown Film Society (PFS) is an advocate for diverse representation in film, providing year-round programming and platforms that allow voices of all kinds to be heard via film. Locally, PFS’ work positively impacts the cultural and economic vitality of Provincetown. Nationally, its work helps shape industry discussions around parity in film. Through PFS’ work, we have an ability to better understand and appreciate human struggles and triumphs, showcasing our similarities and differences in today’s diverse culture.
Now in its 22nd year, PFS began as a yearly film festival serving 12,000+ attendees with its signature Filmmaker On the Edge(®) presentations with such luminaries as Darren Aronofsky, Patricia Clarkson, Sofia Coppola, Ang Lee, Jane Lynch, Chloë Sevigny, Tilda Swinton, Quentin Tarantino, John Waters, Debra Winger and others. In 2015, under the leadership of CEO Christine Walker, PFS has expanded to a year-round institute serving emerging and established filmmakers and co-founding the first women’s media summit in the country to address equity in U.S. Entertainment media. This year, PFS will announce a new partnership with The Representation Project to expand the program to San Francisco and Los Angeles.
About The Representation Project: Using film and media as catalysts for cultural transformation, The Representation Project inspires individuals and communities to challenge limiting gender stereotypes and shift norms. Jennifer Siebel Newsom founded The Representation Project, a 501(c)(3), in 2011 in response to the overwhelming public demand for ongoing education and social action in support of her first film, Miss Representation. Since then, The Representation Project released Newsom’s second film, The Mask You Live In, and third film, The Great American Lie. The organization has become well known for creating popular social media activism campaigns such as #NotBuyingIt, #AskHerMore, and #RepresentHer.
The ground-breaking documentary about trans bodybuilders enjoyed its worldwide on VOD, Thursday, November 7th, 2019 via Journeyman Pictures, the multiple-award-winning “Man Made” follows the extraordinary lives of four transgender men as they prepare to compete at TransFitCon, the only all trans-bodybuilding competition in the world – held in Atlanta, GA. What precedes this triumphant moment are a set of personal and diverse journeys taken on the path to self-identity and empowerment. According to the film’s press release, “’Man Made’” intertwines the nuances of manhood; the drive for social justice; and the competitive desire to forge our own paths and be our personal best.”
The film takes us into the heart of transgender male (FTM) culture, revealing unexpected truths about gender, masculinity, humanity and love. It’s a character-driven, intimate, and riveting verité-style competition film, but also a unique social justice narrative. It speaks to the ways in which we all choose to define and reshape ourselves, both figuratively and literally.
“Man Made” was directed with an intimate and authentic vision by trans-filmmaker T Cooper, who is also an acclaimed novelist, television writer, journalist and LGBT activist.
Cooper says, “I believe that this film is more vital than ever. Even though I am not a bodybuilder, I know what it means to envision and then actually take steps to build the body – and life – that you want. So, in some ways, this is my story. But it is also the story of anybody who has done what it takes to become the person s/he is meant to be.”
Executive producer Téa Leoni says, “’Man Made’ is striking, and simply feels like nothing I’ve seen in storytelling around transgender lives, either documentary or narrative. Simply put: you see this film, and it changes you.”
The documentary world premiered in 2018 at over 75 festivals around the world, winning critical and audience acclaim. Out Magazine called the film “an assured crowd-pleaser, made with great love and insight.” The New Yorker said, “Man Made upends the traditional documentary gaze… [and] resists the urge to turn the bodybuilders’ stories into narratives of simple, complete self-actualization; instead, it offers a testament to individual moments of joy-transformative in themselves.”
Festival awards include Best Documentary Jury Award, Atlanta Film Festival; Best Documentary Audience Award, Outfest Los Angeles and NewFest NYC; and Best Documentary Jury Award at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival.
You can read the Los Angeles Blade review of “Man Made” here.
Thursday, November 21 7:00–9:00 p.m.The GLBT Historical Society Museum4127 18th St., San Francisco$5 | Free for members
With its plate-glass windows looking out on the corner of Castro and Market Streets, the landmark San Francisco gay bar Twin Peaks Tavern is not only one of the Castro’s most beloved establishments, but also a living testament to the revolutionary idea that LGBTQ people should be seen and celebrated rather than hidden in the darkness of alleys and behind blacked-out windows.
Filmmakers Petey Barna and Bret Parker will present their new documentary, “Through the Windows” about the history of Twin Peaks Tavern, featuring deeply personal interviews that illuminate the history of the bar and the lesbian owners who transformed it from a straight working-class tavern into a gay landmark in 1972. The film recounts the ways this establishment has provided a feeling of home, family and emotional nourishment for its patrons every day of its 47-year history.Tickets are available online here.