Genre Queer! Cinema at its Finest:Frameline41, the San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival
|
|
Arts & Entertainment
Film Review: “Carlos Jáuregui : The Unforgettable Fag”
In this documentary that tells the story of the leading Argentinian LGBT activist Carlos Jáuregui, someone comments at one point ‘it’s important for our community to know where we have come from’ to which we would add, it is equally vital that we know who propelled us along the way too. Every LGBT community has a hero, often unsung and unknown to people outside of their reach, and this movie tells the story of one in particular who was the outspoken driving force for equality in Buenos Aires.
When Carlos Jáuregui finished his University degree in the late 1970’s he then went on to graduate school in Paris, followed by a couple of years in N.Y. which opened his eyes to how other countries had progressed on gay rights so much more than the Argentina that he returned too in 1982. That was however about to very slowly changed and after the Military Dictatorship fell and was replaced by an openly elected President, Carlos founded the country’s very first LGBT organization Argentina Homosexual Community (CHA) and became its first leader.
What he wanted for the fledging community was visibility and so he and his lover at the time became the first openly gay couple to be featured in a major magazine spread which was extremely controversial at the time. This also cost him his job as a University Professor, but renewed his ambition to raise the stakes even higher.
By this time his brother Roberto who was also gay had moved to Buenos Aires and as he loved performing wanted just fame and glory and not activism like his brother. However when they both were diagnosed with HIV, Roberto went public with the news ….. again a first for the community … and became a AIDS activist. Oddly enough Carlos kept his own diagnosis private, initially to protect Pablo his lover, who not only had the virus but was beginning to decline, but he still never revealed his status even after Pablo died.
Like so many other gay partners, the moment that Pablo died after Carlos had nursed him for ages, his late partner’s family turned up at the apartment and literally threw Carlos and his belongings out on to the street.
In 1992 Carlos led Argentina’s very first Gay Pride March, which although it was sparsely attended and most of the marchers wore face masks for fear of being recognized and losing their jobs, it was deemed a major success. In 1994 when the Catholic Cardinal made an outrageous public statement saying amongst other things that the LGBT community should be banished to their own country, it was Carlos who instigated legal proceedings against him.
However what seems to be Carlos’s biggest legacy is the fact that he insisted that to survive and prosper the LGBT community should really totally unite. The movement he claimed had four ‘legs’ : gays, lesbians, transexuals and transvestites , and if any one of the ‘legs’ were missing the ‘table’ would fall down. It set him aside as one of few gay male leaders anywhere that insisted that we should all be totally inclusive.
When the country’s National Constitution was changed in 1994, it gave Buenos Aires the right to write its own constitution. So two years later Carlos drafted what would be known as Article 11 of the Statute of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires that proposed that you co no longer legally discriminate against people on the grounds of their sexual orientation or gender identity. However as soon as he submitted it Carlos started getting very ill and the clock started ticking for both the passing of the Law and his own life.
His very last public appearance was in that year’s Gay Pride March, but by now there were newer and younger voices prepared to take over his mantle.
After he died all of his colleagues from the political group GAY DC sat in the public gallery of City Hall as the Law was debated. Each of them had a photo of Carlos pinned to their chest, and Article 11 passed unanimously paving the way for more important laws in the future that would cover issues such as civil unions.
There was one final march where Carlos was still the figurehead when his coffin was paraded through the streets because people wanted to say goodby to him publicly and with dignity exactly like he had taught them to be about their own lives.
Whether his story will really resound with audiences outside of Argentina is a moot point, but as a global LGBT community it is important that we document our history of all the courageous men and women who devoted their own lives to improving the quality of ours that would follow. Technically writer/director Lucas Santa Ana (Bromance) had to rely heavily on some patchy archival footage and a collection of personal photographs of varying qualities, but despite these drawbacks Carlos’s story shines through so bright and was so very worthwhile knowing.
Book Review: ‘Cakewalk’ by Rita Mae Brown
We’ve gone through the worst war the world has ever known. One of the ways to ensure this never happens again is to learn, to head off problems before they enlarge. No, you don’t want to be a diplomat. But Juts, you will become a citizen.
–Rita Mae Brown
Cakewalk, Brown’s newest novel, takes on the monumental task of portraying a town caught in the aftermath of war. Whether it’s the men who fought or the women affected by the loss of their boys, the town of Runnymede is characterized in this novel with a heightened sense of patriotism. Add to that the interpersonal dynamics of its citizens (everything from gender roles to class systems to romance), and the book is a dynamic representation of pre-Prohibition, post-WWI East Coast.
The book boasts no central protagonist, but Celeste Chalfonte is as close to one as can be. A member of the Runnymede upper crust, she is a woman not only of means, but of exquisite education and generosity. She balances an active social life, a full house (including a room she still keeps for a brother lost in the war), a longtime lover (Ramelle, a woman who is referenced but never seen in the book, as she marries Celeste’s brother Curtis in order to have children), and a burgeoning new love. Through the life of Celeste and her friends, the reader comes to appreciate the multifaceted richness of small-town life in the early twentieth century.
The book isn’t a dry history narrative—Brown keeps us anchored in the interpersonal through the stories of the characters, who range in personality, age, and status. There is the high-spirited Juts, a fifteen-year-old who is eager to drop out of school and get to work. Juts’ sister Louise is kind and beautiful, and runs the fashion department at the local department store. And there are the obligatory town gold diggers—a family of wronged women constantly seeking revenge.
Like many of her other books, Brown’s Cakewalk enthralls while educating, giving the reader the glimpse into lives little talked about.
Cakewalk
By Rita Mae Brown
Bantam
Hardcover, 9780553392678, 320 pp.
– See more at: http://www.lambdaliterary.org/reviews/03/30/cakewalk-by-rita-mae-brown/#sthash.1Ub0tn9V.dpuf
Two Lesbian Artists Offer Art Inspired by Activist Yuri Kocjiyama
Co-Presented by the Asian American Women Artist Association (AAWAA) and Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center (APICC), Shifting Movements: Art Inspired by the Life and Activism of Yuri Kochiyama (1921-2014) is a multimedia exhibition illuminating the legacy of intersectional revolutionary activist Yuri Kochiyama through artworks that highlight the values and themes that guided her, and the incredibly diverse people, struggles, and movements that inspired her throughout a lifetime dedicated to fighting for a more humane and just world.
The exhibition will take place May 4th to 25th, 2017 at SOMArts Cultural Center in San Francisco. Artists of all mediums are invited to submit artworks that address key values, themes and milestones from Kochiyama’s prolific and galvanizing life – and how it relates to today’s contemporary context.
The exhibition is open to artists of all color and any gender identification in the United States, 18 years and older.
Shifiting Movements is curated by AAWAA Curator & Exhibitions Manager Michelle A. Lee (Eating Cultures, Hungry Ghosts) and features a jury including Independent Curator Melorra Green and Artist/Visiting Professor from the University of Oregon Margaret Rhee.
Dates: May 4th – May 25th, 2017
Location: SOMArts Cultural Center,
Main Gallery, 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA
Opening Reception: May 4th, 2017, 6pm – 9:00pm
Admission to the exhibition is free and open to the public, with a suggested donation for the Opening Reception. For more information please visit www.aawaa.net or email info@aawaa.net.
About Yuri Kochiyama
A Japanese American internment survivor who was later instrumental to the Japanese American redress and reparations movement, Yuri Kochiyama was one of the few Asian/Pacific Islander American (API) women activists to achieve national prominence. Living in Oakland and Berkeley from 1999 until her death in 2014, Kochiyama cultivated deep relationships with local academics, activists, artists, incarcerated individuals, and community members through her organizing, speaking, and prolific letter writing, particularly to political prisoners. After moving to Harlem after WWII, Kochiyama immersed herself in the history of Black Resistance, learning from leaders such as Malcolm X, and developing a holistic and intersectional understanding of the civil rights struggles against racism, sexism, and economic disparity. As a result Kochiyama was not only a seminal figure in API history, but was also deeply engaged in African American, Latino, and Native American movements. Although Kochiyama is highly regarded within many activist circles, her story and the breadth of her influence is not generally known, even among Japanese Americans. Kochiyama’s story is part of an overlooked history of cross-cultural activism and serves as an inspirational model at a time of great cultural and socio-political upheaval.
About the Presenter:
Asian American Women Artists Association
The Asian American Women Artists Association (AAWAA) is a national non-profit arts organization dedicated to ensuring the visibility and documentation of Asian American women in the arts. Since 1989, AAWAA has been a resource for the arts and academic communities, working to further the recognition of Asian American women artists. Through exhibitions, literary readings, speakers’ bureau, publications, and educational programs, AAWAA offers thought-provoking perspectives that challenge societal assumptions and promote dialogue across cultures and generations. For more information on AAWAA and its mission and programs, please visit www.aawaa.net. Contact AAWAA at 1890 Bryant Street, Suite 302, San Francisco, CA 94110, (415) 252-7996, or info@aawaa.net.
Co-Presented By:
Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center
The Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center’s (APICC) mission is to support and produce multi-disciplinary art reflective of the unique experiences of Asian Pacific Islanders living in the United States. Since 1998, the Center has promoted the artistic and organizational growth of the City’s Asian/Pacific arts community by organizing and presenting the annual United States of Asian America Festival. For more information on APICC and its mission and programs, please visit www.apiculturalcenter.org. Contact APICC at 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA 94103, (415) 829-9467, info@apiculturalcenter.org.
Shifting Movements is also funded in part by: National Endowment for the Arts, the RJL Memorial Fund, San Francisco Arts Commission, and Grants for the Arts.
Film Review: “A Date for Mad Mary”
It is important to understand in this totally enchanting Irish dramedy that the Mary (Seána Kerslake) in the title is not mad in the conventional sense of the word, and this is just a label hurled at her by people who simply do not know how to cope with her wild and nonconforming spirit. She has just been released from prison after a six-month stint for a vicious attack on a girl in a nightclub and the first words we here from her mouth ‘Bout fu–ing time!’ she bellows at her mother (Denise McCormack) when she is a little late to pick her up.
Mary is due to be the Maid-of-Honor at her best friend Charlene’s (Charleigh Bailey) wedding, but Mary soon discovers that whilst life may have stood still for her when she was in prison, everyone else has moved on with theirs. There is obviously friction between Mary and the rest of the girls in the wedding party, and even Charlene is rather cold towards her creating a great deal of discomfort which often surfaces as open hostility.
Determined to be able to claim a Plus One invite for the wedding the socially awkward Mary sets about trying to find a date to accompany her to the wedding. Although it is never clear what year this story was set in, it is obviously before the advent of online dating sites, as Mary finds herself at the local matchmaking agency to try and unromantically find herself a man for just one night. Scared of losing face she almost convinces Charlene that she already has a boyfriend, but when Charlene spots him making out with another man she begins to suspect Mary’s claim and some of her other stories
Despite going on several blind dates with an assorted bunch of local men Mary fails to gel with any of them, but she does however spot someone who may do though. The problem is that she is a girl. Jess (a very impressive Tara Lee) has been hired to video Charlene’s wedding but when she and Mary lock eyes the first time there is an instant connection, although they literally dance around the idea of acting on their feelings when they keep meeting up, until one night the inevitable happens.
Despite all her bravado, there is this wonderful soft and tender side to Mary, which is so apparent when she reads the heartfelt and very emotional speech that she intends to deliver at the Wedding Reception. Charlene though cannot ease up on being a total control freak and insists that instead the other bridesmaid read the self-congratulatory speech that she had written herself, and is totally oblivious to how that hurts Mary who she still claims is her best friend.
The movie set in Drogheda one of Ireland’s oldest towns, and is the feature film directing debut of Darren Thornton who co-wrote the script with his brother Colin Thornton which they loosely adapted from Yasmine Akram’s play 10 Dates for Mad Mary. This is a compelling and very warm story of this endearing young woman whose bluff exterior is a defense mechanism against what she rightly perceives is a hostile society who simple cannot adjust to anyone like her who dares to be different. Mary sees that there never will be much opportunity to escape her working class background or this small town mentality that seems to both confine and confuse her.
Yet when she is with Jess she becomes this shy coy young woman grabbing out at this fleeting moment of happiness which she soon finds out that she is totally unqualified and unprepared to handle.
Kerslake is such a fresh breathe of air with her pitch perfect performance as Mary that is such a delight from start to finish. Whilst she has all the natural innocence of her character she somehow exudes the confidence of a a much more mature actor beyond her years. She is the main reason why this comic drama is such a sheer joy to watch.
There is wonderful gentle humor that is imbued throughout the whole movie of the type that we could only expect from an Irish film, which is yet another reason to put this one on the ‘must see’ list.
Posted by queerguru at 11:50
Armistead Maupin, Chavela Vargas, Lena Hall, And More: Frameline41 Announces Opening, Closing, Centerpiece Films & 2017 Frameline Award Honoree Alan Cumming
Frameline, the world’s longest-running and largest showcase of queer cinema, is pleased to announce its first slate of high-profile programs and pre-sales for member tickets to the Opening, Closing, and Centerpiece films at Frameline41: San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival, which takes place June 15-25, 2017 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The complete Frameline41 program will be unveiled on Tuesday, May 23.
“Frameline41’s Opening, Closing, and Centerpiece films shine a light on LGBTQ heroes in every sense of the word, while showcasing the full representation of global queer content at its finest,” says Frameline Executive Director Frances Wallace. “Whether it be the fascinating story of San Francisco gem, Armistead Maupin, the bold Chavela Vargas, iconic macha chanteuse and sexual outlaw, or Alan Cumming capturing the duality between queer generations – Frameline41 presents a Festival that has something for everyone!”
OPENING NIGHT FILM & GALA:
THE UNTOLD TALES OF ARMISTEAD MAUPIN – Thursday, June 15
- Directed by Jennifer Kroot, editor/co-director Bill Weber
- West Coast Premiere
- For decades, Armistead Maupinhas deftly conjured the enchantment of San Francisco and its denizens in Tales of the City. In this charming documentary, Maupin is shown to be just as endearing, funny, vulnerable, and bold as his popular protagonists. Includes interviews with Sir Ian McKellen, Laura Linney, Olympia Dukakis, Amy Tan, Jonathan Groff, and Neil Gaiman.
Immediately following THE UNTOLD TALES OF ARMISTEAD MAUPIN, Frameline41’s festivities continue at the Opening Night Gala at Terra Gallery in SoMa. Enjoy signature cocktails and snacks, take star-studded selfies, and talk up everything in store for Frameline41.
CLOSING NIGHT FILM, FRAMELINE AWARD PRESENTATION, & PARTY:
AFTER LOUIE – Sunday, June 25
- First feature from director Vincent Gagliostro
- West Coast Premiere
- Struggling with survivor’s guilt from the early years of HIV/AIDS, Sam (Alan Cumming, in one of his best performances to date) is bewildered by a younger generation of carefree gay men with their social media, sexting, and seeming political indifference. But when he meets the seductive young Braeden (Zachary Booth) at a bar, their pants quickly come down and, eventually, so does Sam’s ossified guard.
- AFTER LOUIE star Alan Cumming is also being honored with the 2017 FRAMELINE AWARD. The award, established in 1986, is given every year to a person or entity that has made a major contribution to LGBTQ representation in film, television, or the media arts.
After the program, toast to a phenomenal Frameline41 at the Closing Night Party at Oasis. Be the first to hear the winners of the Frameline41 Festival Awards and catch a performance from drag queen extraordinaire Heklina.
CENTERPIECE PRESENTATIONS:
BECKS – Centerpiece US Feature – Wednesday, June 21
- Directed by Daniel Powelland Elizabeth Rohrbaugh
- Bay Area Premiere
- After dropping everything to move west for her girlfriend’s career, Becks (Tony-award winner Lena Hallof Hedwig fame) discovers she’s been replaced by a “younger, hotter, LA set of tits.” Retreating to her Midwestern hometown, she moves back in with her ex-nun mom (Academy Award nominee Christine Lahti), and she might just find some romance, and herself, in the most unexpected of places.
CHAVELA – Centerpiece Documentary – Tuesday, June 20
- Directed by Catherine Gundand Daresha Kyi
- Bay Area Premiere
- This is a larger-than-life portrait of one of the toughest, most talented singers of her generation, the iconic chanteuse and sexual outlaw Chavela Vargas—a favorite of filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar. She was a macha lesbian who forcefully played by her own subversive rules.
I DREAM IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE (Sueño en otra idioma) – Centerpiece World Cinema – Monday, June 19
- Directed Ernesto Contreras
- Bay Area Premiere
- The mysterious circumstances surrounding a fifty-year feud between two of the last speakers of a dying indigenous language in Mexico are artfully intertwined with bittersweet remembrances of the past in this enchanting feature, winner of an Audience Award at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.
FRAMELINE MEMBER-ONLY PRE-SALES:
Opening Night: THE UNTOLD TALES OF ARMISTEAD MAUPIN & Gala
- Film (7:00pm) + Gala (10:00pm)
- Frameline Members: $75
- Pre-sale tickets available to Frameline Members only. General Public may purchase Opening Night Film & Gala tickets on June 2at a price of $90
Closing Night: AFTER LOUIE , Frameline Award Presentation & Party
- Film (7:00pm) + Gala (9:30pm)
- Frameline Members: $50
- Pre-sale tickets available to Frameline Members only. General Public may purchase Closing Night Film & Party tickets on June 2at a price of $60
Centerpiece Film Prices: US Narrative: BECKS; Documentary: CHAVELA; World Cinema: I DREAM IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE
- Frameline Members: $15
- Pre-sale tickets available to Frameline Members-only. General Public may purchase Centerpiece tickets on June 2at a price of $18
GET YOUR TICKETS NOW – BECOME A MEMBER:
Frameline members are vital to our year-round work in creating change for LGBTQ people everywhere. When you join as a member, your generous gift supports emerging filmmakers, our youth education programs to create safer and more accepting communities, and the exhibition of thought-provoking films documenting LGBTQ lives and experiences both online and at the Festival. By joining the most respected LGBTQ media arts organization in the nation, you invest in our future and also receive an array of exciting benefits. For more information about how you can be a part of the Frameline family, please visit us at www.frameline.org/join
About Frameline41: San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival:
Frameline41, San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival, June 15-25, 2017, is Genre Queer. The 41st Festival celebrates the spectrum and intersection of identities that make up the worldwide LGBTQ community. Join filmmakers and festivalgoers alike at the largest showcase of queer cinema on the planet. Info and tickets: www.frameline.org
About Frameline:
Frameline’s mission is to change the world through the power of queer cinema. As a media arts nonprofit, Frameline’s programs connect filmmakers and audiences in San Francisco and around the globe. Frameline’s integrated programs provide critical funding for emerging LGBTQ filmmakers, reach hundreds of thousands with a collection of more than 250 films distributed nationally, inspire thousands of students through Youth In Motion, which sends free films and curricula to schools across the nation, and creates an international stage for the world’s best LGBTQ film through the San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival and additional year-round screenings and cinematic events. Learn more at www.frameline.org
Book Review: ‘The 5’ by Iza Moreau
The 5 is a novel of fantasy and mystery. Think Agatha Christie. Strangers mysteriously brought together in a house that has been provided for them. Their host, a professor named Orlando, has contacted five women and invited them to take part in her class at an unnamed university in Tallahassee, Florida, but she never arrives. Why are they there? If this truly is a class, what are they expected to learn? As they wait for the professor, they settle into the housing that has been provided and begin an investigation. But we veer away from Agatha Christie, when two of the women sleep together. Moreover, in several parts of the women’s journey, events happen that defy the laws of nature: levitation, astral flying, and reincarnation to name a few. The 5 is a tough novel to pigeonhole.
Characters have unique quirks, hidden motivations and instincts for self-preservation. The story is told through alternating points of view. The five women seem to be deliberately diverse and early on we’re given each woman’s history. Sandra is a beautiful blond with family problems and a car that drives itself. Maria is an overweight Hispanic woman with a shady past and a defensive personality–she claims to be a runaway who was at Trent State when the National Guard fired into a crowd of protesters (homage to Kent State). Sunina is from the Mideast and believes that she is a conduit for a goddess, can astral-project, and is convinced that they are all there for a reason. Carmah is an aloof African-American woman who lives with her grandma and says she doesn’t have time for the “riddles” the women are faced with, yet stays out of curiosity and, ironically, learns a great deal about herself.
Jane is the only one who has seen Dr. Orlando. She has amnesia about her life before their meeting and thinks she might be an android–at one point she thinks they all might be androids. All she remembers of her past is waking up naked in a muddy swamp with a debilitating headache. Through the tree branches, in the night sky, she could see Mars and found some comfort in that. We learn that she waited until daylight and walked until an elderly couple stopped to pick her up. In the hospital in Miami, Dr. Orlando reached out to her and brought her to Tallahassee ahead of the others.
It took me a while to warm up to this book. The book’s timeline is tricky; the story takes place in the 1980s but references to the past go back to the 1960s and 70s. The narrative flow of the story is broken when the author stops the story to present each of the characters backgrounds. This slows down what has been, and afterward continues to be, a nice momentum. While some of the author’s analogies seem cliché, others are first-class. My favorites are, “An atmosphere like the inside of an old refrigerator that has been unplugged for a week.” This is used to describe Carmah’s boyfriend’s house trailer. Sounds from another room are like “pins dropping on a cow bell.” When explaining her efforts to exercise Maria says, “You would too if you looked like you’d been dead and floating in salt water for five days.” But she really won my heart when, frustrated with the search for Dr. Orlando, she says, “If we find her, maybe we should rough her up.”
The author plays with the reader and putting the puzzle together is an interesting experience. In an Alfred Hitchcock-esque moment, Moreau gives herself a cameo in her own story. Chapter titles are unusual as they are often named after other books, from Gulliver’s Travels to Intruder in the Dust. She even manages to include a reference to Schrodinger’s cat. Eventually, the women break the law and use their skills of manipulation to get the information they need to find Dr. Orlando. Often humorous, the journey of these five women is replete with adventure, danger, and playful misdirection all the way up to the big reveal at the end.
The 5
By Iza Moreau
Black Bay Books
Paperback, 9761523418138, 318 pp.
January 2017
– See more at: http://www.lambdaliterary.org/reviews/fiction/03/07/the-5-by-iza-moreau/#sthash.Sjg1STM6.dpuf
Film Review: “Free CeCe”
With the sad news this week about the death of Alphonza Watson in Baltimore which brought the number of transgender women of color in the US killed in the first three months up to 8 now, the story of CeCe McDonald takes on an even greater significance. A compelling new documentary from Jacqueline Gares doesn’t just tell what brought CeCe to national attention, but it also focuses on the plight and dangers that trans-women face on a daily basis.
In 2011, Cece and three of her friends were attacked in the street by 4 people who had started off making racist and transphobic taunts and then one of the women attacked CeCe in the face with a broken glass causing a large bleeding gash. After this one of the men came after CeCe and tried to attack her, and so she took a pair of scissors out of her purse and turned around to face him, and he was stabbed in the chest and died from the wound.
From the word go, the Minneapolis authorities refused to accept either that CeCe had been defending herself, or that she was in fact the victim of a hate crime. They charged her with murder, but after an enormous public outcry that spread globally, CeCe was offered a plea bargain to second-class manslaughter which she was coerced to accept and for which she was jailed for 41 months. Made to serve out her time in a mens prison, and for a large part of the sentence, CeCe was put in solitary confinement.
Her supporters never eased up on their campaigning and by this time they included the transgender actress and LGBT advocate Laverne Cox (who also acted as an Executive Producer for this documentary) who was there to greet CeCe on her release and to help propel her to the next part of her life.
The second part of the movie starts with the background story of CeCe’s upbringing and family which would have been much useful for us to help understand her more if we have learnt all this earlier. The reunion with her mother and also her siblings was, like most of this story, was highly emotional but still odd that none of them had featured in the campaign to get justice for CeCe.
Over the next few years we see an uneducated CeCe develop into an articulate spokesperson for trans women of color as the community looked up to her as an example that they wanted to aspire too. CeCe was the rare one of their number who hadn’t been killed when she was attacked, but she stood up for herself and fought back and survived.
As she finds herself in demand as activist and a motivational speaker, we get to learn of the real risks that trans-women, particular those of color, have to deal with on a daily basis. Even if we had an idea about these before hand, seeing and hearing about them first hand by members of the very community, is both a shocking and sobering experience.
The second part of the movie lacks some clarity and direction, but it’s hard to fault a documentary that covers such a highly emotional subject, and anyway it makes up for it in part with some excellent interviews like that with the iconic 1960’s activist Angela Davis.
You may need a box of tissues when you watch this one.
Posted by queerguru at 17:39
School Pulls Book About Gender Non-Conforming Kid After Backlash
A pair of children’s authors is firing back after a North Carolina school district scrapped plans to incorporate their book about a gender non-conforming boy into its anti-bullying curriculum.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg school administrators had been planning to use Jacob’s New Dress, about a young boy who likes to wear dresses, in first-grade classes as part of Child Abuse Prevention Month in April. On Friday, however, Superintendent Ann Clark told The New York Times that the 2014 book had been replaced “due to some concerns” about content. Michael Hall’s Red: A Crayon’s Story, which follows a blue crayon misidentified with a red label, would be read instead.
Written by Sarah and Ian Hoffman, Jacob’s New Dress had been criticized by the N.C. Values Coalition, which supports “standards in higher education that do not violate religious freedom and free speech rights of students” and is opposed to same-sex marriage, according to its website.
“The purpose of our elementary schools is to teach writing, reading and arithmetic, not to encourage boys to wear dresses,” an N.C. Values Coalition official wrote in a statement to The Charlotte Observer. Jacob’s New Dress, the official argued, was “not appropriate for any child whose parents support traditional family values.”
The Hoffmans, who reside in California, said the furor that Jacob’s New Dress had generated was “confusing,” telling The Charlotte Observer that their book’s message was one of “love and acceptance.” The couple based the book on their experiences raising their 14-year-old son, Sam, who favored pink and once asked to wear a dress to preschool.
Speaking to The Huffington Post, Ian Hoffman dismissed the N.C. Values Coalition’s claim that Jacob’s New Dress encouraged boys to wear dresses. “Our hope, when we wrote this book, was that someday it would be considered quaint,” he said. “We imagined future generations saying, ‘What was the fuss about?’ Clearly, there’s more work to do … our book is a small piece of a much larger effort to build a more empathetic, compassionate culture.”
In an interview with The Charlotte Observer, Sarah Hoffman echoed those sentiments, arguing against the implication that the book would somehow turn children gay or transgender. “If a white kid reads a book about Martin Luther King Jr.,” she said, “will they become black?”
The couple’s book has stirred controversy before. In 2015, some parents of kindergarten students in Pennsylvania’s Lampeter-Strasburg School District objected to Jacob’s New Dress being read to their children without prior notification.
An area pastor also spoke out against the book in an interview with Lancaster Online at the time, saying that a family associated with his church was troubled since they had a child in the class where the book had been read.
“I am not suggesting that any of the school officials are pushing the gay agenda, yet their actions give the appearance that they are,” Pastor Jamie Mitchell of Harvest Bible Chapel said. He called upon Lampeter-Strasburg school administrators to “apologize, take responsibility and then publicly promise never to introduce this kind of material with this kind of agenda to our children.”
Amazon
Film Review: “B&B”
When married gay couple Marc (Tom Bateman) and Fred (Sean Teale) travel from London to a remote B &B in Wales for the weekend, their prime purpose is to taunt Josh (Paul McGann)t he homophobic owner. The year before he had refused to allocate the couple a room with a double bed, so they successfully sued and almost bankrupt Josh in the process. However what they thought would be a few days of fun and mischief bickering with the surly owner turned out to be literally a murderous nightmare in this deliciously entertaining black comedy / thriller in which they barely escaped with their lives.
The drama starts at dinner when the only other guest in the B & B that weekend was a mysterious Russian hunky brute of a man (James Tratas). He couldn’t speak a word of English but somehow that didn’t stop him hitting on Josh’s 16-year-old closeted gay son Paul (Callum Woodhouse). When Fred & Marc initially discovered their plans were to go to a local park which was a notorious gay cruising area, their reactions were actually tinged with jealous. However when snooping around and discovering certain odd things, like the fact that the Russian had a jammer which blocked all the cell-phone signals and cutting them off completely from the outside world, they suddenly started to worry for the young boy’s safety.
Fred set out after the Russian and Paul and tracked them down to the park but he soon deeply regretted his actions when he got embroiled in a drama that was rapid spiraling out of control. Back at the B&B a scared Paul, now having to deal with the fact that his father not only knows about his sexuality, but also that he was responsible for a serious crime for which he was now working hard to push the blame for onto Fred. It rapidly became a situation as to who could outwit who, and if Josh could finally get his own revenge on the gay couple for almost ruining his livelihood by getting them to take the rap for this, which would also clear Paul.
LGBT crime thrillers are rare which you appreciate is such a pity when they are as entertaining as this one which is the debut feature of Brit writer and director Joe Ahearne. Vaguely based on a true story …. well, the first part as there had been a couple of gay couples who had cause to sue Guest House owners ….this scary tale keeps you on the edge of your seat until the final credits roll.
Ahearne was greatly assisted with his superbly talented experienced cast, a luxury not often afforded LGBT indie movies, and it certainly paid off with excellent performances from them all, especially from McCann as the rather creepy Josh.
B & B is a neat lesson in making one think twice about gloating after you win a battle, as you may end up losing the war after all.