WHOA. Bruce Springsteen tweeted out this statement this afternoon:
As you, my fans, know I’m scheduled to play in Greensboro, North Carolina this Sunday. As we also know, North Carolina has just passed HB2, which the media are referring to as the “bathroom” law. HB2 — known officially as the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act — dictates which bathrooms transgender people are permitted to use. Just as important, the law also attacks the rights of LGBT citizens to sue when their human rights are violated in the workplace.
No other group of North Carolinians faces such a burden. To my mind, it’s an attempt by people who cannot stand the progress our country has made in recognizing the human rights of all of our citizens to overturn that progress. Right now, there are many groups, businesses, and individuals in North Carolina working to oppose and overcome these negative developments. Taking all of this into account, I feel that this is a time for me and the band to show solidarity for those freedom fighters.
As a result, and with deepest apologies to our dedicated fans in Greensboro, we have canceled our show scheduled for Sunday, April 10th. Some things are more important than a rock show and this fight against prejudice and bigotry — which is happening as I write — is one of them. It is the strongest means I have for raising my voice in opposition to those who continue to push us backwards instead of forwards.
Some people wait an awful long time before they start to come to terms with the fact there were born with the wrong gender, or indeed have the wherewithal to deal with it. Gloria Stein is one such person as she waited until she was 66 years old until she transitioned. In this slightly stranger-than-fiction story we learn that one of the main reasons that prompted her to start the process then was that as Bernard “Butch” Rosichan he wanted to avoid being sent to jail for not making his alimony payments to his second wife. To be fair to Gloria, this wasn’t the only deciding factor, but it was the pivotal point to carry through something she had been working towards for a very long time.
Butch had been an aggressive loud-mouthed Jewish macho owner of a South Florida auto-wrecking company. Balding, pot-bellied and hardly attractive but evidently he was quite the ladies man. In fact in this new documentary on her life, Gloria kept emphasizing that Butch loved women so much he thought he may just as well become one. A slight simplification for what was obviously more her more profound reasons, nevertheless Gloria’s goal in her transitioning was to become the woman that Butch would have wanted to marry.
Gloria’s fascinating tale is one of the most unexpected and surprising journeys of a fiercely determined woman with a very infectious high-spirited personality whose transitioning also enabled her to come to terms with some of her past life choices that she made as Butch and which she now regretted. Her nephew Stephen who had served time in prison for his drug addiction somewhat bitterly testified how obnoxious his Uncle had treated him in the past. In fact at the beginning of this film, which had been shot over a couple of years, he was adamantly refusing to reunite with Gloria. They did however affect a happy reconciliation. but to everyone’s regret they couldn’t manage one with Gloria’s two sons that she hasn’t seen for decades.
Gloria had named herself after her two idols – Gloria Estefan and Gloria Steinem, and starting her life all over as a senior citizen simply empowered her to do whatever she wanted too. After her sex realignment surgery she even became a dominatrix for some time, and then to her complete surprise fell in love with Dan a rather timid FTM transgender man who obviously totally adores her. However what gives this rather inspirational and very compelling story a particularly happy ending is that Gloria has used her experience to now become an leading activist for the transgender community. As an outreach speaker to youth groups in Florida she tells her story and always encourages her young audiences with her very simple creed “if you want to do something, do it now because tomorrow may never come.”
Written and directed by Emmy Award Winning filmmaker Robyn Symon
“Well, this is just like that. They keep doing it even though they don’t want to. They’re called homosexual addicts.”- Vanda,Juliana
Historical fiction is a hard genre to hack. Couple that with the idea that lesbian literature—in a canonical sense, at least—has largely been reclaimed as queer retroactively, and Vanda has quite the job to do: create a historical novel about a time period in which we know very little about queerness—World War II. This includes the experience of, the sociopolitical landscape of, the vernacular of, etc. However, throughout this large, wieldy novel (which has been adapted to stage performances, book club fodder, etc), the author manages to balance historical relevance with a history that could not possibly have been recorded to any modicum of accuracy: the life of one country lesbian who moves to the big city, the love and strife she finds, and the community she manages to build in a time of war.
To complicate the author’s job even more, war literature is an entity unto itself—particularly, the patriotism and jingoism that existed in the United States during this particular war, where there were few cases of dissent, and a collective effort to support the government from the ground up (literally: Victory Gardens). So in writing about a time of patriotism and identity in the United States, Vanda is tasked with the seemingly insurmountable labor of creating and melding personal identity (that of the queer characters) with national identity (a country at war). And she does so well, her narratives, prowess of timely language and setting, and character development lend a poignant message: to be queer was to be anti-American, in a time where being anti-American meant isolation and ruination.
Though in her forward, the author ties her interest in the time period to her own curiosity about the experiences of those in her own family (and the era of American history so many seem to be nostalgic about), the interest goes beyond that—falling into line with other contemporary queer historical fiction (thinking here specifically of Tipping the Velvet), the novel seeks to tell stories that were erased or changed, and to give voice to the voiceless.
Juliana
By Vanda
Booktrope Editions
Paperback, 9781513702216, 376 pages
– See more at: http://www.lambdaliterary.org/reviews/03/30/juliana-by-vanda/#sthash.497lPkfI.dpuf
Tender, by Belinda McKeon, begins with our heroine sunbathing at her friend James’s house, overhearing the pattern of their familial banter. She is a writing and art history major, and James is beginning a career in photography. They become fast friends, bound seemingly by their otherness – Jame is gay and Catherine is from a conservative farming family. Some sort of hunger for new experiences seems to attract them to one another and they quickly become close.When James comes out to Catherine, after she wondered why he hasn’t made a pass at her, her fascination with him grows. He isn’t just James, a boy she loves, he’s her own personal homosexual. Can you even imagine a more thrilling subject. As the story has gone between heterosexual women and gay men for eons, she falls in love with him. Because he’s desperately lonely, they fall into a sexual relationship and it predictably means different things to each of them. For James, Catherine’s touch is a substitute for the boys he longs for and wishes would notice him. It is an intimate connection. For Catherine, the sex amplifies her longing for James and confirms that he must feel something for her. She becomes obsessed with him in the way that people often are with their first loves. Between them, she downplays it as “their great joke.” In her private writings, she compares them to Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath. (Because that relationship ended so cheerfully?) She justifies not just her fixation with James with the line “what happens in the heart simply happens.”McKeon’s prose changes from narrative and fluid to choppy and fragmented as things intensify and grow more complex between Catherine and James. Although she claims to
McKeon’s prose changes from narrative and fluid to choppy and fragmented as things intensify and grow more complex between Catherine and James. Although she claims to want James to be happy, would she sacrifice his happiness for hers? For James, happiness means meeting other gay men and dating, though perhaps he doesn’t realize the extent of Catherine’s desperate, possessive love for him. As a plot device, the switch in language could be something that fell short under the watchful eye of a less capable author. Luckily, McKeon seems to be pretty tapped into the hopefulness, anxiety, and all-consuming passion that comes with a new romance. Catherine behavior is sometimes terrible, but she still somehow manages to be sympathetic.
After a series of events that bring things to a head, McKeon skips forward to almost present day wherein James is a successful artist and Catherine is an art critic. They’re given the chance to unpack the events of their wild and reckless youth with the benefit of distance and perspective. There’s a conversation, nothing more. In the end, it isn’t the weeping apologies or pledges of eternal friendship that McKeon offers us. It’s a conversation between adults who no longer know each other, though their formative years were profoundly influenced by an intense friendship. It’s an acknowledgment of who they’ve each been and a sincere wish for a good life. And then a floating off into the ether.
Saying that this is a beautiful coming of age story about a straight woman in love with her gay best friend profoundly undersells it. The language is so bittersweet and beautiful that the reader finds themselves falling vicariously in love. It is a story so true that despite gender or sexuality, the truth of being on the wrong end of unrequited makes us ache for Catherine. This gorgeous book is magic, and McKeon is a magician. Let’s pray she continues to hold us spellbound for a long time to come.
– See more at: http://www.lambdaliterary.org/features/03/16/tender-by-belinda-mckeon/#sthash.Qrm5TDQg.dpuf
Beatrice (Juliet Stevenson) and her 15 year old son Elliot (Alex Lawther) have arrived at their family’s getaway vacation home in the South of France for one last time. As the house is now to be sold as Beatrice and her husband are finally getting a divorce, they are there to pack up all its contents. After flailing around for decades in a marriage for which she confides to her neighbor never ever really brought her much joy, it is time to move on. Not that she looks any happier at the thought of a fresh start as she always appears so thoroughly depressed and about to burst into tears.
Her humor is not helped by the fact that she has spoilt her only son to such an extent that he is a self-absorbed prig who cannot bear to be in the house with her let alone, actually help with the arduous task of sorting all the possessions out. When he is out having fun just wandering around the countryside he comes across a semi-naked slightly older extremely handsome boy about to go for a swim in the reservoir. Clément (Phénix Brossard) is also here a visitor to the area but when we discover his dark secret we realize that he is certainly not on vacation.
Clément is however quite bemused when he spots how a very earnest Elliot is immediately infatuated with him. They have totally different natures and in fact Clément teases his new very wordy admirer for being a budding poet ‘such a cliche’ he says. Nevertheless they take to hanging together at Elliot’s house and it does at least mean that Beatrice has finally got a helping pair of hands with all the packing, and someone who is finally nice to her.
On an outing to the nearby town it is in fact Beatrice that steals a kiss from Clément, an incident that Elliot manages to witness, but later on he gets his new friend alone and he is finally permitted to go even further. By then Elliot’s father (Finbar Lynch) has arrived to ostensibly sign the Sale papers for the house, but before he does that, more family secrets are revealed, and Beatrice gets even more unhappy.
This very gentle drama from Brit theater and TV director Andrew Steggall unfolds at a very languid pace and but somehow it never totally engages you or quite fulfills its promise. Despite a valiant performance from Lawther (last seen on our screens as the young Alan Turing in The Imitation Game) it is difficult to warm to such an insufferable character, and even harder to appreciate why these two totally opposite young men really would become friends. Stevenson, one on the Uk’s most talented actresses, has been given little to grasp onto as her character is too one dimensional, although at least she doesn’t have to repeat her campy performance of a newly divorced mother of a gay boy that she gave in ‘Food of Love’.
Beautifully photographed and with a delightful soundtrack which does make up for it a little.
It might be online, maybe in a newspaper, magazine, or on TV, but you’re a smart kid and you like to stay informed. Lately, you’ve been hearing a lot about gay rights and gay marriage, and you want to know more. Read Gay & Lesbian History for Kids by Jerome Pohlen, and your questions might be answered.
Knowing someone who’s gay, lesbian, or transgender is nothing new; in fact, history indicates that our earliest ancestors acknowledged and were “comfortable with” LGBT people. Homosexuality appears in mythology, royalty, battlefields, art (Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci were said to be gay), and in some religions. In North America, many beloved nineteenth-century authors, poets, and songwriters were gay or lesbian, and Native American culture embraced people who were of “two-spirits.” Transgender individuals fought in the Civil War or were pioneers or settlers. We know that LGBT individuals existed elsewhere and at other times, too, because laws were made against them.
That was especially true through the early 1900s. Though we entered “the Progressive Era” in the beginning of the century, it was anything but progressive for people who were gay. When the country was stricken by The Great Depression in the 1930s, things got even worse for the LGBT community and many people had to hide their lives from general society.
In some ways, things got better during World War II. The government needed military personnel and LGBT individuals, like everyone else, needed jobs, so they signed up in droves to fight for their country. Very few were denied a chance to serve but, sadly, after the war was over, many gay and lesbian personnel received “blue discharges,” and were denied veteran’s benefits. Once again, LGBT individuals needed to closet themselves and their lifestyles. Not doing so could mean arrest or worse.
And then, finally, things started to turn around. Activism in the 1960s and ‘70s helped the LGBT community to gain rights and support on other issues, unfair laws were changed, and many people helped make “things get better.”
I struggled with “Gay & Lesbian History for Kids,” but not for the reasons you might think. My biggest issue comes with its potential audience, vis-à-vis the content: mainly, that it contains either a lot of very advanced information for kids who are young enough to be excited about the “21 Activities” here; or a lot of silly, juvenile “activities” for kids who are old enough to handle very advanced information. Then, too, the presence of said activities may be moot, since they mostly had little to do with LGBT history.
Conversely, and to the positive, I appreciated the pre-twentieth-century info that author Jerome Pohlen offers; it was interesting, but is it enough to save this book? I don’t know: the target audience here is 9-and-up, which I think is way too young. Fresh-eyed 12-to-15-year-olds may appreciate what’s inside Gay & Lesbian History for Kids, but hand it to a reader over 16, and the news probably wouldn’t be good.
Bob Mould cements another level to the ridiculously impressive and influential musical legacy he’s built over a 35-year career with his superb new album, “Patch the Sky.” It’s Mould’s third album in four years, following the stellar “Silver Age” (2012) and “Beauty & Ruin” (2014).
The gay, alternative-rock icon’s career has veered in multiple directions over the decades. He was an integral part of the widely revered trio Hüsker Dü during the ‘80s, recording albums like “New Day Rising” and “Candy Apple Grey” that are among the decade’s most hallowed in alternative rock. After departing the trio, Mould’s acclaimed first solo album, “Workbook” (1989), became one of the cornerstone albums of that era, thanks in part to the hit “See a Little Light.”
Thus started a long and fruitful solo career for Mould that continues strong as ever. Some albums have done better than others (“Copper Blue” with Sugar was particularly successful), and there are some hidden gems (“Black Sheets of Rain” doesn’t get nearly the attention it deserves). “Patch the Sky” is vintage and essential Bob Mould — it builds on everything that has come before it.
The album begins with a cascade of electric guitar descending into the brisk rocker “Voices in My Head.” Mould’s voice sounds as good as ever and the melody grabs hold immediately. It’s like welcoming back an old friend, and he’s unburdening himself the only way he knows how. ”The End of Things” is particularly savage and seems imbued with bitterness. The band plays with reckless abandon, like the whole thing is going to careen off the rails at any moment but never does.
Bob Mould’s new album is a visceral, satisfying and succinct new chapter in an illustrious career. (Photo by Alicia Rose)
“Hold On” is a tight-as-nails melodic rocker that could fit onto “Copper Blue” with no problem. Mould delivers an impassioned vocal which is well down in the mix to be part of the electrical storm surrounding it. “You Say You” is a rigid three minutes of garage rock played with tight precision. Mould has surrounded himself with ace musicians (Jason Narducy on bass and Jon Wurster on drums) for this set, and that comes through loud and clear in every song.
”Pray for Rain” is a force of nature, a potent hard rock explosion with blistering guitar. One imagines it was so loud when it was recorded that the air practically sparked with electricity. “Hands are Tied,” at a brisk 1:45, could be a raucous ode to the days of playing tiny rundown hell-holes with Grant Hart and Greg Norton in Hüsker Dü. “Black Confetti” is one of the album’s more complex tracks, with an expansive sound and tremendous vocal by Mould that’s submerged in massive swells of guitar.
Mould says on the Merge Records website that the dark intensity of “Patch the Sky” reflects ongoing turmoil in his personal life.
“I’ve had a solid stretch of hard emotional times, and thanks for the condolences in advance. I don’t want to go into the details — more death, relationships ending, life getting shorter — because they’re already in the songs. Just listen and see if you can fit yourself into my stories. The words make you remember. The music makes you forget.”
As a catharsis, the album delivers. It’s tight, potent and packed like a musical sucker-punch. “Patch the Sky” gives us everything we love about Bob Mould. The raw energy and frazzled emotion are there. These feelings are wedged into three-minute power-pop gems that are performed with blazing intensity and musical dexterity.
Mould’s remarkable career continues with yet another great album. How long can the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame continue to ignore Mould and this enormous contributions to rock and roll? “Patch the Sky” likely won’t be a Top 10 album, and it will most likely be die-hard fans that pick it up. This is a shame, because Mould is one of the preeminent rock musicians still going strong in American music, and it’s time his consistently strong and vast body of work gets the recognition it deserves.
– See more at: http://www.washingtonblade.com/2016/03/24/new-mould-album-deeply-satisfying/#sthash.n6Lqwfw7.dpuf
It seems that the celebrity death rate has started climbing of late. But really, it’s just that the famous people and pop idols of my generation are starting their natural return to the cosmic unknown. So they loom larger in my consciousness and the loss of them feels more profound.
My generation is the first television generation. We were the first kids who stayed home sick from school and watched soaps with mom, watched Captain Kangaroo in the morning before catching the bus, and then caught frisky game shows and heartwarming sitcoms with the family at night.
Straight people control the narrative, which means Duke’s camp role in Valley of the Dolls is lost in the remembrances.
Like me, you may have had an odd identification with Cathy and Patty, the identical cousins on The Patty Duke Show. One was a wild and all-American teenager, the other was prim and used words too big for the other kids. Cathy, the British cousin, stood out for her rare manners and delicate tastes. She was different. On the other hand a hot dog made Patty lose control — so yeah, that was me too.
Patty and Cathy could easily be seen as both sides of a closeted teen of the mid-century.
Patty Duke died on Tuesday, at age 69. Her story is one for the ages: A Broadway actress in her early teens, she became an Oscar-winning actress for playing Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker, then solidified her iconic status as a television sensation, recording artist, and more. Then there were the rough years: The disclosure of her bipolar disorder, followed her amazing book, Call Me Anna, and her heroic work as a mental health activist.
All these things are mentioned in the obituaries I have been browsing. But what about Valley of the Dolls? Someone has to be mentioning it.
In my Facebook feed, I keep seeing friends of my age ask why nobody is mentioning this film, which is on every gays-of-a-certain-age’s list of top 10 camp films. This makes me wonder what will happen when Faye Dunaway dies. Will we all pretend the Mommie thing never happened?
Maybe they are avoiding mentioning Valley of the Dolls because it was generally thought of as a bad movie. But whether a movie is good or bad matters less than its overall impact in the long run. And culturally V.O.D. still has a big impact.
Because Valley of the Dolls came out in 1967 and I was 13, I was not allowed to see it. But by my robust teen years, my pre-gay friends and I were seeing V.O.D. at the drive-in with contraband beer and teen angst. I saw it once on a double bill with Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, a Russ Meyers potboiler that was surely an inspiration for John Waters.
Jacqueline Susann’s Valley of the Dolls, published in 1966, was a sensational book that claimed to rip the lid off the shocking-behind-the-scenes world of showbiz. Reading it now is about as exciting as Peyton Place. But back then it was hot stuff, so the film was highly anticipated, and the roles were coveted.
It was one of the first films I memorized large portions of the script to parrot with my friends — a timeworn ritual among gay companions. It had the addictive setup of four main women characters, like so many other plots that gay men love (Golden Girls, Designing Women, Sex and the City). Because of that, you were expected to pick the character you most identified with, and then become them. Needless to say, I was Duke’s character, Neely O’Hara, the booze- and dope-addicted superstar, supposedly based loosely on Judy Garland. (Ironically, there are kinescope screen tests of Garland playing the hoary Helen Lawson role, which were made before she was canned from the film.)
There were high hopes for Duke’s performance in the film. She was pedigreed, and beloved for her television work. The film was a stinker. But oh, what a glorious stinker. And Patty Duke’s performance is right up there with Faye as all time campiest performance on film. The gowns! The drugs! The cat fights! The thousands of dollars of fake hair! Patty held nothing back. She risked all. And while she was demolished by the critics, she became a goddess of camp to men of my generation.
This led to countless parodies and remakes. There were drag queen homages and sing-a-longs in land-locked midwestern states. I saw a great version in the ’90s with Jackie Beat as the imperious Helen Lawson (played by Susan Hayward in the film).
The other female leads, Sharon Tate and Barbara Parkins, competed for audacious camp. Lee Grant slid in a stealth performance as the controlling sister. Susan Hayward was the only one who seemed to know what kind of movie she was in, and so she was least victimized by the process.
It was Patty Duke, with her take-no-prisoners technique that is most memorable, and at the risk of overusing a word, iconic. I have sat in darkened living rooms with other men in their 50s and 60s watching the DVD of Patty’s final scene in the alley behind the theater after her disastrous non-performance in a stage show. These same men have been laughing and reciting the lines along with the whole film for years. But when Neely collapses in the grit and mud and screams out to her god of doubtful existence, we all have a reverent hush. It is gut-wrenching. She epitomizes the greatest moments of camp by combining artificiality and pathos in equal measures.
So while few of the obits mention Valley of the Dolls, me and all my other friends of a certain age want to thank you, Patty, for giving us a character we could emulate, imitate, and recover from. You are Neely O’Hara.
A last-minute competition submission landed Kevin Rios at Sundance presenting Made of Sugar, a documentary short about his experience growing up in a Cuban family, wrestling with his sexual identity, and moving to New York City. Shot in moody-romantic black and white and boasting old footage from his family’s personal archives, Rios has become a filmmaker to watch, one whose story is relatable to many LGBTs hungering for inner-understanding, but also fiercely original and illuminating.
Out: Tell us about Made of Sugar. How did you get it to Sundance?
Kevin Rios:Made of Sugar is a personal film that I made in my last semester at New York University. The film reflects on my family, my first years living away from home, and how our Cuban culture is evolving. I finished the film mid-2015 after graduating college and a close friend from Miami had heard about the Sundance Ignite and Adobe Project 1324 short film challenge. I casually uploaded the film without thinking twice about it. I thought the film was deemed inappropriate, but a few weeks later I received notice I was a finalist and finally one of the winners. The winners of this challenge were flown out to Park City to attend the Sundance Film Festival as part of the Sundance Ignite program.
What was that experience like? Did you meet anyone memorable?
It was overwhelming in the best way possible. Sundance is on every aspiring filmmaker’s radar, and through this program I got to experience it in such a unique way. I never would’ve imagined the great events, panels, films, staff, and fellow winners I got to network with. A highlight of the week was meeting Nate Parker, who wrote, produced, directed and starred in The Birth of a Nation, and will undoubtedly become a huge star over the next year with his powerful film about Nat Turner.
How was Made of Sugar influenced by your upbringing?
Growing up in Miami it was impossible not to hear stories of Cuba. The tales of what our families went through to get to the States were on a loop throughout my childhood. There’s a palpable fondness of the island and its pre-revolutionary ideals that you can feel through the older generations. Unfortunately, Cubans are mostly conservative and old fashioned in their beliefs, which put me in a difficult position growing up queer. I hid a lot of my feelings and created a forced masculine exterior in order to fit in. These moments in life and fears were a direct inspiration while filming Made of Sugar. Not only was the film tackling my own upbringing, it shed light on how my mother felt leaving her home for a new country and the idealistic memories of what Cuba use to be.
Did your cultural background and sexual orientation clash?
My cultural Background and sexual orientation butted heads for a while. As soon as I came out, I began to reject my Cuban culture that caused me to suppress my sexuality for so long and truly believed I was just an American. I didn’t want to be associated with a culture that cared more about the stories in some book than the lives of the men and women right in front of them. Moving to New York for college was the first time I felt like an outsider in terms of ethnicity. I began film school with an open mind and realized that looking into the history of my culture was the only way to discover my own voice in film. I couldn’t whitewash myself. Mine and my family’s stories were the ones I was born to tell through film.
Still from Made of Sugar
How did your family respond to Made of Sugar?
My family was extremely supportive and willing to assist during production on various phases of production by providing family footage and photographs, as well as acting and recording voiceovers during principal photography. The film first premiered in Miami at the Revolt Film Festival and I was terrified. I thought for a quick second that I used their image and our culture to tell a selfish story. To my relief, I was received with open arms after the screening, which just solidified the true core of Cuban culture: Family. Overall they were extremely proud of me and it opened a dialogue with my family about my sexuality, career path and my resilience throughout my teen years in hiding.
Who are some of your creative influencers?
Xavier Dolan, Sofia Coppola, Lance Acord, Spike Jonze, Wes Craven, Pedro Almodovar, Jean-Luc Godard, Bob Fosse, Martin Scorcese…just to name a few.
Why are you drawn to film? What makes it an important art form?
I’ve always wanted to entertain. Film has had a profound effect on me since I was a child. The blending of several crafts—acting, costumes, music, photography—are all elements I have interest in. Film combines my interests into a focused medium that can inspire change in people. Film has the power to educate and illuminate and I’ve always wanted to be a part of that process.
What’s next? Working on anything new and exciting?
I’m working on an untitled short film to entice people to help fund a feature version that will take place in Havana, Cuba. After this experience with Made of Sugar, I’ve decided to dive into my family’s past and tell stories of Cuban families affected by the Revolution. I hope to join forces with my cousin in Havana who is also a filmmaker, to tell the story of my mother’s return to Cuba after many decades, with her mother’s ashes in hand.
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has announced nominations for the 43rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards and EastSiders: The Series was included in the Outstanding Daytime Digital Drama Series category. Called “Funny and Heartbreaking” by Entertainment Weekly, the critically-acclaimed LGBT series premiered its first season on Logo in 2012 and was subsequently picked up for DVD and VOD distribution by Wolfe Video. A second season premiered with an exclusive distribution window on Vimeo On Demand last fall after the production raised $153,000 on Kickstarter. Other entries in the category include East Los High, The Bay: The Series, Vanity, and Winterthorne.
EastSiders also received a nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series for Van Hansis’s performance. This marks Hansis’ fourth Daytime Emmy nomination, having been nominated three times before for playing the role of Luke Snyder on As The World Turns, who made history with daytime television’s first kiss between two men in 2007.
Series creator Kit Williamson, who is also known for playing the role of Ed Gifford on the final two seasons of Mad Men, says ”I think it’s amazing that The Daytime Emmy Awards are recognizing digital series. There are so many amazing stories being told online and it’s incredible to see how high the bar has been raised in the last few years.” The series is also currently nominated for ten Indie Series Awards, including Best Drama, Best Writing, Best Ensemble, Best Actor (Van Hansis, Kit Williamson), Best Actress (Brianna Brown), Best Supporting Actor (Stephen Guarino), Best Guest Actress (Constance Wu) and Best Editing. Past accolades include an Indie Series Award for Best Ensemble, an LA Weekly Web Award for Best Drama and a Satellite Award Nomination from The International Press Academy.