Save Me wins Audience Award for Best Feature

Save Me, starring Chad Allen, Robert Gant and Judith Light, narrowly (by 1 point) beat out Opening Night favorite Breakfast with Scot to snag the Reel Affirmations Audience Award.


The intersection of homosexuality and religion comes into sharp focus at the ex-gay ministry run by Judith and her husband. The Christian aspect of life at Genesis House is rarely played for laughs and is afforded a nobility of cause that in other scripts might have been lost. The men residing at the home, a fairly whitebread assortment of gay men in various stages of "acceptance" are treated as family members, privy to secrets and (and often quick to exploit shared confidences in moments of pique).
Chad Allen, the bad boy battling both meth and mommy issues, soon falls into an easy comraderie with Robert Gant, whose long tenure, ties to the area and affable nature has accorded him favored status among the other men, the townsfolk and Judith.

What lends Save Me its heart is the struggle both men endure as they grow closer, foregoing the "embrace, then agonize" motif expected. Alan is genuinely torn - he basks in praise earned for a scripture reading and takes to heart his role as friend and mentor to the younger men.
Inevitably, matters come to a head - in ways both gasp-inducing and laugh out-loud funny, as the two men's live become more entwined. In the end, though, the dignity and reason that seems to be so often lost on either side of the culture war prevails- imbuing the film with a profound acceptance of what can be gained - by simply adhering to a few basic commandments.
-mm

Opening Weekend - What a success!

WoW! From the very first shot of Breakfast with Scot to the last cocktail being poured at town - Opening Night was amazing.



Every year, it seems that the festival gets bigger and better - and this year's was the best yet!


Just a quick rundown - Thursday was Opening Night, Friday was crazy with our Boystown party and the appearance of the devilish Matt Riddlehoover, star of our late night flick Watch Out.

Saturday kicked off our women's weekend with Steam (Kate Siegel pictured above) and our party at Jackie's! The next day was even more crazy - nearly 400 women made their way to Alero for our fabulous Women Filmmakers Brunch.

Saturday was also one of the most compelling days of the festival - SMYAL led a panel discussion on anti-gay violence after the screening of Dreams Deferred: The Sakie Gunn Story.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's Queers Rock Party sponsored by The New Gay. It's after our Pansy Division screening.
And tonight, we have more films - the indie hit Half-Life, the stellar U People, and Fabulosity (a great selection of men's shorts).

Stay tuned for more films this week!
mm

Holly Freakin' Woodlawn!

Film has been pretty good to me.. I"ve traveled to incredible film festivals, met amazingly talented filmmakers, and have seen more great films than I've ever dreamed possible.

Film is such a part of my life that I don't even question it anymore... there's one great moment after another.

And every once in a while - in a life filled with cool moments - comes an opportunity to stretch emotionally, intellectually - to participate rather that just observe.

That was this Saturday, when I had the pleasure of interviewing one of my heroes - Andy Warhol Superstar Holly Woodlawn. If the name doesn't ring a bell, this might...

Holly came up from Miami, F-L-A-

Hitchhiked her way across the U-S-A

Plucked her eyebrows on the way

Shaved her legs and then he was a she

THAT Holly Woodlawn!

It was such a reat to check out mentally from preparations for Reel Affirmations and spend a few hours each evening re-watching old Warhol films like Trash, Women in Revolt, and Flesh.

And reading (again) all about that era of artists shocking audiences and audiences trying to shock the artists.. aaahh..

And Holly was amazing - so wonderfully gracious and full of nothing but positive energy and a refreshing outlook on life. 

We sat on stage and she simply talked about living in the same tenement building as Miss Eva, the drag queen who inspired Dog Day Afternoon, and how Ethel Merman drank cheap wine, and what a great kisser Jim Morrison was. 

This woman did it all .. she was a department store model, a silent film actress, had a successful cabaret act... did jail time for stealing from the French diplomat's wife... love it!

She's truly an inspiration...

The Diva League hits the streets

Check this out... the ladies of town made a short film. In all honesty, it features the best drag queen fight sequence ever put to film!

To watch it.. . click on the link above.

If you missed Trailer Trash last Saturday, you missed one of the coolest things I've seen in a while. The entire show, hosted by the lovely Lena Lett, featured songs from films. I may be a film geek, but I hardly recognized ANY of the songs. I'd sit there, all slack-jawed, mentally flipping through the fairly sizable rolodex of film trivia in my head, only to come up blank. Then I'd look around the room and every other person was singing along. The closest I came to identifying one song was to narrow it down to "Little Shop of Horrors" or "Sweeney Todd".  I could tell someone was dying a gruesome death, but I couldn't quite tell how. Sorry... I don't think we even had a theater department in my high school... 

In between songs, they'd play a trailer from the festival.. it was very coo. 

Anyway, it was a great show... definitely don't miss it next year. 

How cool is this??!!

Confession time... I love documentaries. It's the film geek in me, plus it's a really easy way to feel informed.

Anyway, we have some great docs this year, AND we're hosting a panel discussion on the importance of docs, especially to the LGBT community. Seriously.. right now is an incredible time for us. There's a lot of media attention - good and bad - on causes of importance to us, and it's vital that we be the ones to document the movement. That's why I'm so excited about our Making a Difference with Docs panel - and look who's going to be on it!

If you have any interest in geeking out for a day, definitely don't miss this.

It's at AFI, Saturday, Oct. 18th 2:45 pm.

Tami Gold, professor in the Dept. of Film & Media Studies at Hunter College (CUNY), has produced and directed films about controversial or often ignored subjects that have been broadcast on HBO and PBS and screened at the Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, and the Museum of Modern Art among other venues. Her groundbreaking film, OUT AT WORK: Lesbians and Gay Men on the Job, raised critical issues about workplace rights, the role of legislation and labor unions and, ultimately, human rights for all.

Joe Wilson and Dean Hamer, local documentary filmmakers whose work demonstrates how the camera itself can be used as a tool for activism, particularly in out of the way places. Their current work-in-progress, OUT IN THE SILENCE, chronicles their exhilarating journey through love, hate and understanding in small town America as residents of Joe’s hometown in the hills of northwestern Pennsylvania grapple with the firestorm of controversy over the publication of his and Hamer's wedding announcement in the local paper.

Cathy Renna, nationally recognized media relations expert with nearly two decades of communications experience and special expertise in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues.

Jaime Grant, Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute and longtime organizer and activist in the LGBT movement.

Voting fever hits One in Ten

Okay.. the conventions are over and the next big thing to hit DC will be Reel Affirmations.

I can sum up all the excitement with the three Ds: Dance parties. Drag queens. Documentaries.

Then, of course, there are the three Fs: Films. Fun. Filmanthropy. (That means spending your money at the film festival goes to a good cause, namely... next year's Reel Affirmations).

Here at OIT party headquarters, we're meeting with strategists daily, even hourly in some cases. We've got our delegates out on the street - talking up the festial in bars and coffee shops. And we've got our crack design team - sequested in a bunker in Columbia Heights - working on the slickest set of propaganda since, well... I won't even go there.

In a mere 72 hours, TeamWeb08 will unveil our state-of-the-art reelaffirmations.org - the best version yet. You'll be able to create festival calendars, see how many people have viewed a certain film, email friends about your film selections, watch trailers... it's almost like going to the festival - without even leaving your desk.

So.. come back in 72 hours and see what we have in store for you.

The Women are Coming! And the Satyrs! And Jackie O!

Seriously.. one of my favorite things about a film festival is that they appeal to so many different types of people. It goes way beyond gender, class and race... there's a unique niche for everyone.
This year, with Reel Affirmations, the films are great, of course.
But what's really cool this year is how many different parties we have scheduled BEFORE the festival even starts.

We have The Women, starring Joan Crawford and Norma Shearer. Then, we have our Schrwarzwald event, which is such a cool concept! It's put on by the guys from Saint at Large, and hopefully offer something to a segment of our community that we don't serve all that much - the leather and club crowd.
Before the actual craziness of seeing Schwarzwald, we're hosting a Trailer Trash night downstairs!

And after that... we have our VIP party at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.. how cool is that? I want everyone to bring cameras and post them to one of our facebook/myspace/flickr/friendser/linkedin pages... who can keep track... there's so many of them. I'd love to invent an app that allows me to update every single one at the same time.
Oh well...

Everything will be posted on the website soon, but here are all the details in case anyone's reading.

• Sept. 27th: Trailer Trash & Schwarzwald at town
Trailer Trash/VIP Drag Queen Party begins at 8 pm; Schwarzwald Dance Party begins at 11 pm
2009 8th St. NW, Washington, DC
Trailer Trash: Join town’s cavalcade of drag queens and dancers as they pay an homage to the movies and screen trailers from some of the biggest and most important movies that will be screened at Reel Affirmations 2008! Enjoy movie themed snacks, songs and shows in this super fun VIP preview of what’s to come.

Schwarzwald: The Movie You Can Dance To comes to us from Saint at Large, the producers of NYC’s legendary Black Party. Appropriately enough, it features a soundtrack that will have asses shaking and imagery that will make jaws drop. Darkly erotic, Schwarzwald is unlike anything to have hit DC . Writer-director Richard Kimmel has crafted a work that combines scenes from the infamous Black Party with footage filmed at Whipman's Estate in Otisville, N.Y. The party sequences—voguing queens doing runway, gorgeous sculpted dudes rocking the dance floor in bizarre outfits—are melded with a tableau of outdoor sex scenes, overlaid with a Merlinesque aesthetic. Featuring Buck Angel, Blu Kennedy, and Daniel Cartier, these segments illustrate carnal pagan rituals through the use of animal masks, fetish gear, bondage play, and group sex. Oh my…

• Oct. 1st: VIP Seating Party at Madame Tussaud’s 7-9 pm
1025 F street NW, Washington, DC, 20004
Join Reel Affirmations sponsors and VIPs for a new twist on an old-tradition! Our VIP Seating Party is a beloved perk – the chance to mingle with guests, sponsors and VIPs; all while learning a bit more about the upcoming festival. This year, we’re taking the Seating Party on the road to one of DC’s newest attractions – we’ll be at Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in Chinatown. Mingle with celebrities, historic figures, and politicians from our past (and future) in this twisted take on a classic event!

• Oct. 16th: Opening Night Party at town 9PM to late
2009 8th St. NW, Washington, DC
Town danceboutique is DCs hottest club – a cabaret performance space, sleek lounge and stat-of-the-art nightclub all rolled into one sexy space! Join Reel Affirmations after our Opening Night Film, Breakfast with Scott, for complimentary Blue Moon beverages, the best DJs in town and a crowd of festival fans, VIPs and invited guests.

To RSVP for all events, please call Blaire Postman at 202.986.1119 or email bpostman@oneinten.org

Great... it's all my fault...

Not such good news for the film loving community of DC.
The National Museum of Women in the Arts is in the process of shuttering their film and media arts program.
For the past three years, NMWA screenings been one of this city's best kept secrets - provocative, artistic, and brilliantly curated.

If you've had the good fortune to visit, you would have seen:
- The work of Euzhan Palcy, who was the first Black woman to direct a Hollywood film (A Dry White Season)
- Films from the African Diaspora
- The premiere of The Last Mistress by Catherine Breillat (as an aside - what a brilliantly beautiful film!)
- And on August 27th, NWMA and One in Ten are partnering on a retrospective of Cheryl Dunye's short films. Come to this. Seriously.

Dunye is arguably the reason that I run a gay film festival - I still passionately believe that festivals continue to be the foot in the door for incredibly talented filmmakers.

That she's now living in Amsterdam, after a brief flirtation with Hollywood, seems to increase her awesomeness even more somehow. Hell, if filmmakers take that foot in the door and use it to bunk off to another country, more power to them! She's built up enough karmic goodwill with Watermelon Woman and Stranger Inside that she could spend the rest of her life directing commercials for Hummers and still come out ahead.

Back to NMWA's decision, though, and this maelstrom of emotion it's brought up in me.
In this day and age, when it seems that there is a very public disavowal of women's film, their decision seems incredibly short-sighted. No longer can museums function simply as a receptacle for the past - they have to look forward to survive. And frankly, including a film program in an art museum isn't even progressive any more - it should be a fait acompli. Not only does this ignore years and years of female filmmaking (Dorothy Arzner, anyone?) but it effectively closes the lens on any number of women making films - women in Cambodia, Africa, Nepal - whose work will never see the light of day unless there are programs like this in existence.

So, yeah.. it sucks..

As someone who runs an arts-focused non-profit, though, I get that it's tough to fund every program. And this decision is part of a larger issue of funding for women's art, or work, in general.

And I feel a personal responsibility, which also sucks. I'm THAT person. I love the fact that DC has so many film offerings. I talk about it all the time. It's one of my rationales for living here. The festivals. The embassies. The museums. Every single time I attend a film screening at one of these venues, I think to myself "Why don't I do this more?" and vow to make it a weekly habit. And the very next night, I drag myself out of the office and plop in the next Netflix video. Which, admittedly, is usually some TV show like The Wire.
You know how people have a designated friend to get rid of all their porn in case of their untimely death? I need to designate a friend to populate my Netflix queue with art films and delete my history of Seasons 1-4 of The Family Guy.

And frankly.. I'm sick of being told that it's the fault of women that we don't have enough films, enough art, enough funding.
The head of Showtime said that they'd never do another L Word because they don't make any money off of it - women tend to go to L Word parties at bars or at their friend's houses. But I don't see ESPN lamenting the demise of boxing and baseball because of sports bars.

And yes.. I realize that's a flawed argument to a certain extent. And that my simplistic reply to their simplistic premise is a quick race to the bottom and it doesn't matter because in 5 years we're all going to only be watching videos of cats jumping off tables on YouTube anyway and Bill Gates or Steve Jobs or Sergei Lim or whoever ultimately comes to own the Internet is going to be the only person making any money.


And there you have it, folks. Another long-winded rant that comes to no conclusions and resolves not one damn thing.

Ballyhoo!

A few weeks ago, and yes.. I should have posted about it long before now, I was asked to present the film Dog Day Afternoon at the National Portrait Gallery as part of their Ballhoo! exhibit.

It was incredible fun, especially as it gave me an opportunity to look back at one of the finest moments in queer cinema - and reflect on how things have changed.
Well, in my honest opinion, things have not gotten much better, and I don't see queer cinema ever living up to the early heights achieved by Derek Jarman, Gus Van Sant, et al.

From my perch in a little office in Dupont Circle, we are seemingly close to winning the culture wars. I receive daily missives from all the big guns - HRC, NGLTF, Victory Fund, Stein Club, SLDN. At the very least, we've certainly made great strides in getting issues of importance to the LGBT community out in front of the electorate. The majority of folks believe we should have some sort of marriage rights, presidential candidates are forced to take a stand on the issue, there are congressional hearings on Don't Ask, Don't Tell, and gay adoption is on the rise.
Not to mention the standing room only lines at City Halls throughout California.

And I say hooray and huzzah for every single person who has reaped the benefit of these organizations' hard work.

To the newly married - salud!
Stroller shopping right now and painting the nursery? - Mazel tov and congratulations on undertaking a rigorous and expensive process that the straights are allowed to engage in with abandon!
Recently discharged and battling for benefits? I offer you every bit of courage I have so that you can fight the hypocrisy of a government that will allow you to fight, but not to love (sorry.. sounds a bit Hallmark-y, doesn't it?)

But... and here's the rub for me... as much as I applaud the progress made in the civil rights struggle for gay equality, I'm afraid that it doesn't make for good cinema.
Yes, I know.. call me shallow...

Great cinema comes from struggle, from oppression. The best films center on an act of rebellion - whether it's an epic morality tale (The Godfather) or the simple act of playing hooky(Ferris Bueller's Day Off).

Even the fluffiest of films - I'm looking at you, SATC - have at their very heart and soul a conflict.

And I'm afraid that as we wend our way into the mainstream politically, we will lose some of that inherent drama. Sure.. no one wants to go back to the days of a dead lesbian in every film, or the bleak futility of Cruising.
But there are maybe two films, out of all that I reviewed, that harkened back to that sense of urgency when we truly felt that our existence depended on getting our stories out there. There was a sense - horrible and heady - that we were under attack and we looked to art as our saviour. It was the only outlet we had. We certainly weren't, until Act Up and other activist groups pushed the issue, allowed to engage in any meaningful public discourse.
Now that we're at the table, we're not in a darkened editing booth.

Don't get me wrong... I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the fact that we (festival spoiler here!) are showing Gays Gone Wild - Another Gay Sequel. When I previewed the film, I rolled on the floor laughing. At times, I begged someone to turn it off - it is one of the most disgustingly funny films I've ever seen.



But I'm equally happy that we're showing Bruce LaBruce's Otto, or Up with Dead People.
LaBruce always takes chance - and while he pushes many of the same buttons that Todd Stephens does, there's an underlying pathos that resonates with me.

There's a place in the world - and Reel Affirmations - for both of these films.
I just wish there was a bit more grit and a little less fluff.

Rundown of offical One in Ten activities in the past 2 weeks

1. Watch movies - some good, some not so good.
Let's concentrate on the positive and mention some of the good ones:

Boystown - ha! A sexy realtor decides that his up and coming territory isn't gentrifying fast enough - more minimalist condos NOW please. What's a hungry realtor to do when the long-time residents refuse to hoof it off to the nursing home? Well, you'll just have to come see the movie and find out.
The Spanish do zany comedy like no other country. Boystown is murderous and dark, like a Serbian film, but the people laugh more.

Were the World Mine - god, I love this film! It's like an great novel - the true emotion doesn't unveil itself until nearly 2/3 of the way in.

U People - a great story told while a group of African American women shoot a music video in Brooklyn. This film is an epic - covering everything from hair styles to bisexuality - in a sing-song flow of love and respect.

With Gilbert and George - if only more of us devoted ourseles completely to our art.

More films to come - this is just the tip of the iceberg.

What else have we been doing over at OIT HQ?
Going to dance parties! TNG rocked out over the weekend, and we were right there. Caught up with some of our favorite folks and headed off for some quiet reflection on fake boobs on lesbians, sexism, and all the other things that lesbians love to talk about.

3. Putting together an amazing festival this year. Again.. more to come and the posts will appear on a much more regular basis - so come back often.

Still recovering...

..from the taping of Laugh Out Loud this past weekend, entertaining the film crew, and hanging with Jackie Monahan and Chris Doucette.
If you weren't there, you should have been - it was seriously hilarious.
And I'm not talking about the grumpy attendee (you know who you are), the DC vs. LA catfight that almost broke out, or our poor PA Christina, who was almost struck by lightning. Okay, that last part's not hilarious at all... I get that.
Festivals are all about pulling the velvet curtain just enough to see the picture - but I live for the peeks behind stage.

Sadly, I'm sure there's a non-disclosure agreement in each of the many contracts bandied about this weekend, or I'd dish some more.

Here's a rundown of some of the "official events" leading to the actual taping of the show on Saturday night.

Friday afternoon: Film crew starts arriving, which is good because we've coordinated airport runs so that we can pick up a camera person here, a comedian there, and not spend all day in the car.
Except... Vidur has missed his flight. Now, Vidur Kapur is Logo's darling - he's been nominated for New, Now, Next Award and he's going places. Just not DC.
I'll say it first - but out of all the personas I'd like to try on during international travel, gay Southeast Asian trying to book a one-way flight into the nation's capitol isn't one of them.

With one less airport run to make, we all decide to meet at the Women's Networking event at Chi-Cha Lounge, which was sponsored by One in Ten and a bunch of other great organizations. Yeay ADKLN - still keeping DC a great place for ladies!

Andrea Meyerson, the director and her crew: Sheila, Phillip and Tavia all pile into our car (Leesil graciously riding in the back back) and we head off to ChiCha's, where two of our board members are holding court.

Mel's all about the ladies, and she usually has a posse of them following her around, but she seemed to be relatively unencumbered. Of course, this meant that I instantly put her to work handing out fliers.
Courtney was there with a friend, and since she's our treasurer, I keep her free for more important stuff.
Then it's off to Hook - for more wine, geography lessons from our Australian server (who used to work at Veritas - he knows his stuff), and some yummy homemade s'mores.

We were the last to leave, which seemed to be the start of a motif for the entire weekend.

The next day, all the comics start arriving, and the film crew heads off for some shopping. In the meantime, we're frantically putting together the last minute requests for tickets, making signs, etc...
Andrea tried to make reservations for West End Bistro, but they were booked. Probably for the best.. we all have a huge day tomorrow and turn in early. I stayed home and caught up on film previewing (The Lost Coast by Gabriel Fleming will be THE surprise hit of the festival - mark my words).


By 10 am, the crew is in place and Leesil and I are heading to Crafty Bastard to check out the wares and to see if it's a possible spot for some Reel Affirmations parties this fall.

More excitement to come - but I have to run into a meeting now.

Ballyhoo! at the National Portrait Gallery

If you haven't been yet, I suggest a quick trip down to Chinatown to check out this exhibit.
Not only doi you get the Poster as Portraiture exhibit, NPG still has the Recognize! hip-hop exhibit on the walls. There are some great images there - portraits of artists like Mos Def, Kanye West, Pharrell, and Common - most of them while they're on stage and beautifully lost in the music they're creating.
There are also two rooms of Kehinde Wiley's work. Two rooms may seem like a lot, but if you've ever seen one of his paintings, you understand why he needs two rooms. His work is larger than life; he takes African American men and places them in these baroque, splendiferous settings - very baronial in style.

How does hip-hop and one of the Smithsonian branches fit into this blog, you might ask.
Well, tonight I gave a brief lecture on Dog Day Afternoon, which I'll be posting more about later.
The lecture and film series there is one in a long list of hidden film gems here in DC - a secret stash of opportunities to see great films - classics, foreign films, the best in new work - all at area museums.
For a film geek, this town is even better than New York.

Watching movies is fun!

Yesterday was one of those fun work days that you can really only experience working for a film festival.
After weeks of watching films roll in and pile up on my desk, I finally had a bit of post-Divas Outdoors and Pride time to sit down and watch some movies.
Our programming committees have been doing wonderful work - meeting every week to screen films, email filmmakers and they've been faithfully sending in their reviews and recommendations - I've been the one struggling to meet my 10 films a week quota.
Well, yesterday made up for all of that!
By 2 pm, I'd watched:
A 1950s inspired zombie musical starring RuPaul as a high school principal named Miss Strict.

A documentary on transsexuals in Tehran (Did you know that Tehran, in many ways, has more liberal laws regarding transsexual rights than France?).

Another film recounting the summer a young boy who - in one summer - lost his virginity to an older boyfriend, was ordained as a Mormon minister, and learned his brother was murdered by a neighbor.

A very good film called Suddenly Last Winter, about two men living in Italy who are confronted with a country-wide homophobic backlash. Like many of us, they lived in a bubble of acceptance and liberal politics - and were shocked! to find that the rest of the world doesn't think the same way.

Then, it was off to a quick meeting, then back to watch Dog Day Afternoon for a look back at queer cinema from the 70s.


Today - more films!

Keep coming back to learn more about he movies we program for the festival this year.

Divas Outdoors in the Washington Post

If you were one of the more than 300 people gatehered under the stars to watch Joan Crawford lop off some heads this past Firday night, you no doubt remember the "awwww" inducing moment when Joe Matessa proposed to his partner, Billy.

See... they met at Pride in Chicago a few years ago, and Joe wanted to find the perfect Pride event at which to propose to Billy.
Well, I'll let the Reliable Source tell you all about it... scroll down about 2/3 of the way and look for the heading "Will you Marry Me? Just Ax".

You may have to cut and paste this link; I'm so worn out from this weekend's festivities that I could barely order a blueberry muffin and iced coffee without starting an international incident. Needless to say, html is a bit beyond my reach right now.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/15/AR2008061502188.html

Thanks to EVERYONE who came out to our Pride booth this weekend - and much gratitude to all the volunteers and board members who braved the heat and the crowds to help out. Pride, which at times can seem like a gay Calcutta with all the stickers, petitions and tchotchke hawkers, is still a pretty amazing way to spend the afternoon. I know that we contributed to the throng - we gave out candy, our snazzy limited edition Reel Affirmations magnets, postcards for Laugh Out Loud and Vespa opportunities to win - our booth was busy nearly all day long.

Happy recovery day, everyone-
mm

Mamma Mia - We're at Pride!

Stop by the One in Ten Pride booth this weekend and pick up some goodies.
Maybe you'll become the proud owner of a swanky new Vespa?
Or win tickets to the Opening Night of Mamma Mia at the National Theatre! We'll also have sneak preview tickets - come early though.
And don't forget - the film - possibly the gayest film ever thanks to those crazy pop-lovin' Swedes - opens nationwide this July.

Elvira Kurt goes all "Canadian Pride" on America

As you may know, One in Ten's Laugh Out Loud comedy show is coming up on June 28th, and Elvira Kurt is headlining the show.

Following is a very funny interview by Gina Vivinetto, the semi-famous music critic who nonetheless "loves comedians more than rock stars".

Canadian comic Elvira Kurt thinks Americans are a peculiar bunch. She’s on the phone from her home in Toronto, but it wasn’t too long ago, for a brief time in her bachelor days, Kurt was living in Hollywood, among the super tanned and surgically enhanced. She doesn’t miss it. “It’s a terrible place to live,” says Kurt. “A very hard place to be authentic.”

Kurt was not prepared for LA’s fake factor, even among lesbians. “In LA, I’m butch,” she says, laughing. After securing dual citizenship, Kurt promptly returned to Canada.

If the tiny, pixie-cute Kurt looks instantly familiar, you may have caught one of her stand-up routines on television in which Kurt famously imitates her disapproving Hungarian immigrant mother. Or maybe you’ve tuned into First Comes Love, the Logo reality series Kurt hosted that showcased the joy and anxieties of GLBT weddings.

First Comes Love is in reruns now. “We only did one season,” Kurt says. “Logo has had enough of the gay weddings.” Kurt herself took advantage of Canada’s legal gay and lesbian unions by marrying her partner, Chloe, four years ago.

Rumor has it, it was a shotgun wedding.
(Laughs) Well, yes, it was. We have some pretty hilarious wedding pictures. I’m shorter than Chloe anyway, and then she wore heels at our wedding. So she had these two gigantic pregnancy boobs. They look like two volleyballs right where my head is in all the pictures. (Daughter Madeline is now three-years-old).

It seems like everyone in Canada is either a lesbian or a comedian.
Well, that’s true. When you decide to live in Canada, there is a test. There is a gay screen and then there is a comedian screen and you must choose.

How are Canadians different than Americans? You’re a pretty intense culture. You’re really into your own stuff. Especially in a place like DC, where everyone is so focused and intense --DC attracts these kinds of people – so, you are all there together – you’re all already anal. When I go to DC, it’s, ‘But how do you feel about this? How do you feel about it? What do you think? Tell me. Tell me.’ And I’m like, “I…I…I don’t know, it’s just coffee.’ (laughs). You’re so proud. It’s all about you. But, then I understand that now when you go overseas, you all pretend to be Canadian. Of course, nobody believes you because you use all those “I’ statements.

Some of us pretend to be Canadian because we have shame.
Who? Where is the shame (laughs) I haven’t met these shame-filled Americans that you speak of. (laughs) I’ve only met the proud Americans, the in-your-face Americans. I’m meeting, in my travels, the ‘Do you believe in Jesus?’ Americans. But, maybe I’m only dealing with riff raff.

What do Canadians think of the craziness that has been our Democratic primaries? (Teases) See? What a typical American self-centered question! Believe it or not, we’re not all sitting around talking about you guys! (Laughs) Well, okay, from what I have understood, so far, is that Clinton is for hope, am I right? And Obama is for change. (Pause) Is there no way to accommodate the two? Honestly, we love Americans. We would even like to save the good ones. We understand that Bush was voted into power even if he wasn’t really even voted in. So we have empathy for you.

I know you’re a Second City (famed comedy troupe) alumnus. Who are your favorite comedians? Gilda Radner? Oh, Gilda. Yes. I’m a big fan. She is one of the reasons I started doing this. I think Tina Fey is great. I can’t believe what she’s doing with 30 Rock, although I think she got really lucky with Alec Baldwin. He’s just such a genius. I’m not too much into Judd Apatow’s movies (The 30-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Super Bad). People say it’s a new definition of comedy, but it has nothing to do with my life. I’m more interested in what other woman are doing, really. In comedy, you have to put up with what men think is funny a lot of the time. So I admire women who are doing their own thing. I am interested in whatever Sarah Silverman is doing. I like her a lot. Margaret Cho is always doing new things. Wanda Sykes is huge, very funny. And I really like Curb Your Enthusiasm because he (Larry David) is not afraid to let women come on his show and just rock and steal a scene.

It’s a great time for lesbian comedians, thanks to Ellen. Well, yes, but honestly, I think my three-year-old baby is gayer than Ellen (laughs). She’s been to more political rallies and gay events. She’s been to the Michigan Womyn’s Fest two years in a row, one in the womb. This is a very queer-friendly baby. It’s funny, when we saw the ultrasound, I told my mom, “It’s a girl,” and my mother said, (thick accent) “For now.”

Is your mother really that unhappy with your lifestyle? It’s not that she’s unhappy with my lifestyle, she’s unhappy in general (laughs)

Is her accent really still that thick? Oh yeah. She sounds like she got here yesterday.

Comedians always seem like the smartest, most perceptive people. I think you have to be very brave to do stand-up. Well, thank you. I think you’re right. Whether you are a woman or a man, it’s all about winning over the crowd and that’s not as easy as it looks. There is a lot of second guessing yourself. There is a lot of ‘Am I doing this right?’ I think it’s a woman’s nature to want to please and when you do comedy, you have to be true to yourself. Every night, right before I go onstage, I have a crisis of confidence. That’s what makes it exciting. And when I come offstage, it’s, (panicky) ‘Did I nail it? Was that okay?’ I ask myself all these questions…So, at least, I’m never alone afterwards (Laughs) I’m having spectacular conversations.

Michael Stipe - no longer queer - now just gay.

Last night, I stood in a crowd of thousands and watched families, frat guys, teenagers (and pre-teens), gay folks and aging hipsters sing along, laugh and cheer as Michael Stipe led R.E.M. through two decades worth of greatest hits (Losing My Religion), band favorites (What's the Frequency, Kenneth?) and songs from their latest album, Accelerate.

We laughed at his jokes - applauded his political jibes - clapped when he mentioned his boyfriend - and we were in on the joke when he said he really wanted to be sitting on the lawn - with two strangers kissing him.

Stipe has referred to himself as "an equal opportunity lech" and "a queer artist" (in a 2001 Time interview). Earlier this year, he again acknowledged his sexuality and his long-term relationship. No longer a queer artist, he considers himself a gay man. Possibly a bit more palatable for mainstream America, and that's okay.

There is a cultural sea change going on right now - being a gay rock star is no big deal anymore. Being a gay talk show host who proposed to her girlfriend on live TV is no big deal. Presidential candidates making frequent references to their gay supporters in campaign speeches is no big deal anymore.

Early on in the show, Stipe gave the audience a quick lesson in gratitude and mindfulness. Playfully asking the audience how many were "here now", we all raised our hands in unison. Then, he acknowledged that we made a choice to be here tonight and thanked the audience for making the choice to spend the evening with them.

And that's what the country is doing right now regarding the visibility and rights of the LGBT community. Every piece of legislation is a choice. It is a political stand, taken very deliberately, by our community and our politicians. Ellen DeGeneres made the choice to propose to her girlfriend on her show. John Mccain made the choice to appear on her show - knowing that she was going to bring up the subject of gay marriage.

And it's becoming easier for people to make these choices. And while we should applaude the loosening of the shackles, we should also acknowledge the many people who made those choices when it wasn't so easy.

Our sweet office renovation

While standing in the unbearable heat this Saturday, I saw an MW box with a beautiful shot of Cyndi Lauper on the cover. I'm not the first to say this, but it bears repeating - this was a cover worthy of Vanity Fair. Actually, even better than some of Vanity Fair's recent covers.

I'll let you decide:




The REAL story, though, is that our office renovation is featured in Metro Weekly.
Read all about it here: http://metroweekly.com/home/?ak=3510

Audrey Hepburn Under the Stars

Yesterday was a hectic one at One in Ten HQ. 

We made the hot trek down to the National Building Museum to meet up with Lisa King, our Board VP, and her partner Polly, to see HRC give her concession speech. This isn't a political blog - Lord knows there's enough of those out there - so I'll stick to the strictly human element and note that no matter how upset folks were, there was no denying that we were walking away from a profound moment in our nation's history.

As if that wasn't exciting enough, it was off to Hillwood Museum for the second Divas Outdoors installment - Funny Face - starring Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire.

In this age of Ugly Betty, Project Runway, and The Devil Wears Prada, Funny Face really stands the test of time.
It even has its own dance remix now.




Despite a last-minute downpour, the event went on with the super-organized and always pleasant Hillwood staff ushering everyone into alternative spaces on the Hillwood estate - what a treat it is to have events there.

Next week's screening, on Friday the 13th no less, HAS to be good. There's just no way we can have bad weather 3 weekends in a row.
The film we're showing, Straitjacet, is fully of campy appeal and laugh inducing special effects.
Joan Crawford plays an axe murderess recently released from an insane asylum, determined to become a model citizen. Welll.. not exactly a model citizen. She does try to seduce her daughter's boyfriend, but it wouldn't be a Joan Crawford film if she didn't transgress somehow.
Stay tuned for a recap and photos of our Joan Crawford lookalike contest next week.

Harvey Korman - RIP

What else is there to say - Harvey Korman, or as I've always thought of him - Count d' Monay - has passed on.

There are no words to describe how incredibly funny he was - whether he was working with Carol Burnett or Mell Brooks - big screen or small.

The best thing about Harvey Korman was his inability to keep a straight face - his giggles inevitably reduced me to a puddle on the floor. As a little girl forced to watch every episode of Gunsmoke, the highlight of my evening was losing myself in the absurdity of the Carol Burnett show.

Here's one of my favorite clips - and yes.. everyone ... make that dentist appointment for your six-month checkup today.

Plant A Seed Winner shows film at Cannes!

It's always nice to hear from one of our Plant A Seed winners, and in fact... I'm hoping to grab coffee with Carlos Portugal, who won for East Side Story in 2006, this very afternoon.



However, this was a complete surprise - while doing some research on queer film from the 30s (what us festival folk do in our off-time.. sad to say) I came across an interesting tidbit on http://moviedearest.blogspot.com/.

Kirk Shannon Butts, who has been called "Spike Lee for the LGBT set", recently screened his film Blueprint at the Cannes Festival Market. As many of you may remember, at Reel Affimations 16, Black Pride hosted a reception for Kirk and his crew after we screened a "First Look" cut of the film. The film received mixed reviews then, but I've heard from many sources that the recent edits have made all the difference in the world.



I often talk about the disconnect between the hard work that goes into putting on a festival and the seemingly effortless glamour (one hopes) that eventually appears.

But when you hear about someone we've nurtured and watched flourish over the years, it's the perfect fuel to keep going - to keep striving to unearth the talent and vision that's out there - and to give them a voice.

Congratulations, Kirk!