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.