Mill Valley Film Fest to Honor Out Director Todd Haynes
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Arts & Entertainment
Hollywood Films Aren’t More Inclusive, Despite a Decade of Advocacy
According to Professor Stacy L. Smith, author of a new study on inclusion in 900 top movies of the last decade, “Privilege still speaks, as white, straight, able-bodied men remain the norm on screen in film.”
The report “Inequality in 900 Popular Films,” released today, from Smith and the Media, Diversity & Social Change (MDSC) Initiative at USC Annenberg, reveals how little top movies have changed when it comes to the on-screen prevalence and portrayal of females, underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, the LGBT community and individuals with disabilities. The study is the largest and most comprehensive intersectional analysis of characters in motion picture content to date. The investigation examined the 900 top films from 2007 to 2016 (excluding 2011), analyzing 39,788 characters for gender, race/ethnicity, LGBT status and disability. The analysis included the 100 top movies of 2016. The results reveal that there has been little to no meaningful change in the representation of these diverse groups in popular movie content since 2015.
The top-line statistics show just how much progress has stalled in Hollywood. Across all 9 years examined, less than one-third of speaking characters on screen were girls/women, including just 31.4% of characters in the 100 top movies of 2016. Characters from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups were 29.2% of all characters in the top-grossing films of 2016, which is not different from 2015, but does reflect an increase from 2007. While there has been a decrease in the percentage of White characters from 2007, there has been no meaningful change in the percentage of Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian/Asian American, or Mixed Race/other characters since that year.
LGBT-identified characters represented a mere 1.1% of all speaking characters, a percentage not different from 2015. The findings do reveal that there was an uptick in the portrayal of gay males from 2015. An LGBT lead or co-lead character appeared in only 3 films of the 300 studied between 2014 and 2016. Characters with disabilities filled only 2.7% of all speaking roles, which is not different from last year, when the researchers began studying this group. However, there was an increase in female speaking characters with disabilities from the prior year.
“These are sustained and systemic problems. It is impossible to look at this data without concluding that much of the advocacy surrounding on-screen representation over the past few years has not been successful,” said Smith, founding director of the MDSC Initiative. “Perhaps we will see more positive trends in the future, given the current level of conversation and success of certain movies this year. However, until solutions focus on changing the exclusionary hiring practices and countering explicit and implicit biases in Hollywood, it is difficult to expect real change anytime soon.”
The report’s “invisibility analysis” reveals that beyond the overall statistics, Hollywood fails to portray speaking characters from diverse groups altogether. Of the 100 top films of 2016, 25 films featured no Black/African-American characters, 44 included no Asian or Asian-American characters, and 54 depicted no Hispanic/Latino characters. Further, 38 films portrayed not a single character with a disability and 76 failed to include one lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender character. “Doesn’t everyone deserve to have their stories and voices reflected in one of our most popular forms of entertainment?” asked Smith. “These findings reveal that the erasure of different groups is still acceptable to some—we need look no further than film to see a vision of America that no longer exists. Film paints a distressing portrait of exclusion.”
Looking to leading or co leading roles, 34 of the 100 top films in 2016 featured a female at the center. Just three of these leading ladies were from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups—identical to what the report found in 2015. Eight films had a female lead or co-lead 45 years of age or older, and only 1 was from an underrepresented racial/ethnic group. Fourteen movies featured an underrepresented lead or co lead character, the same as 2015.
“The deficits we see on screen are worse behind the camera,” said Smith. Out of the 1,006 directors hired on the 900 films studied, just 4.1% were females. Only 5.6% of the directors were Black or African American and 3% were Asian or Asian American. Three Black or African-American women and two Asian women worked as directors across the 900 movies. “When we look intersectionally at directors, that’s where we see just how exclusionary Hollywood is when it comes to the hiring process,” said Smith. “The image of a female director seems to be that of a White woman.”
The portrayal of characters was also examined, focusing on stereotyping and sexualization. Female characters were far more likely than their male counterparts to be depicted in sexually revealing clothing, with some nudity, and to be referenced as attractive. Teenage female characters (age 13 to 20) were just as likely as young adult (age 21-39) female characters to be sexualized.
The report also offers solutions to what Smith has previously referred to as the “epidemic of invisibility” in film. These strategies are targeted at studios, production companies, film festivals, film schools, top talent, and even consumers who want to advocate for change in innovative and practical ways. Smith’s Initiative not only evaluates media content but works with individuals and companies to implement these strategies.
The study is the latest from the Media, Diversity, & Social Change Initiative, which produces an updated report annually. Read the full report here.
Film Review: ‘Dating My Mother’
For his first feature film writer/director Mike Roma reunites with actor Patrick Reilly who starred in his successful TV series Danny the Manny about a cute gay out-of-work actor in Hollywood having to become a nanny to a surly 6 year old simply to survive. This time round Reilly plays Danny a rather obnoxious, aspiring but unemployed gay screenwriter, and even though his character is beyond annoying, Reilly the actor puts in such a winning performance that we cannot help but like him.
The story is a fresh take on the whole mother/son dynamic in what appears to be an unhealthy relationship with Joan (Kathryn Erbe) a single-parent indulging her spoilt teenage son to the point of letting him even share her bed. We should hasten to add that this is no oedipus complex just the case of a lazy youth who considers this part of the home comforts he wants to make life in New Jersey bearable whilst he waits to return to L.A. where he just graduated from college.
However the whole arrangement has to drastically alter when Joan is egged on by her best friend Lisa (the wonderful Kathy Najimy) to jump back into the dating pool again by creating an online profile. Danny, with more than a hint of jealously, is dismissive of his mother’s efforts particularly as he never manages to have any success on gay hook-up sites. He is then more than annoyed when she has possibly hit the jackpot on her very first attempt when she meets Chester (James Le Gros).
Now forced to move back into his own bedroom and take on a part time menial job at the Library, Danny seeks refuge with Kris (Michael Rosen) one of his old school pals who has a steady supply of pot to smoke. As the two of them start to bond more, Danny suggests they take a road trip to L.A. together as he is determined to get back there somehow. Kris is more than keen to go along with this, but then when Danny misreads all the friendliness and plants a kiss on the horrified straight-boy’s lips, this immediately blows all his chances of both the trip and his continued friendship.
He is not the only one who has to deal with some of the harsher elements of the real world as Lisa has just discovered that her husband of 30 years has been continually unfaithful and she throws him out of the house. Meanwhile Joan who had been the only one who seemed to have no future, is now radiant in her new found happiness with a boyfriend who looks like he is going to be around for a long time.
Roma however who had evidently used elements from his own life for the story does however ensure that before it all plays out Danny does in fact wake up and smell the roses giving this very entertaining and touching comedy the happy ending that it so deserved.
Probably the funny part of the piece is the way Roma portrays how the generations differ when it comes to ‘dating’ as Joan is all about billing and cooing on the phone for hours, whereas Danny is trying to swipe right on the endless array of dick pics that he is sorting through to find a ‘suitor’ online.
Posted by queerguru at 10:33
Film Review: ‘God’s Own Country
God’s Own Country a breakout hit at both Sundance and Berlinale Festivals (where it was nominated for a Teddy for Best Queer Feature) is a remarkable debut from openly gay Brit writer/director Frances Lee, and unquestionably one of best queer love stories for a very long time. Set in the wilds of Yorkshire (hence the title) with two young sheep farmers, the comparison with Brokeback Mountain is inevitable, but frankly Lee’s film offers entirely different perspectives on the unexpected relationship between these two rough country men, and most of all, it offers hope.
24 year old Johnny (Josh O’Connor) is a man of few words. Forced to take over the running of his family’s farm single-handedly since his rather gruff father (Ian Hart) became ill, and with his mother having walked out years ago, the only other person at home was his grandmother (Gemma Jones) who acted as the housekeeper. The farm nestled in the bleak Yorkshire moors offering Johnny little respite from all the pressures of physically managing all the endless daily chores in the most inhospitable of weathers. Added to the fact that his father was constantly complaining anytime he deviated from doing things the way that he wanted them done and told that his ideas were ‘daft’.
Each night he escaped to Bradford the nearest town and just binge drank until he could hardly stand, and would end up throwing up when he barely made it home. \Very occasionally like when he went to the Cattle Market, he would encounter a young lad who he would have a wordless sexual encounter in the back of his van, and then be totally horrified when the lad would try and kiss him afterwards.
When lambing season came around and he needed some manual help to cope, his father hired a migrant Romanian worker for the week. Johnny took an instant dislike to to the handsome swarthy Gheorghe (Alec Secareanu) who he derogatory called ‘Gypsy’ and the two men barely communicated with each other, until that is they were forced to camp out together for a new nights to be closer to the flock. They were still acting rather sullenly towards each other, but somehow by the second night the two of them impulsively jumped on each other and started making.
Johnny who knew no better wanted his usual quick sexual release, but the older man took control and forced him into a making it all a much more emotional act of making love. The transformation the next day was remarkable because in that one brief encounter Gheorghe had shown him more affection than anyone else had done in his life time.
Developing any sort of relationship beyond this was pretty impossible with the need to keep it totally secret, but actually even when his grandmother came across a used condom in his bedroom and worked out what was going on, she kept her discovery to herself. Then with the father suffering another stroke and being totally incapacitated, Johnny seized on the opportunity to ask Gheorghe to stay on longer to help out on the farm . Even though the Romanian was more than happy to do so, it was inevitable that as Johnny had repressed his feelings for so long and had never ever been able to either verbalize or even accept them, then it wouldn’t be easy. It was fairly obvious that inexperienced as he was he would that he would make some errors of judgement that would jeopardize their potential relationship.
Lee’s excellent script is based partly on his own experiences growing up in a very similar farm in that same neck of the woods, and although he claims that the work is not autobiographical, it does at least reference his own difficult in forming any sort of loving relationship in a rural area like this. A lot of the credit for the movie’s success is due to the casting decisions he made for O’Connor and Secareanu had this intense chemistry that made the whole piece sing. The young British actor has been making a name for himself playing bit parts in big production movies (like Florence Foster Jenkins) but his understated performance as the awkward gangly Johnny proved he could play the lead too. He was a sheer joy to watch. The Romanian in his first English speaking playing the sultry and sensitive Geheorge became the man that most of us would happily fall in love with behind the sheep pen.
Kudos to for the actors who really had to get down and dirty with the animals themselves. How Lee persuaded to get them to be up close and way too personal with them, is beyond us. It certainly lent a real authenticity to the piece, but not one we would want to see too much off.
On a brighter note, there was a very casual naturalness to the nudity which was unusually explicit for a Brit movie, and the scenes of intimacy which developed from being rushed to being instinctive and tender and seemingly totally un-choreographed, making them so very sizzling hot.
Lee’s drama treads a refreshing path and with this enchanting romance shot in the stark beauty of the Yorkshire countryside, it’s a film that will resound so very well within the LGBT community that it is sure to become a new favorite cult gay classic.
‘Stilettos for Shanghai’ for Chechnya
Get ready for a magical evening of entertainment, activism and passionate guest speakers to raise awareness to LGBTQ persecution and build bridges to our brothers and sisters around the world.
6:00 pm: VIP Cocktail (no-host) Reception with invited guests, filmmaker Monet Allard-Wilcox and the Sisters.
7:00 pm: Pre-show guest speakers including Cleve Jones, Mark Leno, Tom Ammiano, Executive Director of the African Human Rights Coalition Melanie Nathan, San Francisco Drag Queen/Russian Refugee Natalie Ray, Seth Rosenberg (Rainbow Railroad SF), Rochelle Fortier Nwadibia (ORAM) and a special live performance by Honey Mahogany.
7:30 pm: Stilettos for Shanghai U.S. Film Premiere
8:40 pm: Q&A with the Shanghai Sisters & Monet-Allard Wilcox hosted by Sister Roma
Stilettos for Shanghai
In 2014 an international contingent of Sisters was invited to Shanghai, China for their sixth annual Pride Celebration. Traveling around the globe to a communist country where being openly gay is as foreign a concept as freedom of speech is a frightening prospect for the average traveler, let alone a crazy group of drag nuns, but these Sisters gleefully accepted. They packed their habits (good and bad), feather boas, and false eyelashes for ten amazing days hosting events including an LGBT film festival, conferences on LGBT history and HIV/AIDS, and even a gay trivia night. From the pounding nightclubs of Shanghai to the bustling garment district to the iconic Bund, the Sisters created a sensation everywhere they went. Their impact on the Chinese was undeniable but even more impactful was the impression left by the Chinese people on the the Sisters themselves. Don’t miss one minute of Stilettos for Shanghai!
#Chechnya100
In April shocking news broke that gay men were being rounded up and held in concentration camp-like prisons in Chechnya Russia. Reports claim that more than 100 men were detained, beaten, electrocuted, tortured, and at least three were killed. Russian “investigations” have turned up very little information as the conservative, Kremlin-backed government claims that thee allegations are false because no homosexuals exist in the region, adding, ““If such people existed in Chechnya, law enforcement would not have to worry about them since their own relatives would have sent them to where they could never return.”
Public outcry around the globe has called for an end to these atrocities but the fact is that many of us feel helpless as we hear stories of gay genocide happening in Russia, Uganda, the Middles East and more. While it is true that we cannot change the long-held beliefs of an entire culture, nor can we have a direct impact on their government or laws there is something we can do. We can help our LGBTQ brothers and sisters get out of those repressed and dangerous countries. That is why we are making our U.S. film premiere a fundraiser for ORAM and Rainbow Railroad, to amazing organizations that work directly with gay, lesbian, bi, and trans people seeking asylum. It’s up to us to help them get to safety. Please consider joining us for this amazing event and know that you’ve helped save lives with your generous donation.
A personal note from the filmmaker:
My name is Monet Allard-Wilcox and I am a first time documentary film maker and nearly twenty year employee of ABC7 News. Over the last 3 years I have documented the activities of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence including traveling with them, camera in hand, to Shanghai Pride in 2014. At the time Shanghai Pride was the only recurring Pride event in all of mainland China and only six years young. Footage of the Sisters in face and costume walking the streets of Shanghai is a visual and social delight.
The crux of my documentary, Stilettos for Shanghai, discusses the status of LGBTI communities world wide, and includes interviews with Tom Ammiano, Mark Leno, and Bisi Alimi, the first Nigerian man to come out publicly on Nigerian National TV, who was forced to flee his homeland after an attempt on his life. The film discusses the very serious issue of anti gay legislation and the impact on the people living under such repression.
In direct response to this social injustice, the always courageous drag nuns travel halfway around the world to offer support, inspire creativity and forge lasting connections with a fledgling movement.
As you will see, the Sisters made a huge impression on the LGBT community in Shanghai as well as building bridges with the organizers and participants, relationships that continue today.
“Private Lives Private Lies” to Enjoy Weekend Run at Healdsburg’s Raven Theatre
The talented collaboration of Sonoma County actors and Playwright Dianna L. Grayer is proud to present “Private Lives Private Lies,” an original play about the struggles and joys from the perspective of eight LGBTQ characters. The show will take place during the weekend of August 12-13, 2017, at the Raven Theatre, 115 North Street, Healdsburg. The play will begin at 7pm on Saturday, August 12th and on Sunday, August 13th, the show will begin at 2pm. Tickets are $20 Senior/Student and $25 General and are available online at Brown Paper Tickets –
www.privatelivesprivatelies.
Dr. Grayer says, “Private Lives Private Lies explores relationship discord, addiction, discrimination, and rejection in the lives of 8 LGBTQ people – the struggles they face and the joy that comes from being authentic and free. It is educational, therapeutic, hopeful, and entertaining, and pulls from every emotional realm, including love and laughter!” Playwright Dianna L Grayer’s motivation for writing this play was to bring LGBTQ relationship dynamics to life while tackling some of the issues behind the masks that everyone wears – gay or straight.
Exhuming the Life of a Man Shunned for His Sexuality
Like many gay men in the 1980s, Miguel moved to New York City in search of a life out of the closet; he found a career in theater and a rewarding relationship. Yet in the midst of the AIDS crisis, his devout Catholic mother pressured him to repent for his homosexuality on his deathbed. Twenty-five years later, his niece Cecilia Aldarondo breaks the silence surrounding her uncle’s death, sifting through conflicting memories of a man she never really knew. She locates Miguel’s estranged partner and begins to unlock long-dormant family secrets.
Through home movies, audio recordings, family photos, letters and interviews, Cecilia Aldarondo’s Memories of a Penitent Heart reconstructs her uncle Miguel’s New York life, one he lived far from his family, especially his religious mother. Along the way, her investigation untangles a knot of family secrets, denials and repressed conflicts.
Memories of a Penitent Hearthas its national broadcast premiere on the PBS documentary series POV (Point of View) on Monday, July 31, 2017. POV is American television’s longest-running independent documentary series, now in its 30th season. Memories of a Penitent Heart, which premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival, is a co-presentation between POV and Latino Public Broadcasting.
Born and raised in the 1970s in Puerto Rico, Miguel Dieppa was a gay man eager to leave the island in search of Broadway fame in New York City.
Aldarondo’s investigation begins with a two-year search for Miguel’s long-time partner, Bob, who disappeared after Miguel’s funeral. When she eventually finds him, he is living in Pasadena, California, as Father Aquin, a Franciscan monk. Through the reminiscences of Aquin and others who knew him, Miguel emerges as a charismatic and vivacious actor and playwright, struggling to live comfortably in his own skin.
We see glimpses into Miguel’s restlessness in his autobiographical play, Island Fever: “I guess that’s a diagnosis for my case. It’s that feeling that creeps on up on those who have known wide spaces, or long to do so.”
Miguel seems eternally torn between two identities. His New York friends know him as Michael, a freedom-loving gay thespian, while to his family in Puerto Rico he remains Miguel, the obedient son who downplays his sexuality.
Unexpectedly, Miguel begins to get sick, and although he refuses to be tested, telltale skin lesions on his legs indicate AIDS as the underlying illness.
Miguel’s illness places Bob on a collision course with Miguel’s mother, Carmen, as the two come to represent opposing faces of faith. Fearing that her son is not yet “dead to life but dead to grace,” Carmen feels Miguel can only find redemption if he repents.
Delving into her family’s trove of secrets, Aldarondo’s Memories of a Penitent Heart examines the light and dark sides of faith and how we fight over the memories of those we love. In the director’s intensely personal film, Miguel’s friends and family reflect on their imperfect relationships. Considering her own flaws, Miguel’s sister (Aldarondo’s mother) Nylda reflects, “The bottom line is that we all need to survive and we use different ways of surviving, according to our gifts, our limitations and our circumstances.” That prompts her daughter to ask, “Can’t we survive and look out for others as well?”
Memories of a Penitent Heartis a brave and honest exhumation of buried resentments that ultimately reveals how reflections on grief, betrayal and love bring us closer to reconciliation.
“Cecilia Aldarondo’s beautiful and evocative film explores not only the difficulties of being Puerto Rican in America, but also what it means to be gay and shunned by your community, family and church,” said POV executive producer Chris White. “This personal and complex portrait of her uncle and those who loved him shows how hard it can be to reconcile religion and sexual identity—and how blurry the line between sinners and saints can be.”
‘Families Like Yours’ Documentary Celebrates LGBT Families at World Premiere
The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) announced Tuesday the world premiere of Families Like Yours, a powerful documentary exploring the love, compassion, sacrifice, and success of LGBT families in America. Bristol-Myers Squibb, Dk Realizadores, NGLCC, and Wells Fargo underwrote the film’s production. Deutsche Bank and Hilton presented the premiere screening in New York City July 17.
Through candid interviews and humorous real life stories, Families Like Yours demystifies LGBT families and their lives, showcasing that they are just as loving, busy, and complicated as any other family. Families Like Yours follows five families as they attempt to balance work and school, rush kids to sports practice, and deal with diaper duty. From all across the nation and in all different stages of family life, from conception to grandchildren, these families represent a cross-section of the modern American family– the only difference is that they are LGBT families.
“It has never been more important to showcase the richness of diversity in America. LGBT families are a fixture of every community in this country, and Families Like Yours demonstrates why love, dignity, and respect for all is a virtue that should unite each of us,” said NGLCC Co-Founder and President Justin Nelson, who is an Executive Producer on the film along with NGLCC Co-Founder and CEO Chance Mitchell. “This film is dedicated to the brave and inspiring LGBT families across the nation who overcome discrimination and fear as they work hard, give back to their communities, and strive to achieve the American Dream just like everybody else.”
Award-winning filmmakers Rodolfo Moro and Marcos Duszczak are the creative team behind a parallel film in Argentina, Familias por Igual. The film was widely praised, receiving several prestigious awards that added momentum to Argentina’s LGBT equality movement.
Families Like Yours will next be screened at the 2017 NGLCC International Business & Leadership Conference in Las Vegas, ahead of submissions to film festivals and LGBT conferences around the world.
Russia’s Bolshoi cancels ballet about gay dancer 3 days before premiere
Russia‘s Bolshoi Theater has canceled a much anticipated ballet about dancer Rudolf Nureyev just three days before the opening night.
Bolshoi made the announcement Saturday, saying that Tuesday’s premiere has been canceled. The ballet about Nureyev who defected from the Soviet Union to the West in 1961 was directed by Kirill Serebrennikov, known for bold productions that poke fun at Russia’s growing social conservatism.
Serebrennikov was detained and questioned in May in a criminal case over embezzlement of government funds. He denies wrongdoing.
Speaking to journalists Monday, Bolshoi director Vladimir Urin denied reports that the show had been scrapped because of its frank portrayal of Nureyev’s gay relationships. Urin simply said that the ballet wasn’t ready and it will instead premiere next year.
Netflix Developing New Installment of ‘Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City’
Netflix is developing a new installment of “Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City” with Working Title Television U.S. Laura Linney and Olympia Dukakis are on board to revive the characters they played in Showtime and PBS adaptations of the landmark LGBT-themed novel series in the 1990s.
Michael Cunningham (“The Hours”) has penned the first script for what is envisioned as a 10-part installment, although the project does not yet have a series order from Netflix. Maupin would return as an executive producer, and Alan Poul is on board to direct. Netflix declined to comment.
Prolific novelist Maupin launched the series that follows a colorful, diverse group of characters living in San Francisco as a newspaper serial in 1976. He has published nine novels in the “Tales” series, with 2014’s “The Days of Anna Madrigal” said to be the final edition of the book series.
“Tales” focuses on the residents of a boarding house at 28 Barbary Lane run by Anna Madrigal, played by Dukakis. The Netflix series would be set in the present day, focusing on Linney’s Mary Ann Singleton character as she returns to San Francisco and the boarding house after 25 years away.
The book series has long been hailed as a cultural touchstone for the LGBT community with its finely drawn portrayals of gay, straight and transgender characters and their struggles. The “Tales” novels were among the first to address the AIDS crisis.
PBS carried the original six-part “Tales” miniseries in January 1994, which generated controversy in some regions for its depiction of LGBT relationships. Showtime ran the subsequent miniseries, 1998’s “More Tales of the City” and 2001’s “Further Tales of the City.”
